upgrade time


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I am about to upgrade my system for CA X13. Can anyone explain what the higher gigabytes do for the graphic cards? That is new to me.

My sig shows my current setup and I am ready to spend the money on a dell alienware desktop. Any bad experiences with Dell please let me know. 

 

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I really like my Alien, but need to upgrade myself.  Working the 1080 card.  My biggest thing I had issue were the hard drive "c" wasn't big enough to link dropbox too.  My "d" drive on the other hand is 2 TB.  I know when I do upgrade, the bigger GB aka VRAM (like you asked) and the bigger the operating drive the better.  

 

VRAM (video RAM) refers to any type of random access memory (RAM) specifically used to store image data for a computer display. VRAM's purpose is to ensure the even and smooth execution of graphics display.

 

Is Dell still saying December for delivery?   I was looking last week.  Need to spend $$ so Biden doesn't get it..  Write off baby!

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@ChiefUserBigRoband @mtldesigns The higher VRAM is going to be super important to someone like me who likes to use tons of 4K textures as well as large complex models. Chief won't really show substantial improvements in this regard as it really doesn't handle high poly high reso models...Twinmotion on the other hand, will absolutely take benefit of Large amounts of VRAM

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34 minutes ago, Renerabbitt said:

Twinmotion on the other hand, will absolutely take benefit of Large amounts of VRAM

Actually purchased Twinmotion and have been watching your training vids.   So that's another reason I've been looking at the higher VRAM. Love the quality of the renders and the movements you can do in Twin.  So much to learn though...

 

 

  

 

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39 minutes ago, Renerabbitt said:

@ChiefUserBigRoband @mtldesigns The higher VRAM is going to be super important to someone like me who likes to use tons of 4K textures as well as large complex models. Chief won't really show substantial improvements in this regard as it really doesn't handle high poly high reso models...Twinmotion on the other hand, will absolutely take benefit of Large amounts of VRAM

Rene, what do you mainly do with 4K stuff? Just better presentations to clients for reno's/new builds? 

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54 minutes ago, mtldesigns said:

I really like my Alien, but need to upgrade myself.  Working the 1080 card.  My biggest thing I had issue were the hard drive "c" wasn't big enough to link dropbox too.  My "d" drive on the other hand is 2 TB.  I know when I do upgrade, the bigger GB aka VRAM (like you asked) and the bigger the operating drive the better.  

 

VRAM (video RAM) refers to any type of random access memory (RAM) specifically used to store image data for a computer display. VRAM's purpose is to ensure the even and smooth execution of graphics display.

 

Is Dell still saying December for delivery?   I was looking last week.  Need to spend $$ so Biden doesn't get it..  Write off baby!

Yep! Still saying December. Not much black Friday deals I see on Alienware which is no surprise.

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I've found it smart to buy as much of the latest technology as the budget will allow delaying the need for the next upgrade just that little bit longer. More of everything is almost always better. More storage, more RAM, more VRAM, faster CPU, faster GPU but as with most things there's a point of diminishing returns. Chief doesn't seem to access a lot of RAM during day to day use and 16 GB has always seemed to be plenty. Again faster and bigger with everything is almost always better

 

One thing to consider when purchasing or upgrading the video card especially with Chief's new Real Time Raytracing is, do you Ray Trace? I haven't RT'd in years and my old 1080 seems to handle graphics just fine - for my needs. Will you use other programs intensely with the new rig? What do they like as far as CPU speed? RAM needs? Graphics cards?

 

And if I were upgrading today I would seriously think about waiting until Intel's new 12th Gen Alder Lake chip reaches the market. Looks like it's available now but can we actually buy it? That single decision could put off the next upgrade for a much long time.

 

 https://www.techadvisor.com/news/pc-components/intel-alder-lake-12th-gen-cpu-3800589/

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11 hours ago, ChiefUserBigRob said:

I am about to upgrade my system for CA X13. Can anyone explain what the higher gigabytes do for the graphic cards? That is new to me.

