A small hacky module for THREE.js that forces a mesh and its texture to be uploaded into the GPU regardless of it's seen on-screen or not, preventing lag when the object comes into view.

gistfile1.txt

ForceGPULoad = (function(){
  var renderer;
  var scene;
  var camera;

  return {
    buffer: function( object3D ){
      //  push
      var originalPosition = object3D.position.clone();
      object3D.position.set( 0,0,0 );

      var parent = object3D.parent;
      parent.remove( object3D );
      scene.add( object3D );

      var culling = object3D.frustumCulled;
      object3D.frustumCulled = false;

      //  render
      renderer.render( scene, camera );
      object3D.position.copy( originalPosition );

      //  pop
      scene.remove( object3D );
      parent.add( object3D );
      object3D.frustumCulled = culling;
    },

    init: function( r, s, c ){
      renderer = r;
      scene = s;
      camera = c;
    },
  }
}());