Re-install and resultant configuration issues

1gecko

Recently (following some computer issues) had to reinstall *everything* (groan).  I installed Studio 4.11.3 Pro instead of the newest since I had heard so much complaining about the problems with getting 4.12 to work (I thought I would wait until issues were solved or otherwise made irrellevant).  My main usage of DAZ is still image renders - occasional illistrations if someone asks, background images, or (poor) artwork (that only my therapist finds interesting! )

and while that process is (mostly) complete, I now am having some issues that I no longer remember (and don't even remember where to go to look it up) how to solve!  So a couple quick questions to get the dominos falling:

1) I do a *simple* test scene: 1 background/plane prop, 1 floor plane, 3 lights, 1 figure (Gen8F wearing skirt and blouse, Librarian Hair), and a chair (she is sitting on).

* Previously such a scene would have rendered in under a minute - easy.  at 18 minutes (and counting) it is still going.  I pull up my system info and my CPU is strolling along at between 9% and 18%, memory utilization is about 60% of physical RAM (no virtual is being used), no hard drive activity to speak of, and ZERO on my way too expensive NVidia Titan XP!  Yes, it is doing an IRay render.  Yes, the Titan is selected under the render settings. 
... what do I need to do so that the system is actually *using* the GPU?

 

2) When I was getting things set up (and experimenting a bit) - I noticed that when doing a dForce simulation (which I finally canceled at 20+minutes - used to take seconds), my CPU max utilization was 10% and RAM was around 80% or so (my understanding is the simulation is totally CPU and RAM).  No background tasks are going.  Why is DAZ not using the CPU /cores?

3) In above render (#1) - I am back to where the character is rendering as if they have MASSIVE cataracts (blind/grayed & lifeless eyes)... I seem to remember there was a (relatively simple) solution to this - anyone remember?

 

4) Also in the renders - I am back to where the images are coming out grainy as %(#^$*^#!  Looks like I rolled both the subjects of the image and the camera in sand before 'taking the photo'.  Help!  What do I set to get rid of that 'feature'?

Richard Haseltine

1) By default Task Manager doesn't show the Iray activity - try going to the pergormance tab, select the GPU section, and switch one of the graphs to show CUDA (or use GPU-Z instead)

2) The Advanced tab of Simaltion Settings will show the OpenCL device - unlike Iray, only one device can be selected. It should be your GPU, again Task Manager is probably not showing the activity.

3) Not sure - you could check that the Max Path Length is either -1 or at least 6+ in Render Settings. Also, are they Iray materials?

4) this, and the speed, make it sound as if your room is lit solely by external sources (the HDRI or Sun/Sky, or Scene lights with only Distant lights loaded) so you are having to waith while the lght paths bounce in from the window and into the corners of the room. Using local lights (spot, point, or emissive surfaces) should help with both noise and speed. If you do have such lights, check in Render Settings that the Environment mode is one of the options that includes Scene.

1gecko

Thank you, Richard!!

I will check on that! 

(oh, and yes - they were IRay materials, I manually set the shaders)