Messages

16

[Max] I need help! / Re: Roughness from Substance 3D Painter

« on: 2024-02-23, 10:18:16 »

Haven't looked into it per say yet but from my understand you'd want the RGB primaries (inside the Corona Bitmap) be set to either Linear sRGB or raw and then when you import the map, in the import dialog box, you can choose to override gamma to 1.0.
This way you get a linear import in which is what I think you'd want to use here.

The color space of Linear sRGB or raw doesn't really make a difference as the map probably wasn't created with the ACEScg primaries anyway so either will do.

17

[C4D] General Discussion / Re: ///// 3dtools.info v2.0 & DNA|Materials for Corona /////

« on: 2024-02-22, 11:21:19 »

Maybe just a little addition if I may, the Corona Physical MTL does work a bit differently under the hood sometimes - for example it is using the Oren Nayar diffuse model and there's been some improvements to the way thin glass is handled amongst others.

That said yes, nothing wrong with using the Legacy MTL, it is a fine material :)

18

Hardware / Re: Threadripper & Ryzen only builds (3rd Gen starts on page 50)

« on: 2024-02-21, 09:56:49 »

Not yet, hate that you loose warranty and they can tell but I'll probably still do it. I think I can get another 20% performance without going to crazy. Right now I'm getting 34k on Corona benchmark and temps are mid 50's.

Dang, only mid 50s full load? That's beyond impressive :)

Yeah that OC fuse is a rather interesting addition to things. According to a statement from AMD they will respect the warranty IF it did not die from OCing (regardless of the fuse) - but how they'll figure that out I do not know :)

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Hardware / Re: Threadripper & Ryzen only builds (3rd Gen starts on page 50)

« on: 2024-02-20, 12:39:37 »

I've run the Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3 on my 3990x and it is a great if not the best air cooler for it. I ran it with upgraded fans for better cooling. I then switched to the Silverstone IceGem 360 with upgraded fans, runs even better. I'm running the Silverstone IceGem 360 now on 2 3990x workstations and one 7980x workstation.

Just curious, have you maybe tried PBO on the 7980x already? :))

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Hardware / Re: Threadripper & Ryzen only builds (3rd Gen starts on page 50)

« on: 2024-02-20, 10:30:57 »

Huh, that does sound like overheating to me as well - especially if you're reaching 95c regularly. Could be your AIO pump is failing?

Anyhow, from my personal experience I'm running a 5995wx (64 core part much like your 3990x) and the U14s does a terrific job with it. I'm not running PBO and I do have it set to 100% once the temps go above 60c but the thing is really quiet for a workstation and the max temps I am getting are 72c. So in case that helps...

That said, I'm of the opinion that if you want the very best (short of maybe custom water cooling?) cooling on TR4 then the Icegiant is it. I initially wanted to get it for my 5995wx but on this platform the socket is rotated 90 degrees so the Icegiant wouldn't really work well - so I opted for the Noctua and I'm really quite pleased with it.

21

[C4D] Daily Builds / Re: OCIO and ACES workflows

« on: 2024-02-15, 12:30:10 »

the info says cronona will render adobe wide RGB internally, but in fact we can change this internal color space  to acis in the experimental settings. does that make sense to use?

From my understanding that wide RGB space will get converted to work with the OCIO settings you have set - so if your OCIO is set to ACES then the wide RGB space will get converted over to ACES. That said you will technically still be dealing with whatever colors are available in the wide RGB space itself, so it is more of a compatibility conversion.

If you set the internal color space to ACEScg then you'll, from my understanding at the moment, get the full ACES workflow (if your OCIO is set to ACES as well). So rendering in ACEScg and then converting via OCIO to sRGB / whatever so you can view it on your screen.

That said the internal ACEScg color space is still in the experimental settings because it is a bit... experimental. At the moment it doesn't work via TR (when sharing main C4D as TR client) and it doesn't work properly with batch rendering (render queue).

From my quick testing there is very little if any visual difference between the wide color space and ACEScg. That said if you need it for pipeline reasons... We are working on it :)

22

Hardware / Re: AMD Threadripper 7970x cooler

« on: 2024-02-14, 11:47:17 »

Ugh, yeah, looking at it again the U14s is "ok" for the 3970x but you need to add 80Ws more to the thing and then... Who knows where we get.

