As 3D artists, we understand that software is only as powerful as the hardware that supports it. Lumion is one of the go-to real-time rendering tools for architects and visualization professionals and has consistently pushed the boundaries of real-time rendering quality. With its newest version, the system requirements reflect that ambition.

Whether you’re new to Lumion or upgrading from an older version, understanding the updated system requirements is essential to make the most of its new features without sacrificing performance. In this article, we break down the latest system requirements, give you some context from a 3D artist’s perspective, and help you figure out what kind of hardware investment makes sense for your workflow. Let’s explore this blog with iRender!

Unlike traditional render engines that rely heavily on CPU rendering (like V-Ray or Arnold in default CPU mode), Lumion is a real-time renderer that utilizes your GPU as its primary engine. That means the more powerful your graphics card, the smoother your experience in both the editor and final output.

The newest version of Lumion has introduced features like improved ray tracing (v2.0), enhanced lighting accuracy, and a denser asset library—all of which require faster processing and more VRAM.

For basic projects, such as small residential designs or simple landscapes, the following specifications are the bare minimum:

• Operating System: Windows 10 (version 2004) or newer 
• CPU: Intel/AMD processor with a single-thread CPUMark score of 2,200 or higher 
• GPU: Graphics card with a G3DMark score of 5,500 or higher (e.g., NVIDIA GTX 1060, AMD RX 580) 
• VRAM: 6 GB or more 
• RAM: 16 GB 
• Storage:  300mb disk space 
• Internet Connection: Required for installation and updates

Note: This configuration is suitable only for simple projects and may not support Lumion’s advanced features effectively.

For more complex projects involving detailed interiors, extensive landscapes, or high-resolution textures, consider the following setup:

• Operating System: Windows 10 (version 2004) or newer 
• CPU: Intel/AMD processor with a single-thread CPUMark score of 2,600 or higher 
• GPU: Ray tracing-capable graphics card with a PassMark score of 10,000 or higher (e.g., NVIDIA RTX 3060 or better) 
• VRAM: 10 GB or more 
• RAM: 16GB 
• Storage:  300mb disk space 
• Internet Connection: Required for installation and updates 

Note: This configuration supports most of Lumion’s features, including moderate ray tracing and AI upscaling.

For ultra-complex projects, such as detailed cityscapes or large-scale architectural visualizations, a high-end setup is essential:

• Operating System: Windows 10 (version 2004) or newer 
• CPU: Intel/AMD processor with a single-thread CPUMark score well above 3,000 
• GPU: Professional-grade graphics card with a PassMark score of 14,000 or higher (e.g., NVIDIA RTX 4090) 
• VRAM: 16 GB or more 
• RAM: 32GB 
• Storage: 300mb disk space 
• Internet Connection: Required for installation and updates

Note: This configuration ensures optimal performance for all of Lumion’s advanced features, including full ray tracing and high-resolution rendering.

Lumion 2025 leverages ray tracing technology for enhanced realism. Therefore, a graphics card that supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing is crucial. Compatible GPUs include:

• NVIDIA: RTX 20 series and newer 
• AMD: Radeon RX 6000 series and newer 
• Intel: ARC A series and newer

Ensure your GPU drivers are up to date to maintain compatibility and performance.

While Lumion is GPU-intensive, a capable CPU ensures smooth operation, especially when handling complex scenes. Aim for a processor with a high single-thread performance. Additionally, sufficient RAM (32 GB or more) is vital to prevent bottlenecks during rendering and editing.

• Storage: An SSD is recommended for faster loading times and overall responsiveness.
  
• Power Supply: A minimum of an 80+ Gold-rated PSU with adequate wattage is advised to support high-performance components.

As we’ve explored, Lumion 2025 brings powerful features like real-time ray tracing and AI-driven enhancements, but with those innovations come significant hardware demands. Not every artist or studio has immediate access to top-tier GPUs like the RTX 4090 or the RAM-heavy builds needed for complex scenes.

That’s where iRender becomes a game-changer. iRender is proud to be one of the best GPU service providers on the market. We provide you with high-configuration models with advanced specifications such as AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz or AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4, 5GHz, 256GB RAM, 2TB NVMe SSD storage. Most importantly, we always update to the latest GPU technology, with 1/2/4/6/8 x RTX3090/RTX4090.

