Is this laptop enough to build a hotel with Revit?

[uhcafigdc]

I have read a lot of these threads, but they are usually about computers that cost over $1,000. Obviously, I could buy really nice computers and overkill everything, and not even have to ask these questions. Oops: I am totally not rich, and I need 10 of these things.

 

 

Is this laptop fast enough to build a hotel suite with Revit Architecure?

 

• Intel Core i5-460M (2.53Ghz, Dual core, 4 threads, 3MB L2 cache)
  
• 4GB Shared DDR3 1066MHZ RAM
  
• Nvidia Geforce 310M, 512MB integrated graphics
  

 

 

CPU: Should I get a quad core i5 or i7 instead? Is 3MB of L2 cache going to be enough?

 

RAM: Is 4GB enough memory? Is shared memory okay?

 

Video: Is integrated graphics good enough, or do I need dedicated graphics?

[ReMark]

You need "10 of these things"? Ten laptops?

 

I think the configuration you listed above will cause you to come back here and do two things. 1) Complain how slow the system is. 2) Ask how you can speed it up.

[Jack_O'neill]

I started playing around with Revit a couple months ago. I can tell you from personal experience, go out and pick a video card that has as much capacity as you can possibly afford, then borrow some money and get the one two steps up from that. It won't matter how much ram or processor power you have if you can't get the image to the screen. High price doesn't always guarantee success either. Do a lot of research and make sure the card you pick has been tested with autocad or revit or whatever you're planning to run. There should be comparisions out there on the most common brands. Nothing will annoy and frustrate you more on a large model than jerky pans, zooms, and orbits.

[uhcafigdc]

What about a 1GB GeForce GT 420M? Is the shared memory going to be a problem?

 

Is the CPU enough, do you think? It has boost up to 2.8Ghz.

 

 

edit: Jack_O'neill, I heard that if you turn off visual effects like shading and shadows, the video card is not very important, as the geometry is generated by the CPU.

[ReMark]

S H A R E D. That's the key word. S H A R E D. When the going gets tough, the system starts to suck.

 

Rendering is definitely more CPU dependent. I think I would disagree with your statement re: "...the video card is not very important." Could you cite a source to back up that assertion?

[uhcafigdc]

ReMark: http://revitforum.org/showthread.php?72-Revit-Hardware-Video-Graphic-Cards

 

It’s actually the CPU that is generating the geometry that is seen on your screen – it takes very little effort by the video card to turn that into pixels. However, if you turn on those fancy graphic options like shadows and Realistic Views, the video card will assist in processing those parts of the view.

[ReMark]

Well then I'd buy the laptop as you originally configured it since there should be no problem.

 

I wish you well with your purchase.

[Jack_O'neill]

What about a 1GB GeForce GT 420M? Is the shared memory going to be a problem?

 

Is the CPU enough, do you think? It has boost up to 2.8Ghz.

 

 

edit: Jack_O'neill, I heard that if you turn off visual effects like shading and shadows, the video card is not very important, as the geometry is generated by the CPU.

 

As I said, that was personal experience. Good luck with it.

[uhcafigdc]

ReMark I am here for advice, and you are one of the main reasons to post on these forums I think. I am just trying to get as much information as I can. Have you ever used Revit on a lower-end video card without the visual effects?

[ReMark]

No I haven't used Revit or even AutoCAD on a computer with a low end video card. As long as you have it on good authority from actual Revit users that there are no video-related problems even on an entry level laptop I have no reason to argue the point. I sincerely hope that if you do buy such a computer that all goes well for you.

[uhcafigdc]

Do you think that the Intel Core i5-460M is a good CPU?

[ReMark]

CPU Benchmark for Core i5 and other CPUs:

 

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5+460M+%40+2.53GHz

[premph]

I am running Revit 9.1 on my laptop and have no rendering issues until I try creating walkthroughs. The program hangs part way through when rendering at the highest level. I have the same problem on my PC as well. My laptop is a HP Pavillion DV7 with a Pentium Core 2 Duo CPU P8400 @ 2.26GHz, 4Gb Ram, and GeForce 9600M GT

[malevy]

geez instead of just posting a bunch of links that probably wont mean much to this guy asking why not give him some advice on some systems he could buy or is this top secret info you can only know about if your in the geek club with the rest of the admins.

[ReMark]

geez instead of just posting a bunch of links that probably wont mean much to this guy asking why not give him some advice on some systems he could buy or is this top secret info you can only know about if your in the geek club with the rest of the admins.

We have, dozens, if not hundereds of times. A simple search will turn up many of these recommendations. After a while one just gets tired of repeating the same info ad nauseum.

 

I missed your advice to this guy. Where did you post it?

[Jack_O'neill]

geez instead of just posting a bunch of links that probably wont mean much to this guy asking why not give him some advice on some systems he could buy or is this top secret info you can only know about if your in the geek club with the rest of the admins.

 

If you had read the entire thread, you would have seen that we started out giving advice, and he argued with what we said. If you had clicked on the links, you would have found that they go to various sites that offer the information that he was looking for, and that agreed with the advice we were trying to give. There are no secrets, there is no geek club. If someone asks a question, he or she can either accept the information given, reject it or offer debate. Debate is fine, and encourages more thinking. When other sources are offered to support a position, then it's up to the person who it offering the argument to either read those sources or not and proceed as he/she thinks best. The sources were offered in a "this is what I know works, take it or leave it" vein, as is all the advice posted in a forum.

 

Several of the cad magazines and software publishers have done extensive testing of various combinations of processors and graphics cards. Posting a link to those articles is a logical way to give the person the information. The start of every semester at various cad schools around the country bring a new wave of "Can I model a 30 story hotel in 3d and do photorealistic renderings on my $150 netbook" type questions and that's fine. Posting links to published studies is a reasonable answer to those questions.

 

If as you suggest, these links "probably won't mean much" to the person reading them, then I suggest they bone up on computer basics before trying to buy equipment for a career where a computer will be the backbone of what you are doing. That would make as much sense as opening a trucking company with no knowledge of trucks.