My sig shows my current setup and I am ready to spend the money on a dell alienware desktop. Any bad experiences with Dell please let me know. 

 

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Curious Rob, what aspects of your computer do you perceive is giving you trouble/slow downs prompting the need to upgrade?

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3 hours ago, HumbleChief said:

Curious Rob, what aspects of your computer do you perceive is giving you trouble/slow downs prompting the need to upgrade?

It's more of the fact that my current PC is 3 years old and I am running out of space. I still crash from time to time on X13 renderings. Besides my son is patiently waiting to get my current setup for his gaming lol.

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1 hour ago, ChiefUserBigRob said:

It's more of the fact that my current PC is 3 years old and I am running out of space. I still crash from time to time on X13 renderings. Besides my son is patiently waiting to get my current setup for his gaming lol.

Sounds like file management is in order, 3 years isn’t terribly old.

doing a selective sync on onedrive or Dropbox could fix the storage issue quickly 

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2 hours ago, ChiefUserBigRob said:

It's more of the fact that my current PC is 3 years old and I am running out of space. I still crash from time to time on X13 renderings. Besides my son is patiently waiting to get my current setup for his gaming lol.

Let me translate - "I like new stuff." Close?

 

Me too...

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My mother in law's laptop was dying, so I sold her my 17" 16GB  i7 GTX 1660 Ti I bought in the spring ($1100USD at the time). I just bought a i7 11800H with 32 GB ram c/w GTX 3080 with 8GB, this week for $2000US.

 

to goto the i9(or the AMD Ryzen had really good reviews) was at least another $1k I wasn't ready to spend. (it seems to go from 16GB to 32GB is the big $ jump, then i7 top i9 is another $1k) ..at least up here

 

Ortho overview takes about 3 seconds (I thought it would be faster).. elevations about 2.5s. dbx are noticeably faster.

 

floor camera PBR takes about 4 seconds, kind of cool to just zoom in and see it. I never used it before, not sure if I will now, on the fence..will need to see how it looks like to get to a decent pdf size (if that is impacted)

 

recording of walkthroughs are a lot less choppy and quicker

 

and just moving between plans, views just a lot quicker.  double clicking on a layout plan to get to actual plan is about  0.5s

 

 

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On 11/5/2021 at 8:38 PM, ChiefUserBigRob said:

Any bad experiences with Dell please let me know

I experience many crashes every day. I use my pc for nothing but Chief and Google Chrome. Nvidia and Chief tech support haven't been able to provide a solution so I couldn't tell you if the problem is Chief or Nvidia or Dell.

This isn't exactly helpful, but I'm not overly happy with my Alienware PC or X13 because of this.

There is a known conflict between some Alienware software and Chief Architect, but even disabling it has not provided a reliable experience using Chief.

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3 hours ago, robdyck said:

I experience many crashes every day. I use my pc for nothing but Chief and Google Chrome. Nvidia and Chief tech support haven't been able to provide a solution so I couldn't tell you if the problem is Chief or Nvidia or Dell.

This isn't exactly helpful, but I'm not overly happy with my Alienware PC or X13 because of this.

There is a known conflict between some Alienware software and Chief Architect, but even disabling it has not provided a reliable experience using Chief.

Seriously? Wow, I am glad you mentioned this. HP has been decent for me using chief X13. It was flawless X10-X12. Heck, I don't know what will be a good purchase.

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On 11/6/2021 at 1:50 PM, Renerabbitt said:

Sounds like file management is in order, 3 years isn’t terribly old.

doing a selective sync on onedrive or Dropbox could fix the storage issue quickly 

I agree. What I have been doing is taking old jobs off the pc onto an external hard drive. I leave only what jobs I am currently working on the PC. Storage data tells me one huge space taker is the AMD Radeon updates. I asked a while back if we can delete old update files but got no replies.

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1 hour ago, ChiefUserBigRob said:

I agree. What I have been doing is taking old jobs off the pc onto an external hard drive. I leave only what jobs I am currently working on the PC. Storage data tells me one huge space taker is the AMD Radeon updates. I asked a while back if we can delete old update files but got no replies.

