How to make my pc powerfull enough for Inventor?

[pvd]

Hi folks,

When in Inventor Studio my computer oftenly crashes as I think it's not strong enough. I have 2Gb of RAM. Can I resolve this problem just by adding RAM memory or do I need a bigger processor,...?
Thanks

[pvd]

Maybe better if I wriite down also this:

Hp XW4600 Workstation
Intel(R) Core (TM) 2 Duo CPU
E8400 @ 3.00 GHz
1.98 GHz 2.00 GB of RAM

[shift1313]

I would guess if it crashes you are dealing with a graphics issue.

http://www.inventor-certified.com/graphics/search.php?full=ON&limited=ON&Vista64=ON&Vista=ON&XP64=ON&XP=ON&PCIe=ON&AGP=ON&PCI=&Chipset=ON


Are you up to date on all the service packs? there are known issues out there.

[ReMark]

What are you running for a graphics card? AutoDesk recommends...

"Direct3D 10, Direct3D 9 or OpenGL capable graphics card."

How many parts in your assembly? Ten, a couple hundred, over a thousand, other? How complex is the model?

[pvd]

Thanks Shift,

My graphics card: NIVIDIA Quadro FX 1700 is listed on the URL you suggested so I suppose that should work? However, it takes ages for a rendering image and I should be lucky if my computer doesn't stop responding. As far as I know my Inventor is up to date. I haven't mentioned earlier but loading an assembly takes time too as there are many items in it. Anything else I should look at or should I go see the IT-man for more RAM?

[pvd]

About the assembly, down-right on my screen is listed: 205-94.
Thanks Remark

[shift1313]

When the program pops up and says "not responding" how long do you leave it? I have this happen when its "thinking" but it always comes through. Im currently working on an assembly that is comprised of a few sub assemblies and probably close to 500-600parts. When i open the file sometimes it tells me "not responding" but if i leave it after about 10 seconds it opens.

What are you running for an operating system?

Also when working with large assemblies there is a Shrinkwrap feature that will make a part based on an assembly. This is helpful for instance in my case where im making a motorcycle, i have the engine modeled but in the larger assembly file there is no need for all the inner workings.

[pvd]

I'm working on metal structures, lot's of parts and my master is pretty heavy but that's it. So if it works for you then it should surely work for me I suppose. However, when my computer says "not responding" I need to wait for at least 10minutes before it gets itsself together to go on. I'm never sure if it will get through it or not which is quite annoying.

My operating system is Windows XP. The shrinkwrap thing sounds interesting, didn't know about this so far. Any other suggestions, keep them coming!

Thank you very much.

[shift1313]

Did you set the software up or did an IT person do it for you? Can you set your memory allocations? For instance you can give inventor priority for system resources which may help a bit. Are you running 32 or 64bit XP?

[ReMark]

Shut down any extraneous programs you don't need running in the background like Windows Explorer, anti-virus programs, etc. That will free up memory as well.

[pvd]

Thanks guys,

I'm running on windows XP 32 bits. The shrinkwrap thing helps a lot as well. Eventhough I would like to use the most memory as possible for Inventor as working in my master is getting slower and slower. Shift, where can I change these allocation settings ? I been installing Inventor on my computer myself and the IT man set up the licenses at the server. Should I go see him?

[ReMark]

WinXP? You could try maxing out your RAM (will your motherboard take 4GB?) and running XP with the 3GB switch enabled.

[pvd]

Quick response, thanks Remark, I'll try to convince the IT man.

[ReMark]

Be forewarned that some systems do not tolerate the above mentioned technique. I believe it has to do with certain graphics cards. I do run WinXP (4GB RAM installed) using the 3GB switch option and have had no serious problems.

[shift1313]

Thanks guys,

I'm running on windows XP 32 bits. The shrinkwrap thing helps a lot as well. Eventhough I would like to use the most memory as possible for Inventor as working in my master is getting slower and slower. Shift, where can I change these allocation settings ? I been installing Inventor on my computer myself and the IT man set up the licenses at the server. Should I go see him?


On XP if you go to your control panel there will be a System icon. In the system properties that pops up you will have 6 or so tabs, click on Advanced. There will be a Perfomance section that you can change the Settings for. In there you can change your virtual memory settings to possibly give your system a little UMPH. You can also reduce some of the visual effects on your system which will also help out.

You can also go into your Video Card Control Panel which should be located in the windows control panel folder. There will be settings in there for image quality.

Inside Inventor you can go to Tools>Options>Display. Several settings can speed things up like Transition time, Frame Rate etc. Under the Hardware tab you will see a bunch of graphics settings. Optimization settings are standard but there is a Conservative option in there.


