RAM?

[john.uhden]

I now have Civil 3D 2016 installed on my 2010 Dell Studio I-7 laptop.  I am trying to work with an aerial topo drawing that is described as having being saved back to 2007.  In the drawing, the contours and such were collected into a named block.  After exploding the block (which took 18 hours) I find that the contours aren't even polylines, but separate lines.  I've dealt with this aerial company before and have more disdain for them than I do for Putin.

Anyway, the drawing is making my computer run about as fast as molasses in Barrow, Alaska in the winter.  I have only 4 Gigs of RAM.  Is that the reason?  How much do you recommend I have?  The DWG is 253 Mb.  Do you think I should get the RAM from Dell, or Kingston, or somewhere else?  Or do I need a new machine?

[ВeekeeCZ]

Can't believe that you had to write so many words to your conclusion. New computer, no question about it.

With files that big you would need 16Gb. And fast SSD.

[maratovich]

---

@john.uhden wrote:

 I find that the contours aren't even polylines, but separate lines.  I've dealt with this aerial company before and have more disdain for them than I do for Putin.

---

Ahahahaha! Good! Ahahahaha!

You yourself are confused, and cause others do.
As always - you are cheated everywhere.
This is not the cause of the RAM. This is the reason AutoCAD 2016.
I have 2 GB RAM, 3 GHz processor - 2 cores (simple) - AutoCAD 2014-2019 flies fast.
You need to disable:
AutoCAD - Hardware acceleration disable
Windows - disable Aero
Windows - choose the best speed (no beautiful windows)

[ronjonp]

Can you post the file? I'd like to see how long it takes to explode on my computer:)

[ВeekeeCZ]

---

@maratovich wrote:

---

@john.uhden wrote:

 I find that the contours aren't even polylines, but separate lines.  I've dealt with this aerial company before and have more disdain for them than I do for Putin.

---

Ahahahaha! Good! Ahahahaha!

You yourself are confused, and cause others do.
As always - you are cheated everywhere.
This is not the cause of the RAM. This is the reason AutoCAD 2016.
I have 2 GB RAM, 3 GHz processor - 2 cores (simple) - AutoCAD 2014-2019 flies fast.
You need to disable:
AutoCAD - Hardware acceleration disable
Windows - disable Aero
Windows - choose the best speed (no beautiful windows)

---

Autocad 2016 maybe... but the main issue is C3D itself. C3D as ACAD is much better, but still cannot be compared in speed with plain AutoCAD.

@braudpat would tell you, it's his passion.

[pendean]

Explode? Why, that only makes everything worse.

2016 saving back to 2007 is one big problem.
253MB file on an 8-year-old laptop is the other problem.
4Gig RAM is sad for C3D, 16MB would help a little but not enough to make a world of difference. But you might as well do it, not sure why you even have to even ask honestly LOL

For a solution: There is not enough RAM on the planet to speed any of that up on your old laptop and your software and your need to save back so far an explode everything too. Ouch!

[ronjonp]

Just for grins you should run THIS and post your results. It will become hugely apparent what has progressed in 9ish years of technology. FWIW, although I build a new computer just about every year AutoCAD has somehow gotten slower with each new release despite hardware ;/

HERE is my latest computer bench with some now somewhat outdated hardware.

[braudpat]

Hello

@braudpat would tell you, it's his passion = YES !!

I like huge 2D GIS DWGs, sometimes I am playing with 300-350 Mb 2D GIS DWGs ...

With this kind of DWG, you must have :

- The fastest Core i7 available, today (for me) the right choice is the good old Core i7 7700K (4.2-4.5 Ghz - 4C/8T - 8 Mb cache)

It has the best ratio (price/performance)

The new Core i7 8086K (4.0-5.0 Ghz - 6C/12T - 12 Mb cache) is only about 4-10% faster !

- 32 Gb of memory is enough (maybe 48 Gb)

- A fast SSD/M2 as primary disk is very comfortable but not very essential !

But today SSD/M2 are not expensive, so it is the right choice

- For PURE 2D DWGs, the graphic card is not very important, but you must have have something which is correct :

NVidia GTX 1060 6 Gb Ram : if you have a budget problem !?

or better NVidia GTC 1070 TI : the right choice !

Or maybe the Nvidia Quadro Serie 2000 ...

You need Ram to store the display list !

On fast Core i5/i7 with fast HD, a 300 Mb DWG is loaded in 4-6 mn ...

And you can Zoom/Pan anywhere in 3-8 secs ...

On this Huge DWG, to be fast I often DISABLE the UNDO feature !

... when doing a huge Erase, Move, Wblock, Copy, etc ...

