Dedicated Multi-GPU Redshift Servers for Cinema 4D
iRender is an IaaS render farm for Cinema 4D and Redshift. Rent a dedicated multi-GPU server with 2, 4 or 8 NVIDIA RTX 5090 or RTX 4090 GPUs. It is built for heavy, plugin-rich Cinema 4D pipelines: up to 32 GB VRAM per GPU, 256 GB ECC RAM and full admin access. Cinema 4D and Redshift are pre-installed, and you pay only for the minutes the server runs.
Install any Cinema 4D version and run Redshift in GPU, CPU or Hybrid mode. Add X-Particles, Greyscalegorilla Plus, Forester or Maxon Capsules with your own licenses, exactly as on your workstation.
Why studios choose iRender as their Redshift render farm
- A whole multi-GPU workstation, not a slot in a queue. Rent up to 8x RTX 5090 with 32 GB VRAM each. Every server has 256 GB ECC RAM and a 2 TB NVMe SSD, and the 4x and 8x servers run an AMD Threadripper PRO 5975WX with 128 PCIe lanes. The server is single-tenant, so heavy MoGraph, Pyro and X-Particles scenes get all of it.
- Your pipeline, unchanged. Cinema 4D and Redshift come pre-installed, and Prime accounts get pre-activated licenses on every server. Install any other C4D version and your own plugins, then check the scene yourself before the batch, so a missing plugin or cache path is fixed before it costs a full render.
- You pay for render time, not for setup. Upload to iRender Drive for free before the server starts. Your first top-up of $50 or more is doubled, which covers installing plugins and rendering test frames. The 2x, 4x and 8x plans bill per minute, and sessions of 3 hours or more get 10% off the whole bill.
- Scale up when the deadline is close. Rent several 8x servers and give each its own frame range. In our 360-frame test, one 8x RTX 4090 server needed about 81 minutes; split across three servers, the same job finishes in about 30 minutes for a similar total cost.
- Infrastructure you can show your client. An Uptime Institute Tier III data center, ISO 27001:2013 information security, single-tenant servers wiped after every session, and Elite Support 7 days a week.
IaaS vs. SaaS: which Redshift render farm model fits your Cinema 4D work?
- The whole machine is yours. Every server is bare-metal and single-tenant. You get full administrator access, so it behaves like your own workstation.
- Ready in minutes. Cinema 4D and Redshift come pre-installed. You can also install any C4D version, plugins such as X-Particles, Greyscalegorilla Plus or Forester, and your own Python scripts.
- All GPUs on one frame. Redshift can render a frame with every GPU in the machine. Scaling is not perfectly linear, because part of each frame runs on the CPU. That is why the 4x and 8x servers use an AMD Threadripper PRO 5975WX with 128 PCIe lanes.
- Work from Mac, Windows or Linux. Connect from the iRender desktop app for Windows, macOS or Ubuntu, or from the web app, and drive a Windows multi-GPU server as if it sat on your desk.
- No waiting in a queue. You watch the render in Redshift RenderView or the Picture Viewer and change settings live.
IaaS render farm vs. submission (SaaS) render farm
What changes when you rent a whole server instead of sending frames to a job queue.
| Parameter | Typical submission (SaaS) render farm | iRender IaaS render farm |
|---|---|---|
| What you getHardware access | A job slot on shared render nodes. | A whole bare-metal multi-GPU server with full admin remote desktop. |
| Software and pluginsVersions, plugins, scripts | The versions and plugins the farm supports. | Any Cinema 4D and Redshift version, any plugin you install. |
| How you renderWorkflow | Upload through a plugin, then wait in a queue. | Your own scene and settings, live in RenderView or the Picture Viewer. |
| BillingWhat you pay for | Usually per frame or per GHz/GPU-hour. | Per minute for the server on 2x, 4x and 8x plans. |
| Long animationsSpeeding up a sequence | The farm splits frames across many nodes automatically. | Rent several 2x, 4x or 8x servers and give each a frame range, at about the same total cost. |
| Data on the machineSecurity | Shared render nodes process many customers' jobs. | Single-tenant server. Your image is saved between sessions; the machine is wiped before the next user. |
| LicensesCinema 4D + Redshift | Supplied by the farm. | Your own Maxon license, or ours on Prime accounts. |
Built for heavy, complex Cinema 4D + Redshift pipelines
Most render farms handle a clean scene well. The hard jobs are scenes over 24 GB, plugin-heavy setups and projects with hundreds of gigabytes of caches. That is where a whole dedicated server pays off.
