Topic: [Awaiting Reply] Using eGPU for Rendering

[gspaullee]

Hi I have GTX 1070

Its a eGPU

its called AORUS

For some reason every time we are using it to render videos

it slows down dramatically

The file size was around 6GB and YES it was big

but without the eGPU the computer was still able to handle the render quite well (6 hour render time)

with the eGPU the time was increased to 98 hours

The stock graphics card that we have in the machine is Quadro P2000

I would have thought that the it would increase the performance

Would it be that there is too much information for eGPU to handle?

[peterm]

Hi gspaullee

The GTX 1070 is a good card for Lumion.

What product and version of Lumion are you using?

[gspaullee]

We at our company is using Lumion 9.5

Would it be that because we are using External GPU its effecting the performance?

We are getting ready to purchase the External GPU for other computers for rendering in Lumion

So if its slowing things down because its an External GPU we may need to rethink of things.

Would you by anychance have anyone that is working in your company with an External GPU?

[peterm]

Hi gspaullee

It is generally expected that there would be a small slow down in performance for the same graphics card, compared to it being installed internally on a PC.  That is because the data path for the GPU is not quite at the same level as onboard with the graphics card to the motherboard.

So in getting such a big difference in render times it is likely there is something else affecting the times and process.

The AORUS is a well know brand for eGPU.  Is it this one?

File size will not affect render times, but it will indicate to some extent if the Project is quite complex.  And 6GB does sound like it is in the complex to very complex region, but we would generally have to see the Project file to give a better indication of complexity.

However, if it is rendering on a Quadro P2000 in approximately 6 hours and almost not at all on the eGPU, then that sounds like a hardware problem. 

Just to give you an idea of expected performance, the desktop PassMark for a Quadro P2000 is 7219, the GTX 1070 is 11378.  So it should be about 40 percent faster.  For laptops, there is generally a 20 percent decrease in performance compared to those (mainly) desktop PassMarks, but the difference between each would be the same.

We do have (AFAIK) one staff who has an eGPU with a GTX 1080 and it works well.  So it's not the type of hardware, but something about the specific eGPU you have there.

1. If you tested one of our Example Projects such as Villa Cabrera, is there still a significant time difference between using the Quadro and the eGPU?

2. When you start the rendering process, is Lumion running on the monitor that the eGPU is running?

3. What is the power supply and watts of the supply (see label on side of the supply)?  From the specifications, it should be a 450W (and is Gold rated)

4. What Thunderbolt version connection is on the laptop? Preferably it should be a Thunderbolt 3 30Gbit support.  The Aurous side has a Thunderbolt 3 port.

5. Can you confirm that the graphics card is properly seated in the board and all connections in the eGPU and between the laptop and the eGPU are properly connected? 

6. Which version of Lumion are your results from?

7. And just to rule out,  when the render tests were done, the laptop was using mains power and not battery?

[Gilson Antunes]

I have an external video module for my Dell Alienware 15 - 3 generation notebook, with 16Gb of RAM, in the module, I use a GTX Titan-x 12Gb.
From what I could see the performance with Lumion is at least 50% the performance of the same board installed internally on a PC. Then I saw that it is not possible to use it on a daily basis, but in external meetings when it is not possible to bring the PC.

[peterm]

Thanks for letting us know of your experiences with eGPU hardware, Gilson.  Useful to know in reality what can happen with these types of hardware.

Was the connection a Thunderbolt 3 or the earlier Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt 2?

The laptop performance accounts for roughly 20 percent, the connection some more, but that still leaves quite a large chunk of performance loss that you experienced  .

[Gilson Antunes]

Hi Peter, I don't know how to specify, Alienware notebooks have a specific external port for connecting the Video Amplifier provided by them. See the links:
https://www.dell.com/pt-br/shop/notebooks-dell/notebook-gamer-alienware-17/spd/alienware-17-laptop
https://www.dell.com/pt-br/shop/amplificador-de-placa-gr%C3%A1fica-alienware/apd/452-bcgs

[peterm]

Thunderbolt Type-C Port:This multipurpose port is ready to use as a USB 3.1 port, offering 10 Gbit / s data transfer, a 40 Gbit / s capable Thunderbolt connection,...

So that sounds like Thunderbolt 3, but it's above 30Gb/s so that's good.

[gspaullee]

First and foremost

Thank you for this long and specific reply

Our laptops we are using is a Precision 7530 which comes with Thunderbolt 3

And yes AORUS is the correct one that we are currently using

https://www.aorus.com/product-detail.php?p=265
this is the one

Just to answer your questions

1. I'll try the Example project Villa Cabrera and let you know of the results soon

2. Yes, its running on the eGPU

3. Yes that is correct

4. its the thunderbolt 3 cable

5. Yes its been connected properly

6. Lumion 9.5

7. Yes, it was connected to the battery

Generally, its fine doing smaller projects and works beautifully.

While working on the modelling there are not problems.

However, when it comes to working on Video renders, thats when the problem starts to happen.

Everything starts slowing down and only gets 1 frames per second.

I am Currently doing some updates to my machine to see if it makes any difference

Since its an office computer, there are quite strict rules in getting new software updates on to our computers

[peterm]

Hi gspaullee

You are most welcome. 

7. Yes, it was connected to the battery

Can I recheck with you?  You mean it was connected to mains? 

If it was battery then the system will so a cutback to conserve battery life and that will take precedence over render requirements.  In other words, there could be a big slow down.  Mains only for rendering, or in fact for using Lumon as it is making maximum use of the graphics card in either situation eGPU or in the laptop, and for both working in Build Mode and for rendering.

[gspaullee]

Hi I've been away for a while sorry for the late reply

Yes I have had it connected to the power directly

Sorry I must have been in a hurry while writing the comments.

I've ran some test over example files but seems to have no problem in running the test renders.

Would it just be our file that has issues?

[gspaullee]

Hi gspaullee

You are most welcome. 
 
Can I recheck with you?  You mean it was connected to mains? 

If it was battery then the system will so a cutback to conserve battery life and that will take precedence over render requirements.  In other words, there could be a big slow down.  Mains only for rendering, or in fact for using Lumon as it is making maximum use of the graphics card in either situation eGPU or in the laptop, and for both working in Build Mode and for rendering.

I can upload the file that I have for you to test on.

It would be great help if you could have one of your staff member who has the external GPU could test run this file for us

[Morten]

Thanks for clarifying that.

What might be happening is that the Scene/models/Effects are too demanding for your hardware. A typical example would be if you've assigned a 3D Grass Material to a large surface or you've assigned too many Reflection Planes to the Reflection Effect and your graphics card can't cope with the complexity of the model.

1. To get started, please follow these instructions to make the Movie in that Project less demanding to render:

Knowledge Base: How do you make Lumion render faster?

2. If the problem persists after reducing the complexity, zip + upload the .LS Project file and let us know which Clip(s) we should take a look at and what your render settings are (e.g. 1920x1080, 30 frames per second, 5 star Output Quality):

Knowledge Base: How do you upload files to the Lumion staff?

Thanks in advance.