25000 s.f. project taking 4 hours to update 3D document

[Martin Jules]

The standard BIM software used in Quebec is Revit even at the level of European firms based there. One of the fundamental reasons is that more time is spent drawing with ArchiCAD in projects from 25 000 to 200 000 square feet. ArchiCAD updates drawings anytime and the option to control these updates doesn't work properly. Time is so precious that these firms prefer using a BIM software that is much better suited to delivering projects on time.

Enclosed is a screenshot related to the power used by ArchiCAD for a simple project of 25 000 sqf. The second file includes an update, which can take up to 4 hours to generate the 3D document. No firm in Quebec can accept such time consuming.

bouhmidage wrote:
Hello !
i'm planning to move to Canada as Permanent Resident in the next year, i'm an archicad user since 2010, i use it for all my jobs, BIM modelling and coordination , and teaches it in the north american university
What are the chances of finding jobs in Canada?
Thanks !

[Laszlo Nagy]

Mjules wrote:
Enclosed is a screenshot related to the power used by ArchiCAD for a simple project of 25 000 sqf. The second file includes an update, which can take up to 4 hours to generate the 3D document. No firm in Quebec can accept such time consuming.

4 hours to generate a 3D document?
I dare to say that if a building this size takes this much time, then in more cases than not it is user error.
Also, a building this size using 20 GB!!! of RAM?
How many polygons are there in that 3D model?

[Erwin Edel]

To offer a bit Dutch directness: how accurate is the modelling?

I've had to deal with sloppy modelling from colleagues in the past and they can really ramp up the time needed to genarate views.

For example: tiny holes in complex profiles or lots of unnecesarry nodes on straight elements.

Also consider things like level of detail in 3D (which can be controlled by model view options) for views that are on a fairly large scale. Taking into account line thickness you can ussually dial down the 3D detail for things at 1:100 or 1:200 scale and above.

Or simply hide certain layers. For example for elevations you do not need to show a lot of interior elements.

I certainly do not have issues with projects of similar size (2.000 to 5.000 m²). We use fairly entry level HP workstations with Xeon processors and 16 to 32 GB RAM.

[Martin Jules]

Thanks for your comments, Laszlo!

I have 2 927 574 polygons. I checked out the model, settled the polygons' level of detail on "schematic", and there have been no errors so far.

LaszloNagy wrote:

Mjules wrote:
Enclosed is a screenshot related to the power used by ArchiCAD for a simple project of 25 000 sqf. The second file includes an update, which can take up to 4 hours to generate the 3D document. No firm in Quebec can accept such time consuming.

How many polygons are there in that 3D model?

[Ahmed_K]

Looks like you're working on a laptop,
even if it's a gaming laptop, performance won't be as good as a workstation,

[Martin Jules]

I work on an Alienware Gaming Desktop Computer: https://www.dell.com/en-ca/gaming/alienware-desktops
Because of my love for ArchiCAD, I've done everything to accommodate myself to its technical requirements.

bouhmidage wrote:
Looks like you're working on a laptop,
even if it's a gaming laptop, performance won't be as good as a workstation,

[Laszlo Nagy]

Mjules wrote:
Thanks for your comments, Laszlo!

I have 2 927 574 polygons. I checked out the model, settled the polygons' level of detail on "schematic", and there have been no errors so far.

Just out of curiosity: with the "Schematic" options active, what is the polygon count?
(3 million polygons for a project this size means many elements are modeled/generated to a very high - maybe unnecessarily or unworkably high - level of detail.)

[Martin Jules]

More than 2 800 000, and I can't set morph elements with the schematic option.

LaszloNagy wrote:

Mjules wrote:
Thanks for your comments, Laszlo!

I have 2 927 574 polygons. I checked out the model, settled the polygons' level of detail on "schematic", and there have been no errors so far.

Just out of curiosity: with the "Schematic" options active, what is the polygon count?
(3 million polygons for a project this size means many elements are modeled/generated to a very high - maybe unnecessarily or unworkably high - level of detail.)

[jl_lt]

Hi mr Joules. Something might be wrong with the model or the computer (nice design by the way, congratulations on that!), its a big project but not as big as to be taking soooooo long. How many plans and layouts do you have? As Mr. Nagy asks, is there too much detail in individual elements?
Im working on a 14,000 square feet project on a 65,000 sqr ft terrain with many trees. Dont know how many polygons i have, file is 800mb, most of which comes from the template. If i take 3d view with shadows, furniture, all trees and the terrain (which somewhat steped and has quite a few SEO on other meshes to simulate land fills and cuts) it doesnt take more than 10seconds. I also run on a gamer 3 year old laptop with 16GB Ram.

[Martin Jules]

I have different kind of layouts for conceptual approaches, urban design strategies, passive design strategies, site analysis and occupancy load, construction documents, HVAC systems, etc.

jl_lt wrote:
Hi mr Joules. Something might be wrong with the model or the computer (nice design by the way, congratulations on that!), its a big project but not as big as to be taking soooooo long. How many plans and layouts do you have? As Mr. Nagy asks, is there too much detail in individual elementos?
Im working on a 14,000 square feet project on a 65,000 sqr ft terrain with many trees. Dont know how many polygons i have, file is 800mb, most of which comes from the template. If i take i 3d view with shadows, furniture and all trees, terrain (which have quite a few SEO on other meshes to simulate land fills and cus) it doesnt take more than 10seconds.