Cinema 4D is a professional-grade application used for 3D animation, modeling, simulation, and rendering. While it comes with its native rendering engine, Redshift, Cinema 4D also supports a wide range of third-party render plug-ins. In this article, we’ll explore whether Vray GPU or Arnold GPU for Cinema 4D is the better option.

VRay, developed by Chaos, is a well-established rendering engine known for its high-quality, photorealistic output and real-time capabilities. Although it’s not built into Cinema 4D, it integrates smoothly and functions reliably within the environment. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages and limitations of Vray GPU for Cinema 4D.

Easy to use

VRay features a user-friendly interface and intuitive tools that cater well to artists, helping improve workflow and allowing users to complete tasks more quickly and effectively.

High-quality and fast rendering

VRay for Cinema 4D offers impressive rendering power. In addition to CPU rendering, it supports GPU rendering for faster performance. Moreover, its new hybrid rendering mode can utilize both CPU and GPU simultaneously, delivering realistic results in a shorter time. See details about Vray hybrid rendering here.

Scalable rendering

Beyond local rendering, V-Ray supports cloud-based rendering via services like Chaos Cloud or external render farms. This scalability allows users to distribute rendering tasks across multiple systems and generate high-resolution results more quickly

Comprehensive tools

With numerous features such as a broad range of lighting, rendering tools, and its ability to handle even the most complex scenes, Vray can streamline workflows and produce visually stunning outputs.

Flexibility

Vray GPU for Cinema 4D offers great flexibility, allowing users to fine-tune settings such as lighting, materials, and textures. It also supports easy switching between CPU, GPU, and hybrid modes to suit different project needs and hardware setups.

Limitation

Depending on the rendering method and hardware, Vray GPU for Cinema 4D may lack support for certain features available in its CPU counterpart, such as Coat Filter and Multi Matte. More information on these limitations is available at this link.

Arnold is a high-end Monte Carlo ray tracing renderer known for delivering realistic 3D character renders and lifelike visualizations. Widely used across the industry, it’s also a powerful third-party rendering option for Cinema 4D. Let’s take a look at what makes Arnold GPU for Cinema 4D stand out, along with its limitations.

Easy to use

Arnold is designed with usability in mind. Its features are user-friendly and well-organised, its rendering settings are simple to learn—making it easy for both beginners and professionals to get started quickly.

Realistic rendering

Arnold’s unbiased rendering engine accurately simulates light behavior, resulting in highly photorealistic images. It’s especially effective at handling subtle lighting effects and complex materials..

Feature-rich

Arnold offers deeper native integration with Cinema 4D than most other third-party engines. It supports many Cinema 4D features, such as Noises and the Floor Object. It also fully supports professional standards like OCIO, ACES, and OSL. The Interactive Preview Render (IPR) is responsive, whether using CPU or GPU mode.

Flexibility

Arnold supports both CPU and GPU rendering, offering flexibility that some engines lack. Unlike Corona (CPU only) or Redshift and Octane (GPU only), Arnold allows seamless switching between CPU and GPU modes—while delivering identical results across both.

Limitation 

Despite its strengths, Arnold GPU does have some limitations in Cinema 4D. It does not support volume rendering from Turbulence FD or X-Particles. Additionally, some older C4DtoA shaders (from versions before 2.5.0), such as normal_displacement, vector_displacement may not be compatible when imported from previous projects via ASS files.

Before we dive into the similarities and differences between the two, let’s first go over the summary table below for a quick comparison.

In terms of pricing, both Vray and Arnold are available only through subscription-based licenses, with no option for perpetual purchase. While Vray’s monthly cost is about twice that of Arnold, it’s important to consider additional factors to determine if the higher price is justified.

Vray offers three rendering modes—GPU, CPU, and hybrid—giving users more flexibility depending on their workflow. In contrast, Arnold supports two options: CPU and GPU rendering.

In terms of rendering algorithm, Vray supports both biased and unbiased rendering, allowing users to prioritize either speed or realism. Arnold, on the other hand, is strictly an unbiased renderer, designed to produce physically accurate images that mimic real-world lighting.

Both engines rely on NVIDIA’s GPU architecture. However, Vray GPU supports both CUDA and OptiX, while Arnold GPU uses OptiX only.

In terms of hardware scalability, both Vray and Arnold can leverage multiple GPUs to accelerate rendering. While Vray technically supports unlimited GPUs, it is officially optimized for up to 4. Arnold is stated to support a maximum of 8 GPUs.

As for platform compatibility, both renderers can run on Windows and Linux. Although Vray can be used on macOS, Chaos has clarified that it does not offer official support for it.

Lastly, both Vray and Arnold provide a 30-day free trial, giving users a chance to test them out before making a decision.

Ready to see how they perform in practice? Let’s scroll down to check out the render tests iRender ran using Vray GPU or Arnold GPU for Cinema 4D.

iRender provide high-configuration machines with upmarket specifications like AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz or AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4.5GHz, 1/2/4/6/8 x RTX4090 or RTX3090,  RAM 256GB, Storage NVMe SSD 2TB.

Why can iRender be a great render farm for you?

In addition to high-configuration servers, iRender provides many other utilities to provide the best user experience.

• Dedicated server for individuals: You have full control and access to the server you rent. The working environment (installed apps, files) will be stored for the next use.
• Easy and free file transfer between your computer and iRender’s server: The transferring task can be done via iRender GPU application for Windows and the iRender Drive application for MacOS.
• 24/7 assistance: iRender’s attentive agents are always ready to support all your queries.
• All software compatibility: iRender’s PCs are built to meet the configuration needs of all 3D software and rendering tools at a variety of cost levels for users to choose from.

Let’s see how fast Vray GPU or Arnold GPU for Cinema 4D renders on our nodes!

New users will get a 100% bonus for the first transaction within 24 hours of their registration. No minimum amount!! If you top up 50$, you will get 100 points in total to hire our machines.

