Mac Processor Speed

[Anonymous]

I am starting to run AC10 on an older G4 and would like to update the machine to a newer Mac Desktop. I have browsed this site long enough to see that I need at least 2 GB of RAM.

ArchiCAD is probably the most demanding application that I frequently use.
I don't use Lightworks at this time & my renderings are not particularly complex (a normal project for me has a file of about 18 MB).
Other applications that might run at the same time would be Quickbooks Pro, Microsoft Word & Excel. I might also try to run a new version of Adobe Photoshop, but don't own that just yet.

Does anyone here know whether I should be looking at the 2.0, 2.66 or 3.0 GH Processors? Is there a benefit in the price of the faster processor reflected in the performance of ArchiCAD?

[Rod Jurich]

Connie wrote:
/......... 2 GB of RAM.
/........Is there a benefit in the price of the faster processor reflected in the performance of ArchiCAD?

Ram is fine, though buy the fastest processor your purse will allow.

[Laszlo Nagy]

Some info on performance:

http://www.graphisoft.com/company/press_zone/mactel100.html

[Aussie John]

i think most test show that the increase in performance clock speed for clock speed ends up close to the ratio increase in the clock speed.

Hard to say how this translates to real time wait over the life cycle cost of a machine but if you give yourself a good charge out rate it doesnt take many hours to make up the difference in a higher machine.

The issue of speed is less now than it was a few years a go when a section could take a significant time to generate. Now time savings are harder to achieve and a 10% speed increase may not represent that much time saved.

All that said if the top machine is too expensive then the second tier machines always offer good value

[Brad Elliott]

I have always had a somewhat contrarian view on the processor issue. I have found that no matter what you buy the upgrade cycle is about the same. So how much power do you need?

I believe you can go as slow as reasonable on processor and better on graphics card and memory on the savings. In my experience memory is the number one speed issue with the processor barely beating out the video card for next most important.

Here is the controlling factor- How big are your projects and how much time do you spend waiting at your computer for it to finish a task? With the modern processors I waste far more time on my own than spend waiting for my computer. I probably spend less than 10 minutes a month staring at my screen waiting for something to happen. I am mainly residential with some mid-size commercial and a small amount of large commercial so I pocket the savings. Once you get to a majority of large projects like some firms I work with then more is better.

[Dwight]

If this is about productivity and efficacy, and if you have a fixed amount to spend, you should get the optimal video card (minium 256 Megatrons), plenty of ram (minimum 3 Gigulons) and THEN spend on processor speed.

The only guys who should really spend on processors are doing renderings all night every night. If you can measure the difference and exploit it, there's the payback.

We spend our time scrolling around plan views and generating analytical views, so perhaps a larger display is a good idea, too, even before processor speed.

[TomWaltz]

I disagree.

Archicad's processor is of most use when building sections & elevations and updating schedules. Those are the things that I hear the most complaints about and would spend my money on that before anything else.

The video card only matters in the 3D window. I would only spend money on that if you plan on spending your entire life working in it. I have a (stock) 256 MB video card and have never once thought about upgrading.

[Laszlo Nagy]

If I need to make a choice I always consider the price difference.
Let's say I can buy a processor that costs 200$ more for 10% performance increase. In that case, I would spend that extra money on more RAM.

In practice, this means that I usually buy the second fastest or third fastest processor with as much RAM I can afford. Buying nowadays, I would not go with less than 2 GB.

[Anonymous]

So what about maxing out the ram. Does Archicad even have a limit to how much ram it can handle. I know that used to be a problem with the earlier versions.

[Laszlo Nagy]

chriszolezzi wrote:
So what about maxing out the ram. Does Archicad even have a limit to how much ram it can handle. I know that used to be a problem with the earlier versions.

I think Archicad as most 32-bit applications can handle 2 GB of memory. 2 of the power of 32 is about 4 billion, which would mean 4 billion different memory locations the program can address.
However, Windows takes 2GB away from the 4GB for itself and leaves 2GB for the application.
However, with Windows XP Service Pack 2, it is possible to set the maximum amount of RAM addressable by any application to 3GB, leaving 1GB for the system.
Here is a link about how to do it:
http://www.gehrytechnologies.com/catia/catia/catia_windows_large_memory.htm