Recommended desktops for Revit
***updated 10 September 2007***
Operating System
While Windows XP is a safer bet than Vista, its days are numbered. Users are installing and using Revit successfully under Vista, and the latest build of Revit (20070810_1700) addressed some outstanding Vista compatibility problems.
Vista may still have some display driver problems under Revit, and thus XP is still recommended over Vista.
Windows XP 64-bit
Driver support for XP64 is spotty and many Reviteers who have gone down this road have been burned. The way to maximize Revit's memory is to use 4Gb of RAM and the 3Gb bootswitch.
Got a Mac?
New Mac desktops and notebooks that use the Intel processors are working very well with Parallels or Boot Camp (using Windows XP). See this stuck thread:
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=35939
The Macbook Pro notebooks are well-built, and if you think backlit keys are a gimmick, try working in a room with poor light without this feature. It's incredible that no other notebook manufacturer hasn't made backlit keys "standard issue" on their products as well. The regular Macbooks will be less suited because they use integrated video, a no-no for a CAD-capable laptop.
Processor
Revit will take the best processor you can afford, though you should spread the money around on other parts of the computer, too.
Revit does NOT make use of multiple processors, but Accurender and other apps do. If you're planning on doing a lot of rendering work, two processors will save you time. Modeling and general drafting do not benefit from multiple processors -- the processing power of any single core is what matters here.
Athlons, Turions, Core / Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors are all excellent choices in anything over 1.7 Ghz. Avoid Semprons and Celerons as they lack memory on the CPU; these are found on lower-end models anyway.
Memory
Revit needs a lot of RAM. The rule of thumb: you're going to need 20 times the amount of RAM versus the size of your file (this ratio relates to the size of a compacted 8.1 central file). 1Gb is really the minimum you want to have if you're working on anything larger than a house. 2Gb up to 4Gb is a safer bet, and is the useful maximum that 32-bit Windows can handle. You can read up on the 3Gb Windows boot switch that will give more RAM to applications, but it can cause stability problems for Windows. Note that this boot switch can cause problems with video cards; see this page at Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319043
Memory specs vary, but the faster RAM specs like 533 and 667Mhz dual channel RAM are a good choice.
Hard Drive
This is less critical since the hard drive should only be used to load the data in the first place. Yes, you can buy SCSI or SATA drives for your workstation, but this is not a real bottleneck for day-to-day use of Revit. 60Gb drives are about as small as they come -- and you don't need more than this unless you need it for your MP3 collection
If you're not sparing any expense, get a second physical drive to use for your Windows swap file, the idea being that data access and swap file access can happen concurrently. Having tried this on a couple of computers I haven't seen any difference in performance, but you might. I recommend setting the Windows swap file's minimum and maximum size to the same value (twice the value of your installed RAM) so that Windows isn't working to change the size of the file while you work.
Video Card
At this time, the only way to be sure that your new computer will be able to use Revit's OpenGL acceleration is to use ATI video cards made by ATI (not other manufacturers, such as Dell). Only a handful of nVidia cards have been seen to work for Revit with OpenGL acceleration enabled. Revit does not benefit from a high-end card... all you need is a solid video card that supports Revit's implementation of OpenGL. Integrated video, while some models do work, (Intel most notably) should be avoided since it shares RAM with the main memory. Revit does not benefit from high amounts of video RAM.
In Revit's Options dialog box there are two checkboxes:
To test OpenGL: in Revit go to Settings > Options > Graphics and enable OpenGL. In a plan view hold Ctrl and your middle mouse button down and move the mouse up and down and see if any objects disappear/reappear in the view. If they do, you have a problem.
- OpenGL speeds display performance noticably in ortho views, and dramatically in 3D views, particularly with shadows enabled
- Overlay planes may increase stability on some cards, but otherwise should be left off to improve display of annotations with transparent backgrounds
ATI
ATI cards are usually compatible with Revit.nVidia
- FireGL entry level cards such as V3100 and V3400
- Radeon, all models (consider getting at least an X1300)
The GeForce cards are gaming cards; the CAD cards are marketed under the name "Quadro" and are similar to the GeForce cards but use different drivers. We have reports that the following cards are working with Revit:If you run into problems with OpenGL enabled in Revit search on this forum for how people have solved this problem with their nVidia cards, either by altering settings in the nVidia display control panel or by downloading and installing Forceware drivers (GeForce cards only). If the Forceware drivers do not help, you may also try changing settings using Rivatuner to see if you can get your card to work. These instructions may also help. Forcing Vertical sync off has allowed some nVidia cards to work with Revit with OpenGL enabled without objects disappearing in views.
- PNY and Leadtek, various models (FX540, FX1300)
- Some GeForce cards (often requiring use of Forceware drivers and/or Rivatuner)
- Dell nVidia video cards using Dell's drivers
Under the Nvidia Control Panel, 3D Settings->Adjust all image settings: first I tried checking "Extension Limit" but Revit still crashed. Then, I left this setting turned on and set the "Image Settings" to Best Performance and changed "Vertical Sync" to Force Off. Trilinear optimization and Anisotropic optimization are also unchecked.
Other Makes
Other than nVidia and ATI there are no other video cards recommended for Revit. Intel Integrated Graphics sometimes works but don't count on it.
Drivers
Generally, newer is better. But in some cases, an older driver may work better than a newer one. The key is knowing exactly which manufacturer made the card and using their drivers. nVidia does NOT manufacture video cards -- they make the chips for the manufacturers. This is also the case with some ATI cards, though the majority of ATI-powered cards out there are built by ATI. In both cases make sure you have the right driver. Dell computers may use ATI video cards and nVidia drivers that can only use Dell drivers, and these combinations may not have been tested with Revit.
Dual Screen
Revit does not really support dual monitors, but users are noticing that recent versions of Revit are more friendly to this configuration than previous versions of Revit.
Monitor
Resolution needs to be at least 1152 x 864 -- 1024 x 768 is really not enough.
Server and Networking
Use gigabit technology for your network -- switches, network cards on all computers. The server could be equipped with dual network cards for better throughput. Your server's hard drive should be blazing fast to speed up saving and loading of the central file across the network. It should be equipped with plenty of RAM, and consider multi processor models if you can afford it.
Recently we have seen some problems with RAID-5 servers causing some minor corruption of central files, either resulting in a crash or an error requiring the save to be repeated. I would recommend another RAID flavour if it is possible.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by GuyR
Re: Recommended desktops for Revit
Just kidding, with the solidworks presets it was smooooth and stable.