REGISTER NOW

If you have any questions, please get in touch with me through email duongdt@irender.vn or our 24/7 support team for a quick response.

Thank you for reading

Source: Autodesk, Chaos, Maxon

In this article, let’s explore how to create a stunning 3D robot character step by step, from initial concept to the final render, using 3ds Max and V-Ray, with the help of other tools like ZBrush and Substance Painter.

The character in this example is from artist Mihail Topalov.

When you start to make something in 3D or in any other art process, always remember one important thing: a concept illustration. You should think about a story behind the image so that the viewer, when seeing it, will be immersed in your world and can feel the dynamic in a single 3D image. In this example, the robot is illustrated as a robot child dreaming of being a pilot.

1. 1. 1. 1. You should start modeling the robot using simple shapes that can be easily modified. The aim is to capture the overall proportions and gradually improve it.
         2. You can use 3ds Max and Zbrush to create the models. Just focus on the overall shapes and not the details.
         3. Now use Zbrush to create the jacket and the helmet. Remember to mark where you want the stitches to be and add some folds.
         4. Import the model back into 3ds Max. This is for creating the correct topology for both the jacket and the helmet. Good topology is the key for texturing and for posing the character.

Now come to the next step: texturing phase. Before texturing, remember to unwrap the model to avoid stretching when applying the texture maps.

1. 1. 1. 1. Before importing the model into Substance Painter for the texturing phase, you should group the pieces in different colors. Pay attention to the pieces that intersect or are too close to each other and separate them to make the texturing process more organized.
         2. Export the model inFBX format. Keep in mind that when imported into Substance Painter, the model will have different texture sets.
         3. Next we come tothe baking phase. This phase is important because it helps you generate maps like Curvature, World Map, and AO Maps. These maps are useful when creating materials like worn-out metal to give our model a more robotlike look.
         4. Now you create a base metal layer and apply it to all metal pieces. On top of the base layer, you can add some worn-out paint. Substance Painter provides maskswhich enable you to control the wear effect you can play around with.
         5. In V-Ray, there are two workflows for exporting textures: the Specular Glossiness workflow and the Metallic Roughness workflow. In this breakdown, let’s follow the Metallic Roughness workflow.

After you finish the texturing phase, the next steps will be posing the model, finding a good camera angle, and setting up the lights.

1. 1. 1. 1. Try creatinga simple rig using hierarchical links. This is convenient for rigging simple mechanical joints on the robot.
         2. Next, you set up a V-Ray physical camera. You can adjust the proportions and the resolution from the render setup.
         3. Now posing the character.Hide the jacket to pose the arms. When you’re ready with the character’s pose, pose the jacket separately in ZBrush.
         4. You can add the model of the plane and the groundnow. To enhance the image, play around and find an interesting camera view.
         5. For the lighting, use V-Ray Sun. To get the best look, start with gray materials only to observe how the light interacts with them.

After lighting phase, move on to the shading one and bring the environment to life.

1. 1. 1. 1. When it comes to shading, you should start with the default gray material. You can switch the BRDF to Roughness and set the reflection color to white. The shininess of the material can be controlled by using the Roughness value.
         2. Now, we move to touching up the environment. Use V-Ray Displacement to make the ground have more detail, such as scatter some desert grass and rocks using Chaos Scatter.
         3. One tip to help you achieve a more realistic result is adding V-Ray environment fog to an outdoor render.
         4. Use Phoenix to create a dusty effect.
         5. If you want to add motion blur to the scene to add extra action, don’t forget that everything else can be blurred but the character should stay in focus.

This is the final step: create the final render and add some color corrections.

1. 1. 1. 1. You should change the image sampler from Progressive to Bucket from the render setup and leave the default settings, before final render.
         2. Color corrections can be made directly inside the Frame Buffer. As a final touch, you can slightly lower the exposure and add a filmic tone map.

iRender provides you a high-performance and configurable server system for 3D rendering, AI Training, VR & AR, simulation, etc. We believe that design and creative activities are private and personal that only you artists will know what you want with your animation.

You can create a blank remote machine, then install V-Ray and 3ds Max, add your own licenses and start to render like how you always do on your local computer.  

For V-Ray for 3ds Max, we suggest our multiple RTX4090 and RTX3090.

V-Ray can utilize GPU rendering power, we choose to provide RTX 3090 and RTX 4090. You can refer to this article to see how V-Ray performs on these graphics card, especially RTX 4090 being the fastest when it comes to V-Ray rendering.

iRender powerful RTX4090 for V-Ray rendering

Top GPU for Redshift, Octane and V-Ray in 2023

Compare RTX 4090 vs RTX 6000 Ada vs RTX A6000 for content creation

If you have more GPUs, the render time will reduce more. However, don’t expect a perfectly linear reduction.

Let’s see our test with Cinema 4D and V-Ray on our package 6 x RT4090s:

Not only those powerful configurations, iRender also provides you more services. Free transferring tool named iRender drive for macOS or Linux users. For Windows users, we recommend using our all-in-one application iRender GPU to work, and you don’t need to come to our website. Our price is flexible with hourly rental which has a pay-as-you-go basis, daily/ weekly/ monthly subscription with discount from 10-20%. Plus, you have 24/7 support service via livechat with real humans who will support you whenever you encounter an issue.

Register an account today to experience our service and enjoy a very big promotion 100% bonus for new user. Or contact us via WhatsApp: (+84) 916806116 for advice and support.

Thank you & Happy Rendering!

Source and images: chaos.com

Chaos just released the newest version of V-ray for Maya. The update brings in support for 3D Gaussian Splats and native OpenPBR, enhances USD capabilities, and includes improvements for V-Ray GPU, V-Ray Frame Buffer, and Chaos Scatter.
Following its integration with 3ds Max, SketchUp, and Cinema 4D, Maya now joins the lineup of DCC applications integrated with V-Ray 7.

Let’s discover this latest version with iRender in this blog! 

