my program is too slow

[amaliya]

The more I upload files on software the slower it is becoming to work with. Does anyone know why?

 

Thanks!

[BIRCHES]

This happens to me when I import 3DS objects with lots of surfaces / detail. I just added a bed to my layout and the program would take 15 seconds to generate a 3D view from 2D. Delete the bed and its back to being as fast as before.

 

 

 

 

[amaliya]

and if I want this bed?

I try to make my table gray, and it takes 30 sec for the program to turn it into gray

 

[amaliya]

so, basically the program isn't equiped to handle large files?

[amaliya]

what can I do speed up the process, without having to remove the files? not 3Ds but mostly skp files I upload?

 

[DRAWZILLA]

1 hour ago, amaliya said:

so, basically the program isn't equiped to handle large files?

Just might be your computer or video card can't handle it, I don't have those problems. what are your computer spec.s

[amaliya]

8 core processor, 32g video card

[Renerabbitt]

2 hours ago, amaliya said:

8 core processor, 32g video card

the poly/face count of items you are importing can be VERY large, and CA is not suited to handle high poly count models, though it can do it. When you paint an object it rebuilds the scene. Recommendation would be to put all imported items on layers that can be turned off as they hog resources when CA tries to rebuild the scene. Also you can paint your items on a blank plan, add them to the library, and then add them to the scene.

You should pay careful attention to the face count of the objects you are downloading from say 3dwarehouse...anything above 10,000 faces gets to be a large resource hog that kills CA.

You can also reduce face and poly counts in 3rd party software to make them more suitable for CA

[DRAWZILLA]

23 hours ago, amaliya said:

8 core processor, 32g video card

I don't think anyone has a 32 gb video card.

[DavidJPotter]

Whatever the actual cause of your difficulty, you are the author of it, not the software, it is a result of things that you did or did not do to cause this effect. I suggest you share a copy of your file with Tech Support so they can actually help with information other than opinions and guesses.

 

3D faces take time to compute per second for a CPU and for parsing by way of a video card for visual displays. If you import a lot of third party objects from 3D Warehouse and other such places, this action alone can overload most PC's ability to display such objects per second which like I said, this is something you are doing, not the software or hardware.

 

DJP

[Dermot]

Quote

The more I upload files on software the slower it is becoming to work with. Does anyone know why?

 

I hate to be captain obvious, but I think it's because you are importing too much data. 

 

Most of the symbols that ship with Chief Architect have been designed by our own graphic designers so that they will look good in Chief and still perform reasonably well.  If you are importing symbols from other sources, they might not have been designed with these goals.  The symbol designer's main goal may have been to create the most detailed model possible without any regard to how that would impact the performance of a program designed to model a whole house.

 

As a general rule, the more surfaces a symbol has the more it will slow down the program.  If you would like to get any idea of how detailed a symbol is, drop it into a blank plan and open up a camera view.  The program will list the number of surfaces generated on the status bar.  There is no magic limit on the number of surfaces that will start slowing down the program because every machine will perform differently and you have to look at the whole model and not just the one symbol.

 

There are only a few obvious choices here, deal with the slowdowns, upgrade your hardware, or don't import so much data.  Upgrading your hardware might only be a temporary solution because if you keep importing lots of data you will bring even the most expensive hardware available down to a crawl.  Personally, I recommend being more judicious about which symbols you import and use.  Often times there are a variety of options available and you can find a symbol that performs much better then others that will still look fine.  Only you can decide if the slowdowns are worth it to get the symbol you really want. 

 

Keep in mind that this is just general information.  There are cases where people have actual hardware and system problems that can cause unnecessary slowdowns.  If you need additional help about your specific problems, you can always contact technical support.

 

[amaliya]

ok thanks! I just wish Chief had more 3D symbols that is available on the market, you have wayfair, but it is limited as well 

[jcaffee]

You can always try Mootools Polygon Cruncher...  http://www.mootools.com/plugins/us/3dbrowserpro/index.aspx

[DanDearborn]

AMD introduced a 32GB Firepro card back in April of 2016.

 

I would be interested to hear from anyone who is using the new AMD 16 core Threadripper processor. I often model houses right down to the silverware that have massive poly/face counts and correspondingly large files sizes (routinely 100mb+). I currently use a 6-core intel  chip with 32gb main memory and an NVidia 1080 graphics card. Both are water cooled. And while it is clear Chief can handle very large data sets, there is a threshold (for me typically starting with file size above 90MB) that once breached will start to slow down chief considerably. In chiefs defense, the program is now capable of nearly real time rendering and manipulation of massive data sets that even a few years ago was simply not possible. And it bears mentioning that size of the file in of itself is not necessarily a predictor of program/system performance.

 

Chief responds to more cores and more main memory. A fast graphics card with at least 8GB's of ram doesn't hurt. With the new AMD 16/32core processors and more on the near horizon from intel, I think many of these problems with recede into the background assuming one doesn't go crazy with objects and textures.

