Installation & update
About program installation and update, hardware, operating systems, setup, etc.

What hardware makes Archicad go faster?

4hotshoes
Advisor
I will be buying a new Mac to replace my 6 year old one. But I am not sure what upgrades will make the most difference.

The new 15" MacBook Pro has options for:
Processors: Both are 8-core i9, one is 2.3 Ghz the other is 2.4 Ghz +$200
Memory: 16 or 32 GB +$400
Graphic Cards: Radon Pro (each with 4GB memory) 560X, Vega 16 +$250, Vega 20 +$350
All HD's are SSD

If I only have $600 more to upgrade the the 15 inch MacBook Pro's basic offering, which of the features above will have the most influence on keeping Archicad running fast?

In other words, if 16 GB of ram is more than enough, buying 32GB will not improve anything, Right?

Or while the higher priced graphic cards improve game play, does Archicad tap into their power to make it worth spending an extra $350?

The speed upgrade from 2.3 to 2.4 Ghz seems rather insignificant from my lack of knowledge. Is it insignificant? Is it worth the upgrade?

How does Archicad use these?

I would think that a Windows tech guru could also answer these questions too.
Todd Oeftger
AC27 Mac MacBook Pro 15", 2019, 2.3 GHz i9, 32GB, Radeon Pro 560X 4GB, 500GB SSD, 32" Samsung Display (2560x1440)
21 REPLIES 21
agroni
Booster
I agree with the all above posts and in my case is CPU - RAM - SSD - GPU.
In addition to these parameters, depending on your projects complexity, you might need to tweek some options in archicad in the working environment (display options or hardware acceleration) to improve your performance.
The BIMster @ AllesWirdGut
Currently: Archicad 26
User since Archicad 6.5 (2001)
Erwin Edel
Rockstar
Allways have a dedicated GPU, intel graphics or whatever they are called will not cut it. We have two similarly specced macbooks in the office, but only one has built in nvidia GPU and you can really tell that the intel graphics thing is underequipped to handle CAD software.

I have a cheap laptop at home from about 5 years ago, it does have some nvidia gpu in it and I was able to run AC20 on it last time I tried. It ran fine, but it also has a low res screen, so it didn't have too many pixels to push.

Macbook generally has a high res screen, so in that regard a good gpu is essential.

I was under the impression that hardware acceleration for 2D has been in archicad a lot longer though? It is where I notice the Quadro GPU that I have in my main HP workstation is still doing well for its age.
Erwin Edel, Project Lead, Leloup Architecten
www.leloup.nl

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