Modeling
About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.

File too big for renders

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hello,

I am working on a large scale building and my Archicad 16 just does not produce renders. It tries, but then crashes. Could anyone please suggest what can I do if I need show renders of the building and renders of a few spaces within the building developed in detail.

I would assume that Archicad should be able to deal with large files as it's created for architects... So hoping there is a way to work out how to produce renders I need.

Any suggestions are welcome and thank you for your time!

My file size - 42.446 KB ,working on a pc, Windows 7, Free space 1153.4 GB, Memory 5.44GB, Archicad 16 student edition
5 REPLIES 5
Laszlo Nagy
Community Admin
Community Admin
When does the crash occur? When ArchiCAD generates the 3D or after the 3D is generated and it tries to create the Rendering?

Try to limit the size and detail of the project that is used and generated for the rendering.
For example, for an external render, hide the layers of everything that does not show on the Rendering. If it is an above ground level rendering, hide stories below ground in 3D. Or limit the building rendered by a thick Marquee.
The idea is to decreased the amount of data ArchiCAD needs to process. I suspect you run out of memory and that causes the crash.

Also, try to render with the lower possible settings so fewer resources are needed for its creation.
Loving Archicad since 1995 - Find Archicad Tips at x.com/laszlonagy
AMD Ryzen9 5900X CPU, 64 GB RAM 3600 MHz, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB, 500 GB NVMe SSD
2x28" (2560x1440), Windows 10 PRO ENG, Ac20-Ac28
Anonymous
Not applicable
laszlonagy wrote:
When does the crash occur? When ArchiCAD generates the 3D or after the 3D is generated and it tries to create the Rendering?

Try to limit the size and detail of the project that is used and generated for the rendering.
For example, for an external render, hide the layers of everything that does not show on the Rendering. If it is a above ground floor render, hide stories below ground in 3D. Or limit the building rendered by a thick Marquee.
The idea is to decreased the amount of data ArchiCAD needs to process. I suspect you run out of memory and that causes the crash.

Also, try to render with the lower possible settings so fewer resources are needed for its creation.

I can view 3D without problems, it's when I try to make a render.

Is there a way to increase memory? Like.... switch of something in archicad while i'm working on renders?

I found info that library objects use a lot of space as well, is that correct? If so, would I be able I produce plans for a whole buildings with every detail/object in place?

I'm deleting what i can now and will hide layers too, thank s for that.
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
In another thread, you were asking about importing external 3D files as objects. Typically, such objects are pretty large.

Just to see how your model is looking in terms of polygons, go to the Help menu > Downloads and download the Polycount "goodie'. Quite AC to install.

Polycount will show you which parts of your project have the most polygons... and break it down even further, e.g., if objects are heavy, you can expand and see which objects.

Along the lines of what Laszlo suggested... if you are doing an exterior render and the interior furnishings, plumbing, etc are not visible through the windows... define an exterior 3D view that has those things turned off. Etc.
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Anonymous
Not applicable
Karl wrote:
In another thread, you were asking about importing external 3D files as objects. Typically, such objects are pretty large.

Just to see how your model is looking in terms of polygons, go to the Help menu > Downloads and download the Polycount "goodie'. Quite AC to install.

Polycount will show you which parts of your project have the most polygons... and break it down even further, e.g., if objects are heavy, you can expand and see which objects.

Along the lines of what Laszlo suggested... if you are doing an exterior render and the interior furnishings, plumbing, etc are not visible through the windows... define an exterior 3D view that has those things turned off. Etc.
Hi! Yes i did, but i was stuck with this problem, so have not used downloaded objects yet. They objects that I was talking about (here) were all from the archicad built in library.

I have hidden interior furniture, staircases, lifts.... plants.... And was able to create my first render (Thank you very much Laszlo!!!) The thing is unfortunately in my case the building loses its qualities when interiors are not showing. Thank you so much, Karl, for all your suggestions too!
Laszlo Nagy
Community Admin
Community Admin
Glad to hear you could make it work.
Then you computer (and your ArchiCAD) might benefit from more RAM.
Nowaday I am of the opinion that RAM is way more important than the CPU (especially with the latest versions of ArchiCAD that use all cores) so if I had money to spend on a more expensive CPU or more RAM, I would always choose more RAM.
Loving Archicad since 1995 - Find Archicad Tips at x.com/laszlonagy
AMD Ryzen9 5900X CPU, 64 GB RAM 3600 MHz, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB, 500 GB NVMe SSD
2x28" (2560x1440), Windows 10 PRO ENG, Ac20-Ac28