[Renerabbitt]

17 minutes ago, DanDearborn said:

AMD introduced a 32GB Firepro card back in April of 2016.

 

I would be interested to hear from anyone who is using the new AMD 16 core Threadripper processor. I often model houses right down to the silverware that have massive poly/face counts and correspondingly large files sizes (routinely 100mb+). I currently use a 6-core intel  chip with 32gb main memory and an NVidia 1080 graphics card. Both are water cooled. And while it is clear Chief can handle very large data sets, there is a threshold (for me typically starting with file size above 90MB) that once breached will start to slow down chief considerably. In chiefs defense, the program is now capable of nearly real time rendering and manipulation of massive data sets that even a few years ago was simply not possible. And it bears mentioning that size of the file in of itself is not necessarily a predictor of program/system performance.

 

Chief responds to more cores and more main memory. A fast graphics card with at least 8GB's of ram doesn't hurt. With the new AMD 16/32core processors and more on the near horizon from intel, I think many of these problems with recede into the background assuming one doesn't go crazy with objects and textures.

the problem isnt the hardware but the implementation of the hardware, chief is not built to handle high poly or complex models, it would need a considerable investment into the software coding to make it a viable option as a true modelling software which it is not. 

Chiefs slow down is directly related to poly count and texture size

[Chopsaw]

12 minutes ago, DanDearborn said:

I would be interested to hear from anyone who is using the new AMD 16 core Threadripper processor.

 

You may want to connect with JohnB as it seems you are both shooting for the stars together and breaking Chief records.

 

 

[johnny]

On 9/7/2017 at 1:10 PM, Renerabbitt said:

You can also reduce face and poly counts in 3rd party software to make them more suitable for CA

 

^^^^^^^ what Rene said here is the key.   There are 3rd party apps that quickly reduce poly counts to something more manageable by Chief.

[RobUSMC]

I would like to know what people consider a "high" face count.   Id there a way to look at a plan it see just how many total faces in all it has ?

[Smn842]

22 hours ago, RobUSMC said:

   Id there a way to look at a plan it see just how many total faces in all it has ?

 

In a 3D view Chief will show the total surface count of layers shown in the status bar.  For individual symbols you can open the symbol and it shows on the 3D section under the faces section. I am just using Chief on my own home renovation so no idea of how many surfaces is normal for professional use, but FWIW my plans seem to be 600K to 900K.

 

The biggest issue I've had is I import a lot of manufacturer symbols (from Revit format usually) and some of these are very high count like as with general symbol sites.  It takes time to check and avoid issues, e.g. 30K surfaces for a single radiator but its worth it in the long run.

[Joe_Carrick]

I agree with Perry.  The most memory I've seen on a dedicated Video Card used with Chief is 4gb but there are some with up to 8gb (NVidea GTX1080).  32gb would be a drastic overkill for Chief.

 

You should also check to see that the Video Card is actually in control.  If there's an on-board Intel Video chip it may be being used instead of the dedicated card.  You can check that in the settings for the dedicated card.  (Nvidea settings - PhysX in my case)

[TheKitchenAbode]

When ever I've investigated this it has seemed that it is more CPU related than GPU. Indications are that there are computations performed by the CPU before it can be sent to the GPU and it seems to be the former where high surface counts can slow things down. I'm not sure there is anything we can do on our side to significantly improve this.

[Chopsaw]

4 hours ago, Smn842 said:

The biggest issue I've had is I import a lot of manufacturer symbols (from Revit format usually) and some of these are very high count like as with general symbol sites.

 

Simon,  This is a slightly different topic so PM me if you like but I am curious what method you use for this process.

[VHampton]

On 9/7/2017 at 10:41 AM, amaliya said:

what can I do speed up the process, without having to remove the files? not 3Ds but mostly skp files I upload?

Turn off the undo-redo option in the Preferences. You'll see the difference right away.

 

At the very least change to setting to only 1 or 2 re-do's.

 

[RobUSMC]

Any thoughts on what do most feel that signify and high face count. 500,  2000, 5000, 20K+  ??

[Alaskan_Son]

13 minutes ago, RobUSMC said:

Any thoughts on what do most feel that signify and high face count. 500,  2000, 5000, 20K+  ??

 

For what?  For a washing machine?  A door symbol, a light fixture that the clients are about to spend $10,000 on? The entire model?  A 1,000 sq. ft., builder grade starter home, a 20,000 sq. foot luxury townhome?  A carport?  A landscape design?  

 

TOTALLY depends.  If I’m drawing up a $10,000 fixture for a tiny bathroom remodel where accuracy is an absolute must, 1,000,000 faces might be acceptable.   If I’m drawing up a 4,000 sq. ft. 8-plex for the local slum lord then shoot...1/4 of that might be too much.