Daz3d + External GPU - any users/thoughts/problems?
mwasielewski1990
Posts: 341
As the topic says. I'm trying to "convert" myself to full mobile workflow, I'd like to get rid of my PC and use my RTX3090 with a eGPU enclosure via Thunderbolt 4 in my laptop with Windows 10.
Any problems with such configuration with DAZ? Any users, thoughts, etc?
I ordered the Razer Core X enclosure, I'm just curious if I'm gonna run into any problems (Alienware x17 R1 laptop with RTX3080, i7 11800H)
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Comments
What is wrong with using your laptop's RTX3080? It already is very powerful.
A 3090 is much more powerful than a 3080, especially considering that laptop GPUs are less powerful than their desktop counterparts.
FTFY.
The enclosures come with a power supply.
You didn't fix anything.
Very true. So why not buy less powerful laptop with cpu-based graphics/video. No need for an RTX3080, if an external RTX3090 is going to be used.
Very true. A laptop RTX3080 is in the same performance category as the "puny" RTX3060ti. So why not buy a less powerful laptop with cpu-based graphics/video if an external RTX3090 is going to be used.
Pity the graphically chanllenged with the RTX3060ti and lower!!
I run an external GPU on my desktop with no issues. I had to purchase a mini card that bitcoin miners generally use, but it allowed me to mount the GPU outside of my case (where it wouldn't otherwise fit) and use its own power supply (where the existing PS would be strained).
It's apples and oranges to your set up, but does prove that DS won't have an issue.
The only thing I would double check is the capabilities of your TB4 port and Windows. TB4 ports for Windows laptops can sometimes be only partially functional. I.e. it works for data transers and video out, but isn't wired internally for a xGPU.
Being that its an Alienware you PROBABLY won't have an issue. AW laptops (of which I have one) are usually designed for just what you are describing.
@mwasielewski1990 If the 3-slot RTX-3090 fits inside the eGPU case and the case has enough power connectors, then it should just show as another GPU device in the NVIDIA Iray Engines settings (Advanced tab of Render Settings). Allow GPU Detecton is checked on. If your scene is small enough to fit on the laptop's internal RTX-3080, then you could use both GPUs simultaneously for even faster rendering times.
Make sure the eGPU encosure and laptop port are both true Thunderbolt 4 and not the much slower Thunderbolt 3 variant.
Earlier you said the 3080 was already very powerful, now you're saying it's nigh on worthless, so which is it? Also, your advice about buying a less powerful laptop doesn't apply if the OP already owns that laptop, which is how I'm interpreting their post. Finally, even the less powerful laptop 3080 will still contribute to renders with the external 3090, so it's still bad advice.
Both ways - depending on how you look at it. The laptop RTX 3080 is very powerful compared to GPUs of lesser performance, but "worthless" compared to GPUs of greater performance!!
As for using a laptop RTX 3080 with an external RTX3090, the configuration will probably, though it is definitely not a cost effective solution. I don't think of an external GPU as a portable solution, but others may feel differently.
I wonder what IRay will do when the laptop RTX 3080 hits its 8GB limit? Will IRay be smart enough to see that the RTX 3090 has a higher limit (24GB) and keep using GPU rendering, or will it revert to CPU rendering? Does anyone know for sure?
As for now, there are no TB4 egpu cases (as of my knowledge), I ordered the Razer Core X. I won't be gaming on the eGpu, so even Thunderbolt 1 with Pci-e x1 would do the job
The only question is the compatibility with egpu. Let's pray it's gonna work.
1) Nobody said anything about cost effectiveness
It's a specific use-case.
2) My laptop's 3080 has 16GB o vram, not 8
3) No, it will not be smart. In this configuartion, you either:
a) use only laptop's internal gpu,
b) use only external gpu,
c) use both, but you're capped at 16GB of laptop's internal GPU. If you hit the 16GB limit (practically less, ~13GB is available in reality), render will be dropped to CPU, or dropped altogether, depending on the settings you chose in Render Settings -> Advanced -> Allow CPU Fallback
I would like to see a comparison between a eGPU and a render farm. A render farm is basically just another computer connected to a network. But the guts of an eGPU is just a graphics card and a power supply. The main point of both is to offload graphics card work, but which is faster and more efficient?
My mistake for thinking that your laptop RTX 3080 has 8GB VRam instead of 16GB.
I would certainy be happy with RTX 3060ti performance and 16GB of VRam (I have an RTX3070ti with 8GB VRam), but apparently you are not and it is your money!!
