Hi everyone,
I’m currently running Blender on a Google Cloud Platform (GCP) VM, mainly for heavy liquid (Mantaflow) simulations and Cycles GPU rendering. However, the performance is far slower than expected.
Even though I’m using a high-end underlying rig, the GCP VM feels extremely slow for tasks that should run much faster—baking, simulation, and GPU rendering all take a very long time, and viewport performance is poor.
Before I upgrade or change instances, I need advice from anyone with experience running Blender on GCP.
What is the ideal GCP VM configuration for Blender?
Looking for recommendations on:
1. Best Machine Type
- n1, n2, n2d, c2, c3, or a2?
- Number of vCPUs that Blender benefits the most from (for simulation, baking, physics engine).
2. RAM Requirements
- How much memory is optimal for high-resolution fluid sims?
- Is 32–64 GB enough, or should I go higher?
3. GPU Choice
- T4 vs L4 vs A100 vs H100?
- Is a single powerful GPU better than 2 weaker ones in GCP for Cycles?
- Any experiences with GPU passthrough or driver issues?
4. Disk Performance
- Should I switch to Local SSD for caching & baking?
- Is Persistent Disk too slow for heavy Blender projects?
5. Known Bottlenecks
Has anyone run into these issues before on GCP?
- Slow fluid baking
- Poor GPU utilization
- Slow viewport updates
- RAM spikes during Mantaflow
- CPU clock speed bottleneck in VM vs bare metal
My current problems:
- Simulation times are much longer than they should be.
- GPU rendering feels underutilized.
- Overall Blender responsiveness is slow.
So I’m looking for recommendations on which exact GCP setup works best for Blender simulations + rendering.
Any help or shared experience would be greatly appreciated!