Autocad 12 in realistic view is sucking up all my computer's power..

I'm working with a PentiumD (dual core) processor at 3.6 Ghz.. 4 gigs ram..

My video card is an ATI Radeon X550 with dual SVGA outputs and hooked to two 27" monitors.

http://www.gpureview.com/Radeon-X550-card-320.html

When I'm working in Realistic view, my computer slows down so much that there is a 3 to 5 second lag between the time I drag or zoom to the time the display reacts to the mouse movement. The lag disappears if I work in wireframe mode.

Is this a problem with my processor or a lame video card?

Suggestions to speed this up?

What version of Windows are you running?

I think it is a combination of the processor and RAM.

What version of Windows are you running?

 

I think it is a combination of the processor and RAM.

WindowsXP sp3

You think my processor is under powered? How much ram do I need?

How big is the file size for this drawing?

What other programs are running in the background? Ex. - browser, antivirus, MS Office, other?

How much video RAM on your graphics card? I'm guessing it is no more than 512MB.

How much ram do I need?

Is your system 32bit or 64bit? If 32bit, you're maxed out on RAM already.

File Size is about 500K.. That's pretty small as I have drawings in R14 that are 10 to 20 MB in size.

My system is 32 bit. Ram max at 2 gig or 4 gig???

Programs running.. firefox, avast anti-virus, calculator, and things like that.

Graphic card ram is 256MB I believe and its running two 27" monitors if that makes a difference.

I have a hard time believing its my processor.. PentiumD @ 3.4ghz holds its own to most other processors except the 4 and 8 core units..

Graphics card?? I'd believe that.. I just never had a need for anything better.. (up until now???)

The 32 to 64 bit thing is a big issue........... (I think).. Doesn't that mean that data through the buss is doubled without doubling frequency? As I understand it, the 64 bit allows running the entire system within a virtual environment.. There's nothing I hate more than having to train a new operating system to work the way I want it to...

Max RAM under WinXP for a 32-bit system is 4GB but Windows will not recognize the entire amount even if you edit the boot.ini file. Another tweak would have to be made but it is not easily explained nor is it something for the faint of heart to try.

Your graphics card is pretty anemic.

Re: 32-bit vs. 64-bit. The terms 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the way a computer's processor (CPU), handles information. The 64-bit version of Windows handles large amounts of random access memory (RAM) more effectively than a 32-bit system.

My advice would be to move to a computer running Win7 64-bit, bump up the RAM and get a half way decent graphics card.

Until then try shutting down all non-essential programs running in the background and look at adding the 3GB switch to your boot.ini file. Refer to this article and the section about WinXP.

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-enable-a-3GB-switch-on-Windows-Vista-Windows-7-or-Windows-XP-s.html

I have yet to see a big difference in RAM usage between Wireframe and Realistic, that is probably a graphics card problem.

How does it run if you turn off Hardware Acceleration?

What computer model/motherboard do you have? What size power supply?

Pretty sure all PentiumD Dual cores are 64-bit, so you can run new OS 64-bit. Motherboard and Power supply will determine how much Ram and which graphics cards you can use.

My just want to get a new computer, that one is pretty old.

I concur with SLW on the graphics card. Your card, ATI X550 has a memory bandwidth of 8 GB/sec. My old nvidia GT440 on my home PC has a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/sec. You have an old, slow card.

I also agree that it's time to get a new PC. You can get a descent one for a good price. I will offer this one bit of advice, stay away from ATI video cards. They have descent hardware but their drivers are horrible. Just stick with nVidia.

Good luck

 

Until then try shutting down all non-essential programs running in the background and look at adding the 3GB switch to your boot.ini file. Refer to this article and the section about WinXP.

 

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-enable-a-3GB-switch-on-Windows-Vista-Windows-7-or-Windows-XP-s.html

The 3GB switch seems to have helped. The render time is about 30% faster now.. I never knew about the 3GB switch.. Thanks!