PC Config for ArchiCad/Artlantis

[Anonymous]

Hi
I have a following configuration for my ArchiCAD workstation:
HP Z210 workstation with Xeon E3-1270 (4 cores w/HT, 3.4GHz), 20GB of RAM, Nvidia GTX960 OC card.
The drivers are in latest available versions, the OS (Windows 10) has the latest set of patches.
But the ArchiCAD works slower than on MacBook.
Is this configuration suitable for the ArchiCAD design and rendering in Artlantis or should I change some components?

--
Piotr

[mikas]

Maybe you could change your HDD -> SSD? I mean if you still do have an HDD in your machine, I don't know.

The age difference of your mentioned machines might be as much as 5 years, I assume. The first HP Z210, against the latest MacBook makes 5 years, if I googled it right. I would still say the HP with XEON E3 with 8 threads should hold up it's own against a 2015/2016 MacBook in processor performance. Probably with graphics performance too. Maybe not against a MacBook Pro 15", though, because they've got a modern latest i7 with 8 threads, and models with DG (Discrete Graphics) do have very impressive graphics power also.

Maybe you should also check the background processes going on with your system. They might unnecessarily slow down your machine. Try to get rid of any unnecessary background process.

I don't know muvh about windows OS, but in a OS X environment, you could have some ongoing software which can slow overall operations. For example back-up software (Time Machine on Mac, maybe CCC, the software I use). Maybe Drop Box (which I use also). It too might take quite a few processor cycles when updating it's state and local cache. Depending on one's DropBox usage levels, of course.

Antivirus, antimalware and firewall software sometimes can, every now and then, add up with each other, and slow all operations on any given machine. Especially so with a HDD mass storage solutions.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply.
But I have some doubts with the SSD.
The drive is almost not used (I saw it on resource monitor), the swapfile is also almost empty. From the 20GB of RAM only 5 or 6 is allocated, nothing is loaded during renders. So where is the point in investing in SSD? Faster OS/application startup - It happens only once or twice per day.

There are no background programs running (except OS).

[alemanda]

Consider that Archicad saves at each step when set in ultra safe mode (which is the best option).
Ssd makes archicad much faster.
Essential.

[Laszlo Nagy]

SSD drivers make the whole operating system much faster. Anything that involved file operations (and ARCHICAD is working with large files) it much much faster with SSD.
Just consider bootup time. from personal experience, with a traditional HDD, Windows boots in about 2 minutes, with SSD, in about 30 seconds. The only difference is HDD vs. SSD.
Don't even think about it, just buy an SSD for your system driver. Install Windows on the SSD. I would recommended 256 GB or larger, if you can afford it. The Samsung 850 EVO is working very well for me.

[mikas]

A couple of links just to back up my (and others^) claims. A SSD does not _necessarily_ resolve anything or everything.

Graphisoft Help Center:

Recommended hardware for GRAPHISOFT products (@Storage) (2016)
ArchiCAD and SSD drives – speed test (2012, a little oldish article)

ArchiCAD writes caches, logs and other runtime files to mass storage (and RAM too). I agree that opening a program is a one time task per a day or a week, and that is maybe not so of a high importance. At least it would not be the only reason to purchase an SSD.

I think SSD is really good solution, regarding all these aspects. SSD's do not only have better throughput with large files, they do also get vastly better seek and response times with small files. With SSD you get lower latency with every read and write.

We have been using only SSD's at our office as a primary mass storage devices for many years already. HDD in my opinion is still good and very cost effective for archiving and backup purposes. I think a HDD might even be a more reasonable solution as a backup device at the time being.

I had to boot my old Mac Pro from HDD last weekend, and in overall, it felt very slow comparing to SSD-booted machine. I think even an iMac 2007 C2D with SSD felt almost faster.

You might not have Antivirus program problems, but here is the link for the reference.
Some Antivirus Solutions May Dramatically Reduce the Performance of ARCHICAD (2016)

Last year we had a problem with Windows; network license not found. It took ages to start a program, sometimes it did not start for hours. The solution was to disable antivirus program, and network license was immediately visible to Windows again.

Good luck with your troublesolving.