Key new features in V-Ray 7 for Maya include support for 3D Gaussian Splats (3DGS). 3D Gaussian Splatting is a method used to create a 3D scene from images or videos. It requires several pictures of an object, each taken from a different angle.

With Gaussian Splatting, the images are blended to produce a detailed, three-dimensional representation of the object. Instead of depicting the scene as a collection of meshes, a Gaussian splat represents the scene as a type of point cloud, where each point is a 3D Gaussian.

V-Ray is among the first CG applications to natively support 3DGS, which is expected to appeal to both architectural visualization and VFX studios.

The release introduces shadow support within V-Ray’s Light Path Expressions, allowing users to isolate shadows in renders using LPEs for enhanced control during compositing.

Additionally, the V-Ray Sun and Sky system now includes the PRG Clear Sky model from Corona, Chaos’s other major production renderer. This update delivers more realistic lighting effects, particularly at sunrise, sunset, and higher altitudes.

The firefly removal algorithm has been improved to eliminate bright specks in renders, and V-Ray’s implementation of Open Image Denoise now includes a prefilter pass.

V-Ray GPU, the hybrid CPU and GPU renderer, now introduces initial support for rendering caustics, enhancing its feature parity with the main CPU engine.

Among the performance enhancements are the option to use system memory for textures, enabling the rendering of larger scenes without depleting GPU memory. For animation rendering, the update optimizes V-Ray’s bitmap caching algorithm between frames, potentially accelerating the rendering of image sequences by up to 50% in certain cases.

Moreover, V-Ray GPU now supports Apple’s Metal API, significantly boosting performance on macOS. According to Chaos, rendering is up to three times faster on MacBooks equipped with current M4 processors.

The V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB), used for viewing and editing images produced with V-Ray, has been enhanced with a new Vignette Layer that allows users to add vignetting effects to their renders.

Additionally, the VFB now features freeform region rendering, enabling users to define render areas of any shape for more efficient focus on important parts of an image.

This update also introduces a new Filters tab that provides access to pre-made color correction presets.

V-Ray 7 for Maya also supports the OpenPBR material standard, enhancing look development for VFX. 

Managed by the Academy Software Foundation, OpenPBR aims to streamline VFX look development, ensuring materials created in one application display similarly in others.

The base V-Ray Material (VRayMtl) now features a new OpenPBR mode, providing more control over Sheen effects and simplifying layered material creation.

Additionally, V-Ray for Maya supports the native OpenPBR Surface introduced in Maya 2025.3, including within MaterialX implementation.

Chaos Cosmos, the online asset library, now supports asset variants and multi-selection.

Chaos Scatter, V-Ray’s new object scattering system, gets a Look At function, making it possible to orient scattered objects to face the camera.

Other changes specific to Maya include support for USD for Maya 0.30, the current version of Maya’s USD plugin. V-Ray Clipper, V-Ray’s geometric primitive for creating cutaway renders, is also now supported in USD workflows.

iRender provides high-configuration servers that increase CPU and GPU rendering speeds. We offer the most powerful RTX 4090 configuration packages on the market, all equipped with AMD RyzenTM ThreadripperTM PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz and AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4.5GHz processors, 256GB RAM and 2T NVMe SSD hard drive capacity. With a wide range of GPU servers (1/2/4/6/8x) – RTX 4090, you can choose the server that suits your needs to start the rendering process.

Vray is commonly used alongside several other software tools in the 3D industry, especially for texturing and look development such as Maya, Houdini, Cinema 4D, 3ds Max…Whether or not you use any of those 3D software, you still can find a suitable package at iRender.

Moreover,  iRender provides useful features to help you switch among the server’s configurations without having to reinstall anything. You can even run multiple servers simultaneously to speed up the renders, without having to re-install anything.

Let’s watch the video below to understand our workflow more easily. 

For Windows:

For MacOS:

Currently, iRender offers a special promotion for new users, a 100% bonus program for the first deposit within 24 hours of registration, making it an attractive option for those looking to optimize their rendering budget.

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 & image sources: cgchannel & chaos.com

V-Ray is a popular rendering engine that is praised across a wide range of 3D fields for its ability to create lifelike images. In this article, we will dive into one of its notable features – the V-Ray Hybrid rendering mode.

V-Ray offers three rendering methods: CPU, GPU, and hybrid modes.

• V-Ray CPU Rendering
  

This traditional rendering approach relies on the Central Processing Unit (CPU) to compute and render 3D scenes. Known for its ability to produce highly detailed and realistic images, CPU rendering excels at handling complex instructions and logical operations, making it ideal for intricate scenes or large-scale projects requiring substantial computational power.

One major advantage of V-Ray CPU rendering is its compatibility with any CPU, regardless of brand or model. However, its primary weakness lies in rendering speed, which can be enhanced by increasing the number of CPU cores and their clock speed.

• V-Ray GPU Rendering

As the name suggests, this method leverages the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to compute and render 3D scenes. With its capacity for parallel processing across thousands of cores, GPU rendering significantly outpaces CPU rendering in speed. V-Ray GPU rendering operates in two modes: CUDA and RTX, both compatible exclusively with NVIDIA GPUs. The choice of mode depends on the GPU cores available on your graphics card. Additionally, V-Ray supports multi-GPU rendering, which boosts performance further.

• Hybrid Rendering

Hybrid rendering was developed as Chaos sought solutions to improve debugging methods for GPU code crashes. Introduced in V-Ray 3.6, this feature allows users to render scenes by simultaneously utilizing both CPU and GPU. Known as “hybrid” or “XPU” rendering, it maximizes total system performance and enhances the efficiency of the rendering process.

Unlike the two methods that rely solely on the GPU or CPU while leaving the other hardware unused, V-Ray Hybrid leverages the combined computational power of both to deliver outstanding results in a significantly shorter time.

