ArhchiCAD on new iMacs (2012)

[Anonymous]

Hi, would be grateful for any advice on choosing a new iMac (27") to run ArchiCAD 16 (Solo) on. I'm currently working off a 5 year old 17" iMac Core2Duo, so anything new is probably going to run like a dream in comparison. I plan to get one of the new iMac 27" coming out (hopefully) in a couple of weeks time. I am still fairly new to AC (1 year) and my models are currently fairly non-complex / small files, but that might change over time. I would like the new Mac to last 3-4 years. I will add extra RAM (16GB)

Specifically can anyone tell me if which of the following upgrade options will make any real noticeable difference to ArchiCAD performance.

Processor - 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, or 3.2Ghz i5? or 3.4 GHz Core i7?
Memory card - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M (512MB) or GeForce GTX 675MX with 1GB? or GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB?
Hard Drive - upgrade to Fusion Drive?

Thanks for any advice.

[Stephen Dolbee]

Hi Dan,
I have had a 27" iMac for three years and still feel like it has plenty of power. I upgraded to the i7, but not sure if that was necessary (no way to compare). I tend to go for the upgrades just because you can't later, and if it helps extend the life of the machine probably justifies the extra cost. The Fusion drive sounds great, but no prices yet?

[Anonymous]

Hi Dan:

I too would like to buy a new 27" iMac and am trying to decide on the options:

-$200 to upgrade from the Core i5 3.6 GHz to the i7 3.9 GHz

-$250 to upgrade from a 1TB 7200 ATA drive to the 1TB Fusion Drive

$150 to upgrade from a GeForce GTX 675MX 1GB GDDR5
to a GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5.

I have a mid 2010 iMac 27" and need another station.

Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Hi Stephen & Don, thanks for your replies.

Yes I would agree that over-specing the machine might extend its lifespan - I guess it is highly likely that future releases of ArchiCAD (AC17, 18, 19.......) are going to use more and more CPU and GPU (Video RAM), etc. I would ideally like to keep any new machine for 4+ years.

Can anyone explain what the Fusion Drive will do for working in ArchiCAD - does it just mean initial opening the application & files will be faster?

Will upgrading the CPU from i5 to i7, or better Video Card (2 GB) make any noticeable difference to rendering times, generating 3D views, sections & elevations etc.? Which of the two (CPU or GPU) is more important for ArchiCAD/ 3D design?

I guess in the end I will probably give in and succumb to the Apple marketing hype and go with the same machine & upgrades (27" iMac i7 3.6GHx, 1TB Fusion Drive, GTX 680MX 2GB).... it is Christmas after all!

[Anonymous]

Fusion drive
If you work off the local drive, file open and save commands are much faster. Working on an extremely large file (1.7GB) I had file open times reduced from over 15min to under 5min.

i7 vs i5
The i7 has an additional virtual core for every real core, effectively doubling the amount of cores available from 4 to 8. Parts of ArchiCad that are multithreaded benefit. Drawing in 2D I havent seen much benefit, but open a layout with multiple views and it shines as cores are assigned to each view. Again for larger projects a real help. Also rendering engines such as Lightworks and Artlantis are now optimised to use all available cores, so the more cores you can throw at the problem, the faster your rendering times.

Video card
Video cards and archicad are a real enigma. It would be great if someone at GSHQ could clarify the way GS uses cards. Not long ago the CPU was all that mattered when facing a choice of CPU vs video card. However with openGL it appears the video card is used more. Usually good gaming cards are fine for archicad but I've had issues that have only been solved with earlier model Quadro cards (not available on macs so not relevant to you). Mac video cards generally play nice with ArchiCAD, and I suspect more video RAM will assist.

[schagemann]

If you have not already found it, this might be also helpful...

http://archicadwiki.com/Bugs/AntialiasingNotAvailableWithCertainVideoCards

Please note this does not apply to the latest graphics cards (refer details on post) and except the above we have not experienced any major graphics card related issues on any iMacs in the last 2 years or so - meaning generally the graphics card in iMacs work fine with ArchiCAD.

Btw. Graphisoft recommends for AC16 at least 256MB or more on board VRAM. (source: http://goo.gl/xxFqd)

Additionally, in our opinion any new hardware purchase should include at least an SSD or a FUSION drive - as per above the read/write improvements are significant... which is typically more noticeable to the average user than a slightly faster CPU.

[JLopes]

Hi,
Regarding the topic at hand and since the new iMac is already on the market, ask your performance with the AC16 and the optimal configuration in which 27 ". Because I want to buy when Aplle iMAC 27 "or worth waiting for ninth Mac Pro?!

[schagemann]

We just got a new generation iMac13,2 , i.e. the 'Late 2012' model.

We choose the following configuration:

27inch, Intel Core i5, 3.2GHz
8GB RAM
1TB Fusion Drive
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX 2GB GDDR5
AppleCare Protection Plan

This so far is ample of power for a regular AC16 workstation, but ultimately depends on what other software you need to run... e.g. most rendering or post processing / video editing software might benefit from additional RAM and faster harddrives.

[JLopes]

My main issue is the unit of storage (1 TB 7200 rpm ATA vs Fusion Drive 1 TB). If there is any comparison between these and interferes directly on the performance (work / render) of AC16.

[schagemann]

Maybe this gives you some better idea > http://www.macworld.com/article/2017365/lab-tests-pushing-a-fusion-drive-to-its-limits.html

As noted before we have so far not noticed any performance issues at all, in fact quite the opposite as it seems slightly faster even though it has a slightly slower CPU as our previous standard configuration.