With the benefits that iRender brings to you as well as the configuration that is very suitable for all versions of Lumion, do not hesitate to use the service at iRender to have a great experience with your rendering time. Under the IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model, you will have full control over the entire rendering process and use it as your personal machine. Therefore, you can install any software and plug-ins you want, add your license, and render or modify your project yourself.

Below is information about our 3S package, which is the most suitable for Lumion:

Not only does it have powerful configurations, but iRender also provides you with many more services. Free and convenient transfer tool, iRender drive for macOS and Linux users. For Windows users, we recommend the iRender GPU application, you will not need to access our website anymore. The price at iRender is also very flexible with hourly rental (pay as you use), and daily/weekly/monthly rental with a 10-20% discount. 

We’re always happy to help you with any questions. If you have any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to contact our 24/7 support team. Or via Whatsapp: 0912 785 500 for free advice and support.

Right now iRender has a SPECIAL PROMOTION program with a 100% bonus for the first transaction within 24 hours of your registration. It means that you can get an extra 100% of the money you recharged the first time. And points never expire, so you can use them at any time.

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Thank you & Happy Rendering!

Source and image:proxpc.com, lumion.com, support.lumion.com

In the world of 3D creation—whether you’re rendering photorealistic scenes in Blender, animating in Cinema 4D, or sculpting in ZBrush—your hardware plays a critical role in the speed and quality of your work. One of the most important aspects is GPU memory—specifically, the difference between dedicated and shared GPU memory. This article will break down these two types of GPU memory, how they affect 3D workflows, and what you should look for when choosing or optimizing your setup. Let’s explore with iRender.

GPU memory—often referred to as VRAM (Video Random Access Memory)—is used to store graphics data such as textures, geometry, shaders, frame buffers, and more. It’s essential for real-time rendering, viewport interaction, and GPU-accelerated tasks like ray tracing or simulation.

There are two main types:

• Dedicated GPU memory: Physical VRAM built into a discrete graphics card.
• Shared GPU memory: System RAM borrowed for graphics tasks, mainly in integrated or lower-tier GPUs.

Dedicated GPU memory refers to the memory that’s physically built into a discrete (dedicated) graphics card. Think NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 or AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. This memory, typically labeled as VRAM (Video RAM), is reserved exclusively for GPU tasks, like rendering, shading, or real-time viewport preview.

Key Characteristics:

• Faster bandwidth: VRAM is designed for high-speed parallel processing.
  
• Independent from system RAM: It doesn’t borrow memory from your main system.
  
• Better performance: Ideal for handling large textures, complex meshes, and high-resolution viewport rendering.
  

Why It Matters for 3D Artists:

• High performance: VRAM offers high bandwidth and low latency, critical for rendering large scenes and working with high-resolution assets.
• Stability: Large 3D scenes often exceed 8 GB or even 16 GB of memory. When rendering high-poly scenes or using GPU-accelerated engines like Cycles, OctaneRender, or Redshift, the GPU relies heavily on VRAM. If your scene exceeds the available VRAM, it can cause crashes or force your system to fall back on slower system memory, dramatically affecting performance.
• Viewport interaction: Tasks like sculpting, physics simulation, or shading nodes rely heavily on quick memory access.

Example: A detailed scene with 8K textures, volumetrics, and multiple light sources might easily consume 12–16 GB of VRAM.

Shared GPU memory is a portion of your system’s RAM that the GPU can access if it runs out of dedicated VRAM. This is common in integrated graphics (like Intel Iris Xe or AMD Radeon Vega), where the GPU is part of the CPU and doesn’t have its own dedicated VRAM.

Shared GPU memory is useful for basic tasks like modeling, sculpting low-poly assets, or working on simpler scenes. But if you’re rendering or doing heavy viewport work, performance will suffer.

Key Characteristics:

• Slower than VRAM: Because it’s standard system memory, not optimized for graphical workloads.
  
• Dynamic allocation: The system decides how much RAM can be used as shared memory.
  
• Can help—but not replace—dedicated VRAM: It’s a fallback, not a replacement.
  

Limitations in 3D Workflows

• Lower bandwidth: System RAM is slower than VRAM, causing bottlenecks during intensive tasks.
  
• Less memory available overall: If 4 GB of your 16 GB RAM is being used as GPU memory, that’s less for your OS and other apps.
  
• Poor scalability: Great for light modeling or UI-based design work, but not for high-end rendering or VFX.

Example: A laptop with 16 GB of RAM might allocate 4–6 GB as shared memory. However, the bandwidth and latency differences mean it’s not suitable for serious GPU rendering.

