Computer for SketchUp
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I am not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but I figured that Pro Users are the ones who would be able to answer my question better than anybody.
I have recently started learning SketchUp. I am using my old laptop (P4 2.8 Ghz, 768MB memory, and shared video card). When I add trees and cars in my drawings, it becomes so slow that I do not want to use it anymore. I am think about getting a new computer system and here are three systems I am looking at. Please help me decide. I am trying keep my budget under $900. I would prefer laptop over desktop, but I can go either way.
-----This one is for $645 (tax is not included)-----
Vostro 1500 Intel
Core
2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Operating System Genuine Windows XP Home
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife
Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
Video Cards 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Hard Drive 120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive-----This is for $850 (tax is included)-----
Dell Inspiron 530 Intel Core2 Duo Processor E6320 (4MB L2 Cache,1.86GHz,1066 FSB)
Operating System Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
Memory 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs 1GB62
Monitor 22 inch E228WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
Video Cards 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT-DDR3
Hard Drives 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache-----This is for $649 (tax is not included)-----
Dell Inspiron 531 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4400
Operating System Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
Monitor 22 inch E228WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
Video Cards 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT-DDR3 Hard Drives 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst CacheThanks.
[Nixone]
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SketchUp can't utilize dual core. The most important attributes for a SU computer are:
- Processor speed
- RAM
- Dedicated nVidia GPU - 256Mb would be great.
It's just that simple, really. Of the three you itemize, I pick #2. I'm happy with my 2 year old Sony laptop: 1.73 Ghz, 1 Gb, 128 nVidia GeForce 6200.
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I would definately opt for #2 out of those three, spec wise.
I would definately suggest to upgrade to 2gb memory though. Not sure how much Dell would charge to upgrade, but to buy a stick yourself would cost very little.I think to get a good laptop with similar spec you have to pay quite a bit more (certainly here in the UK)
From what I can see, one of the things that seems to lift the laptop price is a good dedicated graphics card. -
I'm also going through this process at the moment. I think you may find the article in this magagszine relating to low budget workstations very interresting:
http://mcadonline.com/pdf/dl_pdf/MCAD_JulAug_07.pdf
The CAD2 machine looks awesome at less than 1K. while the Dell is great value (dont forget to use the promotional code.)By the way while your'e at it check out that HP 30 inch flat panel and the article about Rhino 4.
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I move this topic to the "Hardware Forum" guys if you don't mind...
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Thank you everybody. I really want laptop as I can take it to school with me and while I am not doing homework, I can use it for sketchup. I want laptop only if it is powerful enough to handle sketchup. If not, I will buy desktop (#2, above) and spend more time at home.
This computer is not going to be my primary computer for sketchup for very long. This is just to learn sketchup right now and I would also like to use this for home video editing and photoshop.
When I start my new job in few months, they have very powerful HP machines that are made for 3D applications and 30 inch flat panel monitors, which was mentioned here and in that article. By the way, the article was very informative. Thanks for that.
What about this laptop configuration? It is still under $900 (tax included and free shipping). I cannot spend more than $900 at this time.
Vostro 1500 Intel
Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Operating System Genuine Windows XP Home
LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display with TrueLife
Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
Video Cards 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Hard Drive 120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive[Nixone]
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if you look here in the hardware forum, i made a post about a overclocker, I just built... about 600 700 maybe
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First of all, the 1GB of RAM is just about standard for a regular machine, however your graphics card is also making use of it (the shared wording) so then it's not enough, you'll have to go for at least 2GB then.
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@unknownuser said:
First of all, the 1GB of RAM is just about standard for a regular machine, however your graphics card is also making use of it (the shared wording) so then it's not enough, you'll have to go for at least 2GB then.
Thanks Juju. Are you talking about the Vostro 1500 laptop memory? I looked at the configurations of other two desktops and there is no word "shared". Does that mean their memories are not shared by graphic card? I know those desktops have better video cards too. Will having more memory help the video card in Vostro laptop which is not as good as the desktops ones? Thanks.
