For real-time rendering, GPUs deliver the most efficient results

GPUs can be combined in parallel to deliver high-speed rendering for animation, games, and other interactive media.

What is GPU rendering?

Designers may opt for GPU rendering for video games and other media that rely on real-time rendering. Image courtesy of Tim Burroughs.

Unlocking the power of GPU rendering in visual effects and animation

Graphics rendered with GPUs can create photorealistic lighting effects. Image courtesy of Ecem Okumus.

Understanding the practical aspects of GPU rendering

A still of animated characters from Netflix’s ONI: Thunder God’s Tale.

From stop motion to CGI at the speed of GPU rendering

Image courtesy of Megalis VFX
A still of an animated puppy from Ignite Animation Studios’ short Andy: A Dog’s Tale.

Rendering a heroic puppy’s journey

Image courtesy of Ignite Animation
A still from Axis Studio’s Crimson Vow trailer shows a woman in a high-necked white gown.

Versatile rendering is in the cards

Image courtesy of Axis Studios

Should I enable GPU rendering for my projects?

GPU rendering will work for your project if it requires real-time rendering or if the scenes for rendering are not based on complex simulations or physics. If rendering speed matters, the parallel processing of a rendering GPU is generally faster than CPU rendering for simpler scenes not based on complex simulations and physics.

Make sure your software fully supports GPU rendering; some software even supports the seamless switching between CPU and GPU rendering.

Is CPU or GPU rendering better?

The choice between using CPU or GPU rendering depends on the specific project’s needs. Current CPUs can have much more RAM than GPUs, making CPU rendering good for large scenes and those based on complex simulations and physics. CPU rendering is slower but suited for long periods of heavy workloads.

GPUs on the other hand have parallel processing, often with many low-powered processing cores, making them faster and more cost-effective than CPUs for rendering less complex scenes. GPUs are also the preferred choice for real-time rendering of video games and interactive applications.

What are the disadvantages of GPU rendering?

The disadvantages of GPU rendering include limited VRAM capacity compared to the RAM of CPUs. High-end GPUs may have less than half the memory of high-end CPUs, which may limit the complexity or number of elements in a scene a GPU can render. This may also affect the quality of GPU rendering and produce less accurate lighting effects than CPU rendering.

The RAM problem can compound if powering both a display and rendering processes from the same GPU, which will divide the available RAM and may make the GPU unstable. GPUs also need driver updates to maintain compatibility with certain hardware; not updating drivers can also affect GPU stability.