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That solid state driver is just way below standard in space requirements within our industry. An upgrade to an NVME M.2 1tb samsung drive would be a great upgrade for you

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10 hours ago, Renerabbitt said:

That solid state driver is just way below standard in space requirements within our industry. An upgrade to an NVME M.2 1tb samsung drive would be a great upgrade for you

Curious, what "solid state drive" are you seeing and how can you know it's "way below standard?" Not to challenge your knowledge but curious to learn how you can make the diagnosis from the picture posted. Thanks

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2 hours ago, HumbleChief said:

Curious, what "solid state drive" are you seeing and how can you know it's "way below standard?" Not to challenge your knowledge but curious to learn how you can make the diagnosis from the picture posted. Thanks

The SSD is listed in his signature, which is probably where Rene noted it.

 

I agree, the SSD could easily be upgraded to a 512GB or 1TB, and then just get an RTX card, since you have the AMD already, go for the RX 6000 series.  I have the RX6800xt and it is comparable to the Nvidia RTX 3080, but any of the RX6000 series card would be a tremendous step up from what you currently have.

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2 hours ago, HumbleChief said:

Curious, what "solid state drive" are you seeing and how can you know it's "way below standard?" Not to challenge your knowledge but curious to learn how you can make the diagnosis from the picture posted. Thanks

In terms of space...he has a 128gb primary drive that the OS is installed on. Given that he is running a ryzen card, his mobo likely supports an M.2 drive which is worlds faster than an SSD. So its tiny...and slow. Would make for a great backup partition or external drive

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11 minutes ago, Renerabbitt said:

In terms of space...he has a 128gb primary drive that the OS is installed on. Given that he is running a ryzen card, his mobo likely supports an M.2 drive which is worlds faster than an SSD. So its tiny...and slow. Would make for a great backup partition or external drive

Guys, I am glad you are schooling me on this. When I bought the computer I was part time 3 years ago with residential design and was not NEAR as busy as I am now. Now its my full time job and the projects have poured in more and more since 2019. Your feedback is giving me the info I need.

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2 minutes ago, ChiefUserBigRob said:

Guys, I am glad you are schooling me on this. When I bought the computer I was part time 3 years ago with residential design and was not NEAR as busy as I am now. Now its my full time job and the projects have poured in more and more since 2019. Your feedback is giving me the info I need.

For sure, happy to help. My laptop screen just broke and I am running on a laptop from 2016, the G752 in my signature. It runs beautifully except for line over drawing in rendering views. I think your machine is fine for a few more years then maybe upgrade the video card only.(After you've upgraded the drive)

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2 hours ago, Renerabbitt said:

In terms of space...he has a 128gb primary drive that the OS is installed on. Given that he is running a ryzen card, his mobo likely supports an M.2 drive which is worlds faster than an SSD. So its tiny...and slow. Would make for a great backup partition or external drive

Thanks so much for the follow up, didn't notice the signature specs and agree the drive is small and slow and an upgrade is probably in order but would a new drive and a new video card satisfy the need for new stuff? Dunno...;)

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2 hours ago, Chief_QA said:

The SSD is listed in his signature, which is probably where Rene noted it.

 

I agree, the SSD could easily be upgraded to a 512GB or 1TB, and then just get an RTX card, since you have the AMD already, go for the RX 6000 series.  I have the RX6800xt and it is comparable to the Nvidia RTX 3080, but any of the RX6000 series card would be a tremendous step up from what you currently have.

Yeah good catch Ed, missed it. I also have an AMD motherboard (X570) with an older SSD and an older video card. As much as I like new stuff my older system seems to be keeping up pretty well.

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2 minutes ago, HumbleChief said:

Thanks so much for the follow up, didn't notice the signature specs and agree the drive is small and slow and an upgrade is probably in order but would a new drive and a new video card satisfy the need for new stuff? Dunno...;)

FYI I didnt need the sig..it was in the screenshot, and 128gb is too small for modern OS IMO

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