Slow model....do I need to upgrade my PC?

  • Hey

    I was wondering if someone can look at the spec of my computer & tell me if its adequate. I haven't got a clue other than its running VERY slow on not that large models & even slower using Enscape. I've seen the spec required for enscape but it means nothing to me. Not sure if its my computer or my models are the problem. I don't think my models are complicated but I'm new to this so not sure.

    Speak soon

    Tracy

  • Go to Best Answer
    • Official Post

    Hi Tracy, please be so very kind as to simply submit us a feedback report as detailed here - This will transfer your machine information (CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.) to us and I can have a look myself to provide you a reply to your question. :)


    In the submission form of the feedback report, please also include a link to this thread or at the very least something like "To Demian" so that my colleagues are aware that this is not only a direct error report. Ideally also just leave a further reply here once you've hit the Send button.


    I appreciate it and look forward to giving you some tips if an upgrade is potentially due.

  • Thanks for that! filled it in...sorry i filled it in before reading your whole message so Ive sent one with the problem detailed & then another with just your name as wasn't sure how to link the thread./

    So basically sketchup is working very slow & thinking after every command & freezing & even more so with enscape window open. It was crashing after trying to add an enscape light. This did seem to happen after i read a thread about updating my GPU with the latest download. So i turned my computer off & on after this & it seem to stop the lights crashing it but now its not rendering them in panoramas. Like the lights are all turned off but the 2d renders are fine.

    • Official Post

    Thank you Tracyheywood , I can see a colleague of mine has already gotten back to you regarding the technical issues, please kindly keep in touch with him to resolve these as quickly as possible.


    When it comes to an upgrade of your machine, we can definitely recommend it given you're currently using "just" an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. You can check out our system requirements here for some general guidance, but if you can let me know an estimated budget of yours I can also give you some more direct recommendations. If a fixed budge is not relevant let me know too of course.

  • Hi Demain

    Yes!

    James replied with some helpful comments but not heard back since i replied to him, wasn't sure if he passed onto you as i replied with answers to his questions.

    I've tried making some changes to his suggestions but doesn't seem to be working. The lighting problem has only started since i updated the download from Nividia for my GPU but fingers crossed seems ok since turning my computer on & off. The slowness is ongoing..... Will a new graphics card help with the slowness in sketchup do you know? I don't want to spend $$$$$$ & it not be any different as i only bought this graphics card this year (clearly not quite right be seems ok with rendering/pans & walkthroughs etc....I just cant raytrace)

    Money is tight as only set up my business this year & spent so much already & had 2 months with now work but the slowness is driving me insane

  • Sorry to break in but if it's slowness of Sketchup, there's not much you can do about it other than using a lot of proxies and keep the models (geometry) small.

    For Enscape a nice GPU helps big time but for Sketchup itself a fast GPU or CPU doesn't do that much. If you've complex geometry you need in Sketchup you should really try to use all complex things as proxies instead of just directly importing them into your model. Else you will drive yourself crazy by the slowness of the viewport.

    For example, a lot of the models you find on 3D Warehouse are converted models from other file formats. While they look nice they often have way to much detail to use directly in Sketchup. Therefor it's smart if you convert those models you want into Enscape proxies so you still can work fast in Sketchup and the models show in all glory if you open Enscape.

    Basically it's the same for all 3D programs but especially Sketchup is not really well fitted for people to import all furniture, garden plants etc inside Sketchup with their full geometry. There are also some general tips to speed up the viewport/modeling process like hide unused items (or those outside the group you work in) don't enable 'show hidden geometry/objects' and in the past having the outliner panel open was also a real slowdown of Sketchup (think that's better now).

    TL:DR;
    In case you've an building, just have that building as full geometry and everything inside and outside as proxies. If you want to stay flexible all separate proxies but if you don't need to move those around you can select all and create a proxy out of everything besides the building. What I also often do is having two files, one with all 'extra's' and one with just the building. That's where I work with and the other SU file is for render. F.e you could also have your model as a linked model in the more detailed file so it will always reflect the changes. Mainly you've to work a bit smart with SU if you don't want to get too frustrated :)

    • Official Post

    Hi Demain

    Yes!