And immediately I RE-Enable the UNDO feature ...

Regards, Patrice (The French Old EE Froggy)

PS: I had the pleasure to work (with ACAD MAP 2017) a few days with a special PC designed for fanatic Gamer !

Core i7 7700K overclocked to 5.0 Ghz as based speed with Turbo at 5.3 Ghz (Water cooling of course)

+ NVidia GTX 1080 TI foundation - 32 Gb fast DDR - Fast M2 Disk

---- This PC was/is a beautiful SR-71 Jet ----

[john.uhden]

It's not my file.  I could post a link to where it can be downloaded, but I don't have permission.

[dbroad]

More RAM - yes.  I like 16GB to 32GB

Newer Computer - yes. I just bought a Lenova Yoga but haven't tried any drawing that big.

SSD - yes. Much faster.  The newer SSD drives are much much faster than those just a few years older.

I would try wblock the block rather than exploding it. Then open the new drawing and overkill. Then purge.  I doubt there is really that much useful information in the drawing unless you're modeling a city.

[john.uhden]

I found out that my local computer fix-it man can get me a refurbed 1.5 year-old Dell I-5, 3Ghz laptop with 16 Gb, SSD, NVidia on-board, and Win7 for about $600.  Does that sound like it might be good enough?  He can add more RAM for very little more.

I'll have to make a business decision whether to buy anything or remove myself from the project.

[braudpat]

Hello @john.uhden

If I can help you, I will be very happy !

Please look at the Image coming from MY Windows Task Manager on my Notebook ...

With ALL software (you need), with ALL DWGs loaded (you need),

please CHECK that you have YET 1 Gb or better 2 Gb AVAILABLE !?

If YES then you don't need more memory !

Regards, Patrice

[john.uhden]

Might this be good enough?

https://deals.dell.com/work/productdetail/1r38

[braudpat]

Hello

This notebook has a Core i7 7500U : 2.7-3.5 Ghz - 2C/4T - 4 Mb cache - HD Graphic 620 - Q3 2016

It is a little bit slow and it is only a 2 Cores / 4 Threads ! ... But the price is OK !!

Of course, you need 16 Gb memory maybe 32 Gb !?

If you have the budget, please try to target a faster modern i5/i7 with 4 Cores !?

Core i5-8400H : 2.5-4.2 Ghz - 4C/8T - 8 Mb cache - HD Graphic 630 - I like this one !

Core i7-7700HQ : 2.8-3.8 Ghz - 4C/8T - 6 Mb cache - HD Graphic 630

If you are using only 2D with small usage of 3D, the HD Graphic 620/630 is enough ...

Regards, Patrice

[ronjonp]

Does it have to be a laptop? .. Usually you'll get more bang for your buck if you get a desktop computer.

[ВeekeeCZ]

You should also tell us what you're planning to do in C3D. Whether you need just explode little block once in a while or to do some kind of C3D work.

[john.uhden]

I think my role is to see that the various team members share and publish
their plans efficiently and properly. One of the engineers (a close
friend) has only vanilla AutoCAD 2007, so I have to be sure that his
background is compatible with the others', including such things as
lineweights, annotative scales, and revision levels.
I may have to do some drawing modifications myself to reach the goal.
I am also hoping to find a real engineering job again and will need to
practice to be of sufficient value. I was once a Land Desktop expert, but
that has about as much value these days as building wagon wheels.

[john.uhden]

Maybe this one?

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PROCESSOR

i7-8750H

HARD DRIVE

256GB SSD

MEMORY

16GB DDR4

VIDEO PROCESSOR

GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB

Add to cart

Wish List

• 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge Anti-Glare Non-touch IPS 100% sRGB 400-Nits display

• 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8750H Processor (9M Cache, up to 4.1 GHz, 6 Cores)

• Windows 10 Home 64bit English

• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050Ti with 4GB GDDR5

• 256GB M.2 2280 PCIe Solid State Drive

Dell Warranty

 Of course I'm worried about Windows 10, but should I be?

[braudpat]

Hello

YES this PC seems OK ! ... If you need only 16 Gb Ram ...

The M2 HD (256 Gb) is small but FAST ...

With Win 10 you need 2017 version (or more) of Autodesk Software to have no surprise ! 

BUT maybe you have to run OTHER OLD softwares !?

Happy WE, Regards, Patrice

[john.uhden]

Thanks, Pat, for all your thoughtful input.

Of course it all gets more complicated.

Thanks to my elevated status, I can get any current version of AutoCAD I want for free.

But maybe the partners are working in an earlier version and I can't save backward.  Ahh, but at least I could try things out and then tell them what to do at their machines.

It's all still a business decision.