Hardware suggestions

[jandress]

I am ruuning Revit Structure Suite 2009. I have a Dell Precision 670. It seems really slow. My current steel project is approx. 35mb. Can anyone make suggestions? My specs are below. It takes 5 to 10 min. to move grids and columns with framing attached. Is this normal? Others have said that seems really slow. I have read alot of other posts and have a good idea of pc configs. Is a laptop or workstation a better choice? It seems laptops are preferred in our industry. Thanks in advance for your input.

2-Xeon (Quad Core) 3.00gb
256mb nVidia GE Force FX3450/4000SDI
4gb RAM w/ 3gb switch VM=4605
80gb hard drive.

[iru69]

While your computer is definitely getting long in the tooth, that does seem a bit unusual for it to be that slow on such a small file.

Of course, there are any number of things that can artificially slow down a revit file that have nothing to do with the hardware.

Is it only slow on this one revit file, or is it slow with all your revit files?

Are other applications running unusually slowly?

What does your memory usage look like under the task manager (after you move something and it takes 4 to 5 minutes)?

What happens when you disable the /3GB switch? The /3GB switch can cause all sorts of problems (there's a reason it's not enabled by default).

edit: just re-read the subject line and your question about laptop versus desktop - so I'm a bit confused about whether you're just looking to buy a new computer or you're trying to troubleshoot your old one, or a bit of both...

[jandress]

It is slow in all Revit files.

All other Apps seem to be fine. ACAD 09 is a bit slow so I went back to 08.
memory/CPU usage jumps to +55% with gusts up to 70% or better. I have the file on my c:\ drive with no other Apps running.

I have tried it without the 3gb switch and it is even slower, but I could try it again.

I am compiling info for a possible purchase. I am getting resistance from our IT guy on
new hardware. I'm the CM and I am trying to determine whether to push for new hardware or possibly upgrade our current machines. I would push for a laptop, if we go new, so that I could learn more about Revit in my spare time. If what we have is sufficient then I could wait until that time comes. Thanks

[drdesignz]

It sounds like something is wrong. That should be plenty of computer to run Revit. My old Precision 360 w/ 1 GB of memory wasn't nearly as slow as you're describing.

You have a relatively small hard drive. Is it nearly full? How about Norton, do you have that installed? Do you have a lot of programs running in the background? Something is not right, I'm sure. Maybe have your IT guy look things over. I'm sure he doesn't want to purchase new hardware because what you have should be sufficient.

[jandress]

Hard drive is about 50% free. Nothing running in the background. We have several anti-virus and anti-spyware Apps. Symantec, Spysweeper, Lavasoft. I read that the Xeons are 50%-60% slower than the Core 2 Duo. Could it be a combo of the processors along with Revit, and maybe the video memory? IT and I have looked this thing over, maybe he should check it again. I am pretty anal about keeping it clean and free from garbage.
Thanks for your input.

[iru69]

I would guess that the Xeons you have are the old 5050 (P4 architecture) or similar. It is quite a bit slower than Core 2 (and respective Core 2 Xeons). But the point is one would think that it shouldn't be nearly as slow as you've indicated based on a 35MB model.

However, I'm not familiar with typical work-flow in Structure, so maybe what you're trying to do does take a long time no matter what hardware you have. If that's the case, then, yes, a top of the line Core2/Xeon could potentially do the operation in half the time.

It sounds like you're in an office with at least a few other workstations. Have you compared performance on other workstations in the office with the same file and series of operations?

[jandress]

The work station is about 4 years old, so I beleive they are older Xeons. The other CAD workstations are identical, but no I have not tried installing Revit and testing another machine. I have thought of that, and will give it a shot. Structural models, at least the current one I'm on, contain alot of beam systems. They tend to slow things up dramatically. Although without the beam systems it is still unusually slow. Thanks for your input that is helpful. I did not think about the processors being an older model.

[josh.made4worship]

We are running Intel XEON X5450 at 4x3ghz. We have 8 GB RAM, which Revit can only use 4 GB of and I am running Vista Ultimate x64. We have NVIDIA Quadro FX3700 and 10000RPM SATA HD.

We currently working on a project that is 150 MB and I haven't noticed the hickups you are talking about. I have noticed that it runs better if I select the "compress" option in the options menu while doing a Save. Try that and see it helps.

[ed.76566]

Can I ask how you got this system configuration with a Dell Precision?
You cannot buy a Dell Precision 670 with a non CAD video card, the GeFoce is a gaming card. 256mb nVidia GE Force FX3450/4000SDI is not a configurable card for this class of workstation.

2-Xeon (Quad Core) 3.00gb
256mb nVidia GE Force FX3450/4000SDI (not possible)
4gb RAM w/ 3gb switch VM=4605
80gb hard drive.