Need help with RAM usage

[Dave Buckley]

Max is being really weird today, i have 12GB RAM nothing else running apart from Max Design 2011.

 

I'm rendering a lot of grass but my machine is more than capable. However Max keeps crashing. I've been watching the task manager and it seems to bomb out at around 8.5GB which suggest it's not using the RAM in my machine to the full potential.

 

I'm aware the RAM isn't flushed either, if i do a render and it uses about 5GB or RAM i can cancel the render but it still says it's using 5GB in task manager, only when i shut down and reboot it does it refresh.

 

Strange

[datacrasher]

david,

How much stuff do you have running in your computer background? go to start run type in MSconfig go to start up box and untick all the boxes apart from your spyware checker and virus scanner. once you have unticked all the boxes apart from them two hit the apply button and then okay your computer will need to be restarted. (no this will not mess up your computers. i do it all the time when i install programs. most of the programs you use are usless in the computer background they just take up memory)

 

also if you don't have a service pack on it then i would go to the autodesk website and download one Do you get any error messager before your max crashes?

 

Good luck

DC

[Dave Buckley]

weirdly i got an 'out of memory' error but all of my memory wasn't being used, and the machine is brand new, nothing else was running in terms of open programs but i'll do what you said

[datacrasher]

I would also defrag your hard drives and run a memory check on your ram

Edited July 15, 2010 by datacrasher

[mattclinch]

dave, i run a bit of software called Process Lasso, which gives a very good readout of memory load.

 

essentially its a version of the task manager on steroids, but with much more control, including default process killing, auto cpu affinity and process priority.

 

anyway, the memory load graph is very useful - might give you a clearer idea if you are topping out your ram, and what else is hogging system resources.

 

http://www.bitsum.com/prolasso.php (website looks shocking, but i promise this is an invaluable little bit of kit - i have a lifetime subscription)

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]38101[/ATTACH]

[Matt McDonald]

how do you have your swap disc setup? I know you have gobs of real memory but you're still going to use virtual memory. If you don't have enough allocated, or Windows is trying to reallocate while totally hosed due to a render you could run out of memory that way. The old rule of thumb was to set swap to 3 times your physical memory. Personally, I think that's a bit much. Maybe try setting it at 12gb (same as your RAM).

 

Then the other part has to do with your rendering. Are you using Mental Ray? Are you using BSP2 and have you disabled scanline? The scanline renderer is very poor at flushing memory, so is the regular BSP raytrace algorithm but BSP2 is much more efficient.