sketchucation logo sketchucation
    • Login
    ℹ️ Licensed Extensions | FredoBatch, ElevationProfile, FredoSketch, LayOps, MatSim and Pic2Shape will require license from Sept 1st More Info

    Hardware recommendations

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved SketchUp Discussions
    sketchup
    409 Posts 97 Posters 81.1k Views 97 Watching
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • brodieB Offline
      brodie
      last edited by

      Looks like a good setup to me. I had the 8800 GT for awhile, I think you'll be very happy with it (and it plays quite nicely with SU). I'd probably ditto the advice on waiting for Windows 7. And if you anticipate wanting some more ram later of course it'd be a good idea to go w/ a 64 bit OS as 32 bit won't recognize any more than the 4GB you've got.

      -Brodie

      steelblue http://www.steelbluellc.com

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • W Offline
        Wazzer
        last edited by

        HI Guys

        I am still trying to spec a new company laptop and was hoping you can give me some advice.

        I would really like to have a Lenovo W700 notebook with the Nvidia Quadro FX3700 1GB with Intel x9100 CPU however it is very very expensive!!

        I am looking at a DELL alternative with the following specs for about 25% less than the Lenovo
        It has Intell T9800 Core 2 Duo CPU
        Nvidia Quadro FX3700 1GB
        4GB 1067MHz DDR3 RAM
        200Gb 7200rpm SATA HD
        17" WUXGA 1920x1200 LCD Panel
        All running on XP pro SP3

        Can you guys tell me if this would work well with SU

        Alternitivley

        Can anyone recommend and alternative NoteBook with similar specs that would be cheaper?

        Thanks for the feedback

        Ben

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • W Offline
          Wazzer
          last edited by

          Would it be worth considering downgrading to the FX3700 512Mb card and upgrading the processor?
          Which would have bigger impact on graphics performance where SU is concerned?

          Many thanks

          BEn

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • thomthomT Offline
            thomthom
            last edited by

            SU is more CPU hungry than GPU hungry.

            Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
            List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • W Offline
              Wazzer
              last edited by

              Interesting thanks you

              So a better CPU would be preferable to a high spec Graphics card.

              Cheers

              Ben

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • brodieB Offline
                brodie
                last edited by

                Your specs look really good to me. In fact they're almost overkill for SU, which doesn't use hardware very well (eg, doesn't recognize dual processors).

                To elaborate on Thomthom's point. SU uses the processor to show the geometry and GPU for textures and shadows. Textures and shadows can be turned off while you're modeling and orbiting but you can't turn off the geometry, so the CPU is typically the more important.

                -Brodie

                steelblue http://www.steelbluellc.com

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • AnssiA Offline
                  Anssi
                  last edited by

                  Hi Wazzer,

                  IMO you could even go to the lower spec (Quadro FX 2500 512 Mb or what the number now was, I was looking at the specs a couple of days ago) card but consider a CPU with more than 3 GHZ clock speed.

                  Anssi

                  securi adversus homines, securi adversus deos rem difficillimam adsecuti sunt, ut illis ne voto quidem opus esset

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • W Offline
                    Wazzer
                    last edited by

                    Thats interesting thanks

                    So i would get as good or better performance with an X9100 processor and a Quadro FX5700 512Mb
                    Combination plus 4GB system Ram?

                    I appreciate your help guys

                    Ben

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • Z Offline
                      Zilonx
                      last edited by

                      Core i7 920 ou Q9650 ???? (Well, both without overclock). Does anyone have experiences, benchmarks, opinions?

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • R Offline
                        remus
                        last edited by

                        The i7 is the better choice for SU, as it has turbo boost and the ability to be overclocked lots, should the wish ever arise.

                        http://remusrendering.wordpress.com/

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • soloS Offline
                          solo
                          last edited by

                          I did a quick test using a recent very high poly model (which taxes my old dual core @ 3.20ghz)

                          Using an i7 940 (standard...not over clocked) with a geforce gtx280, 12GB Ram and Vista 64bit, I made a video of how it handles the model then I duplicated the model several times and you can see the poly's, edges, etc and also on the right is the CPU fluctuations as the load and work required to run smooth pushes the clock speed by means of the turbo function, you will also notice that when the load is low the clock speed drops way down to conserve energy.