The figure gives the short version. The table below goes row by row: how each heavy-scene problem shows up in production, and the exact hardware or access that handles it. If your scene hits more than one row, a 4x or 8x RTX 5090 server (plan 5i or 9i) covers all of them on one machine.
What a heavy C4D pipeline needs, and how iRender covers it
Each row is a common reason big Cinema 4D jobs fail or crawl, matched to the hardware and access on iRender servers.
| Pipeline challenge | What the scene demands | How an iRender server handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Scenes over 24 GBVRAM per GPU | Dense MoGraph, 8K UDIM texture sets and Pyro or VDB volumes. Redshift cannot move VDB volumes out-of-core, so they must fit in each card. | 32 GB per GPU on RTX 5090 plans, plus 256 GB ECC RAM for geometry and textures that go out-of-core. |
| Huge cache setsAlembic, VDB, particles | Simulation and particle caches that run to tens or hundreds of gigabytes per shot. | 2 TB local NVMe SSD on every server. Upload to iRender Drive for free, before the server starts. |
| Plugin-heavy scenesVersions and tools | X-Particles, Greyscalegorilla Plus, Forester, custom Python scripts and a specific Redshift build. | Full administrator access. Install exactly the versions your scene was built with and keep them unchanged until the project ships. |
| CPU-bound stepsScene prep, baking | Scene evaluation, simulation baking and cache writing run on the CPU, not the GPUs. | AMD Threadripper PRO 5975WX (32 cores) with 128 PCIe lanes on every 4x and 8x server. |
| Many shots and passesTakes, cameras, AOVs | Several Takes, camera angles and multi-pass outputs per delivery. | Run them headless with Commandline.exe, using the -take and -frame flags for each batch. |
| Studio licensingCinema 4D + Redshift | Floating studio seats or a Maxon One subscription. | Sign in to the Maxon App or point to your RLM license server. Prime accounts get licenses activated on every server they run. |
Catch problems before the batch: pre-flight checks on the server
Most failed Cinema 4D render farm jobs fail for the same reasons: pink textures from broken paths, a different Redshift build, the wrong Take or a color pipeline that shifts. On a submission farm you find out after the frames come back. On an iRender server you check everything in the open scene first.
The full list is in our Cinema 4D & Redshift render farm pre-flight checklist.
Redshift render farm pricing: choose your server
Choose your Cinema 4D + Redshift server
Every server: 256 GB ECC RAM, 2 TB NVMe SSD, Windows or Ubuntu, Cinema 4D and Redshift pre-installed.
| Plan & GPUs | VRAM & CPU | Price per hour | 3h+ sessions (-10%) | Good fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU Cloud Workstation 4S2x RTX 4090 | 24 GB per GPUThreadripper PRO 3955WX | $15 / hour | $13.50 / hour | Lookdev, stills, short spots |
| GPU Cloud Workstation 4i2x RTX 5090 | 32 GB per GPUThreadripper PRO 3955WX | $20 / hour | $18 / hour | Heavier lookdev, short animations |
| GPU Cloud Workstation 5S4x RTX 4090 | 24 GB per GPUThreadripper PRO 5975WX | $30 / hour | $27 / hour | Animations that fit in 24 GB |
| GPU Cloud Workstation 5i4x RTX 5090 | 32 GB per GPUThreadripper PRO 5975WX | $38 / hour | $34.20 / hour | Heavy animations, dense MoGraph, Pyro |
| GPU Cloud Workstation 9S8x RTX 4090 | 24 GB per GPUThreadripper PRO 5975WX | $52 / hour | $46.80 / hour | Long sequences on a deadline |
| GPU Cloud Workstation 9i8x RTX 5090 | 32 GB per GPUThreadripper PRO 5975WX | $62 / hour | $55.80 / hour | The heaviest scenes on a deadline |
How much VRAM does your Redshift scene need on a render farm?
Redshift does not combine VRAM across GPUs. Each card must hold the scene on its own: 24 GB on an RTX 4090, 32 GB on an RTX 5090. Adding GPUs makes a frame render faster, but it does not raise the memory limit.
When a scene needs more than one card holds, Redshift goes out-of-core and uses system RAM, which is slower. OpenVDB volumes cannot go out-of-core. If your scene has heavy Pyro or VDB caches, or many 8K textures, choose an RTX 5090 plan.