[Nixone]
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I was referring to the laptop with the shared memory as it seems you favour it.
If I were you I'd steer clear of shared memory for any machine that will be required to handle graphics intensive applications (ie. modeling, gaming or such), shared memory is only good for machines that will run of the mill stuff like surf the web, word processing, spreadsheets, etc. James pointed to a good answer to a similar wuestion on the Yahoo web.
The one answer there is probably most accurate, being: "it will not increase your video memory, but increasing your main memory will help your computer to become faster".
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Thanks everybody for your suggestions. I went ahead and bought a computer with this configuration (total $690, no monitor):
Intel
Core 2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
128MB nVidia GeForce 8300 GS
80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
Single Drive 16X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) w/ double layerI hope this computer will be good enough for sketchup. I still need to buy a monitor (19 or 20 inch flat panel) and waiting for a good deal. I wish I could afford 22 inch monitor. I know I also need to upgrade the video card, but I will wait for few months.
Thanks
[Nixone]
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@krisidious said:
if you look here in the hardware forum, i made a post about a overclocker, I just built... about 600 700 maybe
I read that post, but did not want to go through the hassle of buying all the parts and putting together. To tell you the truth, I have never built a computer myself. I know I could figure it out, but I went ahead and bought one from Dell for $690, no monitor.
Thanks
[Nixone]
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@unknownuser said:
I was referring to the laptop with the shared memory as it seems you favour it.
Thanks Juju. What do you think about the computer I just bought (it is posted above). Do you think if it is a good enough system for sketchup as well as video editing and other daily applications?
[Nixone]
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wow a quad core, ive been considering upgrading but i read somewhere that SU cant make use of it well-
i did a very crude experiment with a complicated model (about 30 MB, shadows on etc..) on my core 2 duo...
by pushing ctrl+alt+del you can see the CPU usage chart and if you orbit the model you can see how the stress increases....
would it be possible for you to do the same to see how much SU actually maximises the quad core it would be very useful -
nixone, good choice there, comments below
@unknownuser said:
Intel
Core 2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
128MB nVidia GeForce 8300 GS
80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
Single Drive 16X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) w/ double layerCPU: Quad core will future proof you somewhat if you're not going to be upgrading again in the next 12 - 18 months. Just be aware that not all software can make use of additional cores, SketchUp are one of those that don't. Having said that, you'll be able to run SU together with other apps with ease. Most rendering apps can make use of additional cores, depends on how much rendering you do.
RAM: RAM does play a role in computing speed, but the general public probably won't notice the difference in their everyday use of a PC. You might want to upgrade to 4GB of RAM at some point using that resource hog called Vista. RAM timings (CL ratings) is another thing that influences RAM performance, the lower the CL rating the better the RAM, for DDR2 667 RAM you should have either 3-3-3-8 or 4-4-4-12 timings, any higher than that and you've bought some slow RAM.
GFX card: Not a bad choice I would have looked at a nVidia Geforce 8500 / 8600 though, depending on your needs, something with some more onboard memory would have been better. Personally I prefer ATi GFX cards due to better image quality.
HDD: Not much info given here, but that should serve you well, I only use Western Digital drives though.
OS: MS Windows Vista Home Basic. Hmmm, take a look at the features, don't know if it'll be the right choice (IIRC there are something like 11 diffrent versions). If I bought Vista tomorrow it'll be the Business edition, at the very least.
Optical drive: Should serve you well, my brand of choice is Sony here.
Motherboard: You've made no mention on which motherboard you're getting, this is one of the more important components in a PC. If the mobo isn't any good the PC may very well be unstable and perform poorly.
Monitor: LCD monitors need to have a response time of less or equal to 5ms to be any good, any higher and you might experience ghosting.Hope the comments above helped somewhat and didn't confuse you further.
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