I’m about to start a kitchen and bathroom design business and have pretty much decided to use SketchUp as my modelling software. From what I’ve gathered at industry events it doesn’t appear to be widely used within my industry yet (I’m based in South Australia) but that isn’t putting me off. At this stage I’ll be modelling in SketchUp, generating any plans and internal elevations with LayOut and using Podium for any rendering. I’ve researched other rendering options but ultimately I’m after something quick to learn with low upfront costs.
I’d love to hear from anyone operating a similar business and any issues they’ve encountered using the above software. I’m relatively new to SketchUp but have used it for a few educational projects. I didn’t get a chance to use LayOut during my trial period of Pro but research tells me it should be capable of doing what I need.
I also have a question relating to computers. I’m seriously thinking of building a desktop. I haven’t done it before but have a few knowledgeable people willing to help if I run into trouble. My proposed build is below:
- Case / Corsair Carbide Quiet 400Q Compact Mid Tower
- CPU / Intel Core i7 6700K
- CPU Fan / Noctua NH-D15
- Graphics Card / GTX960 4GB
- Motherboard / ASUS Z170-AR
- Memory / Corsair Vengeance LPX CMK16GX4M2B3200C16 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 Black
- Storage / HDD Western Digital Black 1TB WD1003FZEX
- Storage / SSD Samsung 850 Pro 256GB
- Power Supply / Corsair HX750i 750W 80 Plus Platinum
- Monitor / Dell UltraSharp U2415
I was also looking at getting a 3Dconnexion Wireless SpaceMouse. With operating system all of the above can be had for a little over AU$3000. I realise some components simply come down to aesthetics but others can limit my output by slowing things down. Considering my software choices is there anything you’d recommend I change?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.