topic Re: Ramdisk in AutoCAD Forum

Ramdisk

jtm2020hyo — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 01:44:22 GMT

how to configure ramdisk and autocad to store all cache (everything at autocad) at the ram?

Re: Ramdisk

tim_crouse — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 15:01:38 GMT

The RAM disk will be seen as a normal drive. Suggest you locate a utility to create a Ram Disk then:

Go into AutoCAD settings and go to the profile tab and create a new profile.

Now set all the applicable file location paths to point to the Ram Drive.

I would play around with setting a current profile from the original to the new one when you close autocad.

Then you will see how AutoCAD behaves when it starts up. The point is you will need to have your workflow in place to ensure the Ram Drive is in place prior to starting AutoCAD. As part of this workflow you would want to use a batch file to perform a bulk copy (or a bulk copy utility such as snytron) to copy all the required working files to the ram drive.

You would also want to run a utility that performs an aoutbackup every 10 min or so to your normal hard drive. This will keep your data intact should you have a power outage.

Now the Flip Side:

If you were to work off a solid-state NVME drive you may see the performance gain you are looking for without going through all the trouble / risk associated with a volatile ram drive. It is true the bandwidth of the two are about equal but the DDR4/5 memory is far better at accessing small bits of data. BUT you may not actually y see that full performance gain or see enough of that performance gain to be worth the trouble as you are not performing bulk copy transfers but rather accessing data through the AutoCAD application itself. It would be worth a test if you have the time

it would have been worth it for sure if we were in the 1990s and early 2000s but things are a bit faster now.

That's my 2 cents, hope it gives you some ideas.

Best Regards

-Tim C.

A 1Tb Nvm drive is $80.00 now

Re: Ramdisk

jtm2020hyo — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 19:30:40 GMT

Thank for the answer, I agree respect to risk with ram, but what happens
with graphic cache? I mean, there is not risk and should speed AutoCAD

Re: Ramdisk

pendean — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 19:51:02 GMT

if I may ask, are you trying to fix a slow PC or slow HD?
Or magically speed up clunky AutoCAD?

It's been a decade or more since I've seen anyone asking about ramdisks, I was just curious
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-architecture-forum/rendering-and-ram-disk/td-p/5436483

Re: Ramdisk

tim_crouse — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 12:55:48 GMT

I would think the graphic cache is a non-issue unless you are using an onboard shared video chip. Meaning the cache associated with graphics is carried onboard the graphics card.

One thing you can do is to go into teh graphic card control panel and for the settings to be attached to the graphics card instead of being set to auto; which can lead to sharing / splitting resources between the dedicated onboard graphic chip and the graphics card. Remember autocad typically get it's best boot from a good graphics card vs selecting a multi-core processor as most task are single threaded.

There are few threads on the forum regarding certified vs gaming cards. 99% you wont' see a difference. What you get from the certified cards is a lot more testing to ensure the card / drivers do not glitch (which is not a common issue under general use).

Best Regards

-Tim C.

Re: Ramdisk

jtm2020hyo — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 21:21:44 GMT

AutoCAD is probably the best software for engineering but is sad how AutoCAD was abandoned, other software that support ramdisk or have option like chrome browser to put all cache to ram are to fast in comparison to AutoCAD.

the 2023 avergae hardware already have m.2 ssd , 16 ram and decent graphics card and discrete graphics cards.

I hope AutoCAD can receive an update soon, because the shrimp has been asleep for a long time and will be carried away by the current.

Re: Ramdisk

RobDraw — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 21:34:29 GMT

Your off the mark opinions are better off posted on the product feedback page.

Re: Ramdisk

pendean — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 13:55:41 GMT

@jtm2020hyo Got it: you wish for 30+ year-old-code to perform better on decently average PC hardware. Well, that's not an option sadly for us end users.

There are better new performance-based software offerings from Autodesk (you will need to up your hardware game too), perhaps it is time to change from generic plain AutoCAD?

In the meantime, you can express your wishes to Autodesk where they seek them out, here https://www.autodesk.com/company/contact-us/product-feedback