Doug_Park Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 In the past few years low power and high performance for 3D graphics cards has been a major focus of the 3D video vendors. Partly this is to support tablets and smart phones. The result has been that some vendors, such as Intel have really upped their game in terms of performance resulting in a lot better 3D graphics performance for low end laptops and tablets. I would look for something with the dual Intel HD and NVIDIA graphics. This gives you both good performance with low power consumption and excellent performance when power consumption isn't an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy1 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 In the past few years low power and high performance for 3D graphics cards has been a major focus of the 3D video vendors. Partly this is to support tablets and smart phones. The result has been that some vendors, such as Intel have really upped their game in terms of performance resulting in a lot better 3D graphics performance for low end laptops and tablets. I would look for something with the dual Intel HD and NVIDIA graphics. This gives you both good performance with low power consumption and excellent performance when power consumption isn't an issue. Mine has dual Intel HD Graphics 4600 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M. I'm looking at the display adapters under the device manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcaffee Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 It truly befuddles me when I see a discussion re: how underpowered a machine which you can run CA. Sure, this may make sense if you're talking to the DIY/Enthusiast market, but is not CA a professional toolset? As the limits of Section 179 (US Tax code) are still set to allow small business to deduct the entire purchase of hardware and software for a Chief optimized system, why bother with underpowered machines? Honestly, either pay the tech vendor or pay the gov't, your choice... I pay the tech/equipment vendor every time. Section 179 = 100% deduction of computer hardware and COTS software (within limits). And, there's carryover. So, instead of worrying about "can I run CA on an $800 laptop", all y'all need to be... https://www.digitalstormonline.com/configurator.asp?id=1031732 Disclaimer: I am not an accountant, talk to your tax pro or do your own research. So there. jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy1 Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 It truly befuddles me when I see a discussion re: how underpowered a machine which you can run CA. Sure, this may make sense if you're talking to the DIY/Enthusiast market, but is not CA a professional toolset? As the limits of Section 179 (US Tax code) are still set to allow small business to deduct the entire purchase of hardware and software for a Chief optimized system, why bother with underpowered machines? Honestly, either pay the tech vendor or pay the gov't, your choice... I pay the tech/equipment vendor every time. Section 179 = 100% deduction of computer hardware and COTS software (within limits). And, there's carryover. So, instead of worrying about "can I run CA on an $800 laptop", all y'all need to be... https://www.digitalstormonline.com/configurator.asp?id=1031732 Disclaimer: I am not an accountant, talk to your tax pro or do your own research. So there. jon I'm afraid if I reply with what I want to say, Chief will kick me off the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcaffee Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Tommy, not sure what upsets you here. You are going to pay the money--one way or the other. The question is, do you pay it to the federal government, or the vendor of qualified products/services? If you only owe $800 on your tax bill, then, well--I guess an $800 computer will do the trick. I know, since I became a working adult, my tax bill is substantially more than $800, and actually covers CA w/SSA, associated hardware, and if I'm working off site, maybe even a new car/truck to get there. (That's why people call Section 179 the "SUV Loophole"). Didn't intend to offend, but if you CAN??? Why wouldn't you get a more robust/durable system? Section 179 makes it so small businesses CAN. That was the intent of the law. jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy1 Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Jon, you assume that no one knows about writing off business expenses like a new computer or even the SSA payment not to mention other expenses. I have met with other people here in Houston, and have found that sometimes stronger computers only speed certain things up 2 to 3 seconds faster. Is 2 to 3 seconds faster worth and additional $600 to $900? Not for me. I know someone who I work with now that has a lot better computer than me which is a desktop and find that they're having more problems than I have and have a little bit better NVIDIA card than me and no shared memory. They spent hundreds more and there is no huge difference in rendering or plan speed but I'm getting much better results with my elevations. I know that some people have fits if something takes 2 or 3 seconds longer to do as well as having to punch an extra key to do something or an extra click, and well, that's okay. Two or 3 seconds doesn't justify spending hundreds more for me. You may think differently. As long as I can work in Chief at a reasonable time I'm happy. I'll also bet that most people here DO purchase the best computer they can. It doesn't take the top of the line computer most expensive to run Chief from any manufacturer and it certainly doesn't mean that if you don't have the latest and greatest computer that you are a DIY/enthusiast as you imply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_Park Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 One should always calculate the return on investment of a computer. Today's computers are quite capable and even most of the lowest level computers available are capable of running Chief. This includes many Windows tablets. The real question is whether the computer you are looking at is fast enough for you. I have never had a computer that was fast enough for me to not notice that for some operations that I routinely do that it didn't keep up. The last device that kept up with me typing was and IBM Selectric typewriter. Even typing this message I had more than one noticable dealy between hitting the key and seeing the text show up on the screen. I'm running a very high end laptop so it should keep up. But it doesn't. I'm not a particularly fast typist either. So at the end of the analysis one has to decide just how much delay you are willing to pay to reduce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcaffee Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 So at the end of the analysis one has to decide just how much delay you are willing to pay to reduce. Doug, you've missed my point entirely. My point wasn't about the technical capabilities of any system(s). It's purely about giving your business an advantage by leveraging the tax code. The US Gov't is telling small businesses, "Go buy stuff, we'll give you the money." (Actually, they're forgiving part of a debt, but... semantics) If that's the case, then why, as a small business person, wouldn't I take every advantage I can to make my operation better? My intent isn't to start a debate, just an observation of a mindset that "befuddles" me. jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchenlifestyle Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Thanks for the reminder of the tax benefits. That really takes the guilt out of buying a new machine. Anyone have a great mouse to recommend? Also, any benefit to touch screen in Chief? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcaffee Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 CA is not touchscreen optimized, but there users out in the wild working successfully on systems such as the Microsoft Surface Pro. Meeces are another story. CA does not recommend wireless mice (And I've use an MS Mobile Mouse 4000 since... forever). Search here, in the forums, for discussions re: mouse. There are many opinions. jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_Park Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Chief supports certain touch screen gestures like pinch to zoom and two finger pan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwayslearning Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I'm experiencing a similiar problem. Hoping to get some speed on these renders and ray traces I just upgraded from a MacBook Pro with 2.6Ghz dual processor, 8 GB ram and a 1.5MB graphics card to a Mac Pro with the following: 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 16 GB 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC Dual AMD FirePro D700 6144 MB ea 8-10 hours for a 250 pass ray trace on a small house with three lights on, six windows in view and a reflective wood floor. Elevation line drawings take 6-7 minutes and break out the cuss words if you try to resize the view, cause it'll be another 6-7 minutes. I've rebooted, restarted, held my tongue just so, even danced a jig hoping it would help, it did not. Is this normal for CA X7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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