---
title: "Render Engines"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/VBLD/117639849/Render%20Engines"
format: markdown
---
This page describes the differences between the V-Ray render engines. Overview V-Ray offers two rendering engines: V-Ray V-Ray GPU GPU rendering allows V-Ray to perform the raytracing calculations on the Nvidia GPU cards installed in the system, rather than the CPU. Since GPUs are specifically designed for massively parallel calculations, they can speed up the rendering process by an order of magnitude. Keep in mind that the CPU is still used for the pre-render processes.  Currently, V-Ray is compatible only with  Nvidia GPUs . If you wish to utilize the  RTX render mode , then an RTX or Quadro RTX series Nvidia GPU is needed. V-Ray GPU CUDA also offers a  Hybrid  rendering feature, which renders on both the CPU and the GPU. This feature does not utilize the full power of the CPU, like the V-Ray engine does, it is only supporting the GPU when rendering. To find out how to turn on Hybrid rendering see the  Rendering with V-Ray GPU  page.   Note:  some of the information in this video is outdated. However,  The Basics ,  CPU  and  GPU  sections (marked on the timeline and the video description) offer fundamental information.  Features V-Ray GPU supports most V-Ray features, while V-Ray CPU supports all of them. Although the V-Ray GPU engine shares the same user interface as the V-Ray engine, it differs in the way it performs certain calculations. The results will not match exactly, although they may look quite similar. Furthermore, achieving identical results is not the goal. This is why, it is strongly recommended to not switch between engines in the middle of your project - if you start setting up a scene with the regular V-Ray engine, use it for the entire project. The render settings will only show the available options and your scene will be optimized for CPU rendering. V-Ray GPU can be used for  production rendering  and  interactive rendering . It also supports both the  Progressive  and  Bucket   Image Samplers . Some features are not supported on V-Ray GPU, due to the nature of graphics cards. For example, if your want to render with render channels, it is recommended to use the V-Ray engine instead.  See the  Supported Features  page and determine if V-Ray GPU is right for your project . Keep in mind that neither render engine uses only CPU or GPU, some processes are always shared. Examples scenarios: When using the V-Ray render engine, the CPU cores are used for rendering, while, by default, the GPU handles denoising and lens effects. When using the V-Ray GPU, the graphics card is used for rendering, but the Light Cache GI engine may be calculated on the CPU (unless  GPU Light Cache  is enabled). Hybrid rendering within V-Ray GPU, where both the GPU and CPU components render simultaneously. V-Ray vs V-Ray GPU V-Ray CPU advantages: Allows rendering complex scenes requiring a substantial amount of memory. Supports all V-Ray features. Does not pre-occupy single-GPU machines during rendering. V-Ray GPU advantages: Graphics cards often outperform CPU devices when it comes to processing parallel tasks, such as raytracing. A single machine can host multiple GPU devices but in most cases only a single CPU. V-Ray GPU has all the required features to be production ready; Hybrid rendering allows maximum hardware utilization by harnessing the computing power of both GPU and CPU devices. V-Ray CPU disadvantage: Lower render speeds compared to GPU Parallel processes slowed, since CPU is occupied with rendering V-Ray GPU disadvantages: Limited feature support One whole GPU is occupied while rendering Conclusion The  V-Ray GPU  engine allows you to utilize your hardware better and render more quickly. However, not all features are supported. The   V-Ray CPU  render engine gives you full feature support, but lower rendering speeds. Additionally, fewer parallel processes can be preformed, since the CPU is occupied.