Complexity of other programs - kudos to Chief

[HetrickDesign]

Just now, rwdozier said:

X5 has been meeting my needs. But, from what I've read on this forum, I would really love to take X5 to X10 or X11 - waiting on pricing special they sometimes have around the end of the year.

You're in luck because they just announced their special pricing. Take a look.

[johnmarkey]

I am an architect and Chief user since 1993.  Chief was the first CAD software I used out of architecture school before CAD had taken over the industry.  I use AutoCAD and convert files back and forth only because it is the language of the industry and exchange file format between professional disciplines. I do the main body of design work in Chief. I see more engineers and architects I work and exchange files with using software other than AutoCAD and converting files to dwg only for exchanging.  The worst problem with Chief for an architect is that it cannot handle large files.  It is not unusual for me to draw a 4-story, 250 Unit apartment bldg.  Draw that in Chief and it will struggle for 2 minutes just to generate a line or a zoom view.  In a large mixed-use project with several bldgs Chief can take 5 minutes to process one command.  I convert the 3-D Chief plans to all CAD lines in plan and it is no better. It is 100% a problem in the software, not the hardware. I have spoken to several people at Chief about getting the file size capability up to that of AutoCAD and they tell me it is just not going to happen.  They are not marketing to professional architects and sticking to their home building segment.  That's a real shame as they could capture a significant market share of professionals.

[Richard_Morrison]

On 1/5/2019 at 9:50 AM, johnmarkey said:

They are not marketing to professional architects and sticking to their home building segment. 

Just curious. Did Chief folks explicitly say this, or was this your conclusion?