Memory and Renders

[meanadam]

This is kind of on the same lines as the benchmark tests...
Now that we have the cpu figured out. Let's talk about memory.

Why is it I am always out of memory on renderings now - on any project since 1.47.03?

Am I pushing vray too hard (settings)?

Also - why do my 2 gb machines crash out instead of using the page file (virtual ram)? This is very annoying. Especially when a slower 1 gb machine gets the job done - and my big honkers are just sitting there.

Is there a good way around this or should I just go for win64 and 4gb of ram?

[percydaman]

I have a suspicion on the lack of virtual memory usage. Im guessing that the 2gb limit per program INCLUDES virtual memory. Lately, as cg artists we're really hitting the limit of what windows will adress with regards to memory. If I'm correct, the release of 64bit computing hardware and software will come just in time...

[RErender]

Your 1GB machines are running 2k? Since XP windows only allows 2GB per proccess, in actuallity it is more like 1.6 to 1.8 this can be avoided by utilizing the 3GB switch in XP.

[meanadam]

Right - I know we went over this not too long ago... when I first learned of the 2gb limit. (Running XP). But now it seems since going to 1.47... all my projects hit the memory limit.

I am watching the performance via the task manager... and yes - as predictied it will crash out about 1.7gb of use. But I look at the Max render window and it shows no virtual memory (v) use at the bottom only physical (p). Whereas on a 1gb machine - max splits it almost 50/50 (p/v).

Why do the 2gb machines refuse to use the page file? I would rather them take longer with page file than crash.

PS- I tried using the 3gb switch once - and my machine wouldn't boot with it.

[percydaman]

Using certain "features" of vray can really be a memory hog. Id recommend reading the manual portion about lowering memory requirements from within a scene. It may seem trite to suggest this, but you might come across something you might have missed or never thought of.

[kpavlov]

I had simillar problems with 3gb switch but I have reinstaled windows and now its ok. Do the same.

[DaForce]

Max never displays the memory usage correctly IMO.

The best way to find out exactly how much memory is being eaten up is the process list.
A nifty little trick I found out awhile ago, you can actually see how much virtual memory each program is using within the Windows Task Manager.
1. Bring up the Processes list in Task manager
2. Click on the view menu and choose Select Columns
3. Tick Virtual Memory Size
4. Click OK

You can now see how much physical and how much virtual memory each process is using....very handy!!!

p.s. BF2 is the first game i have seen to hog so much memory. At times it uses 800mb of physical and 800mb of virtual...WTF is up with that?!?! hehehe

[dennis]

terrain prefetches and collision data use a crap load of memory on maps these sizes...

great game, be sure to come to a scandinavian server and get a wooping (im not comming to an australian one)

[DaForce]

Yeah i need to get another gig of ram when i get my new x2 cpu.
1gb just isnt enough these days.

scandinavian hey....mmm shitty pings.
Why not come to an australian server? scared much ??

[tammo]

i dont have memory problems at all.
i have 1 gb in all slaves and the workstations (winXP/server/vray1.47).

even scenes with several highres characters or cars render without problems.

i dont use glossy effects, like DOF, motion blur or glossy materials in vray.

maybe those effects use the most memory?
i dont think its geometry.

[flipside]

Max never displays the memory usage correctly IMO.

The best way to find out exactly how much memory is being eaten up is the process list.
A nifty little trick I found out awhile ago, you can actually see how much virtual memory each program is using within the Windows Task Manager.
1. Bring up the Processes list in Task manager
2. Click on the view menu and choose Select Columns
3. Tick Virtual Memory Size
4. Click OK

You can now see how much physical and how much virtual memory each process is using....very handy!!!

p.s. BF2 is the first game i have seen to hog so much memory. At times it uses 800mb of physical and 800mb of virtual...WTF is up with that?!?! hehehe

I always do that, but the VM is always the same as the physical memory, even if max only uses 150MB PM. Why does every process use VM when there is enough PM left?

[DaForce]

Hmmm mine are always quite different.
For instance. Outlook is using 2mb physical and 18mb virtual (not sure why) and sometimes BF2 uses like 700mb physical and like 800mb virtual, and sometimes its like 300/700 , it vraies quite abit.

As to why it uses so much virtual when there is plenty of physical ram free....no idea...seems dumb to me.

[dennis]

why use physical if it is chunks that doesnt need to be fetched alot. perhaps it takes a while to generate a chunk and we only need to fetch from it a limited amount of times, stash it in the virtual then.
perhaps the program do not know size of the allocated area untill alocation is over, safer to use virtual.

i would rather all is put in the page file as long as it doesnt affect performance.

[meanadam]

Page file is always slower as it has to write data to the HD. I assume for games - it is used as a cache of data as it is moved out of Physical ram.

I just don't understand why max won't "back up" like this on render. I believe Percy is on to something with the 2gb total limit. Althought I just found this on win64 site:

"Windows XP Professional x64 Edition supports 128 GB of RAM and 16 terabytes of virtual memory address space, as compared to 4 GB of both physical RAM and virtual memory address space for 32-bit Windows XP Professional."

So there should be up to 2gb of Virtual with that 2gb of Physical. Why isn't it showing up?

[dennis]

4GB is what windows can manage in total the 1.4-1.8GB is per chunk