As a 3D artist, the type of GPU memory your system uses can make or break your creative workflow. Here’s how to decide what works best for your needs:

Choose a Dedicated GPU If:

Dedicated GPU memory is a must-have for any artist working with complex 3D pipelines. Choose a discrete GPU if:

• You regularly render scenes or animations: Whether you’re using Cycles in Blender, Arnold in Maya, or Redshift in Cinema 4D, these engines heavily rely on VRAM to handle geometry, shaders, and high-resolution outputs efficiently.

• You work with simulations: Fluid dynamics, smoke, fire, cloth, and particle simulations can be VRAM-intensive, especially during baking or real-time previews.

• Your scenes use 4K or 8K textures: Textures are among the biggest VRAM consumers. A few 8K textures can easily consume multiple gigabytes of memory.

• You need real-time performance: Applications like Unreal Engine, Unity, and NVIDIA Omniverse require real-time rendering capabilities that only dedicated GPUs can offer. Shared memory simply can’t keep up with the performance demand.

Note: Minimum VRAM recommended for modern workflows in 2025: 12–16 GB
High-end scenes, especially those with volumetrics or ray tracing, may require 24 GB or more.

Use Shared GPU Memory Only If:

Shared memory can be a temporary or entry-level solution, but it comes with limitations. It’s only suitable if:

• You’re a student or hobbyist: If you’re just learning the basics or practicing low-poly modeling, integrated graphics can suffice.

• You mainly model or texture low-poly assets: Tasks that don’t involve real-time rendering or GPU-accelerated rendering can run on minimal hardware.

• You don’t render using GPU acceleration: If you’re using CPU rendering engines or just exporting assets, GPU memory becomes less critical.

For any 3D artist aiming to work efficiently and professionally, dedicated GPU memory is a necessity. It provides the raw speed, stability, and memory bandwidth required to handle complex scenes, render high-res outputs, and work efficiently in real-time environments.

However, high-end GPUs with large VRAM (like 24 GB or more) come at a steep cost and may not be accessible for every artist, especially freelancers or small studios.

That’s where iRender comes in. iRender is proud to be one of the best GPU service providers on the market. We provide you with high-configuration models with advanced specifications such as AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz or AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4, 5GHz, 256GB RAM, 2TB NVMe SSD storage. Most importantly, we always update to the latest GPU technology, with 1/2/4/6/8 x RTX3090/RTX4090.

Under the IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model you will have full control over the machine via a remote desktop app, similar to TeamViewer but more stable. You will be able to proactively install the software and use it on the server just like using a personal computer. You can find many server packages with high-end configurations that are extremely suitable for complex projects.

We’re always happy to help you with any questions. If you have any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to contact our 24/7 support team. Or via Whatsapp: 0912 785 500 for free advice and support.

Right now iRender has a SPECIAL PROMOTION program with a 100% bonus for the first transaction within 24 hours of your registration. It means that you can get an extra 100% of the money you recharged the first time. And points never expire, so you can use them at any time.

Sign up for an account today to experience and enjoy our services.

Thank you & Happy Rendering!

Source and image:Intel, Reddit, pugetsystems, cgdirector

Chaos has released Corona 12 Update 1, the latest version of its production renderer for 3ds Max and Cinema 4D. Let’s explore some important new updates with iRender!

Corona 12 Update 1 introduces an initial implementation of a Live Link. This is just a starting point though, with more functionality to come in future releases.

With this early version, Vantage can be utilized for a form of “Interactive Rendering” that refreshes in real-time as you make adjustments in 3ds Max or Cinema 4D. This detailed ray-traced GPU rendering can be beneficial in certain scenarios while developing your scene. It offers an alternative way to discover ideal camera angles, modify lighting, organize your scene, configure various material aspects, and more.

With this update, you can now send an image directly from the VFB to Chaos Cloud Collaboration, allowing you to share it with your client and engage in discussions using markup and comments. This eliminates the dependence on email, Dropbox, Google Drive, and similar services, plus it means your client isn’t left having to use Paint or Photoshop to draw attention to certain parts of the image.

Cloud Collaboration enables you to create multiple projects and manage their sharing options. It also takes care of image versioning throughout the project and serves as a convenient method for delivering final renders.

To sum up, Cloud Collaboration makes it easy to share images with your clients, sending them right from the VFB. Then, you can discuss changes via markup, send deliverables, set up Virtual Tours, and open the door to much more in the future.

