64 bit vs 32 bit

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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#21

Post by admin »

Hi,

by default the 64 bit version still has a limit of 1 GB for frame cache and 1 GB for live stacking and other purposes. However there is also memory usage that isn't counted towards either of those (things like the space for displaying the image on screen) - the memory available for that is substantially greater in the 64 bit version. The biggest improvement though in the 64 bit version is that you 10 to run into a problem where there is enough memory available to provide the block that SharpCap needs (maybe 180Mb for live stacking info), but there isn't a single block long enough – all free memory is broken up into smaller bits. This is usually what ends up causing out of memory problems on the 32 bit version.

Cheers, Robin
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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#22

Post by GSBass »

Robin, downloaded 64bit and played with it inside... seems to work great and my concern with the histogram in the other thread appears to be fine now, im still mainly using your program for planetary because the combo of qhy462c and 180mm mak makes detecting stars almost undoable for live stacking, however I am thinking of trying out the new 485 which should give a bigger field of view
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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#23

Post by admin »

Hi,

good to hear that things are working well now :-)

Cheers, Robin
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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#24

Post by MikeHuerto »

Hi Robin,

Hope you don't mind jumping over from the Dobson Plate Solving thread, but I am thinking that this is why my plate solving is so slow? - Even on using the SC deep sky simulator on your M42 image the fastest I got was a few minutes, and now its plodding through a 128 found sources (for the past 30 minutes :). I can post the log if you like.

I am running the 32 bit SC versions on a Dell E6220 (Intel i7 2.7 GHZ) - which is a 64 bit OS and processor with Windows 10.

I only have 4GB of ram, but the Task Manager indicates SC is only using 344 MB of RAM, and all apps and system are only at 55% memory usage. (though I just ordered an 8GB upgrade kit for good measure). I have 90GB of free HD space on a 300 GB HD so SC has plenty of space for expanded memory use.

At the moment I am using a ZWO224MC, but would like to eventually use my Canon D450 for Live Stacking to increase my FOV

Do I need to uninstall the 32 bit version, or can I install both and simply select the 32 or 64 version depending on the camera I am using?

Thanks!

Mike
Bortle 5
Skywatcher GOTO Synscan 14" Dobson
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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#25

Post by MikeHuerto »

Hi Robin,

Hope you don't mind jumping over from the Dobson Plate Solving thread, but I am thinking that this is why my plate solving is so slow? - Even on using the SC deep sky simulator on your M42 image the fastest I got was a few minutes, and now after adjusting exposure and gain, its plodding through a 128 found sources (for the past 30 minutes :). I can post the log if you like.

I am running the 32 bit SC versions on a Dell E6220 (Intel i7 2.7 GHZ) - which is a 64 bit OS and processor with Windows 10.

I only have 4GB of ram, but the Task Manager indicates SC is only using 344 MB of RAM, and all apps and system are only at 55% memory usage. (though I just ordered an 8GB upgrade kit for good measure). I have 90GB of free HD space on a 300 GB HD so SC has plenty of space for expanded memory use.

At the moment I am using a ZWO224MC, but would like to eventually use my Canon D450 for Live Stacking to increase my FOV

Do I need to uninstall the 32 bit version, or can I install both and simply select the 32 or 64 version depending on the camera I am using?

Thanks!

Mike

PS. In the ASCOM v2 simulator set-up I entered, the aperture and focal length specs for my 14" Dobson - would it be better to enter a smaller aperture - more in line with telescope you used to capture the your M42 image?
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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#26

Post by turfpit »

Mike

4Mb RAM on a 64-bit Windows system is sub-optimal. The OS is constrained for memory, therefore much of the OS stays on disk and is paged in as needed (meaning something else has to be paged out). The low memory also constrains the ability for the OS to cache. In Task Manager, on the Performance tab, look at the figures at the bottom right for Paged Pool and Cached. Also monitor Disk activity for evidence of paging. All these will contribute to performance hits.

Upgrading to 8Gb RAM is a positive step. Depending on memory architecture you will probably have to remove the 4Gb and install the 8Gb. Mixing memory, if possible, is not a good idea as that can bring its own set of subtle problems.

A 300Gb hard drive suggests that is quite old and therefore not as fast as modern drives. A 512Gb SSD drive will cost ~£50 and will give a huge performance improvement. Disk cloning software can be used to move the complete contents of the 300Gb drive to the new drive.

My own capture laptop is an i3, 8Gb RAM and 500Gb SSD. It is 'good enough' for capture but I would not attempt image processing on it. For that I have a Quad Xeon workstation with 16Gb RAM & 64-bit Windows. Image processing is carried out on a dedicated SSD drive.