Scouring reddit I've come across a user with the 7970x and a U14s and they reported a max CPU package power of 88c.

So I don't know, still seems doable to me but if you go air I'd be, just in case, prepared to switch to AIO if need be.

I mean Zen 4 on the consumer side is known to be "fine" at a bit above 80c - according to AMD if I'm not mistaken. So it could very well be it is much the same with Threadrippers.

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[C4D] Bug Reporting / Re: Dual cpu speed problems

« on: 2024-02-14, 09:30:05 »

Howdy folks! You are not forgotten :) Or shall I say we are not forgotten because I also have 64 core Threadripper which has some of the issues you mentioned.

The issue is a bit hard for us to diagnose right now but we are putting effort into resolving it. We tried a couple of solutions internally with not very good results but then some solutions are already being rolled out as they do improve performance. These latest improvements mainly affect high thread count CPUs not necessarily 2S systems.

So please if you have issues similar to the ones outlined in this thread please let us know. Any new info about different system configurations struggling with these kinds of issues will make it easier for us to have a more complete improvement.

24

Hardware / Re: AMD Threadripper 7970x cooler

« on: 2024-02-14, 09:24:03 »

I'm a little hesitant to be replying here because I don't have any experience with Zen 4 based CPUs but since there aren't any replies yet...

I personally like to opt for air coolers, I really don't want to risk leaks or pump failures on such expensive systems.

That said I completely get why you'd want an AIO on the 7970x. Based on die layout it is much like the 3970x (which I do own) so I wouldn't at all be surprised if it has the similar thermal behavior where you have less cores but those are clocked higher which then means you're dealing with a lot more of a heat output in a less spread out area compared to say a 64 core Threadripper. Plus these are Zen 4 chips which I assume will be more toasty than anything before it.

Personally I opted for a U14s on my 3970x. It spikes up to 86c when there is a combined load and certain cores boost super high and other are sort of mid clocked. My impression is that this is normal behavior. Most of the time the temps are ~68c.

The 7970x has a TDP of 350W compared to 280W on the 3970x so it should be more difficult for the U14s to cool.

I'm thinking a really high quality AIO will net you lower temperatures and slightly higher boost clocks. My experience is that you probably don't have to worry about clocks as 100mhz more is something you won't notice anyway. But that said you then got the fear of leaks and pump failures :)

So yeah, wall of text but then I haven't really said anything too useful lol. I guess I just hope my impression helps you make the right decision for your needs.

Do we have any 7970x owners here?

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Hardware / Re: Setting up a renderfarm for Corona+Max Combo

« on: 2024-02-14, 09:14:43 »

Oh I just meant that if you want to do have rack closet type of a setup then something like a Silverstone RM41 case might be a little thick (it is a 4U case IIRC) and if you want to fit more of them into the rack you can go with slimmer sizes like 3U or 2U.
Personally I currently have 3 render nodes + 1 WS (all in desktop cases) and I'm sort of already running out of space in my office - so if I went with a rack setup I could stack all of the cases on top of each other basically.

That said with 5+ machines you then also have to deal with a lot of heat output not to mention electricity costs lol.

26

Learner’s Corner / Re: Lack realism/photorealism

« on: 2024-02-09, 12:54:40 »

I'm really glad to hear you're making progress! It is looking better to me as well!

That said, if I may, I'd still look into adding sublime details (really tiny scratches and imperfections on things like the chrome feet of the chair etc.) and maybe toning down the intensity of some materials - like the paper holders etc etc.

It is really nice you go here, thank you for sharing your updates!

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Learner’s Corner / Re: Hi there! Corona newbie here, I need help with my renders, they look meh

« on: 2024-02-09, 12:52:24 »

Glad you've found the feedback useful Valerie!