The first improvement to Caustics will now give a significantly cleaner result in the same amount of render time. Can not specify an exact figure for the speed increase since it largely depends on the prevalence of caustics in your scene. If caustics are the primary focus of the scene, you’ll experience a more significant speed improvement compared to a scene where caustics have a minor role.

As an approximation, Caustics themselves should be visually “about twice as good” in the same amount of render time.

The second Caustics improvement allows you to adjust the intensity of the Caustics in the Beauty pass, removing the need to use render elements and post-processing to get the results you are looking for.

Please note that you must set the Surface Multiplier at render time – it cannot be adjusted in post. IR can be used to find the right value before committing to a final render.

The final Caustics improvement is that you now have the option to enable the visibility of reflected or refracted rays created from Caustics as they pass through a Volumetric material.  A common illustration of this is sunlight underwater, where the refraction of light through the shifting water surface creates a captivating display of light beams within the water volume.

Let’s see other cases, such as underwater swimming pool lights passing through steam in a heated pool or jacuzzi, or light beams reflecting off the mirrored surface of a disco/mirror ball through the dry ice in the atmosphere of a night club, or sunlight reflected off windows through an early morning mist and more.

With surface Caustics, you can control the intensity of the volume Caustics in the Beauty pass.

First comes Auto Exposure, a checkbox that lets Corona 12 choose the exposure values for you, just like when using a modern camera. This can serve as a simple starting point, with the option to make additional adjustments through the regular Exposure control or to bake them into the tone mapping.

If “Update during animation” is checked, then the automatic exposure and/or white balance will be recalculated for each frame of an animation, helping with scenes that move from dimly to brightly lit areas.

Additionally, a “Strength” parameter ranges from 0, which means no exposure adjustment, to a maximum of 1, where the calculated auto exposure value is fully applied. This allows for automatic adjustments to exposure or white balance for an effective starting point or to respond to changing lighting during animations. Furthermore, a new algorithm enhances white balance for more pleasing outcomes.

Auto White Balance functions have the same possibilities as mentioned above. There’s one extra improvement to White Balance though, as we have changed the algorithm it uses to one that gives a more natural look. For compatibility, any existing scenes will load with a “Legacy White Balance” to ensure they render the same as before. In new scenes, the new White Balance will be the default. While the difference is subtle, the results are more in line with the effects of White Balance in other popular software like Photoshop.

NVIDIA’s new Image Upscaling offers two key benefits.

First, it enables quick test animations by rendering images at a quarter size (e.g., 960×540 for 1920×1080) and then using AI Upscaler, resulting in a rendering speed that’s approximately four times faster. However, these animations lack temporal consistency, leading to noticeable flickering.

Second, when enabled for Image Refresh (IR), it can improve responsiveness during editing, although parsing times may limit this benefit. It’s particularly useful for scene setup, lighting, and camera angles but less effective for detailed material editing due to reduced detail.

Please note that NVIDIA Denoising is always applied to the image when Upscaling is used, both in IR and rendering modes. Also, just like NVIDIA Denoising, this requires a compatible NVIDIA card.

iRender provides high-performance and configurable server systems to customers who need to utilize the power of CPU & GPU such as 3D rendering, AI training, VR&AR, simulation, etc. With iRender IaaS and PaaS services, you can access our server through the Remote Desktop Application do whatever you want, and install any software you need on it. It is like you are using your own computer but with a powerful configuration and much higher performance. In particular, you only need to install the software for the first time, the next time you connect to the computer everything is ready for you to use.

Corona Renderer is purely CPU-based. It uses Intel Embree Ray Tracing Kernels, the fastest CPU ray tracing solution on the market. Since they mesh well with the Corona architecture, they are an important factor in its performance.

By rendering only on the CPU, we can avoid all bottlenecks, problems, and limitations of GPU rendering, which include the unsuitability of GPU architectures for full GI, limited memory, limited support for third-party plugins and maps, unpredictability, the need for specialist knowledge or hardware to add nodes, high cost, high heat and noise.

Also, Corona usually comes with Cinema 4D and 3ds Max. We support all 3D software including Cinema 4D and 3ds Max with their plug-ins. Moreover, we have preinstalled Cinema 4D and you can use a free Cinema 4D license from us. With Corona, you can consider our 3S server.

Now we have a huge promotion for the biggest sale event of the year: Black Friday. Don’t miss this best deal and speed up your rendering performance with iRender.

