Archicad for iMac 27

[Shauneel]

Hi
I`m little angry now , I would do that.

I read your advice , but I don`t understand it very well..( and I use translator ).

For special folders.. I have everywhere recommended like in the picture.
2D Drawing Hardware Acceleration - I have full
Memory usage - I lowered to 2/3

I would not resist if it was possible to show you my settings.. Cause I don`t understand this at all. I am trying to translate your links but usually doesn`t make it sense to me.

I can buy 16GB RAM for 205$ ( salessssss ). --- total = 3040$... For that performance. I'm disappointed , but I believe you can help me again in the making decision.

Enjoy football !!

 

[campyguy]

My phone rang, so no football yet...

The Hardware Acceleration changes should help. One more tip - we never work in an administrator account on our machines, and rarely use other applications, such as web browsers as they'll only slow down a machine. I have two Macs on my desk - one for work, and one for play (I'm the boss, and there's nobody here to tell me what to do...); my work Mac has no games, only Safari, and no resource hogs. I'd recommend a Standard User account that you use only for AC - especially with 8GB of RAM.

Regarding the Special Folders, we connect an SSD (with nothing in it, no files, no OS) then change the Cache location to that SSD. Like with Photoshop, AC generates huge swap/cache files - so, your OS, any other applications, and AC are all performing work at the same time. There's no need to make this change if you don't have an attached disk - we use them, because time is money (in my bank account...).

As for RAM, even an additional 8GB will provide a boost in AC's performance. Honestly, you do not want to know how much money I spend on hardware each year - RAM is a cheap fix IMHO. In the early '90s, my college roommate spent $600 on an 8MB (not GB...) upgrade for his gaming PC, and I remember those days. I honestly do feel that quality RAM (we use Kingston here) is a decent upgrade, and any additions for what you're using will help.

Also, I didn't ask earlier - does your iMac have an SSD, Fusion Drive, or hard drive? We use only SSDs now. Others could chime in about Fusion Drives - I'm under an impression that Fusion Drives, as they're implemented by Apple, "learn" your actions over time and eventually optimize to your workflow. Again, cheers!

 

[Shauneel]

Ok , I hope that. Yes , my Memory Clean program show me , just safari need 1GB ram while using and AC on the background 580MB..

I have only WD my passport ultra metal edition 2GB HDD disk..

I know this RAM is cheap , but $3040... For $1800 I can have PC with better performance. That's what I mean. I can`t spent another $700 for RAM and SSD.

I tested rendering again ( I hoped it was just bad dream.. ). The same picture with same options:
Door stop - 3:15
iMac - 3:30

I have Fusion Drive.

 

[campyguy]

Shauneel, I'm going to *strongly* recommend setting up a user account that you use strictly for ArchiCAD - this recommendation has nothing to do with security or passwords. Browsers and email clients use disk caching - and so does ArchiCAD; if you have a browser or email client open, it saves caches - hundreds of them as you go about your normal day - and they're polling the networks that they're connected to.

I am not an "expert" at setting up PCs and Macs, however, I have been using CAD and GIS apps for almost 30 years - before this thing we now call the "internet", and when SCSI drives were what we used. I learned to optimize hardware when our tools were pretty slow, and I still get paid to tell clients how to best optimize their hardware configurations. I'll offer one key bit of advice - set up a user account just for using ArchiCAD. Don't use any other application in that user account; if you need to check email or surf the web, that's what iPads and tablets are for. Also, restart your Mac every couple of days (or sooner) - others will offer that we don't need to restart our Macs, but Apple will offer that restarting will flush/empty cache files.

As to money, I'm not doubting your price quotes. However, we use US$3k Macs that perform better than US$3k PCs - if they're set up properly. You indicated that your PC had two drives in it - an SSD and a hard drive - AC is smart enough to set itself up to use one drive as an OS drive and another drive as a cache drive. I realize that you're in CZ - the cost for a small SSD and 8-16GB of RAM shouldn't cost US$700. If a Mac with AC installed has additional RAM installed, AC will not need to poll a Fusion Drive with cache files.