According to experiments conducted by Chaos, incorporating CPUs in V-Ray Hybrid rendering noticeably reduced render times compared to using GPU or CPU rendering alone. Below, we’ll explore the details of the experiment conducted with Dabarti Studio:

⚙️Hardware

CPUs: 2 x Intel Xeon CPU E5-2687W v3 3.10 GHz, total of 40 logical CPU cores
RAM: 128 GB
GPUs: 2 x NVIDIA Quadro GP100 with 16GB each, total of 7,168 GPU cores

🛠 Settings

Engine: V-Ray 3.6 CUDA
Resolution: 1920×1080
Noise threshold: 0.01

💡 Results

GPUs + CPUs Time: 9:11 (551s)

GPUs only Time: 11:33 (693s)

CPUs only Time: 40:52 (2452s)

As a result, hybrid rendering is approximately 20% faster than CPU rendering and 77% faster than GPU rendering.

The V-Ray Hybrid rendering mode supports all the features of V-Ray GPU while producing visually identical results in less time.

Another test conducted by Chaos users demonstrates that utilizing total system performance (CPU + CUDA GPU) is faster than relying solely on the GPU (CUDA or RTX). Detailed test results are shown in the accompanying chart.

Additionally, a test by another V-Ray user revealed that V-Ray Hybrid rendering outperforms both RTX and CPU rendering in speed, while delivering nearly identical results, with only minor differences in noise levels. However, it’s important to note that this test was conducted on a simple scene, and the results may vary for more complex and detailed projects.

When GPU memory (VRAM) is insufficient for rendering high-detail projects, the hybrid mode can still handle the task by utilizing system memory and paging. Since VRAM is limited and fixed for each GPU card—even when multiple GPU cards are used, the total VRAM can’t be combined—it may not be enough for larger projects. However, with the V-Ray Hybrid rendering mode, V-Ray can tap into the abundant RAM (CPU memory) to compensate for the lack of VRAM. This ensures stable rendering of heavy scenes while preventing system crashes or software malfunctions.

🔽 The rendering process in V-Ray Hybrid mode (CPU + GPU CUDA) differs from the standard CPU mode. However, according to feedback from Chaos users, for simple scenes, the results produced by both methods are nearly identical.

🔽 V-Ray Hybrid rendering mode does not require special drivers or Kernel compilation. It can even run without NVIDIA drivers or a GPU installed. In such cases, V-Ray utilizes CPU power but not in the same way as in V-Ray CPU mode. Interestingly, according to Puget Systems, rendering with V-Ray Hybrid mode using only the CPU is faster than using the standard CPU mode. This comparison is illustrated in the chart below:

No more consideration between V-Ray CPU, GPU or hybrid rendering when using iRender’s machines because they are built from high-configuration hardware with upmarket specifications. With AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz or 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4.5GHz, 1/2/4/6/8 x RTX4090 or RTX3090, 256GB RAM and 2TB NVMe SSD storage, the performance of every V-Ray modes will be enhanced significantly.

Let’s see how fast V-Ray renders on our servers!

Why can iRender be a great render farm for you?

In addition to high-configuration servers, iRender provides many other utilities to provide the best user experience.

• Dedicated server for individuals: You have full control and access to the server you rent. The working environment (installed apps, files) will be stored for the next use.
• Easy and free file transfer between your computer and iRender’s server: The transferring task can be done via iRender GPU application for Windows and the iRender Drive application for MacOS.
• 24/7 assistance: iRender’s attentive agents are always ready to support all your queries.
• All software compatibility: iRender’s PCs are built to meet the configuration needs of all 3D software and rendering tools at a variety of cost levels for users to choose from.

New users will get a 100% bonus for the first transaction within 24 hours of their registration. No minimum amount!! If you top up 50$, you will get 100 points in total to hire our machines.

REGISTER NOW

If you have any questions, please get in touch with me through email duongdt@irender.vn or our 24/7 support team for a quick response.

Thank you for reading & Happy Lunar New Year!

Source: Puget Systems, Ms.Codes, Schädl Christoph, ScanlineVFX

V-Ray is renowned for its capability to create highly realistic images from 3D models. To identify the best hardware to enhance rendering performance, V-Ray benchmark will be an invaluable tool. It allows users to evaluate V-Ray’s performance across various hardware configurations without testing the hardware themselves.

The V-Ray Benchmark application evaluates a system’s rendering performance by running a test render on a sample scene for a set duration.

No V-Ray installation or license is required to run the benchmark. It is compatible with various versions of popular operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.

You can benchmark your system using two methods: the graphical user interface (GUI) application or the command-line tool.

Steps to Test Your Machine Using the V-Ray Benchmark GUI Application

Step 1: Download the Application
Visit the Chaos website to download the V-Ray Benchmark application. Versions are available for multiple operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. For this guide, iRender tested the V-Ray 6 Benchmark for Windows x64.

Step 2: Run the Application
No installation is required. Simply double-click the downloaded file, accept the License Agreement, and proceed.

Step 3: Select Rendering Options

Choose between two rendering modes:

V-Ray: Tests the CPU rendering performance of your system.

V-Ray GPU: Tests GPU performance, offering two modes:

• CUDA: Allows testing GPU-only or hybrid rendering (GPU and CPU). The CPU is treated as a CUDA device.
• RTX: Available if your GPU supports RTX but not CUDA. Additionally, you can test specific GPUs in multi-GPU setups by selecting checkboxes in the Benchmark menu under the V-Ray GPU section.

Step 4: Configure the Rendering duration
The test duration defaults to 1 minute, ideal for comparing results with others on the benchmark website. However, you can adjust the duration to 1, 5, or 10 minutes, or run an infinite test.

Tip: Close unnecessary applications and restart your system to maximize available resources (CPU, RAM, etc.) before running the test. If using a laptop, ensure it is connected to a power source for optimal performance.

