Blender 5.2 LTS introduces a Cycles Texture Cache that dramatically reduces memory usage when rendering scenes with many image textures. The system generates .tx files containing only the tiles and resolutions needed for rendering. It works across CPU and all GPU backends using a batch-load-and-relaunch approach for GPU kernels, with cache eviction tied to Blender's existing tiled rendering system. Ray differentials were added to the native SVM shading system for proper mipmap level selection. The feature is already available in daily builds, with further improvements planned for render farms, viewport interactivity, and packed texture support.
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