Hung Up 2008

[cwsharp]

I can't get a rendering out of my machine... I need a high res rendering and I have tried twice all night long...

This time there are two windows open, one of which says "processing voxel space".

We upgraded our machines to 4GB (only 3 of which XP recognizes) and there is plenty of hard drive space.

We ARE NOT interested in going to Vista...

We have a 512 Mb NVidia Graphics card...

What does it take to get a working piece of software that lets me work instead of being constantly in my face, either figuring out work arounds or avoiding bugs.

Thanks again, Autodesk... you still haven't learned.

[Anonymous]

High res can burn up tons of processing - regardless of the software. That's
why those that do that daily use multiple systems and network rendering.
Accurender in Revit just isn't geared toward high end CG. You should be
looking at 3D Studio or Viz. Processing a single high res frame on one
system could take days - not just overnight.

Accurender is also using radiosity - which in its day was the fastest thing
around. It isn't any more. Other photon systems have outpaced radiosity.

Drop the same rendering in a 8 processor network running Viz with Vray or
Mental Ray and you'll be done in minutes.

wrote in message news:5674501@discussion.autodesk.com...
I can't get a rendering out of my machine... I need a high res rendering and
I have tried twice all night long...

This time there are two windows open, one of which says "processing voxel
space".

We upgraded our machines to 4GB (only 3 of which XP recognizes) and there is
plenty of hard drive space.

We ARE NOT interested in going to Vista...

We have a 512 Mb NVidia Graphics card...

What does it take to get a working piece of software that lets me work
instead of being constantly in my face, either figuring out work arounds or
avoiding bugs.

Thanks again, Autodesk... you still haven't learned.

[sbrown]

what is the size you are trying to render? The memory of the video card has nothing to do with rendering, it only helps with display performance.

My guess is you'll need to lower the size of your image or the quality. Revit is NOT a rendering package. It includes rendering as a design aide more than a final product. The rendering engine in Revit is very old and hasn't been updated in many releases. If you need to do many high end renderings you will need to get an external render package. VIZ currently is the only one that lets you link revit exported dwgs and maintain the material settings.

[cwsharp]

I have used Viz and Max... which is probably what set the standard for my expectations with this 'new and improved" BIM approach.

Uh... Doesn't Revit cost more that ADT? Aren't we trying to get away from ADT?

The graphics card comment was based upon the old method of rendering, I suppose... but I believe that the image is created with the assitance of the graphics card.

Like I said... "Thanks again Autodesk. You will never learn".

[Anonymous]

None of the rendering engines require a graphics card. You can even render
on a dumb box with no video. The only time you need video is when you're
using an application like Inventor that does real time shading and rending
on the screen.

wrote in message news:5674833@discussion.autodesk.com...
I have used Viz and Max... which is probably what set the standard for my
expectations with this 'new and improved" BIM approach.

Uh... Doesn't Revit cost more that ADT? Aren't we trying to get away from
ADT?

The graphics card comment was based upon the old method of rendering, I
suppose... but I believe that the image is created with the assitance of the
graphics card.

Like I said... "Thanks again Autodesk. You will never learn".

[tomislav_zigo]

When looking for the hardware assisted rendering solution it is worth investigating the following option.
http://www.artvps.com/
The only question is whether Revit can submit a job to this card. I know that VIZ and Max can.
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

FWIW, Accurender and Revit have been partnered well before Revit was an
Autodesk product. This is "old baggage" that doesn't have much to do with
Autodesk, except for the fact that the renderer currently in Revit isn't
very fast.

wrote in message news:5674833@discussion.autodesk.com...
I have used Viz and Max... which is probably what set the standard for my
expectations with this 'new and improved" BIM approach.

Uh... Doesn't Revit cost more that ADT? Aren't we trying to get away from
ADT?

The graphics card comment was based upon the old method of rendering, I
suppose... but I believe that the image is created with the assitance of the
graphics card.

Like I said... "Thanks again Autodesk. You will never learn".

[cwsharp]

The speed isn't the issue, here... although it would be nice to have something at least comparable to Viz (except the sun system probably still doesn't work).

Revit 2008 has crashed twice trying to complete the rendering and it isn't for a lack of memory or disk space, at least in terms of what XP is capable of.

As for the product in general, the performance of 2008 is certainly in the tank compared even to 9.1 and clearly Autodesk thinks it's no problem to run out and buy a bunch of new hardware and change over to Vista (which NO ONE wants to do) but that just isn't reality if you are trying to get a product to succeed.

