laptop requirements for CA?


DaViper
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Sorry for the extra topic but this is sort of a different direction.  I contacted a friend of mine who designs homes and I guess they have CA but indicated that when they got it, they loaded a few laptops as they wanted to be able to show customers their work remotely.  He said the software ran but all that could be viewed was 2D stuff.  When a 3D view was attempted, it would either error out, or just not open. 

This really got me wondering what the 'minimums' might be to run just basic 3D stuff on a laptop?  He did not even know what version of Windows they had so that is probably the first deal but this really sounded like a video or rendering issue but maybe just the OS?  from what I gathered, their laptops were not that new. 

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So are you thinking that the above issues are GPU related?  No work arounds to just get a display for these guys?  Not being a laptop guy at all, can you just buy/install a GPU for laptops or do they need a special MB design with a socket? 

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I had him check one and it is loaded with Vista.  I guess the software runs on it fine, but will not kick out a 3D render.  Is that possibly a setting issue?  I could really make brownie points if I could help them through the issue.  I think they contacted CA before and told 'it just won't work' so they gave up. 

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When you say 3D Render, do you mean when you open up a 3D camera view. If so what does the screen look like? If it is just a solid black then open up the camera DBX and uncheck "Show Shadows". Some of the older integrated graphics can't handle the shadows, this happens on one of my laptops that has an Intel HD3000 chip.

 

Graham

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1 minute ago, Dan_Park said:

The black screen is always a video card issue.

Updated drivers solve this with newer OS in most cases.

 

Vista was very flaky and this was a typical problem with Chief X1 and intel onboard graphics.

 

I run with Windows 10 and all drivers are up to date. Still have to have "Show Shadows" unchecked to avoid the Black Screen of Death. this is with an HD3000 integrated graphics chip.

 

Graham

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Well, this topic sort of struck a chord with me.  Per my other post, I had one of my machines go down, which forced me to review my current machine list.  I realized that after my last laptop died, I was not really using one so I just used a netbook for basic stuff.  That thing is so slow a snail would laugh at it. 

 

I am diving into some other tech work this year.  Nothing really to do with CA but I probably should not buy something that won't run it. 

 

I like to buy used because I beat stuff up and in general, we are talking in a dirt field or a shop.  I don't need to impress anyone with bells/whistles. 

 

My needs are....  FAST boots so I am thinking SSD is obvious, 3D CAD/CAM work so good graphics duh, Good screen that I can actually see during the day outside.  The rest like fit/finish/audio/size/etc make little difference to me. 

 

Which machines shall I look for?  I know this is a stupid crawl because all the big players sort of "roll their own' so it is hard to benchmark.  I think Asus has some good stuff though?  Never used a Dell.  Had a Sony Vaio.  Ran good until it died on easy street. 

 

Gotta have HDMI out!!  Actually, the more I/Os, the better.  I will NOT spend $1000+ on a laptop.  Just don't need it every day.  Getting tired of not having a mobile machine though. 

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Try to get a used 17" ASUS G74 SX.

They are pretty heavy and you'll need an oversized Laptop bag - but they are very solid.  I have one that I use when I travel and it's been running perfectly for over 5 years.  I get it out every couple of weeks to let Dropbox update, make sure it has a full charge & get any Windows and Software updates.

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2 hours ago, Dan_Park said:

The black screen is always a video card issue...

 

I would say ALMOST always a video card issue.  One other thing I've ran into myself that can cause the same problem...

 

Setting the backdrop to solid black and then creating a "Line Drawing" with black lines. 

 

I've often set the backdrop to black to create realistic interior night time ray traces.  A couple times when doing that I've tried to switching to the line drawing rendering mode and had the whole screen go black.  It's was never readily apparent what the problem was though because my camera was either inside or looking at the building and one would assume you would be able to at least see the outline of the building (i.e. it didn't occur to me that the background color should be having any effect).

 

What's unique about line drawings though is that the color of your object is simply set to be the same as the background color...something that doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to me.  I mean it's not a glass house view or wireframe drawing.  Only visible surface and horizon lines draw.  Why then does the background show through right? 

 

Anyway, not to digress.  I obviously eventually ended up getting things sorted out both times.  Really just wanted to point out one other culprit behind black screens. 

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Curious of any feedback on the HP Envy lineup with 17.3" display and i7 processor?  Can get with Intel HD or Nvidia Gcard.  Also have touch screen but I am still wondering what I would use that for and if I should even target that. 

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one of my rules is spend money on things that can't be changed later

 

ram can be added (up to max)

HD's can be added externally

get the best gaming card and PC you can afford

get an i7 with as many cores as you can afford

 

newer versions of any software have trouble running on older versions of windows

its just a reality

 

Lew

 

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  • 4 months later...

I'm new to chief and not really sure what pc specs are.  Im a carpenter entering into chief architect.  I'm using x6 now and I need to get it onto a laptop so I can make changes with clients.  Will this laptop run x6 pro?