Cinema 4D render farm benchmarks: real Redshift tests and costs
What real Cinema 4D render jobs cost on iRender
Render time from each video, priced at the per-minute list rate of the server used.
| Test (iRender video) | Server | Frames & render time | Cost at list price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinema 4D animationiRender video | 5i4x RTX 5090 | 150 frames 1h 42m · 40.84 s/frame | about $64.66 |
| Fluid and particle motion paintingC4D 2025.3.3 | 9S8x RTX 4090 | 360 frames 1h 18m 13s · 1h 21m billed | $70.20 about $0.20 per frame |
| Cinema 4D animation, 30 fpsiRender video | 4S2x RTX 4090 | 300 frames about 2h 50m · 33.95 s/frame | about $42.44 |
| Sailboat animationiRender video | 5i4x RTX 5090 | 120 frames 3h 19m | about $113.43 after the 10% 3h+ discount |
Watch the full 8x RTX 4090 session from the table: project upload, license activation, the 360-frame render and the download, start to finish.
Long animation on a deadline? Render it on several 8x servers at once
Submission farms are popular for animation because they split frames across many nodes. You can do the same on iRender: rent two, three or more 8x servers, such as 9i with 8x RTX 5090, and give each one its own frame range. Because billing is per minute, finishing faster on more servers costs about the same in total.
Each server opens the same project from iRender Drive and renders its range with Commandline.exe -render scene.c4d -frame 120 239, or from the Picture Viewer. Here is what that looks like with the real 360-frame test from the benchmark table.
One 8x server vs. three 8x servers for the same animation
The single-server row is measured. The three-server row is an estimate that adds setup and first-frame compile time to each server.
| Setup | Time until all frames are done | Machine time billed | Cost at list price ($52/hour per 9S) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1x 9S serverMeasured | about 81 min | 81 min | $70.20 |
| 3x 9S servers, 120 frames eachEstimate | about 30 min | about 3 x 29 min | about $76 |
Licenses on every server: Maxon licenses Redshift GPU per machine. On Prime accounts, iRender licenses cover every server you run, so three 9i servers render with no extra license setup. If you bring your own licenses, plan one per server.
Licensing: use ours or bring your own
- Prime accounts (total top-ups above $3,000) get official Cinema 4D and Redshift licenses already activated, on every server they run at the same time.
- Bring your own license. Sign in to the Maxon App on the server, or point it to your studio’s RLM license server. A Cinema 4D subscription includes one Redshift GPU license. You can move it between machines, but Maxon licenses Redshift GPU per node, so move it to the iRender server while you render and back afterwards.
How to use the Cinema 4D render farm in 4 steps
- Register and top up. Your first top-up of $50 or more is doubled, so setup time is covered.
- Upload your project to iRender Drive. Transfer and storage are free, and you can upload before the server starts.
- Start a 2x, 4x or 8x server and connect over remote desktop. Cinema 4D and Redshift are already installed.
- Render in the Picture Viewer, or headless with
Commandline.exe -nogui -render. Download the frames and shut the server down; billing stops.
Connect to your server from whatever machine you work on. The iRender GPU app runs on Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Ubuntu/Debian, and the web app opens in any modern browser with nothing to install, so a Mac user can drive an 8x RTX 5090 Windows server.
iRender GPU Application & Web Console
iRender offers you a much simpler and convenient way of working with the iRender render farm. Download native desktop clients or launch directly in your browser.
| Platform & OS | Compatibility & Specs | Format | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Windows64-bit Edition
|
• OS: Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)
• Arch: Intel / AMD x86_64
|
.exe | Download for Windows↓ |
|
LinuxDebian / Ubuntu
|
• OS: Ubuntu 20.04 / 22.04 / 24.04, Debian
• Install: App Center, GDebi or Terminal
|
.deb | Download for Linux (.deb)↓ |
|
macOSUniversal DMG
|
• Apple Silicon: M1, M2, M3, M4 & later
• Intel Mac: Core i5, i7, i9 (x64 architecture)
|
.dmg | |
|
Web ApplicationUniversal Browser Access
|
• Compatibility: All OS (Windows, macOS, Linux, iPadOS, Mobile)
• Requirement: Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox (No installation needed)
|
Web Portal | Launch Web App→ |
Once connected, the server behaves like a local workstation: open your scene from iRender Drive and render. The quickstart below shows the full flow for Cinema 4D and Redshift.
