paulchoate

I have no idea lol. I wish I had the time to understand more on how Chief works (and computers in general). I'm learning about Chief and computers at the same time as running my business (as many of us here are doing) so I can only devote so much time to one thing or another (I'm doing well with Chief but have a lot to learn...trial by fire as I have 5 designs sitting on my desk that need to get done so I'm designing and learning at the same time). Only now have I gone from simply using computers to learning about them. One thing I'm wishing I did is purchase a Lenova ThinkPad with a no-glare 4k screen instead of the Asus with the no-glare 1080 screen. Apparently the Lenova Think Pad P50/51 and P70/71 are pretty much the best of the best when it comes to CAD....But I did save $2,000!

Where are you located?

I like the 15" 4k screen on my Lenovo Yoga BUT I also like the 17" no-glare screen on my Asus G752. I want to merge them together so that I have a 17" 4k, anti-glare shiny screen. Ain't gonna happen lol. Seriously, the anti glare is a bit "dull" but it's nice. I believe it's easier on the eyes when looking at the screen for a long time. On the flip side the The 4k image on a quality ray trace looks awesome...customers like that. So, I do most of my work on the large, no glare 17" screen then bring the smaller 4k screen to show my customers. Plus my Lenovo is a touch screen which I don't use often but it's nice to have.

Wow...thank you all for the thoughtful and helpful replies. Being that I'm new to Chief (and 3D CAD altogether) I really don't know how to judge if my computers are slow, fast or really fast. I do know that compared to my old laptop that didn't have an Intel i7 quad core or dedicated/separate graphics card my new laptops are pretty darn fast. I have tww "laptops". My Asus G752 is more like a portable desktop: I bought it as an open box special at best buy for almost 1/2 price and it is pretty much replacing my 8-9 year old desktop. It has an i7 quad core, Nvidia 965m 2GB graphics card, 16GB RAM and a 1 TB hard drive. My other laptop is a Lenovo Yoga 720 with an i7 quad core, Nvidia 1050 graphics card (2GB I think), 16GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD. The Lenovo is definitely faster in opening up programs and downloading/uploading files due to the SSD but as far as using Chief I can't say whether or not the SSD and the newer/"better" Nvidia graphics card in the Lenovo make it render, ray trace any quicker and if the graphics look better it's likely because it has a very shiny/glossy 4k screen vs the no-glare matte finish on the Asus (not for nothing but the no-glare screen on the Asus is actually very nice and comes in handy when showing customers renderings on the computer...it might not be shiny and cool but I there is never an issue of having to adjust the screen, turn the computer, etc. due to glare from light reflecting off the screen...the downside is the Asus is a tank...but that's another topic). In a nutshell, for overall Chief use both machines work nicely but the ray traces seem to take a long time....again, I'm new to Chief and don't really know the ins and outs of setting up a ray trace for optimal renderings done quickly (relatively speaking)

I was reviewing the recommended requirements for using Chief x9...CA recommends a 4 to 8GB graphic card! I can't seem to find a reasonably priced computer with a 4-8 gig graphics card AND a SSD, 16 gigs of RAM, etc. That pretty much means I gotta buy a $2,000 + gaming laptop. My current set up uses a Nvidia 1050 and seems to do ok....would upgrading to a 4, 6 or 8 GB card (Nvidia 1070, 1080, etc) make that big of a difference? The other problem is the cards are not plug and play in a laptop (not mine anyway) and it means I'd have to buy a new compute rather than just swap it out. Any suggestions as to what a really good CA computer setup would be?

Hello. I'm a design/build contractor in Fairfield County, CT who recently upgraded (major upgrade) to Chief Architect. I have been building/designing (residential remodeling) for twenty years. I don't necessarily need someone to teach how to design; rather I need a experienced professional to give me a CA crash course over a short period of time (I'm a quick learner) in converting. I have several design projects on my plate and would love to get them done via Chief Architect rather than use my old software. I've been watching the tutorials and those are great but would prefer in-home (or I can go to you) one-on-one training. I missed the JLC two-day seminar in Providence RI :(.

Thanks Gary...I'll check it out.

Hi everyone. I am a Build/Design contractor in CT. I recently purchased Chief Architect Premiere X9 (I had been using CADopia version 6 for the past 17 years which was fine but extremely tedious...drawing things line by line is daunting after a while...truth be told I never took the time to learn how to use it efficiently). Now that I have CA I have a big learning curve to contend with. I'm willing to put in the time to learn but it's very difficult to find the time to learn a brand new program and run my business at the same time. That said, I was wondering if anyone is willing to donate or sell a generic sample set of house plans that I could upload to my computer so I can 1) Show potential customers what I can (or will soon be able to do for them) and 2) Use those plans as my template for now. I'm not necessarily asking for a freebie as I'd be willing to pay but of course if there is someone out there willing to help out a fellow build/designer that'd be great!