Hardware recommendations

[Gaieus]

Csaba, considering your laptop's current AND previous owners, could explain a lot!

Yes, indeed. I know I'll have to do the whole cleaning job, really. Once my new machine is up and running (hopefully some time early next week), I'll do it with the lappy. I just don't want to risk ending up with no computer at all as I have ongoing works (and of course, SCF ).

As for the reinstall; yeah, that will also happen. Although I think it was just about half a year or so when I last did it. However I'm afraid the lappy-lady is actually dying so I may even get it checked and if it's worth, maybe change a part or two.

[Jackson]

Yes, indeed. I know I'll have to do the whole cleaning job, really. Once my new machine is up and running (hopefully some time early next week), I'll do it with the lappy. I just don't want to risk ending up with no computer at all as I have ongoing works (and of course, SCF ).

I would have thought that a frequently critically overheating PC would be putting your work at a much greater risk than blowing some air through it now and again.

[johnsenior1973]

Without looking back over this thread, it seems to me that most people on here are talking about higher end, $1,500+ machines.

How does SU run on the very cheapest, GMA laptops available for around $300/400?

The PC I have right now is nearly three years old, bottom of the range eMachines desktop - Pentium 4 3.06Ghz, 384mb RAM, ati radeon xpress 200. For me, I really haven't had any problem with SU and the speed is perfectly acceptable for me.

How would this $378 Acer laptop from Wal Mart compare to my present one? http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... d=11068044 How would the 9 inch netbooks perform? http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... d=11319320

[Gaieus]

My old machine I started using SU on was one with a Pentium 2.7 GHz processor, 512 Mb memory and a 128 Mb Ati Radeon X550 card. SU ran smoothly on it and I built models with more than 1.2 million poly's and 300.000 faces on it (surely by using layers often hidden and all).

This one rocks though.

[pep75]

Sorry guys...I'm breaking into this discussion...but has anyone experienced the diffenrence with SU and a SSD??? Does a SSD boost the performance of SU?

Thank you!!!

[Jackson]

Don't think it'd make any difference with SU whatsoever other than hard drive dependant tasks like opening files, autosaving, importing textures, etc. In terms of modelling and orbiting, hard drive speed is irrelevant AFAIK.

[Anssi]

Sorry guys...I'm breaking into this discussion...but has anyone experienced the diffenrence with SU and a SSD??? Does a SSD boost the performance of SU?

Thank you!!!

I don't remember where (probably here) I picked it up, but I seem to know that OpenGL (the thing that drives the SU display) does not support multiple graphics cards, so SSD benefits only DirectX, that is mainly used by games.

Anssi

[thomthom]

I had an 6800GT and an 8800GT installed. worked fine.

[Zilonx]

Sorry guys...I'm breaking into this discussion...but has anyone experienced the diffenrence with SU and a SSD??? Does a SSD boost the performance of SU?

Thank you!!!

I don't remember where (probably here) I picked it up, but I seem to know that OpenGL (the thing that drives the SU display) does not support multiple graphics cards, so SSD benefits only DirectX, that is mainly used by games.

Anssi

Hmmm... not exactly that - the guy is probably talking about hard drives and not display cards (solid state drives). Also, OpenGL can run too, over multiple cards - using a Fx3800 or better card. Application dependent, however.

[mikeford00]

Hi Tommy great idea by the way, i've ben scanning through and had a look at the database as im looking to get a new computer at work as i'm cutrrently running sketchup on 2 computers here, one is on vista and the other is xp and both are becoming very sluggish. The reason is the models i'm creating are huge, ranging from 40 to 70 mb each once all the components are pieced together. The models are of new housing sites and the individual houses etc created on their own run perfectly, with only the odd glich when autosaving sometimes. As soon as i piece everything together onto a contoured layout it all slows up, causing problems.

Just wondered if there are any machines that stand out when using very large models as you can't tell on the database what sort of work people are using them for, and the machines im currently using work excellent with smaller models.

[remus]

Have you updated to sketchup 7.1? if not its by far the easiest you could do to improve the performance with your models. (sorry that sounds so much like sales banter, but its true.)

[mikeford00]

I am currently running it on my other machine yes and i found it did improve it but again with the complete model its soo slow. The only way i get around it is by turning the majority of the layers off but obviously there are some points where i need to view the model with everything turned on

[francois le francais]

Hello, I'm new on sketchucation, and I 'd like to have some advice. I'm just done with architecture studies and owner of a new macbook pro unibody 15" 2.8Ghz - 4gb Ram - 512Mo dedicated. Sketchup pro 7 runs perfectly my diploma files (4mb, without any google warehouse components and shadows activated) with the better battery life configuration, so i don't have to switch. I haven't worked with sketchup for more than 20 minutes (just for a test) with this config. I was before running xp with nvidia 7600gt (256) and thas was terribly slow...

I have just noticed a problem with zooming in edges, that appeared with my old config, and appears with both graphic cards config on the macbook too.

The fact is that for other reasons, i asked apple a return, and i'm not sure i'll order the same config, because the 9400 integrated card seems to be enough to me. I'm planning using vectorworks(2D), cinema4D+V-ray, photoshop, and no games. The point is that if i choose the basic apple config, my processor will be only 2.53 and less disk space (250 to 500).

I'd like to hear what u think about that. Is there some mac users who can confirm or not what i'm saying. It's not really a money problem, but if i won't use this card, it's a bit stupid to buy it. Regards

PS : i d like to make some test with big scenes if u can send me some...

[Brodie]

If those are the programs you're running I would hardly factor SketchUp into your decision. Your main hogs will probably be Photoshop and VRay for RAM and Vray will also chew through whatever CPU you give it. You may or may not notice a difference in sketchup or C4D between those two specs, but you'll definately notice a difference in your rendering time with Vray.

-Brodie

[francois le francais]

Thank u Brodie for advices.

I would hardly factor SketchUp into your decision

Look at my post http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=20076&p=189659#p189659 and you'll understand that, it's hard to notice a difference with sketchup.

Sure v-ray render will be faster, but once u notice the similar graphic performance with both specs (for cad i mean, i'm not a gamer), don't u think that the price difference between those 2 specs is a bit exagerate for faster renders... They both have 4gb Ram, one is 1599€, the other 2099(French prices).