Regarding performance I completely agree with Maru and Tom - that might be a slow(er) CPU for today's standards and if you couple it with running out of memory (RAM) then you'll really have trouble rendering this one out :)

On the more artistic side of things, I really think its good that you've started with something that is an actual place you can visit in real life. When I started out one of my earliest projects was trying to recreate the office space I had - really not that visually stimulating as a render per say but it did give me an opportunity to try and recreate all the objects (and the space itself) pretty much with the same or similar details I could see. I think thats a cool approach to things because you can pick stuff up and just go to work until the render looks convincing enough given what you have in your hands. Takes a ton of time but imho it is very much worth it.

As far as the "atmosphere" I think that might actually come down to your tone mapping as well. Try playing around with some of the LUTs Corona comes with and see if that helps.

Oh and the chamfer modifier, try setting it to "smooth chamfers only". That'll probably help.

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Learner’s Corner / Re: Hi there! Corona newbie here, I need help with my renders, they look meh

« on: 2024-02-08, 13:29:18 »

Howdy and welcome aboard!

To be honest, for a self proclaimed newbie, this is a friggin terrific start, kudos!!

In my opinion you got all the basic ingredients in there already. For example the lighting feels natural to me although from a "creative director's POV" maybe a little too "everyday" maybe but that is potentially highly subjective of a comment.

The materials are all solid but I think there is room to improve them by adding details on them. Maybe add a little extra sheen on the sofa, put some imperfection maps for the sheen amount so it looks like somebody sat on it... Maybe dirty up the sofa with some dirt overlay textures in the base color slot etc etc. I think that'd help sell this in terms of realism.

Much the same goes for the rest of the materials really, maybe add a little tiny bit of imperfections on those pristine walls (on the base color and the reflections) and some wet wipe imperfections on reflective surfaces (tables).

I'd also double check the kitchen elements, they seem like the smoothing is off on them (they look oddly curved yet flat at the same time). I'm not a kitchen expert at all but there's also seemingly very little detail for when it comes to handles on those cabinets too. And if you continue to dress up that area with kitchen elements (or a small light) it'll add a bit of additional creative flare to it all which sometimes helps with realism as well.

So thats just my first impression, hopefully I can be of more help if you have any sub questions and I'm also excited to hear what other folks might have to say.

Cheers!

29

Learner’s Corner / Re: Lack realism/photorealism

« on: 2024-02-08, 13:20:02 »

Yeah I would very much agree with B here and to me it seems like you are very much on the right track. Kudos!

First thing I'd maybe suggest doing is playing with the lighting a bit - right now its somewhat flat as in everything is quite evenly lit and the small bit of directional lighting you have is kind of maybe not landing somewhat awkwardly on the floor in the lower left corner. I'd personally try adding imperfections to the lighting (a tree outside the window) or a different angle but that might also be a subjective preference I have. That said I do think something less "studio like" would work better here and often that adds realism as well.

Good reference is looking at what photographers sometimes do in these types of setups.

As far as materials go I think if you spend a bit more time adding details to them you'll get more realism in there. Maybe imperfections on that chair's metal legs, some slight dirt spots (maybe also in cavities with AO) on the brick wall (which itself could be a bit more detailed with a different displacement map?) and just generally things of that nature. One thing that does strike me as unrealistic immediately is the white on the table itself. Its too dang white to me (check your albedos with the albedo render element).
These things can take a lot of time but details are important folks say :)

And as always super high quality models can help you as well. I really like that plant you have there from Cosmos but I think it can still be improved by the way of improving materials etc.

So I think you're off to a great start but maybe just keep on hammering it out.

Oh and don't worry about render settings, that's the beauty with Corona. You're not missing out on realism unless we are talking caustics (which you need to enable) but given that there are non in your scene...

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Hardware / Re: Threadripper & Ryzen only builds (3rd Gen starts on page 50)

« on: 2024-02-06, 19:00:43 »

Yeah I mean like you said, it is at least something. If you look at it solely from a business perspective (which I don't necessarily like doing) AMD is kind of in an odd position - Threadrippers are basically Epycs and high end Epycs sell for 10k a pop. That is obviously way too much for most consumers / prosumers but then there is a long way to go down to 530€ which is the 7950x 16 core chip. So in that sense I'm honestly somewhat surprised that they cater to the HEDT crowd again.

Given that you are on an HEDT platform yourself, do you notice any speed difference when trying any of the 7950x / 13900k chips in terms of 3ds Max's UI?