Author Topic: Hardware Requirements  (Read 7535 times)

2021-08-16, 16:06:41

lllemperle@gmail.com

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Hi everyone!
I am a new user of C4D and Corona Renderer and still trying to get the hang of it.
My problem is that when i try to render something the image is full of noise. Also Corona informs me that my System is running low on RAM (I added a Screenshot called "Coronas Error Message").
On the corona website it says that the Hardware requirements are just i3/i5/i7 and a 64-bit-system (and SSE4.1 but I dont know what that is). (I added a screenshot of my computers system information called "system information".

Now I thought that Corona doesnt use RAM but only the CPU. But when I looked up what this Error message meant on the corona website it said that I need minimum 64 GB of RAM and I only have 16GB of Ram (here the link where I found that information: https://help.c4d.corona-renderer.com/support/solutions/articles/5000675854-system-is-running-low-on-ram-you-may-experience-excessive-parsing-times-and-or-crashes- )

 So Im a little confused and cant find any useful help online which is why im asking here...

Im willing to buy a new computer, so I would really appreciate it if someone could help me and tell me why my current computer cant render good images and what system requirements i would need in order to render good images (like do i need more RAM or a better CPU etc.)

Regards from Germany
« Last Edit: 2021-08-16, 16:14:54 by lllemperle@gmail.com »

2021-08-16, 16:22:57
Reply #1

TomG

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Anything that runs on the CPU uses RAM - the CPU does the calculations, the RAM stores the data to do the calculations on (and the results of the calculations). For comparison, a GPU renderer does the calculations on the GPU and uses the RAM on the graphics card (with some also allowing the use of system RAM). So, being CPU only does not mean not needing RAM :)

The amount of RAM needed depends on the complexity of the scene, the render resolution, and how many Multipass elements are used (e.g. if using LightMix). In your case you have 16GB Ram, which would be enough to render the scene (it needs 8 GB), but other applications are using up more than "another 8 GB" which is why memory is running out. You can try closing down other applications when rendering this scene.

How much RAM you need depends entirely on your scenes - 32 GB is often enough, 64 GB is kind of a sweet spot where most things will render fine, but more if you can afford it never hurts.

SSE4.1 is basically any computer in the last 10 years, you can check a list of compatible CPUs at https://corona-renderer.com/getting-started

Hope that helps!
Tom Grimes | chaos-corona.com
Product Manager | contact us

2021-08-16, 17:00:33
Reply #2

lllemperle@gmail.com

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Yes that already helps a lot thank you!

But just to clarify, reading your reply it sounds like my 16 GB of RAM should be enough. But why then does Corona give an error message saying i dont have enough RAM? Plus the image has alot of noise even after 10 minutes of rendering which isnt normal. In all the youtube tutorials they already have a good image of a scene (which are way more complex then the scene I tried to render) in only a few seconds...

Does that mean, that if I would buy a computer with 32 or 64 GB of RAM it would render it alot better and quicker or would I also need a better CPU?

2021-08-16, 17:20:10
Reply #3

TomG

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Your 16GB is enough *if nothing else is running*. Other things are running and using up around 8GB themselves, which means there isn't a full 8GB free out of the 16GB for Corona and C4D to do their thing. You can see this in the "14.1GB of RAM used by all running applications" which is pretty much all your RAM, and this is why Corona and C4D can't find the 8GB it needs to work. This is why I mention close all other applications (no Photoshop, no browsers, etc.) as that may be enough to squeeze this particular scene into your current RAM.

If you run out of RAM, the render gets MUCH slower, because now Corona is having to read and write data to the hard disk because there is not enough RAM. Hard drives are hundreds of times slower than RAM, even SSDs are that much slower, so your render will slow by that amount.

Your CPU determines render speed, so long as you don't run out of RAM - if you run out of RAM, any CPU no matter how fast will be very slow :)
Tom Grimes | chaos-corona.com
Product Manager | contact us

2021-08-16, 17:36:04
Reply #4

lllemperle@gmail.com

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Oh alright, thats a very useful information thank you very much! It already worked alot better, I just tried it out again!

Last question :D will 16 GB of RAM also be enough for a rather complex render of an architectural exterior scene? Or would it be smart to get a better computer with more RAM?

2021-08-16, 17:40:39
Reply #5

TomG

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Complex exteriors tend to need more RAM due to scattered plants, rocks, etc. Does depend on the scene though. Easiest is to add more RAM to an existing computer (even some laptops allow you to add RAM), rather than buy a whole new machine, though if that goes along with a faster CPU then a new machine can be of benefit. Personally I would suggest waiting until you make that complex scene and see if it fits in the existing RAM (unless your budget allows for future proofing by simply investing in more RAM or a new machine anyway "just in case")
Tom Grimes | chaos-corona.com
Product Manager | contact us

2021-08-16, 17:47:35
Reply #6

lllemperle@gmail.com

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Alright Ill try that then.

Thank you very much for your help and the quick responses! All the best!