Bevel node, performance

Question

This bevel node and the way it connects two objects is great tip!
In fact, I just need something like that in one project I'm working on.
I would just like to ask, performance wise, how do these three types of bevel compare to each other?
If I need to use bevel a lot on one object, which one is the least "expensive" from the performance standpoint?

Thanks!

Answer 1 · 2024-08-15T17:28:57Z

Jonathan Lampel replied August 15, 2024 5:28pm

The performance of the Edit Mode and modifier bevels are about the same, and the shader bevel is going to be slower than both of those when it comes to rendering. But, if you bake it to a normal map and you're already using normal maps anyway, it would be faster for performance. So, it really depends on what you're doing with the object, what the final use case for it is, but overall, the difference isn't going to be enough to need to worry about.

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Answer 2 · 2024-08-15T17:45:59Z

Omar Domenech replied August 15, 2024 5:45pm

I tend to not use stuff like Bevel and AO as a node in the shader, I feel like when you have too many materials in the scene using it, it bogs down the viewport. But that is based on one time that happened to me and after that I said never again. So if I need a bevel I'll just model it in or use the bevel modifier.

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Answer 3 · 2024-08-15T18:07:41Z

Martin Bergwerf replied August 15, 2024 6:07pm

And a sneak preview into the future; Blender will probably getting a Bevel Node for Geometry Nodes, that might outperform the other methods.

If used outside of Blender, it will probably have to be Baked anyway and there wouldn't be much of a difference, performance-wise, but the Shader Bevel Node wouldn't be a good choice then...(I only use Blender, so I might be mistaken)

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