DESKTOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REVIT
***updated October 2010 with input from iru69**
Operating System
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit is the operating system of choice for Revit users. 64-bits allows your software to access more memory than you can afford
If you're still on XP, you should upgrade at your earliest opportunity.
Got a Mac?
New Mac desktops and notebooks that use the Intel processors are working very well with Parallels or Boot Camp. See this stuck thread:
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=35939
Processor
Revit will take the best processor you can afford, though you should spread the money around on other parts of the computer, too. When choosing a CPU for your computer note that the Core i5 and i7 models have both dual core and quad core variants! AMD has good mid-level offerings in the Phenom 2 or Athlon 2 that might be a good alternate to the Core i5 or Core 2. Because the Core i3 doesn't have Turbo Boost and has a lower clock speed than other models, it should be avoided.
Revit uses multiple cores for rendering - as many as you provide. Increasingly some drafting and modeling features in Revit are becoming multi-thread capable. The Mental Ray renderer in Revit 2011 can use as many threads as your CPU can provide. A quad core processor can, via hyperthreading, present 8 threads to Revit's rendering engine. 6-CPU processors will be available soon for those who need to maximize their rendering speed.
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. 4GB is now the minimum amount of RAM you want in your computer, and 64-bit users should consider 6GB as a minimum, with 12GB being a useful maximum.
For those still on a 32-bit OS who are running into out of memory errors, 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
The 3GB bootswitch for Vista32 can be found here:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...linkID=9243099
If you are on Vista or Windows 7, you need 4GB minimum of RAM, and if you're using 64-bit Windows, you can (and should) get 6GB or more so Revit and other programs can use it.
Note that you should buy RAM in matching pairs of chips so the memory can run in dual-channel mode, providing a potential performance uptick of 10% if you do this over unmatched RAM pairings. Some new hardware uses triple-channel RAM -- in this case you need to have 3 identical RAM chips to get optimal RAM performance.
Hard Drive
This is less critical since the hard drive should only be used to load the data in the first place. 7200 rpm drives are common, and if speed is the only object, a 10k rpm drive will load data faster but these may have a higher incidence of failure in my experience than slower drives. YMMV. Western Digital's Raptor line of hard drives offer speeds comparable to SSD's (solid state drives).
SSDs offer much faster read/write times than magnetic drives, so programs load faster. SSDs of course have no moving parts, and while they do eventually wear out, their lifespan is greater than a hard drive. Windows 7 provides better support for SSD technology, so SSDs are best if you're on Win7.
Video Card
Here, you have your choice between AMD/ATI or nVidia. Revit does not benefit from a high-end video card -- a mid-level card will perform as well or even better. Integrated video works in some instances (Intel most notably), but should be avoided since it shares RAM with the main memory and its overall performance is very poor. Revit does not benefit from high amounts of video RAM; 256MB is recommended.
In Revit 2011, most video cards made by nVidia or ATI/AMD, be it consumer or workstation-type hardware, will work with Revit 2011. There is a list of cards that Autodesk has tested, but it doesn't cover all the cards that are out there. I have heard rumours that future versions of Revit will use even more video resources than it does now, so the list of tested cards may become more important at that time.
Revit 2010 and 2011 require compatibility with DirectX 9. Almost all video cards made on the planet have DX compatibility. AMD produces the Radeon for consumer graphics needs and the FireGL/FirePro for workstation graphics; likewise nVidia provides the GeForce for consumers and the Quadro for workstations. Revit does not benefit from workstation graphics and thus mid-level Radeon and Geforce models are likely to meet most users' needs for Revit.
See this post regarding video cards for Revit 2010:
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?p=779387
Drivers
Because Revit and other Autodesk apps are migrating to the use of Direct X, in theory, any WHQL driver provided for your video hardware should work properly with Revit.
Dual Screen
Revit does not support dual monitors, though Revit now allows users to dock the Project Browser and Properties palettes on a second monitor and their location will be remembered the next time you start Revit.
Monitor
Resolution needs to be at least 1152 x 864 -- 1024 x 768 is really not enough. In fact, thanks to the Ribbon, high resolution monitors ( width > 1600 pixels) is really the new minimum.
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.
If you're going to be using Revit Server for WAN sharing of Revit databases across multiple offices, note the specific requirements for Revit Server as it only supports the one OS.
