!Restored: AutoCAD convert's questions

[Anonymous]

Hello. New here, new to ArchiCAD.

I have been working on ACAD for many years now. Mostly 2D layouts. Whatever needed 3D has been done in MAX. But now i'm thinking stepping up a bit and doing most of the stuff in 3D from the start.

I have a big problem - need to convert to ArchiCAD from AutoCAD. Not a happy puppy at the moment.

So, the question is - where does one start converting from ACAD ? Worst thing i can do is read dry manuals of course. Dont want to

Are there any DO's and DONTs while converting ?

Where do i pick up STEP-BY-STEP tutorials for AC10 ? I'd rather stick to practical excercize, than read thru manuals.

I'm gonna miss my command line, by the way...

Are there any touching points between 3dsMAX and archicad ? besides the obsolete 3DS file format ? Can i get fully textured objects from MAX over to AC10 ?

Is there any way to properly rework autocad made line drawings (plan layouts) into archicad elevated walls, etc ? I still prefer doing precision 2D drawing on acad...

#EDIT1# Did some more reading on the board and some questions popped up. Does AC10 support proper multi-core or multi-cpu utilization ?
Or multi-core multi-cpu for that matter ? My rig is well off for acad2000 but i doubt ids gonna cut it for AC10. Thinking of getting a new rig, possibly with couple of dualcores onboard (quadcores are a bit too hip for now.)?

Sorry if i lack of consistency in the post - its 5:06AM now, cant sleep over the converting issue, searching the net for AC stuff, etc...

Thanks...

[Dennis Lee]

I converted to AC not that long ago, and for me, I

1) did the tutorials at http://www.graphisoft.com/products/archicad/ac10/ITG/
2) read a bunch of stuff on my distributor's website (www.digitalvis.com), and
3) bought the book called PROJECT FRAMEWORK,
4) as well as LIGHTWORKS IN ARCHICAD.
5) Also, I frequently visit some AC blogs, ArchiCAD East and On Land.

Of course, when you have a specific question, you search on this forum. However, in order to really convert, you really have to jump in and do one project first in my opinion.

Good luck and welcome!

[Gerald Hoffman]

This was a conversion guide I saw from quite a while back. It may be wrong for some commands but might help you find some of the things you will be looking for.

http://users.swing.be/geoffroy.magnan/archicad/transition/index.htm

On the multi CPU question AC itself can only use one processor but if you have multiple instances open it helps. The Lightworks rendering engine can use 2 processors and I notice a speed difference when rendering.

Welcome to ArchiCAD. I don't think you will be sorry after you get over some of the frustration.

[Anonymous]

What i'm missing the most is a command line operation in AC. I have started ACAD from r10, DOS version with only rudimentary gui then, so, no icons'n'grapgics'n'stuff. I do hate clicking icons to achieve my ends. I find it more effective and fast to execute operations/commands on CLI.

Besides the fact that AC10 is very counter-intuitive for a person converting from acad+max combo...

Are there any plans for multicore (or multiCPU) utilization in AC10 ? Is there any "reasonable" reason to get hippiest CPU for it ? How much ram ?

One thing that bugs me most is what sort of graphics card to get for this rig ? Is there any good reason to shell out for dedicated openGL card (Gf-FX or FireGL)? If so, how much difference is between baddest possible mainstream card (GF8800?) and dedicated openGL ? Which brand is better - ati firegl or gf Quadro?

Boss specifically asked me to look into buying a new rig for this operation. Any specific points to cover while looking into this ?

At the moment i've got a HP XW-4200 with FireGL3100 and 1gb ram, that is rubbish by now. Especially for archicad, i gather...

Any advice is welcome.

What rig configs do you, people, use ?

[Gerald Hoffman]

Check out the signatures in most peoples posts for equipment. it will give you an overall idea.

[Anonymous]

Not a bad idea, but i'm still interested in differences between main stream and dedicated opengl cards... is it worth the extra extortionate wonga they charge for opengl cards ?

[Gerald Hoffman]

I can only speak to the cards that I have had. The Nvidia I have now in this Dell Laptop is excellent. I had an ATI 9600 PRO in a Box before this and it was OK in most situations but struggled with larger model files in 3D views.

I think for most people a good gaming card works well in ArchiCAD but other people might want to add their 2 bits worth.

Also check out the Graphics Card Data base near the bottom of the main page. Drivers can make a big difference as well.

[Anonymous]

Hi threedee,
I have been told by GS developers that the higher end cards such as the quadro have more stable drivers as a rule, but the additionall advanced opengl commands available in these cards are not utilized by ArchiCAD. So, no it isn't worth the money. Go with a high end "gaming" type card. It is essentially the same back end hardware, but not the same driver.

As far as your command line withdrawal...I've always found this curious. AutoCAD is about the only program I can think of, of any type, that has a command line. AutoCAD users always miss it, but never seem to realize that no other app has it. I've always thought that if it was really that much of a productivity enhancer command line interfaces would be rampant. They're not.

You'll b e OK once you learn the keyboard shortcuts you need to use.

[Anonymous]

This leads to another question. It cant get any more high-end than Gf-8800 (24-feb-2007), but the question is - 384 or 768 meg version ? Does archicad utilize bigger vga memory ?

[KeesW]

Hello threedee

Hardware
I'd say that your home computer is Ok. I don't know about your work computer - it might be a bit light on. Many users recommend over 1GB RAM (although that is all I run at present).

I am in the process of buying two new computers and have virtually settled on a quad-core PC running XP Pro64 (Vista is not yet recommended), 4 GB RAM and (possibly) a NVidea 8800 graphic card. Dual processor Macs are very nice, very fast but a bit more expensive, and I've got too much PC software that I would also have to update. If I didn't already have PC's , I'd probably buy Macs.

Learning
I moved from Autocad about 8 years ago and found it very frustrating. (I'd been using Autocad since version 9). I stuck at it because I thought (and still do) that 3D was the way architectural drawing and presentation was going - and because ArchiCad was fun!! I learnt by doing a project completely in Archicad - took weeks and when it was nearly finished, I stuffed it by removing a wall in elevation, and destroyed the model (not realising that ArchiC puts everything in ONE model). I redrew the who project by hand in about 3 days! A nasty lesson.

You must stick with it for your first project - and your boss should allow you to do so.

There might be tears, incredible frustration but at the end, a bright light. I also attended courses and did lots of tutorials. 'Framework' was one of my most useful books and I still refer to it. I finished up teaching it at our local TAFE college for about 4 years.

Another very useful source is the ArchiCad 10 virtual tutor. It is a DVD which takes you through all the common, and some less common, commands and explains how to use them. Can't speak highly enough of it.

You speak of missing the command line - my pet hate was ArchiCad's way of doing offsets - I thought that this was so clunky compared to Autocad! Now, I can't remember how I used to do it. It took me a year to unlearn my Autocad ways.

Good luck and keep at it. If you enjoy designing, rather than just drafting, ArchiCad will give you enormous pleasure and lots of fun!