How Do You Fix the “Out of GPU Memory” Error in Blender?

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Rendering complex scenes in Blender can be incredibly rewarding but it can also hit an unexpected roadblock: the dreaded “System is out of GPU memory” error. This message usually appears when your scene demands more VRAM than your graphics card can provide, commonly caused by high-resolution textures, dense geometry, heavy particle systems, or adaptive subdivisions. In this guide, we’ll break down several practical strategies to reduce GPU load, optimize your scene, and keep Blender running smoothly so that you can render without crashes or interruptions. Let’s explore in this blog with iRender.

1. Switch to Wireframe or Solid Viewport While Editing

The Rendered or Material Preview viewport modes consume a ton of memory, potentially causing crashes during editing. Subtle switch: use Wireframe or Solid mode—dramatically lighter on GPU load.

By doing so, you free up VRAM for Blender’s UI, helping maintain a smooth editing experience

To change the viewport shading, click the shading icons at the top-right corner of the 3D Viewport, as shown below:

2. Swap to CUDA (if You're Using OptiX)

While OptiX often delivers faster ray tracing on newer NVIDIA cards, it can occasionally inflate memory use or crash on older setups. In those cases, switch to CUDA to gain better stability and potentially lower VRAM usage.

On Blender: Edit → Preferences → System → Cycles Render Devices → Select CUDA, then save preferences

3. Disable Unused Particle Systems

Particle systems (like hair, sparks, smoke) can be resource hogs—especially with complex instanced geometry or volumetric effects.

If they’re irrelevant to the final render:

Open the Particles tab → set Number and Lifetime to zero, or disable via the Modifiers tab.
You can also hide the system from rendering using the camera icon in the Outliner

4. Reduce Texture Resolution

Large textures (4K+) can quickly overwhelm VRAM, especially when multiple are used.

For viewport previews, you can set a lower proxy size in Edit → Preferences → Viewport → Limit Size.
But for final rendering, you must manually downscale textures (e.g., to 2K, 1K, or even 512px), then reassign them. Use compressed formats like optimized PNGs or JPEGs to save memory without significant quality loss

5. Use the Latest Blender Version and Drivers

Always work with the latest stable release of Blender, as newer versions often include performance improvements, memory fixes, and crash-prevention features. Avoid using alpha or beta builds unless you’re specifically testing new features, as these versions are more prone to bugs and instability.

Along with Blender itself, keep your GPU drivers up to date. In 2025, driver-level optimizations from NVIDIA, AMD, and Apple can significantly impact how Blender performs under load. Many crashes, especially black screen Out of GPU Memory errors, are directly linked to outdated or buggy drivers. Check your manufacturer’s website regularly and update accordingly.

Conclusion

Facing the “Out of GPU Memory” error in Blender doesn’t have to stall your workflow. By optimizing your scene, managing textures, controlling subdivisions, and using efficient viewport settings, you can reduce VRAM strain and prevent crashes. However, for particularly large or complex projects, even the most optimized local setup may struggle.

This is where a render farm like iRender can make a difference. With powerful GPU nodes and scalable resources, iRender lets you offload heavy renders to the cloud, bypassing local GPU limitations entirely. You can focus on the creative side of your projects while iRender handles memory-intensive calculations, ensuring smooth, high-quality results without compromise.

If your Blender projects keep pushing your hardware to the limit, using a render farm like iRender is a smart, professional way to render faster and safer—no more “out of GPU memory” errors holding you back.

iRender – Maximize Your Blender Rendering Performance

iRender is proud to be one of the best GPU service providers on the market. We provide you with high-configuration models with advanced specifications such as AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 3955WX @ 3.9 – 4.2GHz or AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ PRO 5975WX @ 3.6 – 4, 5GHz, 256GB RAM, 2TB NVMe SSD storage.

Under the IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model you will have full control over the machine via a remote desktop app, similar to Teamviewer but more stable. You will be able to proactively install the software and use it on the server just like using a personal computer. You can find many server packages with high-end configurations that are extremely suitable for complex projects. Our machines have preinstalled Blender, you can choose to create the machine at first then connect and render yourself.

We’re always happy to help you with any questions. If you have any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to contact our 24/7 support team. Or via WhatsApp: 0912 785 500 for free advice and support.

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