System requirements

[newbuilder]

So I have "more" then the recommended system requirements for SketchUp. But I was wondering how much RAM others have, processing speed, etc. I can upgrade my laptop to 4 GB RAM but the processor is 2.0 GHZ, would it be worth it? I noticed some lag when I added colors and material to my most recent project for a customer. I know to make adjustments I can turn things on and off to move faster, I was just curious if a better system would be...well better. I looked at an HP Turion laptop with 4 GB ( upgradeable to 8 GB ) when I bought this one, I saved myself 150 bucks, but now I am wondering if that extra RAM would help or if the processing power is where its at. I am happy with my purchase and so far it runs alot faster then my old Dell Inspiron with 256 MB of RAM! I have something rendering as I browse the internet and post here, my old laptop would catch on fire if I tried to do multiple tasks. So I am happy...just curious.

[Gaieus]

Hi NB,

SU is definitely a CPU hog as the processor is responsible for displaying geometry. A dcent vido card is also helpful because that is used for textures, shadows etc. and I would be suspicious of this since you say you experience problems when dealing with textures and colours.

Since SU is only a 32 bit app., more RAM than 4Gb would not be used (in fact, not even the whole 4 Gb) so for SU only, you don't need more.

[Anssi]

To add to Gaieus' post:

Su does nor benefit much from multiple processor cores, as it is a single-threaded application, so the faster the clock speed, the faster it will go (roughly). For a dektop, I would be looking for processor clock speeds of over 3 GHz. In a laptop, it must be balanced with portability, battery life and such considerations.

Anssi

[Gaieus]

During the early days of experiments with split processors, there were ones that were single core but when it came to apps that could use multiple cores, this single core could work in "hyperthreading" (i.e. like nowadays multiple core) mode.

I have a 3.8 GHz processor in my laptop and it can do that (so for rendering I can use it as a dual core). Probably the ideal machine for SU. True that together with the adapter it's about 9 kgs / 18 lbs and though it has two batteries, when unplugged, it will run out of charge within about 30-40 minutes (well, an old one anyway). Still, at least portable (with a wheelbarrow).

Unfortunately this kind of development proved to be a dead-end.