Step 5: View and Compare Results

After the test, the performance score will be displayed:

• Final Score: Represents performance metrics in specific units: vsamples for V-Ray, vpaths for V-Ray GPU CUDA, and vrays for V-Ray GPU RTX. Note that scores cannot be compared across engines.
• Configuration: Displays the devices used during the test.
• Comment Section: Add comments about your setup to provide context for other users. A Chaos account is required for this feature.

If multiple benchmarks are run, results can be viewed locally in the “My Scores” tab. This tab lists all results tied to your Chaos account across different devices. Scores can be marked as public (visible to others) or private. Running additional benchmarks updates your scores on the website.

Step 6: Sharing and Advanced Search

You can share your benchmark results or compare your system’s performance with others on the V-Ray Benchmark website. Use the Advanced Search feature to find specific configurations, such as GPU or CPU models. For example, to search for V-Ray benchmark on dual RTX 4090 cards, enter:

• Device name: RTX 4090
• Device count: 2

For machines without monitors, the V-Ray Benchmark can be executed via the command-line interface. To use this method, select a rendering mode or simply run the file which will default to the “all” mode. Once the End-User License Agreement is accepted, the benchmark will start. Note that you can use multiple flags simultaneously during the process.

Here is the command-line Examples: vray-benchmark-6.00.00-cli.exe –mode V-Ray–output D:\CUDA_cards.json

Explanation of the example command is below:

vray-benchmark-6.00.00-cli.exe: The executable file to launch the V-Ray Benchmark: the V-Ray 6 Benchmark 

–mode vray: The mode of using CPU rendering for the benchmark. 

–output D:\CUDA_cards.json: Outputs the benchmark information to a .json file on C drive

The results show that rendering with 2x RTX 3090 offers only a slight improvement over 1x RTX 4090, while 2x RTX 4090 delivers significantly faster performance compared to 2x RTX 3090.

Keep in mind that rendering time is influenced by various factors, including rendering settings, scene complexity, and more.

iRender servers are compatible with all software and render engines, including V-Ray. We regularly create 3D scenes to evaluate the performance of popular software and renderers. While iRender machines are primarily optimized for GPU rendering, the CPU performance is also highly significant and not overlooked.  iRender provides high configurations of machines with upmarket specifications like AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz or 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4.5GHz, 1/2/4/6/8 x RTX4090 or RTX3090, 256GB RAM and 2TB NVMe SSD storage.

Let’s see how fast V-Ray renders on iRender’s machines:

The chart indicates that increasing the number of GPU cards results in faster rendering; however, using two GPU cards does not necessarily double the rendering speed.

As you can see, the GPU rendering time is much shorter than CPU rendering (about 91%) with SketchUp and V-Ray.

As tested, it takes 10h51m33s to render 540 frames with 30 Fps in frame rate. That means 1.2 minutes per frame.

Why can iRender be a great render farm for you?

In addition to high-configuration servers, iRender provides many other utilities to provide the best user experience.

• Dedicated server for individuals: You have full control and access to the server you rent. The working environment (installed apps, files) will be stored for the next use.
• Easy and free file transfer between your computer and iRender’s server: The transferring task can be done via iRender GPU application for Windows and the iRender Drive application for MacOS.
• 24/7 assistance: iRender’s attentive agents are always ready to support all your queries.
• All software compatibility: iRender’s PCs are built to meet the configuration needs of all 3D software and rendering tools at a variety of cost levels for users to choose from.

New users will get a 100% bonus for the first transaction within 24 hours of their registration. No minimum amount!! If you top up 50$, you will get 100 points in total to hire our machines.

REGISTER NOW

If you have any questions, please get in touch with me through email duongdt@irender.vn or our 24/7 support team for a quick response.

Thank you for reading & Happy Rendering!

Source: Chaos, Google for Developers

This article will explore the key hardware components needed to build an ideal PC for V-Ray rendering.

V-Ray is a powerful 3D rendering plugin that enables users to produce highly realistic visuals from their 3D models. It is widely utilized by artists and designers across various industries, such as architecture, product design, film, and visual effects.

Renowned for its flexibility and user-friendly controls, V-Ray employs advanced global illumination algorithms, including path tracing, photon mapping, and irradiance maps. Additionally, it is compatible with a wide range of popular 3D modeling software, such as 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Maya, Nuke, Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, and Unreal.

V-Ray offers two primary rendering options: CPU-based rendering and GPU-based rendering. Since version 3.60, V-Ray has introduced hybrid rendering capabilities, enabling simultaneous rendering with both CPU and GPU engines. This feature maximizes the use of all available computing resources within a system, making rendering more efficient and powerful.

If you tend to build PC for V-ray, first you need to know about its minimum system requirements. V-Ray is compatible with a wide range of 3D modeling software, and the specific minimum requirements for each can be found in Chaos documentation. However, the general minimum requirements are as follows:

• Processor: Intel 64, AMD64, or a compatible processor with AVX2 support
• RAM: 8 GB
• Operating System: Windows 10
• GPU Acceleration: NVIDIA GPUs

Selecting suitable hardware requires careful research. To assist with this, Chaos has developed the V-Ray Benchmark, which allows users to evaluate V-Ray’s performance across various hardware configurations without needing to test the hardware themselves. The benchmark results are divided into two main categories: CPU and GPU. It’s important to note that CPU and GPU results cannot be directly compared, as the scoring system is different for each engine.

V-Ray is designed and optimized to fully utilize the capabilities of all hardware components, including the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, network, and so on.

The specific type of rendering you choose with V-Ray—whether CPU-based, GPU-based, or hybrid rendering—will determine the hardware components that should be prioritized. In this discussion, we will focus on the most critical components to consider when building a PC tailored for V-Ray rendering.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) is an important part of the PC for V-Ray rendering. With V-ray CPU rendering, the CPU is undeniably the most critical hardware component, as a faster CPU directly results in faster rendering times. Even with GPU rendering, the CPU plays a vital role because V-Ray uses it for certain computations. Additionally, the GPU relies on the CPU to transfer pixel data before it can begin complex processing tasks.

