does VRayProxy improve render time or just memory usage?

[AlexanderLeeCG]

Will my render time be improved by using VRay proxies if I am rendering multiple duplicates of a rock with VRayDisplacement?

I need to use multiple duplicates of some rocks in a few shots of an animated film. For now I've just duplicated them in Maya, like this:



But I wonder if my performance will improve if I use proxies for instancing. I'm not concerned about overloading Maya memory, because I'm using displacement so the actual rock models in the viewport are only about 4000 polygons each. I only want to improve render time. My system has 32 GB of ram so memory usage probably won't be an issue even during rendering.

Also, I am somewhat confused about the differences between Maya instances and VRay proxies.

[vlado]

Proxies save memory and allow V-Ray to load pieces of the geometry as they are needed during the rendering; they tend to be slower than regular instances.

Best regards,
Vlado