Performance Tuner Shows Incorrect Memory for 3D Device

Hi everyone,

I've had performance issues with AutoCAD Mechanical 2013 for some time now. For a while, I thought it was because I didn't have enough RAM on my computer. I recently upgraded from 6 GB to 12 GB of RAM, and the performance issues were still there. Recently, I noticed something odd with my performance tuner. It says my graphics card has 203 MB of memory when it's supposed to have about 2.5 GB. I checked one of my older performance tuner logs (before the RAM upgrade), and it actually shows 1227 MB of memory (which is still about half of what it should be). I'm thinking (and hoping) that this may be a clue to why my performance has been so choppy. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?

I'm using a Dell Precision T3500, 12 GB RAM, Intel Xeon @2.80 GHz, Windows 7 x64, and a NVIDIA Quadro 5000 graphics card. I also have the most recent graphics card driver. I tried to work with AutoDesk about this, but they've been unresponsive after their initial reply.

Let me know if you guys need any more information. I appreciate any help I can get!

AutoCAD Performance Tuner Log 3 14 14.txt

AutoCAD Performance Tuner Log 4 18 14.txt

Control Panel >> Display adapters >>NVidia~~ Driver tab. Make sure your device is enabled.

EDIT: Never mind, I see by your report,that it is running. However, AutoCad will not respond to support issues for your card because it is not on their list of tested and certified for AutoCad graphics cards.

It could also be that the card actually does have some issues running AutoCad.

Then again, how big is your drawing file that first exhibited the issues, and are you still working on that file.

I don't have any experience with AutoCad Mechanical but I have heard the drawings can get rather dense.

That's actually another thing I noticed. The performance tuner log says my 3D device is not certified, but the Autodesk site claims it is.

Who do you think I should be contacting about these issues? NVIDIA, Autodesk, or Dell?

I don't know what is considered large for a file; my CAD experience is somewhat limited. My largest individual part goes up to 1 MB. Parts that I imported from other companies go up to 2.5 MB. Some of my more complex assemblies can go up to 6 MB

Do you have the latest driver installed?

I wouldn't bother contacting Dell or nVidia. You won't get any help.

BTW...is hardware acceleration enabled?

Yes, I have the latest driver installed.

Originally I did contact Dell about the issues since the computer was under warranty. They figured my graphics card was bad, and they sent me a replacement. Unfortunately, I had the same issues with the new card.

Not sure what to do anymore..

I assume the card is installed in a PCIe x16 slot correct? Is there a second one available that you could move the card to?

I think there is a second one available. I'll try to switch it later and report back when I'm done.

The Tuner log in 2014 and older (fixed in 2015) is a bit deceptive as it will report a "Certified" card as being a "not Certified" device if the software driver isn't certified, and/or if the both the card and driver are certified, but the Certified hardware database file on your computer is not up to date. The latter is a fairly common problem because the database file is often marked "Read Only" and thus isn't updated even when clicking the button to "update" Make sure your certified hardware list is up to date, and if it won't update, look here

Hardware acceleration is enabled.

I moved the card to the second PCI slot. When I turned on the computer, it installed a bunch of drivers and rebooted. I ran the performance tuner again and it still says I only have 203 MB of memory for my 3D device (I reset my AutoCAD settings because that's the only way I know how to force the performance tuner to run).

I'm getting a little confused by the term "driver" now. When I said I have the most recent driver installed, I was referring to the graphics card driver. Is the software driver something different? I'm getting confused because the tune log references both a 3D device driver and a software driver.

AutoCAD can use two different drivers, the one for the Graphics card (3D device) when Hardware Acceleration is ON, and a generic "software" driver when Hardware Acceleration is OFF

For the purposes of this discussion, you only need to be concerned about the former as that's the one associated with the "3d device" (your video card), and the one that's not reporting correctly.

From the looks of what you posted, you do not have the correct certified driver. Should be one of these http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert/card?siteID=123112&catID=18254205&id=18844534&product=56&os=8192&hw=122

It also appears you had a different driver before as well, you now show 9.18.0013.3276, previously you had 9.18.0013.2000.

I downloaded the certified driver and installed it. I fixed the certified hardware database problem, so now the log says my device is certified. It is also showing 218 MB instead of 203 MB (log attached).

Any other suggestions?

AutoCAD Performance Tuner Log 5 2 14.txt

If the performance issues still persist then I think you face some difficult choices.

I never really paid any attention before, but my Tune Log is only showing about half the RAM on my Quadro. I'm not sure I'd worry much about it unless you feel the card is under performing.