In scenarios involving multi-GPU rendering, the CPU’s performance must not be significantly lower than that of the GPUs. If the CPU is too slow, some GPUs may remain idle while waiting for data from the CPU, creating a bottleneck. This inefficiency can cause multi-GPU rendering to make only marginal improvements over a single GPU. For this reason, faster CPUs significantly enhance V-Ray rendering performance.

V-Ray is compatible with both AMD and Intel processors. Chaos recommends opting for a more powerful single CPU over a dual-socket or multi-socket system. According to Puget Systems, a consulting firm specializing in workstation builds, AMD’s Threadripper PRO line currently stands out as the top choice for CPU rendering in workstations.

GPU rendering is gaining popularity as the graphic card become more affordable and its performance continues to improve. To build a PC for V-Ray GPU rendering, it should be known that the faster the graphics card, the quicker the rendering process.

Even when rendering is performed on the V-Ray CPU mode, GPUs can still play a role by accelerating tasks such as denoising and lens effects.

Currently, V-Ray GPU rendering is supported exclusively on NVIDIA graphics cards. This is because AMD ceased investing in OpenCL for rendering, making its graphics cards incompatible with V-Ray rendering. However, AMD GPUs can still be used for denoising and lens effects.

To utilize GPU rendering with V-Ray, NVIDIA GPUs must support CUDA and belong to the Maxwell generation or later (i.e., GeForce 900 series or newer). V-Ray also supports stacking multiple GPUs within a single machine to boost performance. Based on the V-Ray Benchmark, the NVIDIA RTX 4090 is currently the leading choice for GPU rendering performance.

V-Ray or any render engine needs sufficient memory to store the required data when rendering a scene, particularly a large one with millions of polygons and high-resolution textures. Additionally, more memory is demanded to create higher-resolution rendered images. V-Ray CPU utilizes RAM for memory needs, while V-Ray GPU relies on both RAM and VRAM. That’s why memory capacity needs to be taken into consideration when building a PC for V-Ray.

⚙️ RAM

CPU Memory (RAM) is the memory that works with the processor and is used by the V-Ray CPU rendering engine. RAM is easily scalable since it is relatively affordable, and adding more memory modules to the system can increase the total memory available for the CPU.

While the system’s virtual memory (Page File) can help prevent crashes caused by running out of memory, it significantly slows down rendering performance. Therefore, Page File is not recommended in rendering.

The exact RAM requirements depend on the complexity of your projects. For users rendering with V-Ray GPU, it is recommended to have twice the amount of RAM as VRAM for optimal performance.

⚙️ VRAM

The GPU’s memory (VRAM) is a critical factor in V-Ray GPU rendering. Large projects or highly detailed scenes require multi-GPU setups and more VRAM. However, VRAM cannot be pooled or combined; for example, two GPUs with 16GB of VRAM each do not result in 32GB of usable VRAM. Besides, V-Ray GPU replicates the scene on every GPU, limiting memory to the smallest available VRAM among all GPUs. For instance, if one GPU has 4GB of VRAM and another has 8GB, V-Ray will use only 4GB on each GPU. Thus, the optimal choice for multi-GPU rendering is to use GPUs with the same amount of VRAM.

NVLink can be used to scale VRAM across two GPUs, enabling them to share memory. However, iRender users have reported that NVLink does not significantly enhance rendering times. For further details, you can refer to this article.

The primary role of a hard drive is to store software programs, 3D model files, textures, rendered images, and other essential data. When selecting a hard drive to build PC for V-Ray, it’s important to consider not only its storage capacity but also its read and write speeds. A hard drive with ample storage and high-speed performance ensures a smooth workflow, allowing you to store and access large files quickly and efficiently.

The two most common types of hard drives are Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and Solid State Drives (SSDs). SSDs are highly recommended due to their significantly faster speeds and greater energy efficiency compared to traditional HDDs.

V-Ray is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms. However, a significant drawback of using Mac is the lack of official support for GPU rendering. Currently, V-Ray GPU rendering is only supported on MacOS when operating in CUDA x86 mode. For those relying on GPU rendering, Windows or Linux are more suitable choices.

For freelance artists and medium-sized companies, the cost of building high-performance PC for V-Ray rendering can be prohibitive. In such cases, cloud services and render farms offer excellent alternatives, enabling high production capacity without the need to invest in extensive infrastructure.

iRender provides high configurations of machines with upmarket specifications like AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz or AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4.5GHz, RAM 256GB, Storage NVMe SSD 2TB. Most importantly, we always update to the latest GPU technology.

Why can iRender be a great render farm for you?

In addition to high-configuration servers, iRender provides many other utilities to provide the best user experience.

• Dedicated server for individuals: You have full control and access to the server you rent. The working environment (installed apps, files) will be stored for the next use.
• Easy and free file transfer between your computer and iRender’s server: The transferring task can be done via iRender GPU application for Windows and the iRender Drive application for MacOS.
• 24/7 assistance: iRender’s attentive agents are always ready to support all your queries.
• All software compatibility: iRender’s PCs are built to meet the configuration needs of all 3D software and rendering tools at a variety of cost levels for users to choose from.

Let’s see how fast V-Ray renders on our servers!

REGISTER NOW to get the free trial today—don’t miss out!

If you have any questions, please get in touch with me through email duongdt@irender.vn or our 24/7 support team for a quick response.

Thank you for reading & Happy Rendering!

Source: Chaos, Puget Systems, Bizon, Prosoft, TechTarget, goodbye kansas

Rendering is the last step to visualize your hard and long worked hours into amazing image or animation. It could be a sweet dream if the render time is fast but could be a nightmare if it takes longer than you want. To avoid the long render time, it not just comes from the hardware, but from the projects itself. Let’s learn some optimization tips to reduce your render time in V-Ray in this article.

Models are made of many polygons. And normally, more polygons means that your models are more detailed, which leads to long render time.

In a scene, you should know which models are to focus on and need to be more detailed, while others are not necessarily detailed. By doing this, you drop the polygon count in a scene and the render time can reduce drastically.