Both 32-bit & 64-bit SharpCap can be installed side-by-side on the same machine. The 64-bit memory footprint will be roughly twice the size of the 32-bit footprint, thus putting more strain on a memory challenged machine.

Hope this helps.

Dave
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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#27

Post by MikeHuerto »

Hi Dave

Thanks for the PC Tips. My main machine is a MacBook Air - which is where I do 'most' of my image processing, except for AS and RS. I'll take a look at the paged pool numbers in Task Manager and see what's happening.

The PC HD is SSD, and have ordered 2 X 4 RAM - so will be matched - always knew 4 was on the low side, but it sort of worked until now :).

That said, after playing around with Deep Sky Test Camera for the past 3 hours - it seems that I was not being careful enough in positioning the telescope to within 15 degrees before starting plate solving. I can now get it to solve in 30 to 50 seconds!!!

In addition, I suspect that I had other stuff running in background that clogged things up perviously (in the simulator and with my actual telescope).. The 8 RAM should help.

Will try installing the 64 bit version once I've got the 8 Mb RAM installed and see how it performs.

Thanks again

Mike
Bortle 5
Skywatcher GOTO Synscan 14" Dobson
Skywatcher 130PDS on HEQ5
ZWOASI224MC and ASI294MCPro
Laptop = Lenovo Legion 5 FullHD 144Hz (Intel Core i7-10750H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA RTX2060-6GB, Windows 10
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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#28

Post by turfpit »

Mike
positioning the telescope to within 15 degrees before starting plate solving. I can now get it to solve in 30 to 50 seconds!!!
That will help. Maybe you have a polar scope in the mount which can get you a better starting point?

As to which version of SharpCap, it depends on the type of imaging you are doing:
  • For deep sky, the machine is waiting around for 60s, 120s then writing to disk. The 32-bit version is fine for this.
  • For deep sky using Live Stack with a small megapixel camera the 32-bit version will work.
  • For Live Stack using a large megapixel camera (for example, a ZWO ASI2600 produces 50Mb frames) then the 64-bit version is recommended. Of course more memory will help here as well.
  • For Solar/Lunar/Planetary, 32-bit will be fine.
Dave
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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#29

Post by MikeHuerto »

Dave

Thanks for the additional tips. FYI - my scope is a 14" SW GOTO Dobson with an ASI 224 (ca. 10' x 7' FOV)- so no polar scope and not really built for AP of DSOs - better suited to planets or just visual - sort of like trying to teach an elephant to dance ! But Im enjoying pushing the limits.

I think the plate solving is all I need to accurately find and image (small) DSOs. I already have Live Stacking working fine with the 32bit and 4 Mb of RAM -
To locate and image small DSOs using Live Stack, my process at the moment is, single star align to closest named star to DSO. Plate solve to sync the scope more accurately, then use GOTO on PC Synscan App (connected via WIFI to mount) to move to DSO, plate solve again to center on DSO. If I can get it to plate solve in less 30-60 secs it should all work, I tested it on M42 and a few other stars last week, and it worked, except for slow plate solving, which meant that M42 and the stars I tried were off center by the time it solved ( a few minutes). I am hoping that by increasing the RAM to 8 and/or the 64 bit SC will speed things up. I'll try just increasing the RAM first, If that works, I'll stay with 32 bit SC, if not I'll try the 64 bit SC. SC works nicely with the Synscan App to move the the mount, so I might also try SC planetary tracking next. Perhaps the extra CPU needed to run Synscan on the PC was slowing the plate solving down - either way, I''l see what happens when I install more RAM.

Any thoughts?

Mike
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Skywatcher GOTO Synscan 14" Dobson
Skywatcher 130PDS on HEQ5
ZWOASI224MC and ASI294MCPro
Laptop = Lenovo Legion 5 FullHD 144Hz (Intel Core i7-10750H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA RTX2060-6GB, Windows 10
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Re: 64 bit vs 32 bit

#30

Post by turfpit »

Mike

Is it this http://skywatcher.com/product/bk-dob-14-synscan/ ?

You might find this useful/interesting https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/5338 ... second-16/ . See post #20. Poster MvZ is Emil Kraaikamp, author of Autostakkert. He uses a 16" Dob and captures 2000 x 1s SER files which he then stacks using Autostakkert. This is an example result https://www.astrokraai.nl/viewimages.ph ... 6&s_fromcn. I would be happy with that.

The 2000s is ~30m which will be about the maximum time you can capture before field rotation gets the better of your imaging rig.

The processing is fairly straightforward and described in post #20 in the CN link.

I have tried stacking short exposures in Autostakkert https://www.astrobin.com/334986/?image_ ... 4&nc=&nce=.

The other big Dob user I know of is Martin Lewis https://skyinspector.co.uk/. He has a 444mm scope and all his images are lunar/planetary.

Dave
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