Running more than 1 archicad instance?

[Arcadia]

Will it cause problems if I run a second instance of archicad and work on a model while the first instance is rendering an image? By problems I mean conflicts or crashes not whether my computer has the CPU & RAM to do so which I know it has. Anyone do this on a regular basis? Otherwise unless you have 2 systems you are stuck with running renders overnight or on weekends - some I am working on now take a couple of hours to render.

[Anonymous]

iv done it before, but the renderes were only basic ones, at best maybe an hour and a half of rendering in the background while i worked on a second job..

didnt have any issues with crashing.

tho i was very mindfull to be saving alot while i was doing it just to be safe

[Dwight]

Two instances will work, but you really should have more CPUs, because optimally, LightWorks uses two, full time, to render.

IT will really drag on your system.

[Arcadia]

I thought lightworks only used 1 core while rendering to free up the other core for other programs? My main concern was any sort of conflicts between two archicad instances running at the same time. I have decided to give it a shot and at the moment I have a render going which seems to be using 1 core to about 85% - 100% and the other core is around 15-50% while I have open another archicad project instance (idle at the moment) and my old 2D drafting package which I am using at present. RAM at 70%. Seems okay so far.

[Dwight]

You CAN cripple Lightworks by asking it for Supreme Anti-Aliasing. Then it is one core only. And, Can you say "Slow?"

But otherwise they are going to fight among themselves for processing. Ugly.

Try Artlantis.

[Arcadia]

I don't follow exactly. Are you saying I can specify whether to use 1 core or both? It seems to be using only 1 at the moment. How do I change this? I don't need artlantis. Lightworks is more than good enough for me at the moment and I don't want to add yet more expenses onto my small business.

[Dwight]

The best Anti-Alias setting reduces LightWorks to one core.
This is ironic since that setting demands the most calculation time......


I guarantee you a payback for investing in Artlantis. The payback is: more time, beauty and efficacy. Being able to quickly preview the rendering is the deal maker. I don't know how strongly to urge you to get Artlantis. The demo is fully functional and free - every Archicad user should get this demo to see what they are missing. If you continue to struggle in LightWorks as implemented by Graphisoft without seeing the possibilities available, you probably think that it is feasible to deep fry a Kangaroo. Whole.

So skip the Kangaroo Kookout one weekend and see what you can do.

[Arcadia]

Okay so if I reduce the antialiasing I get a faster render but not as good a result. hmmm what would I prefer? I would rather the slower render I think. I will take your advice and give the artlantis demo a whirl sometime.

Actually we don't deep fry kangaroos here - real men eat them raw with chilli sauce.

[Dwight]

I notice there is move toward wild camel hunting. That would be fun.

You do not have my book.

Otherwise you'd appreciate that the second best anti-alias setting makes the sharpest edges - say, distant mullions in a glass tower, while the supreme setting creates the smoothest overall image, revealing textures.

ALso , that bigger the rendering, the less anti-aliasing you need. Or if you do a sequence of images - best only, there, or you get texture squirm.

So it is not a cut-and-dried situation, like Kangaroo for real men would be.

[Arcadia]

I'll try reducing the anitaliasing next time and see how it goes. I'm sure artlantis is fantastic - a dedicated software package is always going to be better than an integrated one. Still you need to understand that not all of us need to do high end rendering. I am a small one-man business working from a home office. My clients are blown away by even the basic 'rough' renders I do. I am working on some more high end ones for my new website - if this generates some more high end work then maybe I can justify the expense. If I get Artlantis in the future maybe I'll get your book as well.