V-Ray offers some solutions to optimize your heavy scene for faster rendering, like VRayProxy. It helps you load a geometry only during rendering, which means that your scene will take much less RAM to render while using the available resources more intelligently.

Or the Chaos Cosmos asset library contains many high-quality smart 3D assets, materials and HDRIs that are curated to make sure they’ll always look good and are optimized for rendering no matter which platform you choose. You don’t need to make all of the models or assets in the scene but find them from Chaos Cosmos and be ensured they are modelled correctly with no overlapping faces or loose vertices.

VRayEnmesh is also a great solution for adding the tiniest details to your mesh and takes very little RAM to render, even less than displacement maps, instead of fully modeling intricate 3D patterns.

Chaos Cosmos is not only good for your modeling, but also for your shading. It provides complex high-quality materials that would take hours to create from scratch and you can take advantage of that.

However, some materials may be too heavy and increase your render time. And sometimes, they don’t fit in your scene at all. Therefore, if you want to reduce render time in V-Ray, make sure you check all the setup and unnecessary effects such as glossy reflections and refractions that probably won’t be visible depending on the distance or size, missing maps or overly complicated shader trees.

You also need to pay attention to a hidden issue that most people usually neglect: oversized bitmaps. It may take a huge chunk of your RAM and slow your render and make no difference in the final result.

Always think about how to optimize and set up your light intelligently, if you want your scene to look good/photorealistic and render faster. You can avoid overly bright lights as they overexpose areas in your scene, which takes longer to render as the computer needs time to do all the calculation needed to show a bright, flat area.

V-Ray offers some solutions to optimize your lighting, such as V-Ray’s Light Mix. You can use it in the VFB to test and finetune your lights, making every light count.

Or you can use a V-Ray dome light as a skylight, whether you’re using a HDRI or V-Ray’s Sun & Sky system with procedural clouds. The dome light is really fast and easy to control and doesn’t require light portals or any other elements to create great environment lighting.

Don’t forget to optimize your render settings, to reduce the render time in V-Ray even further.

You can check V-Ray’s image sampler. It uses noise levels to determine the “quality” of the rendering. Lower noise threshold and high subdivisions mean high quality, while high noise threshold and low subdivisions mean opposite. You can experiment and tweak it on different regions of your rendering, to find the good balance between the amount of noise and the time it takes to render.

One more solution is V-Ray Denoiser, helping you capture the noise in your image and smooths it out to make your rendering look even better in a fraction of the time it would take to reach the same noise level without it.

iRender provides you a high-performance and configurable server system for 3D rendering, AI Training, VR & AR, simulation, etc. We believe that design and creative activities are private and personal that only you artists will know what you want with your animation.

You can create a blank remote machine, then install V-Ray and your 3D software, add your own licenses and start to render like how you always do on your local computer.  

V-Ray can utilize GPU rendering power, we choose to provide RTX 3090 and RTX 4090. You can refer to these articles to see how V-Ray performs on these graphics card, especially RTX 4090 being the fastest when it comes to V-Ray rendering.

iRender powerful RTX4090 for V-Ray rendering

Top GPU for Redshift, Octane and V-Ray in 2023

Compare RTX 4090 vs RTX 6000 Ada vs RTX A6000 for content creation

If you have more GPUs, the render time will reduce more. However, don’t expect a perfectly linear reduction.

Let’s see our test with V-Ray on our graphics cards RTX 4090 and RTX 3090:

Not only those powerful configurations, iRender also provides you more services. Free transferring tool named iRender drive for macOS or Linux users. For Windows users, we recommend using our all-in-one application iRender GPU to work, and you don’t need to come to our website. Our price is flexible with hourly rental which has a pay-as-you-go basis, daily/ weekly/ monthly subscription with discount from 10-20%. Plus, you have 24/7 support service via livechat with real humans who will support you whenever you encounter an issue.

Register an account today to experience our service and enjoy a very big promotion 100% bonus for new user. Or contact us via WhatsApp: (+84) 916806116 for advice and support.

Thank you & Happy Rendering!

Source and images: Ricardo Eloy from chaos.com

CPU rendering is renowned for its ability to handle offline rendering tasks and produce high-quality images. This article will explore its advantages and disadvantages, discuss ways to enhance its performance, and highlight some popular CPU rendering engines.

The process of 3D rendering involves generating a two-dimensional image from a three-dimensional model. This process is typically performed after the 3D model has been textured and lighting has been applied to the scene, ensuring it appears visually complete. The resulting rendered images generally fall into two main categories. The first is realistic rendering, which aims to create lifelike images that closely resemble photographs. A common example of this is an architectural interior, where the level of detail and lighting makes it look indistinguishable from a real-world photograph. The second category is non-realistic rendering, which produces images with a more stylized or artistic quality. For instance, these can include cartoon-style visuals that emulate the traditional appearance of hand-drawn 2D illustrations.

3D rendering plays a crucial role across a variety of industries. It is widely used in fields such as architecture, where it helps visualize building designs; product design, to showcase prototypes; advertising, for creating compelling visuals; and video games, where it contributes to immersive environments. Additionally, it is a key component in the production of visual effects for film, television, and animated content, making it an indispensable tool in creative and technical domains alike.

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) serves as the primary component of a computer and functions as its “control center.” Often referred to as the brain of the computer, the CPU is responsible for executing all the instructions necessary for the computer to operate. It handles tasks related to the operating system, application software, and various processes that keep the device running smoothly.

CPU rendering refers to a method of rendering that relies on the computing power of the CPU in your device. As the main chip driving the operating system, the cores of a CPU are designed to handle complex instructions and logical processes, making them highly efficient for specific tasks. CPU rendering is particularly well-suited for offline rendering, where time constraints are less critical, and the focus is on producing high-quality output. 