For more detailed information, please contact us via Live chat 24/7 or WhatsApp: +(84)915875500 or Email: vyvtk@irender.vn

iRender – Happy rendering!

References: chaos.com

Iray is a computer graphics rendering software that is commonly used for creating high-quality images and animations. It is designed to take advantage of modern GPUs, allowing for fast and efficient rendering of complex scenes. Maya is a popular 3D modeling and animation software widely used in the entertainment industry. Iray is a popular rendering plugin for Maya, allowing users to take advantage of its advanced rendering capabilities within the Maya workflow. In this blog, iRender will discuss some key features of Iray for Maya.

NVIDIA Iray is the first GPU-accelerated solution for physics-based, photo-realistic rendering worldwide. Combined with the parallel processing power of the latest NVIDIA video processors, Iray achieves interactivity with extremely fast reactions and significantly accelerates the iterations required to create perfect scenes. Iray provides materials and lighting that are physically based. It is a high-performance rendering approach for global illumination that creates visuals by modeling the actual behavior of light’s interaction with volumes and surfaces. Pictures are gradually sharpened to offer complete worldwide lighting. 

Autodesk Maya is professional 3D software for creating realistic characters and blockbuster-worthy effects. Maya includes features for modeling, animation, simulation, and rendering, as well as tools for working with advanced 3D graphics. 

Easy of use

We designed Iray for Maya to be user-friendly so you don’t have to waste time learning complicated commands and doing repetitive tasks. This is an easy-to-use rendering solution that produces excellent results in a matter of minutes, regardless of your experience with Maya or familiarity with 3D modeling and animation. Iray for Maya provides you with high-quality output in a user-friendly interface, with customizable materials, support for Maya’s textures and utility nodes, real-world lighting features, and scalable GPU processes.

Physically-Based Materials

Because Iray for Maya features physically-based materials, whatever material you select for your creations will seem as it would in the actual world. You will also be able to duplicate any surface’s behavior as follows:

• Reflections
• Refractions
• Texture
• Surface emission
• Absorption properties.

No matter how complex your project is, using physically-based materials will ensure that your render looks stunning and realistic without sacrificing material quality.

Image-based lighting

With Image-Based Lighting (IBL) in Iray for Maya, you can effortlessly create the perfect lighting setting for any picture or animation. With IBL, you may use HDRI environments to control the lighting in your scene by just pressing a button that modifies the exposure and lighting angles.

The light burst function in Iray for Maya helps you create a more realistic image when you are using an HDRI with a limited dynamic range, particularly when the sun is covered.

Light path expressions

Light path expressions (LPE) in Iray for Maya make it simple to adjust the artistic style or the amount of light in your render. The purpose of light path expressions is to produce the desired style or highlight particular parts of the scene or design in post-production. They are separately generated in parallel with your main render. 

AI Denoiser

Iray for Maya’s AI-enabled denoiser can help you render images more quickly. With this special Iray function, you may achieve interactive photo-realistic rendering and faster render times and final frames without increasing the processing power of your GPU. You will experience a smoother rendering with this innovative technique of denoising, which enables you to modify and refine your design as needed.

iRender is a suitable and effective service for Iray GPU rendering. We provide high-performance servers for GPU-based engine rendering through the Remote Desktop application. In particular, we have dedicated servers for software that primarily focuses on multiple GPUs compatibility and performance such as Nvidia Iray.

We are releasing new servers for iRender’s users, which have powerful processing capabilities of AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3955WX @ 3.90GHz- 4.2GHz and AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4.5GHz. Besides, they have multi-GPUs: 2/ 4/ 6/ 8 RTX 4090 24GB VRAM to boost performance in the rendering process. 

It takes easy steps to start and you will take full control of remote servers at iRender. Using the remote server is no different than using any other computer you have had. We are proud of the brilliant support team. They can solve any issue anytime you need, and do not wait for too long. 

Let’s see how our 2 RTX 3090 performs when rendering with Iray scene:

In case you have any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to contact the 24/7 support team. We will be happy to help you with your questions and problems at all times.

This month, we are running a SPECIAL OFFER: 100% Additional Bonus for new clients who register an account and make a top-up within 24 hours after their registration.

Register an account today to experience our service.

Or contact us via the email hanght@irender.vn or WhatsApp: (+84) 912075500 for advice and support.

iRender-Happy Rendering!

Reference source: irayplugins.com