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Great Computer?... Good enough for Civil 3d?

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Message 1 of 11
jennya
1283 Views, 10 Replies

Great Computer?... Good enough for Civil 3d?

I have recently moved from LDD 2007 to Civil 3D 2011. I asked our IT Dept for a computer that would be great for Civil 3D. Since I know nothing about computers (other than how to use them) and they do (supposedly), I left it all up to them. I'm disapointed in the performance of my computer when using Civil 3D. Everything seems slow..drawings load slowly, layer states regen slowly, switching layouts is slow, and so on. 

I'm pasting my system info below. Can someone please tell me if I should/shouldn't be experiencing issues based on my system?

Thanks!

 

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name ALLENJA-PC
System Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
System Model HP Z210 Workstation
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Hewlett-Packard J51 v01.20, 9/16/2011
SMBIOS Version 2.7
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7601.17514"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 7.96 GB
Available Physical Memory 4.52 GB
Total Virtual Memory 15.9 GB
Available Virtual Memory 12.4 GB
Page File Space 7.96 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

10 REPLIES 10
Message 2 of 11
Neilw_05
in reply to: jennya

For Civil 3D, memory has the most significant impact on performance. Autodesk recommends 8 GB minimum, which is what you have. I have never compared performance between a system with 8 GB vs. 12 GB so I can't tell you how much difference it makes. As you are at the minimum it likely would help to have more.

 

As for the processor, yours is more than adequate. C3D only utilizes one processor so Autodesk recommends a fast processsor speed vs. adding more cores.

 

Graphics cards don't have nearly as much impact until you get into rendering so you shouldn't see too much improvement with a high end card when performing basic tasks.

 

Even with adequate memory and processor Civil 3D can be doggy for certain tasks, but it's hard to say whether the performance issues you have are typical or you have something else going on. If you have Autodesk support you might have a technician evaluate your system.

Neil Wilson (a.k.a. neilw)
AEC Collection/C3D 2024, LDT 2004, Power Civil v8i SS1
WIN 10 64 PRO

http://www.sec-landmgt.com
Message 3 of 11
antoniovinci
in reply to: jennya

First, I can't believe your IT crew left the pagefile on the C root, sir.

It MUST be on a dedicated partition or, better, on a second physical drive.

Second, did they defrag the hard disk after the Win7 installation?

Third, unplug yourself from network, and test the Autocad performance locally.

Message 4 of 11
jennya
in reply to: Neilw_05

Thank you. I am going to request more memory. Hopefully, my memory is expandable, and hopefully I don't sound dumb for even saying that. 🙂

We do have Autodesk support. I will check with them as well.

Thanks again.

Message 5 of 11
jennya
in reply to: antoniovinci

Anton,

As I mentioned earlier, my computer knowledge is extremely limitedso if I don't make sense, please forgive me.

My computer is partitioned, and the IT department installed Civil 3D on my C drive. They then told me that any programs I installed afterwards should go on my D drive.  Admittedly, I haven't been really dilligent about that and I might have a few other programs on my C drive.  Could that be part of the problem.

Also, are saying that I should save my project to my hard drive, borrow a license and then disconnect? Is that the best method? Currently, all of our projects are stored on a network.

Thanks for your help.

Message 6 of 11
Lisa_Pohlmeyer
in reply to: jennya

There are many, many things that affect the performance of Civil 3D.  There should be no reason to put your projects on your local drive.  The suggestion to unplug from the network was just to test if that was causing your issue.  It's always a process of elimination.

Other things you might check:

1. Is Civil 3D looking for printers and/or pc3 files that are no longer available?

2. Is your Digital Signature option enabled in your Options dialog?  If you don't use digital signatures, turn this off.

 

Your reseller should be able to help you tweak your install so that you're very happy with the performance.  I have worked on far less capable machines than yours and didn't experience your issues.  Trouble shooting can be cumbersome, but you will learn what works and what doesn't.



Lisa Pohlmeyer
Civil 3D User
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Message 7 of 11


LisaPohlmeyer wrote:

It's always a process of elimination.

Trouble shooting can be cumbersome, but you will learn what works and what doesn't.


Exactly so, madame.

Moreover, that's NOT a memory shortage issue: you shouldn't add other Ram as mr.Wilson advised.
About the right way to optimize the hard disk work, here how I partition my users' HDD since 1989:

1] partition C - only system

2] partition D - only data

3] partition E - only programs

If my user doesn't own a second HDD, I format (in FAT system) a small partition just after the C one, then I move there the pagefile, which size should be twice the physical Ram.

As stated by Lisa, in Windows click WIN-R then type in ACSIGNOPT and uncheck that box.

In Autocad, type in proxygraphics and set it to zero.
Good luck, sir.

Message 8 of 11
sboon
in reply to: Lisa_Pohlmeyer

The spec list doesn't include any information on the video card or driver that is installed.  Our experience over the last few years with Civil3d is that some video cards definitely work better than others.  I've seen disappearing / lagging cursors, random bluescreens, delays on saving - you name it. 

 

After fighting with issues for several years our IT department decided that all CAD stations would get a basic NVidia Quadro card, with a certified driver.  It costs a few bucks extra to get a new station built that way but we get much better performance and fewer problems.

Steve
Expert Elite Alumnus
Message 9 of 11
Neilw_05
in reply to: jennya

Please don't take my comments as a recommendation to add memory without evaluating your system first. As you can see from the replies there are many possible causes of performance problems. A support request will likely provide several links to common problems and their solutions.

 

Having a little more memory is still a worthwhile investment considering the relatively small cost. That extra breathing room would eliminate memory issues for most of your work.

Neil Wilson (a.k.a. neilw)
AEC Collection/C3D 2024, LDT 2004, Power Civil v8i SS1
WIN 10 64 PRO

http://www.sec-landmgt.com
Message 10 of 11
antoniovinci
in reply to: sboon


sboon wrote:

The spec list doesn't include any information on the video card or driver that is installed


That HP workstation may embed one of these:

Integrated
Intel® HD Graphics 2000; Intel® HD Graphics P3000
Professional 2D
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 295 (256 MB); NVIDIA NVS 300 (512 MB); AMD FirePro 2270 (512 MB)
Entry 3D
ATI FirePro V3800 (512 MB); NVIDIA Quadro 400 (512 MB); NVIDIA Quadro 600 (1 GB)

After installing the dedicated drivers for Autocad, I advise to run this "must-have" test...

Message 11 of 11
jennya
in reply to: antoniovinci

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'm sorry I'm so late responding. I have a big project submittal due this afternoon and have been working diligently all week to get it out.  I'm going to print out all the responses and work with our IT dep't to get it resolved. I'll update later tomorrow or early next week.  All your support is GREATLY appreciated!

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