How to configure two Graphic Cards?

[haniel1107]

Hello,
like to ask, if someone could explain me what the right configuration with two graphic cards would be. I not rendering with RTX, mainly CPU and maybe one time with cuda.
But I would like to have the best or necessary configuration for the best possible interactive renderer solution.. I have two Geforce 2080 TI with nvlink connected.
But SLI deactivated, as it is the easiest with two monitors.

Is nvlink enough or do I need to activate SLI for the interactive renderer?
Any help appreciated... thanks..

[Muhammed_Hamed]

what the right configuration with two graphic cards would be

Hello haniel1107

You need to enable SLI for NVlink to work, then you will see the NVlink bridge get recognized by Vray in the console (on using Vray GPU)

But SLI deactivated, as it is the easiest with two monitors

SLI doesn't affect your 2 monitors, you can safely enable it with studio driver 471.11 (certified driver)

But I would like to have the best or necessary configuration for the best possible interactive renderer solution

Do the following,

-In the Nvidia control panel, under manage 3D settings swap "power management mode" to "prefer maximum performance"



-And now you have this "OpenGL rendering GPU" this setting is very useful, this GPU will be used for C4D's previews/viewport and by windows and your displays.. You will set this to the first card in the dropdown menu, don't leave it on Auto-detect
And you need to connect both of your monitors to this GPU, keep in mind that windows and C4D itself take a chunk of your VRAM.. so having a card dedicated to that is very helpful, you can now use the second GPU for GPU rendering during your Look-dev, then enable both GPUs for final rendering
You will not have any viewport lag, and Photoshop or windows will not take a chunk of your VRAM on the rendering GPU .. In this screenshot I have a 2060 super for monitors and viewport performance and the 3060 is for GPU rendering



-Third step is to enable "Hardware accelerated GPU scheduling" then restart the machine, this will reduce the amount of GPU memory windows takes .. you will see more available VRAM on your GPUs this way





This setup should be great for GPU rendering, I recommend sticking to RTX rendering (even if you have a good CPU) as it offers a massive performance boost in most scenes

If you have more questions let me know

Best,

Muhammed

[haniel1107]

Hello Muhammad,

this is super great and kind!! Thank you!!

I will try it right know!! Thanks for the step by step...

Best,
hani

[aleksandar.kasabov]

Hello haniel1107,

You can check the following article, which describes how to set up NVLink. You can find it here.

[haniel1107]

Hello Muhammed_Hamed ,

thanks again, could get it to work.
With only one exception...
I can only choose "span display with surround" otherwise one Monitor is not working.
It will be detected, but only blackscreen..

But luckily I have the feeling VFB with interactive rendering is reaction more agile now, smoother camera moving ..
So this is a definitely a win, this was my biggest hope..

Thanks, take care..
Hani

[haniel1107]

Hello haniel1107,

You can check the following article, which describes how to set up NVLink. You can find it here.

Thank you aleksandar.kasabov ... good to know and good to have... could make it...

[Muhammed_Hamed]

Hello Muhammed_Hamed
I can only choose "span display with surround" otherwise one Monitor is not working.
It will be detected, but only blackscreen..

Can you confirm you have connected your monitors to the topmost card in the motherboard, and you set this GPU for GL performance as my previous post ?
And driver 471.11 ?
You might need to restart for this to take effect, also try using a different display port on your GPU

The black screen issue shouldn't happen, but glad you are getting some nice interactivity now
"span display with surround" is not ideal..

[haniel1107]

Can you confirm you have connected your monitors to the topmost card in the motherboard, and you set this GPU for GL performance as my previous post ?
And driver 471.11 ?
You might need to restart for this to take effect, also try using a different display port on your GPU

The black screen issue shouldn't happen, but glad you are getting some nice interactivity now
"span display with surround" is not ideal..

No, I had the version 471.68, but now I changed back to 471.11
And then I needed to set under windows expand the screen and now it works.

Great, I guess I did something wrong..

Thanks, I am happy!!!

[Muhammed_Hamed]

Awesome! Happy rendering

If you have more questions feel free to tag me