 

 

HP 15.6 inch Premium HD Laptop, Latest Intel Core i5-7200U Processor 2.5GHz, 12GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD, HDMI, Bluetooth, SuperMulti DVD, WiFi, HD Webcam, Windows 10 -Turbo Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N52ZY3L/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_JuJjzbHEXTF5S

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2 hours ago, Aaronh7 said:

I'm new to chief and not really sure what pc specs are.  Im a carpenter entering into chief architect.  I'm using x6 now and I need to get it onto a laptop so I can make changes with clients.  Will this laptop run x6 pro?

 

 

HP 15.6 inch Premium HD Laptop, Latest Intel Core i5-7200U Processor 2.5GHz, 12GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD, HDMI, Bluetooth, SuperMulti DVD, WiFi, HD Webcam, Windows 10 -Turbo Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N52ZY3L/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_JuJjzbHEXTF5S

 

Nope, not well.  If that is your budget then you may want to find a better used laptop on Craigslist with dedicated video card, and something that typically ends in an "x".

 

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I have no problems running CA on my HP Spectra 360, it has the I5 7500U with HD 620 integrated graphics. Yes, Ray Traces are slower than my main system due to half the cores and lower CPU GHz. If you get a new laptop with a Thunder Bolt USB port then you can always add an external dedicated graphics amplifier if need be.

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Yeah I won't be doing huge 3d renderings and ray traces. I WILL probably do normal elevations and maybe just some basic interior images. 

 

I found this one at walmart.  I think it may work for me.  What do you think?

HP Pavilion 15-au018wm 15.6" Liquid Platinum Gaming Laptop, Touch Screen, Windows 10, Intel Core i7-6500U Processor, NVIDIA® GeForce 940MX Graphics, 12GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive

http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Pavilion-15-au018wm-15.6-Gaming-Laptop-Touchscreen-Windows-10-Home-Intel-Core-i7-6500U-Dual-Core-Processor-12GB-Memory-1TB-Hard-Drive/51397791

On 5/25/2017 at 8:41 AM, TheKitchenAbode said:

I have no problems running CA on my HP Spectra 360, it has the I5 7500U with HD 620 integrated graphics. Yes, Ray Traces are slower than my main system due to half the cores and lower CPU GHz. If you get a new laptop with a Thunder Bolt USB port then you can always add an external dedicated graphics amplifier if need be.

 

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16 hours ago, Aaronh7 said:

I found this one at walmart.  I think it may work for me.  What do you think?

HP Pavilion 15-au018wm 15.6" Liquid Platinum Gaming Laptop, Touch Screen, Windows 10, Intel Core i7-6500U Processor, NVIDIA® GeForce 940MX Graphics, 12GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive

http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Pavilion-15-au018wm-15.6-Gaming-Laptop-Touchscreen-Windows-10-Home-Intel-Core-i7-6500U-Dual-Core-Processor-12GB-Memory-1TB-Hard-Drive/51397791

Looked at this one myself as a road machine. Price is good but the dual core processor and only 2GB of dedicated graphics card memory might be a bummer for those who do  more raytraces. I don't think the touchscreen will benefit CA from what I have read.

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Yeah as long as I can get basic 3d elevations. Should be fine.  I'm not doing this as a primary business anyway. It runs fine on my wife's hp envy that's 4 years old.  It only has 8gb of ram and I'm not sure on the video card. As for the touch screen I doubt I would ever use it either

6 hours ago, Ridge_Runner said:

Looked at this one myself as a road machine. Price is good but the dual core processor and only 2GB of dedicated graphics card memory might be a bummer for those who do  more raytraces. I don't think the touchscreen will benefit CA from what I have read.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/25/2017 at 8:41 AM, TheKitchenAbode said:

I have no problems running CA on my HP Spectra 360, it has the I5 7500U with HD 620 integrated graphics. Yes, Ray Traces are slower than my main system due to half the cores and lower CPU GHz. If you get a new laptop with a Thunder Bolt USB port then you can always add an external dedicated graphics amplifier if need be.

Is this the model you are using? I will be working with x6 premier.http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-x360-2-in-1-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-12gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver/5617203.p?skuId=5617203

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5 minutes ago, Aaronh7 said:

 

No, the model I have is the HP Spectre x360 13". It is available in a number of configurations and also in a 15" version. This is not my primary system, I use it for client presentations, light weight, great battery life, very well built. These are currently ranked as either the #1 or 2nd best convertible laptops currently available. Extremely pleased and have not been able to find any faults in it.

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On 1/19/2017 at 8:44 AM, brian-sdesign said:

I'm running chief on a surface pro 4 i5 with integrated graphics only. It runs just fine. Some of the bigger models (7000sf 2 story) get a bit slow though. 

What version of chief are you running?

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