VRAM Memory usage Stamp

[SnoopyLoop]

We are currently testing VRay NEXT for our rendering pipeline and it looks promising.

To help us optimize our assets and shot pipeline, it would be great to know how much Video RAM a particular scene or asset is using. We have looked through the log output from VRay, and that does show [Total Video RAM] and [Free Video RAM], so it just takes simple arithmetic to calculate how much VRAM the render needed.

For iterative testing, it would be great to have a "VRAM used" as a Stamp on the frame buffer, so we can track progress more easily. Also, looking through this forum, I found a post (linked in this post) requesting a Memory Analyzer, and the information requested there would be great to also have available as a frame buffer Stamp.

Also, are could I be pointed to the right direction to learn more about how VRay NEXT utilizes video memory?

Many thanks.

[Muhammed_Hamed]

I have requested this few times in the past, and honestly I gave up
Chaos is just not interested in this

Every other renderer out there has this, Octane, Redshfit, Fstorm..etc
This is the new Feedback Display in Redshift 3, shows how much VRAM used per card

[SnoopyLoop]

I have requested this few times in the past, and honestly I gave up
Chaos is just not interested in this

Every other renderer out there has this, Octane, Redshfit, Fstorm..etc
This is the new Feedback Display in Redshift 3, shows how much VRAM used per card

That is too bad... I believe that tools which provide performance feedback is integral, especially when dealing with a new paradigm that involves hardware which has lower RAM limits than we are typically used to.

Chaosgroup: please add performance metrics to VRay NEXT.

[^Lele^]

I hear memory reporting for GPU rendering is very tricky to get right.
The RS memory reporting, to align myself to the proposed example, mismatches what the OS, and every other app, sees of the video card: RS reports something, but the OS will always see the VRam of the card packed to the brim.
So perhaps it's useful to know you add a little more data in the render, but it is not conductive to opening any other application which needs a bit of VRam to work.

I believe issues such as these have been on our devs' minds for a while (memory allocation differs from engine to engine), and not being able to provide for exact data (as opposed to any at all.) stopped them from moving forward.

[Muhammed_Hamed]

^Lele^ The feedback display has been working nicely for me, and it is very accurate with multiple GPUs
are you using the latest 3.0.0.8 experimental build?
It is probably a bug that it showing the wrong amount of free memory in your case.
Fstorm and Octane has that as well and it matches GPU-Z

I hear memory reporting for GPU rendering is very tricky to get right.

Everyone else have this and it actually works, not sure about your test though
This info is printed in the Vray log btw, the amount of free VRAM per each GPU
And Max plugin has an overlay option for GPU stats which is very accurate and matches GPU-Z




I've asked the Maya devs about this, and they said it is not possible. Asked the Modo developer about this he said he cannot do it
Asked the Houdini devs about this, said it is not possible.

While you see all Octane plugins can report VRAM and all Redshift plugins :I
Having this kind of info is quite important, I don't want to open 4 instances of GPU-Z for my 4 GPUs every time I use Vray
Displacement for example is pretty expensive with Vray GPU, being able to monitor VRAM is crucial building the scene. Again, everyone else does this except for Vray GPU

It is not just about running other apps, usually I have one card for monitor that I don't use for GPU rendering anyways.
And in Octane, you can choose which card will be used for Optix, while in Vray you cannot. You would be getting random out of memory errors in Vray because of Optix
These are basic things that every other GPU renderer has except for Vray

[^Lele^]

The behaviour i showed has been a mainstay of RS since i used it, and no, i am not on the latest experimental build, i'm on the latest released.
I assume they may have changed the way the "touch up" the VRam for cards with 3.x, given it was all but gracious since its earliest days.
I'll know just how accurate they managed for it to be as they'll release it.

I am not saying it's not important, or that it's not going to come.
I merely pointed out that the example you made isn't working as you claimed it did (not for released software, at the least. The numbers are just *some* number.), and that memory reporting is patently not a simple task, and that is why you haven't gotten it yet beyond the basic functionalities (i.e. knowing how much free ram there is isn't nearly the same as knowing how it is allocated.).
Surely not out of lack of care or interest from the devs.

[Muhammed_Hamed]

Redshift uses 90% of VRAM by default, which you can change in preferences..
I assume out of those 90% they use, in your case 7.2 GB are free. this is probably how it used to work in RS 2 but I'm not sure
Redshift 3 is what I have been using, where they addressed a lot of their issues. the Feedback display matches GPU-Z and works in all Redshift plugins
Redshift 3 won't be released officially anytime soon, and probably not in 2020. Octane and Fstorm overlays might be better examples in this case if you want something that is officially released and they are very accurate. Have you checked these out?

Like I said the functionality is already there in Vray, it gets printed in the log at the start of the render, and Max's plugin have a realtime overlay for VRAM and GPU usage. This is not possible in other Vray plugins unfortunately(like what the Maya/Modo/Houdini devs told me)
This is something I talked about a lot in the past, it is not like I gave up on this the other day

[Muhammed_Hamed]

It is just frustrating, every time I talked about this I have been told "this is not possible" even if the Max plugin has this and the info gets reported to the log
If it is not lack of interest or care from devs, what could it be?
Again considering Octane, Fstorm and Redshift have this. I will install Redshift 2.6.48 and see how this works

[vladimir.nedev]

I don't remember telling you that it's not possible.
The plan was to have the stats as part of VFB2 and shared between all integrations, but that got delayed.

I've added to Modo what 3ds Max has. See screen-shot. In the case of Modo adding these wasn't very difficult.

Greetings,
Vladimir Nedev

[Muhammed_Hamed]

Thanks so much Vlado, this will be very helpful
Will download the nightly and test it tonight
Will ping the Maya/Houdini guys again to have a second take on this.

When I brought this up in the past, you said "no" which is different from "not possible"
Houdini/Maya guys said not possible... and I apologize for assuming that you said the same
I didn't know about this being part of the VFB2, and from what I have been told I thought this feature is specific to the Max plugin