Dual CPU? Archicad process and the correct hardware for them.

[Arcadia]

My current workstation is now 5 yrs old so researching a replacment. I'm happy to dump a lot of cash into it as its my main tool of the trade so it makes financial sense to have a powerful and reliable machine.

Lenovo are doing dual CPU workstations with Xeon processors which look awesome. I know archicad can use multiple threads so I assume have a bunch of cores will help performance but I'm still unclear which process use multiple threads, which use single threads (and require high clock speed) and which use mostly the GPU. Knowing this could help figure out the best balance of hardware.

Personally I find elevation regeneration on layouts slow (with shading) and my monitor will show max CPU. I also find trace reference slow (especially using PDFs in reference) and also working with drawings on the layouts but I don't hit max CPU on those so wonder what the bottleneck is. I have a Quadro P2200 card.

[Miha_M]

I'd suggest you take a look at previous topics, as this has been talked about before.
https://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=67365

My general suggestion would be - go for a high clocked CPU with more cores, a good GPU with more CUDA or that other processing units AMD has, loads of RAM, and a fast and vast SSD. A dedicated workstation is a good choice, as it probably has error checking memory (ECC) and is expected to run very stable even under high load. A dual xeon workstation is an even better choice, as it will have double CPU core numbers. But then again, you might not need such a beast. Although Archicad does make some use of multiple CPU cores and GPU processing, it still is in an everlasting overhaul process and might take a while until it can use everything new tech has to offer. If you decide to invest into a brand new workstation model you will have one big advantage - you will be well equipped for the next few Archicad versions.

You can read more about that on Graphisoft Help Center web: https://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/knowledgebase/25850/

My workstation is way older than your computer and still does the job. It might not be as quick in some situations, but I have no problems handling larger project files.

[Marc H]

Quadros like your P2200 are great cards (I enjoyed mine) so I echo Miha_M‘s good advice on pairing it with high performance components as the models and images will make use of the on board memory and cores. SSD definitely, too. Higher tech will extend the workstation’s useful life longer than one might think.
I recall when hunting PC components there is some good bench testing on CPUs with a given GPU. Might try Nvidia or some of the bench test sites, etc.

[Arcadia]

Miha_M wrote:
I'd suggest you take a look at previous topics, as this has been talked about before.
https://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=67365

My general suggestion would be - go for a high clocked CPU with more cores, a good GPU with more CUDA or that other processing units AMD has, loads of RAM, and a fast and vast SSD. A dedicated workstation is a good choice, as it probably has error checking memory (ECC) and is expected to run very stable even under high load. A dual xeon workstation is an even better choice, as it will have double CPU core numbers. But then again, you might not need such a beast. Although Archicad does make some use of multiple CPU cores and GPU processing, it still is in an everlasting overhaul process and might take a while until it can use everything new tech has to offer. If you decide to invest into a brand new workstation model you will have one big advantage - you will be well equipped for the next few Archicad versions.

You can read more about that on Graphisoft Help Center web: https://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/knowledgebase/25850/

My workstation is way older than your computer and still does the job. It might not be as quick in some situations, but I have no problems handling larger project files.

Your point about being set up for future Archicad developments is a good one. I would expect to keep a new workstation for at least the 5 years I kept this one maybe more and hopefully Graphisoft will continue to development multi-threading use.