Memory allocation problem

[Mishi]

Hi Everyone,

we just got our 8 core, 8GB macpro system for one reason. to be able to render huge masterplans in high resoultion, since archad always reported it's not able to do rendering because of not enough memory.

so we invested in this beast and we have serious problems.
when we are generating 3D window and archicad starts to allocate memory at the 2GB mark the activity monitor reports 16,000,000 TB. after this in most case we are not able to render anything. it just hangs up. Watching it also the "top" in x11, the memory just stops changing.

the attached picture renders, b/c i turned of some layers, but it still reports TB when hits 2GB.

So it seems like ArchiCAD cannot allocate more than 2GB. I thought even 9 could allocate 4GB of physical memory. So what is going on here exactly. We are really dissapointed.

We reported this problem yesterday to our local dealer with the file, but I don't know how fast graphisoft will respond.

I attached a screenshot.

Does anyone have similar problems?

PS> On my G5 system with 2GB of RAM renders this model up to 4048 pixel wide with all layers and with the best resolution using lightworks.
Is there a significant difference between the mactel and the ppc version of archiCAD in memory allocation wise.

Thanks

Mishi

[Dwight]

Thank you for discovering that unfortunate fact. I'm horrified, since possessing similar plans.

The consolation is that even though your new machine is unable to do the assignment, with eight cores, at least it is not able to do the assignment much faster than other computers.

[Mishi]

It's not just the fact that LWS still in AC11 can't run fully the 8 cores (which at this point i don't care - although LWS claims their engine to run and utilize all cores),
BUT somewhere along the path the Intel version of 11 cannot allocate properly the memory for 3D and rendering. This is the main thing right now.

And on the other hand, there is something fishy with Apple too. Why Activity monitor reports the memory in TerraBytes and in such a large number. that is impossible. So i'm really hoping someone from graphisoft reads this issue and quickly address it or test it in such a machine.

Otherwise just write something in the archicad's specs: don't buy and waste money on a strong system in otherwords on the box we should see: minimum and maximum system requiremetns.
So we wouldn't even bother to buy a computer like this and build a huge model where you use more than 2GB of system memory.
Gees, I'm really upset.

M.

[Dwight]

Mishi wrote:
It's not just the fact that LWS still in AC11 can't run fully the 8 cores (which at this point i don't care - although LWS claims their engine to run and utilize all cores),

M.

You have my condolence.
Altho LightWorks has the potential to use eight cores, it is up to Graphisoft to implement it. For the lightworks potential, visit:
http://www.lightworkdesign.com/news/pr.php?id=127

Lightworks has a real-time rendering feature and a sketch engine that is fast and fantastic.

And so it goes.

[Mishi]

well. we have a EIAS licence we just upgraded to 6.6. the sad thing we will probably abandon AC LWS for couple of reasons.
-AC 11 reliabilty
-Camera editing for animation is outdated (nothing has been changed since AC 5.0); it needs to have similar option like artlantis or EIAS.
-After rendering the animations looks very robotic even if we smooth the path out.
-No farm/network rendering option. (we are living in the 21Century - give me a brake; every decent rendering engine has rendering farm option)

and i could just go on and on and on. some of the new features since 9 is just fancy and tend to blind the new users.
Old users need speed and ability to handle large polygon models especially in width (that model in that screen cap is covering 36km2 with real terrain - mesh)

I/we still love ArchiCAD, but it just seem like everything else is more important than make AC really strong and reliable. I know it is hard, b/c Apple and MS keep changing their technology every year which for a developer is a nightmare and hard to keep up with it. Butttt... that's life and we users suffer and PAY.

anyhow. I hope i get answer or a workaround for my issue, soon.

M.

[Dwight]

You are doing a smart thing.

EIAS is el supremo polygon king - and i love the way their trees wave in the breeze.

I expect their product will address all of your processing power and then some...

Lightworks in Archicad is really only suitable for progress illustrations in-house, not commercial work.

[henrypootel]

I agree.
While it is annoying that Lightworks is unable to use your system to it's full potential, ArchiCAD is designed as an Architectural Modeling tool, not a industrial-strength rendering package.
You should really be using a dedicated rendering solution for the kind of thing it looks like you are doing from the screenshot.

[Dwight]

But not that we don't want it to BE an industrial strength rendering tool!
I'm disappointed that Graphisoft doesn't place a higher value on rendering ease and quality. It seems to me that what they wanted was the LightWorks name, not its better features. Sigh.

Furthermore, it COULD BE implemented to BE a strong tool, but it is not a priority at Head Office. And for good reason. Perhaps this is a chicken/egg or a Kevin Costner "builditandtheywillcome" thing, but even though the users on this forum are expert in all aspects of Archicad, many users fail to exploit its features fully. Almost nobody renders, nevermind with LightWorks or not!

What I learned with my lecture touring and authoring is that byandlarge, users only touch Archicad's frothy surface. Many users still only DRAFT with Archicad, ignoring its BIM aspects. Judging by the registrations of my book, only a handful have been sold in what Hollywood calls "flyoverland," with sales concentrated in California and New England.

And so it goes.

[Mishi]

Just an update for you. Or if someone reads it from GS.

The same file on my 2GB G5 iMac renders without any problem (OSx 10.4.10)
I'm absolutely sure that AC11 intel version is finely said (cr&$*p)
Why my 2.5 year old G5 mac renders the same model with all the layers without any memory issue? I kept watching TOP in terminal, and it seems like ArchiCAD or the OSX allocates and handle the requested memory load so smooth like knife in butter and renders my 4048 x something images with LWS painfully slow but it does it.
In the office th 8 core 8GB intel machine just freaks out when i wanna render something.
The reason we bought that beast is to get around this problem from the PC. On our pc boxes we had so many times memory not enough, hang ups on rendering. So it seems like AC11 on intel mac behaves the same way as it would be M$ windows. Sum of all. AC11 intel version for mac SUCKS and behaves like on the PC. So we should just have bought used multicore G5 for pennies and work with that.

Is it possible that the AC11 intel version is the same as the PC version except it was compiled on a Mac? What or who (maybe Apple) makes ArchiCAD crazy memory needs when you have such a system. Also why Activity monitor reports those crazy mem numbers right at 2GB memory mark when archicad allocates it...

I will send a full report to our dealer again. But i'm fed up now to be the test lab for GS. I can't believe they don't invest in bigger machine to test things on.

If someone wants to replace their old G5s i would suggest to keep it for a while if you deal with big renderings and wanna use LWS.

M.

PS> I exported a piece of our model to EIAS and it freaked out if i wanted to render in that size. and it was just a small piece... So... i don't know what to say and mainly what to do.

[Mishi]

Hi Dwight,

Do you know or anyone, which version of LWS is used in AC11. Thinking it over regarding processor problems, I could think they use an old version of the engine and not the new 7.something which supports more than 4 cores and could maybe handle bigger polygon numbers and better memory handling.
How do you check that? Is it possible GS didn't buy and implement the new engine?

M.