• Photorealistic image: The CPU serves as the brain of the computer, managing and controlling all tasks, which is why it is capable of handling more intricate instructions and logical operations. Additionally, its ability to leverage advanced techniques like accurate global illumination and ray tracing contributes to rendering highly realistic and precise images with reduced noise and fewer artifacts.
• Big project: The capacity of the CPU’s memory and RAM, which are critical during rendering, allows it to process more substantial and complex scenes. This includes handling intricate textures, detailed geometry, and extensive datasets. CPUs are especially essential for projects that involve complex geometry, physics simulations, and particle systems, as they can efficiently manage the computational demands of such intricate processes.

• Extended Rendering Time: The CPU is an essential component in rendering tasks that demand intricate calculations and complex algorithms, particularly for offline rendering workflows. Its ability to produce precise and detailed results makes it ideal for generating high-quality images and simulations. This extended rendering duration can be a drawback for projects with tight deadlines or when rapid output is required.
• Heat Generation: During rendering, the CPU utilizes its full processing power and advanced techniques to create realistic and detailed scenes. This intensive workload causes the CPU to generate a substantial amount of heat as it operates at maximum capacity. To prevent overheating and maintain optimal performance, complex cooling systems are necessary. These systems, which may include advanced air or liquid cooling solutions, help dissipate the heat effectively. Without adequate cooling, high temperatures can lead to thermal throttling, where the CPU reduces its speed to prevent damage or even hardware failure over time.

🔹 Cores: CPUs are equipped with cores, which function like multiple processing units integrated into a single chip. Each core can execute multiple instructions at the same time, making task processing more efficient and delivering better performance compared to single-core CPUs. While having more cores can influence rendering performance, the impact is not always substantial. Each core requires access to shared resources like system memory, system buses, and other components. To ensure the CPU performs optimally as more cores are added, additional resources such as cache memory, I/O links, and memory channels must also be increased to avoid bottlenecks and maintain efficiency.

🔹 RAM: Having more RAM (Random Access Memory) can improve rendering performance by enabling scene assets to load into local memory faster, reducing delays during the rendering process. To maximize rendering efficiency, it’s important to ensure your computer isn’t burdened by unnecessary background processes, as these consume valuable processing power and can significantly slow down overall performance. Closing unused applications and browser tabs frees up more RAM, allowing the CPU to concentrate its resources on rendering tasks without unnecessary distractions or slowdowns.

🔹 Clock Speed: The performance of a CPU is largely determined by its clock speed, which is measured in hertz (Hz). A higher clock speed indicates that the processor can execute instructions more quickly. In practical terms, a CPU with a higher clock speed will process tasks faster compared to one with a lower clock speed. Modern processors typically have clock speeds ranging from 1GHz to 5GHz, and an increase in clock speed for each core enhances the individual processing power of the CPU, resulting in smoother and more efficient performance for demanding tasks.

🔹 Driver: It is important to regularly check for and install updates for your hardware device drivers. Outdated drivers can lead to performance issues, as they may not be compatible with the latest versions of software or hardware components. Keeping your drivers up-to-date ensures that your system operates smoothly and maintains optimal performance levels.

🔹 Operating System: To maximize compatibility and performance, ensure that your computer is running the latest version of its operating system, whether it’s Windows or another platform. Updated operating systems are designed to work seamlessly with modern hardware components, reducing the risk of compatibility issues and improving overall efficiency and stability.

Let’s explore some render engines using CPU to render!

▶️ Developer: Chaos

▶️ Popular field: Architecture

▶️ Integrations: 3ds Max and Cinema 4D

▶️ Minimum system requirements: a CPU that supports the SSE 4.1 instruction set, 64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 or newer

▶️ License: 

• Commercial price: €54.9-€64.9/month
• Educational price: €4.9/month

▶️ Developer: Chaos

▶️ Popular field: Architecture

▶️ Integrations:  3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Maya, Nuke, Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, and Unreal

▶️ Minimum system requirements: Intel 64 or AMD 64, 8GB RAM, Windows 10 or Windows 11

▶️ License: 

• Commercial price: €74.9-€109.9/month
• Educational price: €11.17/month

▶️ Developer: Autodesk

▶️ Popular fields: Film and animation

▶️ Integrations: Maya, 3ds Max, Houdini, and Cinema 4D

▶️ Minimum system requirements: Windows 10, x86-64 CPUs need to support the SSE4.1 instruction set

▶️ License: $35/month

▶️ Developer: Blender Foundation

▶️ Popular fields: Animated films, visual effects, art, 3D printed models, motion graphics, virtual reality, and games

▶️ Integrations: Maya, 3ds Max, Unity, Unreal Engine (through file export options)

▶️ Minimum system requirements: Windows 8.1 (64-bit), CPU 4 cores with SSE4.2 support, RAM 8GB

▶️ License: Free

iRender provides high-configuration machines with upmarket specifications, such as AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz or AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4.5GHz, RAM 256GB, and Storage NVMe SSD 2TB, which can dramatically enhance the speed of CPU rendering.

Why can iRender be a great render farm for you?

In addition to high-configuration servers, iRender provides many other utilities to provide the best user experience.

• Dedicated server for individuals: You have full control and access to the server you rent. The working environment (installed apps, files) will be stored for the next use.
• Easy and free file transfer between your computer and iRender’s server: The transferring task can be done via iRender GPU application for Windows and the iRender Drive application for MacOS.
• 24/7 assistance: iRender’s attentive agents are always ready to support all your queries.
• All software compatibility: iRender’s PCs are built to meet the configuration needs of all 3D software and rendering tools at various cost levels for users to choose from.

Let’s see how fast it renders on our servers!

Currently, we have a promotion for new users. You will receive a 100% bonus for the first transaction within 24 hours of your registration. 

If you have any questions, please contact me at duongdt@irender.vn or our 24/7 support team for a quick response.

Thank you for reading & Happy New Year!

Source: Adobe, Chaos, Autodesk, Blender, Arm, Linkedin, Quora, pngtree