To be fair to Graphsoft, they do use the phrase "RAM is cheap". I average $6k for a decent workstation - Apple or Dell/HP, without any set up costs and with about $1k of peripherals. I think you're doing fine so far...

 

[Shauneel]

So , it`s decided. The same ones salesman who told me I can return iMac lied to me and denied everything... Big thanks to Czech liars!

Now , I definitely want to buy next 16GB RAM for = 24GB. You`re right , 16GB cost "just" $203.
And slow rendering? I just have to learn to live with it..

I made a new account only for Archicad as you said. I restart my iMac every day ( taught from an iPhone ). Now I see better change. I envy you your knowledge about AC and MAC and your willingness. Thank you for wasting your time with me.

 

[campyguy]

Shauneel, first and foremost, this is not a waste of my time...

Is your application updated to the latest build - Build 6004? It was issued about 2 weeks ago - it fixed a lot of problems with rendering and modeling for us. Just asking... More RAM will certainly help. FWIW, I compared AC on two machines - a PC and a Mac, both with similar processors and RAM (we have experienced that AC doesn't offload much to the GPU

And, if you weren't happy about spending more money (sorry!), we've been demoing Version 20 - and it's a very nice update, with a completely new interface. IMHO - and this is my opinion - Graphisoft has been spending more time on the new version and letting bugs languish in V. 19. The new Version 20 is much faster to use, but we're not updating until a few bug fixes are issued (we have a subscription of ArchiPLUS...).

Also, take the time to review your Detailed CineRender Settings - they can be a bit daunting to read through. I can only offer that we've spent time tweaking the app and CineRender to get it just the way we need it to work. I can only offer a link to our US web portal (http://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/gu...e-2/dialog-boxes/detailed-cinerender-settings) - my Hungarian is awful, even though I dated a Hungarian woman for a few years a while ago...

Had to take a time out for a client, I asked around my office and they reminded me of my advice to them - check your SEOs and make sure they're done properly. I read this a few months ago, and it echoes my sentiment (it's a pretty easy read): https://wwabim.wordpress.com/2016/03/22/solid-element-operator-errors/

Also, do you use older libraries, created in older versions of AC? If you do use older libraries, stop what you're doing now and convert them to v19 and also check them to ensure their SEOs are cleaned up.

There's a bunch of chatter in the "Other" forums for ArchiCAD regarding slow downs in v19 - on both OS platforms. Much of our work is exported to Artlantis, which runs on a fast machine with gobs of RAM - it's our render farm. I recall offering that I use a Mac Mini Server at home, and that's what I offload my rendering work to, and you can use your old PC for that work. Rendering pretty much makes a computer grind to a slow crawl - however, I really think that you'll find more RAM and a dedicated workspace will make your life and work easier! Keep me posted, and take care!

 

[Shauneel]

ok , I'm glad for that.

No , I still use 4006 build. I don't know about new version , thanks. I partly support my family , now. Sister`s school cost us $52 000 for year. I can't spend more money...

About CineRender. My boss wants from me certain level of quality , cause Cz clients need the best for nothing... I think I can set CineRender very good. But thanks for link , I need some more details!

Libraries. When I'm lazy to model some morphs what I need , I download objects from http://archibaseplanet.com . Otherwise basic libraries I use v19.

Yes , right now I'm rendering on "door stop" work from iMac. I think it works good. I try to use Artlantis at school last year , but I wasn't patient and let it be. I can't work with that , but if it is faster than CineRender maybe I`ll teach it. And thanks for that Element errors!!

I'll try my best to configure my Mac and AC to better work how you advise me. Don't worry, I'll definitely stay in touch. BB

 

[campyguy]

I need some more details!

I have a short trip to make, a bit of traveling. I'll get back to you on this. Do, add some additional RAM - it's a huge difference.

As to the libraries, make sure they are updated to v19 and that their SEOs are resolved.

I know that Graphisoft still has some work to do with speeding up their applications. You are not the only one experiencing slowdowns with ArchiCAD...