Mac Pro Upgrade Question

[Chris D]

Chris,

I was of the understanding that Renderworks uses multiple cores.

We've just ordered Renderworks licences but they haven't arrived yet. We've always used Cinema 4D for presentation rendering, but the BIM workflow really needs renderworks.

[Kevin McAllister]

Hi Chris,

Sorry to hear about your disappointment. Call me naive, but I would have thought with an installation that big your local dealer would be right in there with proper information and support up front.

I recently doubled my RAM from 4GB to 8GB and as you say, Vectorworks is not taking advantage of it.

The single core problem is a big one. Vectorworks would likely breath new life into itself by taking advantage of multiple cores. Even my laptop, which is a three year old Macbook Pro, has two cores. A new version that took advantage of that could extend its usefulness instantly.

I think it behooves Nemetzchek to start talking with users about these issues and giving us a road map for the future. That way we can make good choices about current and future hardware purchases.

Thanks for posting. I hope you get your challenges sorted.

Cheers,

Kevin

[Bryan G.]

Chris, sorry to here about your problems with Mac's. Mine are just the opposite. I guess its different for everybody. As for that many Mac' with issues, have you contacted your local dealer? Here in the US at least, Apple has a very good Business side, and or great 3rd party support structure.

As for the multi cores. I have noticed that request often and yes I agree VW needs to take advantage of more RAM and Cores if available. Common VW step it up already! Were here and were waiting(but I guess not for long).

[Chris D]

Chris, sorry to here about your problems with Mac's.

It's funny that my comments came across that way. I'm a big Apple fan...check my signature. Sure, there was a premium for the Mac Pro over a PC box, but reliability, resale value...and OS X are worth it.

My gripe was not with the Mac, but the way Vectorworks doesn't use the resources you throw at it! It needs to address more than 4GB RAM and to make use of multiple cores before they can EVER claim that their product is suitable for BIM.

[VincentCuclair]

My sentiments exactly......

[Bryan G.]

Ahhh, a misunderstanding on my part. And yes, absolutely yes to the rest.

[VincentCuclair]

We've always used Cinema 4D for presentation rendering,

C4D must run like a charm on those machines, Chris!?

[Chris D]

C4D must run like a charm on those machines, Chris!?

My more learn'ed colleague (our C4D guru) has the following to say:

Our new machines are

CPU: Xeon W3565 @ 3.2Ghz (4 cores in 1 processor)

GPU: Radeon HD 5870

Cinebench 11.5 scores:

CPU score of 5.68

GFX score of 29.76

We also have some older machines which were bought for C4D

CPU: Dual Xeon E5520 @ 2.27GHz (8 cores in 2 processors)

GPU: Radeon?HD 4870

Cinebench 11.5 scores:

CPU score of 8.16

GFX score of 24.73

The CPU is doing the rendering work in C4D, so you see that it's horses for courses - the older machines are better for rendering because C4D is using all of the 8 cores, while our newer machines have fewer cores but faster clock speed which is better for Vectorworks.

[Chris D]

My colleague recommends this link:

http://www.cbscores.com/

And suggests that for raw performance on Vectorworks you want a liquid cooled overclocked chip, such as a Boxx box:

http://boxxtech.com/