And last to answer your question about priority. Open Inventor then start your task manager. Under the Processes tab find Inventor.exe and right click on it. You should see Set Priority> with 5 options or so. Be cautious of this. Try setting it above average, dont jump all the way to real time. Setting inventors priority over other applications may cause poor results if its priority is set too high.

Now take all this info from a non IT person:) Since it is not your computer it may be worth running your choices by your IT guy to see if they have any opinions or other suggestions for you.

[pvd]

Waw, whole lot of interesting info. I suppose I know enough now. Thanks guys, i really appreciate your help!

[pvd]

Guys, I'm back...

I spoke to our IT man. We've been adding two bars of RAM memory so my computer could use 3GB as Remark told me. I also changed priority of Inventor to "above normal" and I been changing my virtual memory settings (I turned of the visual effects and I also changed 2047 to 3070 MB or my RAM) as Shift advised me. And then here are the results...

NUTTIN ! :cry:
To my impression Windows started up quicker but Inventor's speed didn't change. We been looking into the task manager to see the two processors and they were nearly using 1.5 GB of RAM. One was taking 3/4 of it's capacity and the other one was running for about 25% (that's how I interpreted the graphiqual line) The IT guy also told me, my hard disk wasn't turning that much which means my computer mainly uses it's RAM memory and not the hard disk. (? correct me if I'm wrong, I know nothing about this). He said I might need a heavier processor but I already have 3 GHz, shouldn't that be enough?
I'm also surprised Inventor didn't use more RAM now it was available. Does anybody know what's wrong? The IT man asked me to ask you which operating system works best. Maybe he could try out things that way?

Thanks

[ReMark]

You're on a 32-bit system I'll bet.

[pvd]

That's right Remark, it's a 32bit workstation. Does that mean my motherboard doesn't take 4GB of RAM? However i had the impression that my windows was going faster. My computer also made notice of a bigger RAM when I started up. But it's like Inventor doesn't take more. As I mentioned earlier, the IT guy said Inventor almost doesn't use my harddisk and not even all capacity of my RAM. For me it's still all chinese...

[ReMark]

WinXP will support up to 4GB of RAM but unless the 3GB switch is enabled it will actually run slower which when one thinks about it seems counterintuitive. I'm not going to get into the technical dectails of it (visit the Microsoft website for further information).

I cannot say whether or not your motherboard can support 4GB of RAM. I would have to see the specifications first.

Addendum:

I looked up the specs on your HP workstation and the maximum memory supported is 16 GB DDR2 800 MHz ECC; 4 DIMM slots. You can only achieve this using a 64-bit OS. Since you're running XP your system tops out at 4GB (since you have 4 DIMM slots). So here's what you do. Ask IT to set you up with a 64-bit OS. Get the 64-bit version of Inventor. Then buy and install a minimum of 8GB to 16GB of RAM and you will be flyin' with the eagles!

[pvd]

Goodmorning Remark, thanks for your reaction. What about that switch? I've been to "Control panel - System (Properties) - Advanced -Performance Settings - Advanced" and inthere I changed Virtual memory to 3070 MB ("Total paging file size for all drives"). Is that the switch you are talking about?

The 64bit solution you suggested, that surely makes me dribble, just not sure if I'll get my staff that far.

Thanks again!

[ReMark]

I guess Microsoft should have come up with a slightly different name. 3GB switch sounds like some button one pushes and things magically change.

The 3GB switch is something that is added to your Boot.ini file. It is accessed by clicking on Start > Run and typing in msconfig. This brings up the System Configuration Utility. There is a tab for the Boot.ini file. And this is where I stop and warn you of something.

The contents of the boot.ini file should be copied, as is, to a safe place prior to making any changes. Carelessness in editing a boot.ini can result in your computer not booting up.

Do you still want to proceed? I'll tell you where to find the instructions of what to add to this file.

[pvd]

I'll talk about it to our IT-man. As long as I don't keep you up, keep that info coming!
thanks very much

[ReMark]

I'll talk about it to our IT-man. As long as I don't keep you up, keep that info coming!
thanks very much

I just started my day so I'll be around for a while. Maybe I'll be keeping you up. I located in on the east coast of the United States in Connecticut and it is about 7:18 a.m. at the moment.

[ReMark]

Here is a link to a thread about the 3GB switch. Read the entire thread. Note the links provided by myself (at the very top of the thread) and by another forum member (near the bottom of the thread). Note too that a third forum member thought I was talking about virtual memory and did something very similar to what you did.

Gather all the information you can then talk to your IT person. If you are both comfortable with the procedure then take the next step and edit your boot.ini file.

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13017&highlight=boot.ini+file

[pvd]

Lol not at all, if I can get my problem solved I'm a happy man, here is 13.26 (Belgium) but I will be around for another while as well so...Thanks Remark. Have a nice day!