ZBrushCentral

another optimal set-up question (sorry)

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Ello,

I have been trawling through a lot of the memory error threads, 3gb switch, and multi threading threads and as far as I can tell i will need to ask this question for myslef cos the answers are very much tailored to the individual.

the problem is that I get a memory error message with zbrush 3.1 whem I subdivide a piece that I am working on up to 8 million poly’s. It tells me that I have insufficent ram and that it is unable to process the task, but upon clicking o.k. it still shows the model at 8 mill polys and i can rotate around the piece with no lag at all. If I try to put a brush stroke on the piece though the same error message comes up.

This is a new computer set-up for me with the following specs:

intel core 2 quad cpu @2.83GHz
4gb ram
280 gb available on the drive that zbrush is installed
nvidia inno 3d gts 250 1gb graphics card

i’m running windows xp professional sp3

my memory preferences are as follows:

compact memory is set at 2000
maxpolypermesh 9,75 ( this is the amount that the system chose which adds to the 8mill memory error confusion )
doc undo 2
tool undo 1

should I get the computer back into the shop and change the OS to vista so that it will allocate more than 2gb ram to a program, or has this issue been sorted with sp3?

I do appologise for asking this old chestnut again but I really am at a loss with what to do.

thanks tons in advance

#2

I know that the subject probably comes up a lot but not one scrap of advice?

Anyway I think that i have worked it out now.

Sorry if I’m coming across as an arse i’m just a bit dissapointed is all.

#3

With a 32-it OS the best you’re going to be able to get per application is 2 GB of RAM. I don’t recommend the \3GB switch because it’s not supported by Microsoft due to it not being reliable. Works great on some systems and makes things worse on others. The only reliable way for any app to use more than 2 GB is to have a 64-bit OS.

That being said, 2 GB should not have a problem with 8 million polys. Here are some things to consider:


  • Are you running a lot of background apps?
  • How much free space is on the drive where ZBrush is installed? If there’s not enough, you’ll get the same error as if you’re running low on RAM.
  • Is that free space defragmented regularly? Keep in mind that a drive must have at least 15% free space for effective defragmentation.
  • Have you tried running scans for viruses and spyware? Those can suck your system dry of resources.

#4

Vista64 (or Windows7-64 when released) and 6GB RAM is pretty optimal for us. (My current Vista64 units both have 8GB which lets me have ZB and another app like Modo running conveniently.)

XP is OK, as Aurick says, up to 2GB, but the 3GB “mode” has been wonky for us.

Vista Home Premium-64 is sufficient for our needs (on laptops for example) and Vista Ultimate is a bit of rip-off.

-K