Question about video memory

I have some questions about memory/ video memory.
I have one machine with 24 GB of RAM and 2 GB of video memory
I have another with 16 GB of physical memory and 4 GB of video memory. I am working with large files and sometimes they crash.
I am not sure whether to use the one with more RAM or more video memory- or should I try to get more video memory on the one with more RAM.
Thanks for your help.

Well, unless you’re actually being told by Windows that it’s crashing because it’s run out of memory, neither number really tells you anything about how large a model you can work on without crashing. It’s more about dramatic slowdowns, not crashing, though in most situations video RAM is more about the size of your monitor(s) than polygon count.

What the numbers are really about is that random crashes for no apparent reason are usually video drivers, and that’s most likely to be a problem with the 2GB model, which by today’s standards is kind of obsolete.

Hi Courtney - when they crash, do you get a crash report UI from McNeel popping up in your face? If so, please send those, with the file (there’s a checkbox) and as much detail as you can muster about what you were doing when the crash occurred…

-Pascal

ok @pascal , here is what I have from another crash today. I know my file has many many control points- I am still not sure how to simplify the elevation data that I get - using 1 arc second data from USGS that I use the elk plugin to create a surface. RhinoCrashDump.3dm (15.8 MB)
crash dump dmp file