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Maxwell V4 GPU rendering working?


Andre Conlledo

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I can't switch to GPU rendering -- can't find documentation for it either on: http://support.nextlimit.com/display/maxwell4/Maxwell+4+User+Manual

 

Does anyone know if the feature is active?

 

 

My software:

  • formZ8.5.6 build 9897
  • Maxwell Render version 4.0.0.0
  • Plugin 4.0.0.5? (When I click About on Maxwell Render I can't see the message)

My system:

  • i7 6700K @ 4.8Mhz with 32G RAM
  • Nvidia GeForce GTX 980Ti driver 373.06
  • Windows 10 PRO 64 bit
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Hi Andre,

There may not be enough memory on the card to support the resolution you have set. Try rendering at a low resolution.

 

PALarson,

Here's the Next Limit statement on macOS:

 

 

Maxwell GPU rendering is not currently supported on macOS. For GPU rendering, Nvidia graphics cards with CUDA support are required, and Apple does not sell computers which include these at this time.

If you do have an older Mac model with an Nvidia card, we cannot guarantee you a great experience, because those cards are obsolete and have not been tested.

Should Apple include graphics cards appropriate for GPU rendering in the future, we will likely support these. We are also studying the possibility of supporting third party Thunderbolt GPU interfaces, which may provide a viable GPU option for our valued Mac customers.

 

Basically, powerful, contemporary, CUDA-enabled GPUs are required for this sort of work, and Apple is not producing machines that support such GPUs. However, I believe that Next Limit is researching a solution for users with old macs with Nvidia cards.

 

I think what we have to bear in mind is, that if Apple were producing computers suitable for this type of work, they would be absolutely supported out of the box. Many of us long time mac users are disappointed by Apple's lack of attention to the professional line of computers over the last several years. As a mac user myself, my plan is to keep using my mac for modeling and everyday tasks, and going to begin using windows boxes with powerful CPU and GPU on the network for my rendering.

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yes, this is the official position of NL... in reality, a lot of people are still working with older macpro's while they upgraded to current top of the line GPU's flashed for mac which you can buy from a few professional sellers - or even unflashed cards, as some work also right out of the box with latest OSX versions. i'm using a 2009 macpro, 12 core CPU, with a 980 ti card myself and not having any issues while using octane with lightwave, my main engine nowadays. also other GPU capable apps like After Effects or specialized plugins for fluid simulation  like TFD are working fine. i also have a small windows Z600 workstation with a connected GPU box in the network and other 2 macpro's equipped with nvidia cards - in total 8 modern GPU's at disposal. but there are also external GPU solutions for more recent macpro's which many are using nowadays. while it's true that apple didn't release nvidia equipped professional macs in the last years, it seems NL is thinking studios are only using standard configurations of macs,but this is not studio reality. 3D designers and animation studios are not using standard PC's as well, right? ;-)

 

or, seen from another point of view - the direct competitors one -, if otoy is offering octane for mac's since a long time, there must be a reason... ;-)

 

cheers

 

markus

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Hi Andre,

There may not be enough memory on the card to support the resolution you have set. Try rendering at a low resolution.

 

Thank you!  

 

Rendering a 2560 x 1400 pixel image (72 pixels/inch) works fine. Tested GPU vs CPU on a small & economical 8 house project.

 

 

  • GPU benchmark: 4,928.49 Nvidia GeForce GTX 980Ti @ 1076Mhz (~7% OC)
    • ERROR: Maxwell Grass did NOT render.
    • Rendered to SL14 in 7m:05s 
    • GPU reached 82°C with standard fan speed settings

 

  • CPU benchmark: 548.14 i7 6700K @ 4.5Mhz (~12% OC)
    • Rendered to SL14 in 1h:3m
    • CPU reached 66°C with Corsair Hydro Series H110i GTX Cooling set to "Silent"

 

The results are different in more ways than just grass. Even though I used the same settings it feels as if light was rendered differently. Differences are more noticeable on glass materials and areas under no direct light. Where can I learn more about the differences and when will the grass feature be available for the GPU rendering engine?

post-70-0-29202600-1476455665_thumb.jpg

post-70-0-69551000-1476455672_thumb.jpg

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Hi Andre,

 

Thanks for posting, that's great. Great times.

 

I know that Next Limit's goal is to make the GPU engine indistinguishable from the CPU engine, so please report any discrepancies you see to Next Limit. The Grass feature will be supported on the GPU engine.

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Thx for the info Andre

I want to try V4 too, but I' m in need of time these days.

M

 

Once they polish out the flaws on the GPU render engine V4 will be king. 

Render quality on "DRAFT" seems to remain the same as V3 -- except V4 is slower for some reason by about 25%.

So you'll be skipping the "wait-till-it-works" process by not updating straight away so that's a good thing.

 

Here's a new test I ran this morning with V4. Both images rendered to SL16 in about 3 hours.

post-70-0-22621500-1477075162_thumb.jpg

post-70-0-15207600-1477075172_thumb.jpg

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Hi Andre,

 

I also just wanted to clarify the the images you posted (and their render times) are for the CPU engine, not the GPU, and that the slower CPU engine speed will be addressed soon - it's not a deep problem, just a small glitch with the initial build.

 

Ben

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hi Andre,

There may not be enough memory on the card to support the resolution you have set. Try rendering at a low resolution.

 

PALarson,

Here's the Next Limit statement on macOS:

 

 

Basically, powerful, contemporary, CUDA-enabled GPUs are required for this sort of work, and Apple is not producing machines that support such GPUs. However, I believe that Next Limit is researching a solution for users with old macs with Nvidia cards.

 

I think what we have to bear in mind is, that if Apple were producing computers suitable for this type of work, they would be absolutely supported out of the box. Many of us long time mac users are disappointed by Apple's lack of attention to the professional line of computers over the last several years. As a mac user myself, my plan is to keep using my mac for modeling and everyday tasks, and going to begin using windows boxes with powerful CPU and GPU on the network for my rendering.

 

This is unacceptable.  Thea and VRay both work with CUDA for Mac OSX.  I guess we should only look at those options if we want a faster GPU rendering engine.

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