Forums >> Workflow & Implementation >> Hardware >> 2012 Revit Computer Specifications Help

fabdsgn

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Joined: Thu, Dec 13, 2007
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Hello, This is my first post.

I was wondering if you guys could help me in understanding whether I will have the right tools to do the job I need to get done.

I am working on a project that has 4 buildings linked into a detailed site Plan. My end result would be to render the finished product. I will attach an image for your review.

I am the only computer working on the Design Concept and Save all my files to the comnpany's network. Right now with my current Core 2 Duo Computer, it takes about 20-30 Mins to print full site elevations with sahadows.

The Computer I plan on doing this with has the following configuration:

Originally created in Revit 2011 but I have  revit 2012 installed now.

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional - 64 Bit

Intel i7 990x 12M Cache 3.46GHZ CPU

Asus Sabertooth Motherboard s1366x58 DDR3 motherboard.

Memory (Total 24 GB) 2- Kingston 12GB 3 x 4 GB kit

PNY Quaddrro 600 1 GB DDR# PCI-E Video Adapter

Seagate ST310000524AS 1TB 7,000 RPM with 32 MB Cache Hard Drive

Enermax ECB3070M Mid tower Case

Please let me know whether I am pushing the envelope or whether the above computer should be able to handle the task with relative ease.

Thank-you in advance for your comments

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coreed

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Joined: Fri, Feb 10, 2006
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i think the question should be if you could buy more, what would that be and just buy it.

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best regards,

coreed,aia

bmpArchitects,Inc.

"Revit has to be implemented, Not installed." 

Long Live Revit

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fabdsgn

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Well, the truth is I'm not sure how the CPU components affect the revit program. For example is the video card Ideal or is there another brand or different spec that would be better?

The other thing I'm not sure of is will this do what I need it to do in terms of rendering the 4 building project I attached in the original post?

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coreed

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Joined: Fri, Feb 10, 2006
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if you are going to use Revit for High Quality rendering i think it's going to be a time consuming process for the best of computers, period.

Autodesk has list of approved graphics cards at there website, ROI is minimal between the low and the high.

-----------------------------------

best regards,

coreed,aia

bmpArchitects,Inc.

"Revit has to be implemented, Not installed." 

Long Live Revit

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WWHub

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Joined: Tue, May 16, 2006
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AutoDesk has a list of video cards that will "work" with Revit but there is no recomendations.  There are just too many cards to list.  I suggest you search this forum and the Augi site with your video card name to see if there are any problems listed.

64 bit vs 32 bit makes a big - BIG difference as well as how much memory you have.  As far as rendering times, again, there are too many variables.  Textures, reflective materials, facets all make a difference.

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alabaster2513

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thats a pretty capable system. If that was my computer and my project and I had $2000 to burn on a a GPU I would invest in a Nvidia Quadro FX 4800 or something similar. I have used them in Dell T7500s workstations in the past and have worked extremely well with large models, shadows, ambient occlussion and so on. If you dont have the budget you'll be fine using worksets and detail levels to manage any large model.

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fabdsgn

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Thanks for your comments guys. I'm really feeling confident about this build now. I'll look into the Nvidia Quadro FX 4800.

I do my rendering in Revit because in the Design conceptual stage I find the design always changes and If I take the time to add materials and sun in Revit it is easy to re-render every change. My Issue with 3d max was that I could export a file but it never imported with the right materials and the sun needed to be setup. Do you guys use max to render?

Also, what size monitors are you guys running? Dual?

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alabaster2513

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I usually use Revit for context renders but for more advanced stuff i export to max so I can have more control over materials and lighting as well as utilize more hardware power. the fbx link workflow is getting pretty efficient for updating changes and imports lights, sun and cameras and even gives you choices on what you want to update. I prefer one monitor per gpu, if you get SLI cards its much easier to use two monitors.

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itsmyalterego

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Joined: Thu, May 28, 2009
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You don't need that much RAM.   memory doesn't actually do very much for revit.  If you have over 6 gigs you're not going to run into any problems. 

I've summarized revit's draw on a system before, like this:

Processor:  mostly used for renderings.  If you're doing high-quality renderings and walkthroughs, the processor is used to calculate shadows and reflection bounces and this sort of thing.  Going from dual core to 8 cores can make an 8 hour rendering a 45 minute rendering, possibly.  

Video card:  This affects the smoothness of your work.  When you're spinning around a 3D model with shadows and shading, or trying to fly around in a camera view, you need a massive video card to keep things fluid.  An good card will prevent hang-ups and lag while trying to regenerate a view.  Consider two "good" cards linked in SLI... that's my goal.  (never buy the best, state of the art, waiting 3 months saves you 500 dollars)

You might consider a 10,000 RPM drive.  faster read/write. 

And yeah, you could save a little money on the ram. 

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