I do have a strong bias against using laptops (if I really have to, but with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor) and cell phone (phone calls, voice mail, maps only) for computing, so understand my comments in that context.
egpu is more affordable. Render farm prices are totally absurd, you're better off taking a loan and buying a 3090 with an egpu case. Render farms on the other hand are scalable, egpu's not that much. So it's just a matter of use case.
A little update:
After some initial problems with drivers, I can confirm this thing works 100%. My 3090 version is the reference board design (TGP MAX=350W). I can confirm Iray in DAZ is able to pull all available 350W during render via an eGPU case with a RTX3090 inside connected to a Thunderbolt port.
I think what they were suggesting is not hiring out an external render farm, but rather building your own. A computer capable of running a 3090 wouldn't cost that much more than an eGPU, and then you'd have scalability. Granted, in the case of Iray you'd need to pay for an Iray server license on top of that, but you'd still come out ahead compared to sending all your renders to someone else's farm before too terribly long.
Anyone can help me out here. I think I have the same setup - 3080Ti Laptop 16/GB plus Razer Core X w/3080Ti 12GB. I render animation frames for figures seperate canvases. I can render for an hour with the eGPU helping. I notice when I switch for a different scene, any scene, to render again the computer will freeze or Daz will just shut down instantly. Any thoughts on setup. I have the previous Nvidia driver 517.40. Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong?
@StrapMacGow Your GPU memory can still have data from the pervious renders. Daz Studio may be freezing-up because your animation scene (+ data from previous render) exceeds the 12 GB of your eGPU and it is dropping to CPU.
To fix that, try this procedure before switching scenes, and see if it helps...
1. Run the purge memory script (Scripts -> Utilities -> Purge Memory script) to clear Daz Studio memory
2. Clear VRAM/Restart your graphics drivers: Press Win+Ctrl+Shift+B (note: for just a second, your screen will go black and there will be a beep)
Full details here: https://www.howtogeek.com/351164/secret-windows-hotkey-restarts-your-graphics-card-drivers/
3. Load your other scene and try and render
There is also the possiblity that it is due to overheating and causing the shut-down.
To fix that, you can try and turn-off Over-clocking on your GPU -and/or- underclock your GPU to prevent it from overheating.
So now after some updates to Windows 11 and using Nvidia GRDriver 5.17 my Razer Core X is running perfectly with the computer. It recognizes the second GPU with no issues like I had in the past.
Everything is working perfect...except for DAZ, the main reason I got it!
I can't even change the viewport to Iray view without the program crashing, much less render an image. It's acting even worse now. [Although you may have multiple GPU's run a render, it does not improve the render time or quality comparative to a single GPU. Due to this, it is recommended that you only use one of your two GPU's.]
Support told me that Daz isn't even set up for multi GPU usage?! What? It recognizes the second GPU in the render settings pane. I thought there were render farms for Daz with multi gpu usage. LOL!
I'm at my wits end with this extra 1K investment I made for this software. Can anyone share any success they had with their eGPU?
Sorry for digging an old topic... But perhaps this is still going to be of use.
I'm rendering exclusively on the eGPU now. I render multiple scenes using a batch script plugin, I never had anything crash or stuff like that (still using Win10 though). I tested rendering on both GPU's and it works, however make sure you don't exceed the vram of the "weakest" card you have (in your case that wold be the 12GB card).
Erm... Yeah, what? Iray can use how many GPU's you want, what DAZ has to do with it? Any comment from the support?
Another thing might be the power supply. Which version of 3080 do you have in your Razer Core? Remember the Core's power supply only supplies 350W on the +12V power rail, even though it's total power is rated for 500W. If you have an overclocked, "gaming" 3080 the GPU might peak above 350W and crash, make sure you check this. If this is the case, use youtube tutorials to undervolt the eGPU (I undervolted my 3090 and it went from 350W to 285W max with only 1% loss in render speed)
Hope this helps somehow.
I have an i7-1260P laptop (LG Gram 14) with an external RTX3060 12GB egpu on a Razer Core X.
I am using a 4K monitor to play with DAZ3D and I found out that for best experience you should:
- Use 1920x1080 resolution instead of 4K, some monitors have a Super Resolution+ setting (ex. my LG 27UK650) to bring back a lot of crispness
- Connect directly the monitor to the eGPU
- Lower all DAZ3D Interface Viewport settings
- Disable Windows Defender or add an expection to DAZStudio.exe, excluding the assets folder may help too
- Adjust global settings in the NVidia control panel (disable unwanted improvements)
This way the interface will become much more fluid and the DAZ experience enjoyable