Couple of Oddities?

WiZeR

Hi Guys

I usually use sketchup on my laptop but using the 'nub' mouse can be laborious when you need to get things done. I have installed sketchup on my main PC but sketchup is behaving oddly.

Firstly, my primary monitor is a 22" flatscreen at a resolution of 1680x1050 when I open sketchup I get a blank area to the far right of the screen. It disappears is I make the whole window smaller. But when maximised objects get hidden in this area.

Secondly, selecting objects seems to be playing up. Sometimes when I click an object it selects the object behind it or next to it. I have to change the view angle a few times before I can get a grip on it.

Both problems have never existed on any other PC? I tried upgrading to the latest version with no joy.

Any ideas?
Sketchup V6.2.112
Windows XP
Pentium Core2 6400 @ 2.13GHZ
3.5GB DDR Ram
Intel Q695/Q963 Express

Anssi

@wizer said:

Hi Guys
Any ideas?
Sketchup V6.2.112
Windows XP
Pentium Core2 6400 @ 2.13GHZ
3.5GB DDR Ram
Intel Q695/Q963 Express

Hi,

The problem lies with your graphics card, or lack thereof. Intel motherboard graphics that use shared memory do not play well with professional 3D applications. Otherwise your setup should be quite OK with SU. Note that SU is a single-threaded application, so it doesn't benefit much from your second processor, so the performance you can expect is one of a Pentium IV singlecore with a slightly faster clockspeed than yours.

Primarily I would suggest that you get a dedicated graphics card, if your machine has a slot for one. Even a cheap Nvidia card will perform better than your present one.

To make SU perform better for you with your present setup you can try to:

upgrade the graphics driver
turn off "use fast feedback" in the Window>Preferences>OpenGL dialog
check the "correct reverse picking driver bug" in the same dialog (I don't think this helps with Intel graphics, though"
if and when these don't help, turn off "Use hardware acceleration" in the same dialog. This will slow down SU with all but the smallest models, but probably you will be able to work.

Anssi

gata

Get another mouse for your laptop. One laptop friendly mouse is the Logitech VX Nano cordless laser mouse http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/mice/devices/3271&cl=us,en.

On the downside, it needs batteries and forward/back buttons work with the index finger instead of the thumb. On the plus side is the stubby USB dongle, small size, and the Set Point software to control its features. You can assign SU keyboard shortcuts to its programmable buttons. The software even has a plugin http://www.mstarmetro.net/users/rlowens/uberOptions/ for more control options. I have the MX Revolution pictured in the uberOptions page. It's larger than the Nano and has rechargeable batteries. Sales and rebates can knock down the price 20-30 USD on both.