                          [flash=900,406:2949y7ky]http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4516551&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1[/flash:2949y7ky]

                          http://www.solos-art.com

                          If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • N Offline
                            numerobis
                            last edited by

                            Geforce or Quadro? Radeon or FirePro?

                            Hi,

                            i'm planning to buy a new card.
                            so the question is...

                            • is skp faster on workstation cards? or is it better to buy one of the cheaper workstation cards (200-300€) or a bigger gaming card?
                            • looking at the latest card series, which one works better with skp - ati or nvidia?

                            i consider to buy a Radeon HD 4890 and mayby turn it into a Fire Pro.
                            Or a GeForce GTX 285.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • thomthomT Offline
                              thomthom
                              last edited by

                              Was that a total of 11 million faces?

                              Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                              List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • soloS Offline
                                solo
                                last edited by

                                Thomthom, I believe that's 1.18 million faces.
                                As you can see the rig was still very smooth. I tried a model that absolutely crippled my high clock speed dual cores in the past I did not check the face count but the size was 156mb 😲 , and it opened fast and was very smooth, the only issue was bounding boxes when orbiting with shadows on, but OMG my other rigs struggle to even open it never mind navigate without shadows on.

                                So again I say the i7 IS the best solution for SU IMO, it handles more poly's and makes more things possible.

                                i7 940
                                Asus p6 deluxe
                                64 bit Vista Ultimate
                                12GB corsair dominator ram
                                geforce gtx 280
                                1TB HD

                                http://www.solos-art.com

                                If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • thomthomT Offline
                                  thomthom
                                  last edited by

                                  @solo said:

                                  I tried a model that absolutely crippled my high clock speed dual cores in the past I did not check the face count but the size was 156mb

                                  Pure geometry? Or did that include textures?

                                  Btw, that model you tried in that video, any chance I can test it out on my rig so I can see the difference between our rigs?

                                  Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                  List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • soloS Offline
                                    solo
                                    last edited by

                                    All geometry (no textures) This is part of it that I posted a while back, the complete file has double the amount of buildings.

                                    http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/5519/scene8noisy12jn1.jpg

                                    I will be accessing my server as soon as my weekly maintenace is done and send you the candle model.

                                    http://www.solos-art.com

                                    If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • soloS Offline
                                      solo
                                      last edited by

                                      Numerobis,

                                      I suggest the nvidia gtx 285, ATI still have stability issues with many 3D modeling apps.
                                      I would not bother with a Quadro as it performance gain if any is not noticable for the difference in price and then it's also a very limited card and chocks with heavy video editing.

                                      http://www.solos-art.com

                                      If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • thomthomT Offline
                                        thomthom
                                        last edited by

                                        Impressive model. Is that each brick modelled?
                                        I'm very interested in what you did with the brick wall on the left side of the model, where the bricks are visible only in spots. (Has this model been talked about in another thread?)

                                        Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                        List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • soloS Offline
                                          solo
                                          last edited by

                                          Thanks.

                                          Yes the bricks are all modeled, on the left side I used a random push pulll to get varying depths so giving the appearance of inconsistant showing and on the other side of the road it's standard depth for clean brick appearance.
                                          This model is being used for an in-game video, my part is done (the modeling) the complete model is being textured at moment by another contractor and will be finally compiled in Max or Maya (not sure as my part is only initial modeling)
                                          I have not really discussed this model as it's part of a bigger city model that I cannot show due to a NDA.

                                          http://www.solos-art.com

                                          If you see a toilet in your dreams do not use it.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • thomthomT Offline
                                            thomthom
                                            last edited by

                                            I'll have to try that technique on my Discworld model; I want worn cobble stones in the streets; http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=18393

                                            Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                            List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • 1
                                            • 2
                                            • 11
                                            • 12
                                            • 13
                                            • 14
                                            • 15
                                            • 20
                                            • 21
                                            • 13 / 21
                                            • First post
                                              Last post
                                            Buy SketchPlus
                                            Buy SUbD
                                            Buy WrapR
                                            Buy eBook
                                            Buy Modelur
                                            Buy Vertex Tools
                                            Buy SketchCuisine
                                            Buy FormFonts

                                            Advertisement