Face Refinement Mask Issue

Having a strange problem with the Face Refinement tool in Resolve 14. It never seems to generate a 'face mask', but if I change any of the settings (Smoothing, Detail size, Detail, Contrast) it'll pop a quick face mask up for a second, then disappear again (if I have Show Mask and Use Face Mask selected). It tracks perfectly and the overlay looks flawless. Here's some screenshots:

FaceRefinement.jpg (743.79 KiB) Viewed 2100 times

If I use the tool without the face mask selected, I can do the basic functions, like smoothing, but none of the other features work.

System Specs:

iMac 3.5GHz Intel i5
32GB DDR3
AMD Radeon R9 M290X
500GB SSD
Resolve 14.0.0.078
OS Sierra 10.12.6

Is this a laptop? My memory is that the Radeon is not a very powerful GPU.

In fairness, I have seen the Face Refinement mode occasionally fail even on the MacPro with AMD D700 GPUs, but usually a second try brings it back (but not always).

Is this a laptop? My memory is that the Radeon is not a very powerful GPU.

In fairness, I have seen the Face Refinement mode occasionally fail even on the MacPro with AMD D700 GPUs, but usually a second try brings it back (but not always).

No, this is on my iMac (Late 2014 27"). I haven't tried it on my MBP yet, but it has an nVidia card in it, but the other specs are almost similar (minus the RAM, it only has 16GB). I guess I should have tested it there too

The older iMacs have GPUs made for mobile, only the 2017 models have better ones.
Check how much VRAM you have.

No, this is on my iMac (Late 2014 27"). I haven't tried it on my MBP yet, but it has an nVidia card in it, but the other specs are almost similar (minus the RAM, it only has 16GB). I guess I should have tested it there too

My opinion is that an iMac of this vintage doesn't have enough power for Resolve. You can work with very small files and non-demanding corrections to a point, but the moment you move into OFX filters, that puts a lot of stress on the GPUs. I think this would be challenging for a modern iMac (but possible with low-res material).

No, this is on my iMac (Late 2014 27"). I haven't tried it on my MBP yet, but it has an nVidia card in it, but the other specs are almost similar (minus the RAM, it only has 16GB). I guess I should have tested it there too

My opinion is that an iMac of this vintage doesn't have enough power for Resolve. You can work with very small files and non-demanding corrections to a point, but the moment you move into OFX filters, that puts a lot of stress on the GPUs. I think this would be challenging for a modern iMac (but possible with low-res material).

Thanks Marc. It's not a huge deal that I can't use it. I just didn't know if it was a bug that needed to be squashed, BUT maybe I could use this as a reason to get a new iMac