Need advise on purchasing


Tdgdesign
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Hello all

 

I used CA many years ago because a client of mine had a license for it and allowed me to use it for free. I found a lot of its features fantastic: on the fly renderings, interior material component schedules (esp for kitchens!). But there were just SOOOOOOOOOO many bugs it got really frustrating. So when that client moved on so did my access to CA and due to its buggy nature I decided it just wasn't worth the price. So life went on for a number of years (8 or so) then I recently downloaded the trial version of X9 and on day two I am already finding some really frustrating bugs: IE: the standard 8" concrete stem wall type suddenly no longer displays in plan view (its footings do but not the wall ) but only on 3 sides of the plan - one wall displays fine. I can switch the disappearing walls to other types and poof! there they are in all their glory. Change back to 8" concrete wall and they (but not the footings!) are gone. I am sure, like before, there is a work around but at the price of this software package those kinds of bugs just shouldn't be something I have to waste time with. I feel like this product is constantly in beta test mode....

 

So am I being to quick to judge this version on CA as being just a insanely buggy as its predecessors? Is it really worth the money?

 

Like the Xfiles - I wanna believe....

 

Thanks!

concrete wall.pdf

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In the case you highlight that isn't a bug issue but rather a setting issue.   Chief may lack some features/abilities I want but I dont know it to be "buggy".  I wasn't here 8 year ago but I can tell you Chief is pretty stable overall.  I use it with a fair sized team and everything works fine.

 

Its going to take some time for you to learn...

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OK thanks for the reply.  I didn't change anything except to toggle from 3d view back to plan view. Then the walls were gone but only if they are an 8" concrete wall - any other type of wall is OK. So to be clear by buggy I don't mean crashing your computer buggy  - I mean the pull your out at 3am because a layer just wont display correctly, etc type of buggy.

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Oh for crying out loud I didn't start this to get flamed. I don't see how toggling from one view to another should cause any high end software package to act oddly. If you can prove that was a user error than do so but to just disregard it out of hand is not constructive. I am trying to make an educated purchase decision here and this forum used to be quite helpful. If you don't wanna play nice, move along.

 

 

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Coming from a AutoCAD / TurboCAD background I struggled with software, when I first started using it.  A really big part of my problem was just learning the way Chief Architect does things.  And yes they sometimes do things different.  There were a lot of features I honestly thought the software didn't have but, then was pleasantly surprised to learn the software did have the feature I wanted.  I have been using the software for about two years and have yet to personally experience any major bug with the software.  If there is one Chief Architect would really like to know about it. I can tell you from personal experience that if something goes wonky on me, 99 out the 100 times I am not doing something right or fully understanding how Chief Architect does something.  If  a person can overcome the learning curve and learn the way the software likes to do things, I firmly believe the software can be worth the money.  They have a rent-to-own program, which is how I invested in the software.  You might say I was learning the software while I was paying for the software.

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No, not flaming, far from it,  just pointing out that it probably user error.

Usually the best way to get help with this sort of problem is to post a plan, but I appreciate that in your case that is difficult to do with the demo version.

A .pdf really isn't much help.

It is a minor display problem or setting that should not stop you from purchasing Chief.

 

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I've only encountered one bug, and it was due to a video card driver issue. 

I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that any issues you're experiencing probably aren't related to the software, but rather your system. 

That being said, what are your system specs?

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Thanks for the feedback! I hope I didn't come off snooty in my OP. Really was not my intention. Back when I was using CA there were some quirks but I think a lot of it had to do with the machine I was running it on not being up to the task - especially in the rendering department. I am currently  running it on a ASUS Strix gaming laptop with Intel i7, 7th gen 2.8ghz processor, 12 GB of RAM and a dedicated NVIDIA GEforce GTX graphics card. System should be more than up to the task, no?

 

 

 

 

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And if On a Laptop with dual Graphics? that you have set the Nvidia Card as the default for Chief....

 

There are known display issues with the latest Nvidia Drivers eg version 388.0 and 388.13 especially in DBX's  (dialog boxes) with tabs no opening etc.

 

On my system they are fine in Chief but don't allow the system to sleep Properly.....still finding 385.02 are the best for me...

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2 hours ago, Tdgdesign said:

Kbird - silly question but how do I set the graphics card as default to CA?

 

Both Nvidia and AMD Laptops often have this but in Nvidia Control Panel ( right click the desktop and open it )...

 

Under 3D Settings>Manage 3D settings >   you should see a Preferred GPU drop down box at the top.....

 

you can also go upto Desktop on the Menu Bar and Check the Display GPU Activity Icon , so that if the Nvidia card is being used it will put a rainbow coloured icon next to the clock or on the hidden menu....drag it off the hidden menu and drop next to the Time Area if you want to see it all the time...

 

you can also Add Chief to the Programs list on the second Tab if you want it to use settings different from the Global Settings in the Driver

 

couple of pages about Dual Cards setups and changing them...

 

http://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/pc-components/how-set-default-graphics-card-3612668/

https://support.lenovo.com/ca/en/solutions/ht078706

 

 

M.

 

This might interest you if looking to save on purchase....

https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/topic/15715-chief-architext-premier-x6-license-for-sale/#comment-132236

 

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