"What, you want HOW MUCH MORE to use Revit and it won't do renderings and our people are telling me (management) that it isn't any better for curtainwalls, walls, and stairs than ADT was and I remember the last time you guys came asking for a bunch of ADT money?"

I am disappointed, and I don't know why. I shouldn't have expected anything more from Autodesk...

[Anonymous]

Define your crashes. You first said Revit was "Hung Up". Or did it crash? If
it was just "Hung Up" - and if the processors were running - then Revit just
wasn't done with the rendering. Taskmanager may say "Not Responding", but if
the processor is running - Revit is just working very hard. A crash is
different and there could be an error log to help you out.

Walls in Revit are so much better than in ADT (...we run both). We have all
sorts of issues with ADT walls, even though we only use them for 2D. No one
complains about Revits walls. I have similar experience with curtain walls.
They are much simpler to layout in Revit which equates to big time savings.
Sure there are a few features I'd like to see added in like true curved
curtain walls and more control over curtain wall systems. But nothing that
keeps me from being productive. Stairs are complex for any software, but
here again - Revit allows me to build the stairs I need to get projects out
the door. It would be nicer if the railings were more automatic. But again,
the jobs get done. there is always the family editoir which lets me build
anything.

All in all, I'd say Revit has cut my design time by at least 50% - maybe
more. I'd say it has trimmed 30% off CD production. Isn't that what you
want? If you need high end renderings - just pair it up with Viz.

wrote in message news:5676059@discussion.autodesk.com...
The speed isn't the issue, here... although it would be nice to have
something at least comparable to Viz (except the sun system probably still
doesn't work).

Revit 2008 has crashed twice trying to complete the rendering and it isn't
for a lack of memory or disk space, at least in terms of what XP is capable
of.

As for the product in general, the performance of 2008 is certainly in the
tank compared even to 9.1 and clearly Autodesk thinks it's no problem to run
out and buy a bunch of new hardware and change over to Vista (which NO ONE
wants to do) but that just isn't reality if you are trying to get a product
to succeed.

"What, you want HOW MUCH MORE to use Revit and it won't do renderings and
our people are telling me (management) that it isn't any better for
curtainwalls, walls, and stairs than ADT was and I remember the last time
you guys came asking for a bunch of ADT money?"

I am disappointed, and I don't know why. I shouldn't have expected anything
more from Autodesk...

[Anonymous]

do you have the 3G switch on?

vista won't help you, and may even hurt the process. (well it will hurt, but that's a different issue)

as stated video card isn't going to help, that only deals with graphics for display(s)

what processor are you running on?

if the rendering is taking time, and not crashing the OS or Revit, you can help things remain stable by running it with ONLY revit running, and running on a local version of the file. close every other app, and turn off automated junk.

other things to do to help your system function a bit more stable, and run more efficiently:

clean off and clear case vents. open your case, and clean off your heat sinks with canned air. reinstall all hoods and fans appropriately, for most systems they aid in cooling a lot. look into an aftermarket cooling solution for the processor(s)

defrag your hdd.

make sure your RAM is not running at a significantly lower speed than your FSB.

keep the room the PC is in at an ambient temp under 75F.

[cwsharp]

I'm sorry... but I guess it's good there's a bunch of Revit cheerleaders on this forum...

I have been in this business long enough to know what a crash is...

The machines that we are running are not that old... and you're missing the point of my post.

This is just a rehash of ADT issues as far as I'm concerned. Instead of writing something that doesn't tax the hardware to the max, Autodesk has always over driven the latest and greatest to achieve even reasonable performance. Sure, there were some breathers, but not often. Revit 8 and 9 were great on our machines. 2008 is not. We are approaching 75Mb on a file size and we haven't even finished DD's yet. Every time someone is out of the office, something needs to be relinquished that the person out of the office didn't want to save but didn't first click release all mine... when you don't want to save, you don't want to save... DUH...

The walls and curtain walls do not clean up properly... in a variety of conditions. Stacked walls, curtain walls that intersect a stacked wall at a non-ninety degree intersection, on and on.

The point is that management is NOT intererested in continually being hounded for more hardware and update money in architectural firms. It is a broken record that is not earning its keep from their point of view. When they ALSO hear complaints about the required development of work arounds and a rendering isn't done that has been rendering all night twice (program not responding), etc. it is a hard sell of those of us trying to make a go of using more advanced products than plain AutoCAD in an A/E firm.

And I'm going to stop arguing.. it's a never ending argument that has been going on between Autodesk and me for 18 years. I would have hoped the central issues would have changed, but they haven't. And before they are through, I am confident that the UI will be so complicated and brain dead (non dual screen support, for example) that we will be right back where we started with R10 AutoCAD.

C#