Redshift in Houdini, Maya and other hosts
The same servers run Redshift in Houdini, Maya and 3ds Max. See the Houdini render farm and Maya render farm pages for host-specific setup. Comparing engines? Read the Cinema 4D Octane render farm page.
Tier III data center and ISO-certified security for long renders
A multi-hour 8x GPU render needs the building around it to stay up, and studio work under NDA needs a provider that can show its security controls. iRender servers run in an Uptime Institute Tier III data center with ISO-certified operations.
What each standard means for your Cinema 4D render
The standards iRender's data center and operations are certified to, in plain terms.
| Standard | What it means | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Uptime Institute Tier IIIData center design | Concurrently maintainable: power and cooling equipment can be serviced or replaced without shutting down the servers. | Planned facility maintenance does not stop an overnight 8x GPU render. |
| ISO 27001:2013Information security | A certified information security management system with audited controls. | Client work under NDA runs inside a certified security framework you can point your client to. |
| ITIL and ISO 9001:2008Operations and quality | IT service management practices and a certified quality management system. | Servers are provisioned and supported the same documented way every time. |
| ISO 50001:2011Energy management | A certified system for managing energy use in the facility. | Dense 8-GPU servers run on power managed under a certified energy process. |
| Single-tenant, wiped after useiRender process | One customer per server. Your server image is saved between sessions, and the physical machine is fully wiped before anyone else uses it. | The next user never sees your scenes, caches or frames. |
Elite support is available 7 days a week by hotline, live chat, Skype, WhatsApp and email.
Frequently asked questions
Is iRender a Redshift render farm or a remote workstation?
Both. You rent a whole multi-GPU machine and drive it over remote desktop, so you render your Cinema 4D scenes the way you do locally, with no submission plugin or queue.
Do I need my own Cinema 4D and Redshift license?
Prime accounts (total top-ups above $3,000) get official, pre-activated Cinema 4D and Redshift licenses on every server they run. Other users sign in to the Maxon App on the server or connect to their studio’s RLM license server.
Does Redshift combine VRAM across the GPUs?
No. Each GPU holds the full scene, so the limit is 24 GB on RTX 4090 plans and 32 GB on RTX 5090 plans. More GPUs make each frame faster.
How am I billed?
The 2x, 4x and 8x plans are billed per minute from the first minute, at the hourly price divided by 60. Sessions of 3 hours or more get 10% off the whole bill. Single-GPU plans have a 1-hour minimum, then per-minute billing.
Do I pay for uploading files?
No. Transfer and storage on iRender Drive are free, and you can upload before you start a server.
Can I render from the command line?
Yes. You have full administrator access, so you can run Commandline.exe with -nogui and -render, and pick Takes and frame ranges.
Can I use X-Particles, Greyscalegorilla Plus or Forester?
Yes. Install any Cinema 4D plugin and version, just as on your own workstation.
Can I rent several 8x servers at once for one animation?
Yes. Rent as many 2x, 4x or 8x servers as the deadline needs and give each its own frame range. Billing is per minute per server, so the total cost stays close to rendering on one server, plus a few minutes of setup on each. Prime accounts have Cinema 4D and Redshift licenses on every server.
What happens to my files when the session ends?
Your server image (installed software, plugins and settings) is saved between sessions. The physical machine is fully wiped before anyone else uses it, as part of iRender’s standard process, so no project files stay on it for the next user. Keep project files and output you still need on iRender Drive.
What happens if I stop a render halfway?
You pay only for the minutes the server ran. For special cases, contact support and the team will review them case by case.
Cinema 4D + Redshift render farm guides
Hand-picked guides from the iRender blog for the problems Redshift artists ask us about most: scaling, sampling and crashes on heavy scenes.
Render your next Cinema 4D project on 4x or 8x RTX 5090
Top up $50 or more and get the same amount again as a bonus, enough to set up your scene and run test frames.
“We focus on people and the joy of creation!”
"iRender Farm’s green data center is powered by solar energy, as part of our natural and eco-friendly commitment to a sustainable future."
Redshift Render Farm Insights
Expert Redshift render farm guides. Resolve out-of-core VRAM spills, system RAM swap thresholds, .rs proxy asset dependencies, and ACES pipelines on a dedicated Redshift render farm powered by AMD Threadripper PRO, 256GB RAM, and multi-RTX 4090/5090 GPUs on ultra-fast NVMe storage.
"We all know that talent is never enough but devotion is the only way to success"