    James replied with some helpful comments but not heard back since i replied to him, wasn't sure if he passed onto you as i replied with answers to his questions.

    I've tried making some changes to his suggestions but doesn't seem to be working. The lighting problem has only started since i updated the download from Nividia for my GPU but fingers crossed seems ok since turning my computer on & off. The slowness is ongoing..... Will a new graphics card help with the slowness in sketchup do you know? I don't want to spend $$$$$$ & it not be any different as i only bought this graphics card this year (clearly not quite right be seems ok with rendering/pans & walkthroughs etc....I just cant raytrace)

    Money is tight as only set up my business this year & spent so much already & had 2 months with now work but the slowness is driving me insane

    Thanks a lot for your reply - I assigned the case to myself and sent you a response via e-mail as well regarding your main problem. Just to make sure you are aware though right away, please ensure that your computer has at least a few gigabytes of free storage space because if your hard drive runs full when making use of SketchUp/Enscape this can lead to issues. Kindly also check out the other troubleshooting steps mentioned in the e-mail I sent you. :)


    You can definitley also check out the post from ozboz just above, as he is right about a better GPU not really helping with improved performance in SketchUp itself I'm afraid, although you'd feel the added performance in Enscape of course, being able to also export renderings/panoramas of larger sizes, the ability to make use of even larger scenes, all while potentially maxing out the Rendering Quality (Depending on the GPU of course). 4GB of VRAM is the bare minimum we recommend, but it's often simply not enough for projects of a bigger scale.


    Furthermore, whenever you are working with larger/highly detailed models in SketchUp, we indeed recommend adding them to SketchUp/Enscape by using the "Linked Model" functionality, also called proxy. This should greatly improve the performance of SketchUp at least:


    I'm looking forward to any further replies through the Forum or case.

  • ozboz

    Thanks for this! Soooo Very helpful! & im glad i dont really need a new GPU just yet as enscape isnt much of a problem. More sketchup slowness I feel.


    Are you aware of any good links to youtube or whatever to help me with converting models from warehouse to enscape proxies? I seem to remember at my last work (before I used sketchup) they modelled the building & then almost 'xrefed' modelled the interior elsewhere & imported them into the building.


    I will google this also but again if you know of any good links to help me figure this out then great.


    Thanks again for your time in replying! Also more helpful than the sketchup forum who all just told me I need a new computer. Not financially possible right now


    Tracy x

    • Official Post

    Tracyheywood , exactly, SketchUp should definitely perform quite a bit better if you make use of the proxy tool as much as possible - Models of lower quality or even small scenes shouldn't have too much of an influence on SketchUp's performance though, so using the "Linked Model" (proxies) function is especially useful for complex scenes/detailed models.

  • Tracyheywood I think this Sketchup page is pretty ok if it's about modeling smart, it also includes a long (older) video I didn't check but I guess it should treat some basics well. It's old but Sketchup didn't really get any faster past 10 years ;) Without being too technical, all new CPU's have like multiple cores and such, great if you render things but Sketchup will only use 1 core/2 threads maximum I think. Mainly because some tasks can't be divided into sub tasks easily and especially if you use some plugins on complex geometry that can be terribly slow even if you have the fastest CPU available.

    This is the page I found with some Sketchup basics: Improving Performance | SketchUp Help

    The proxies are used in many pieces of software. It's the same as if you pick a asset from the Enscape library you see a simplified shape but once you turn on Enscape you see all it's geometry (from that moment your GPU gets important). Because those shapes are so simple they don't use up a lot of processor power you need to work fast in the viewport.

    In Enscape it's really friendly to create your own proxies from complex models compared to some other tools I use. Basically while having your 'complex' model open which you want to turn into an proxy/asset for Enscape you open the Asset library, click the tab 'custom assets', click plus sign and you get a step-by-step to concert the model. Just be sure you keep the original model at the same place so it's easier to change things later and Enscape always keeps the link to the original.

    A good way for example is creating a folder in documents where you have the original SU files you for example downloaded from the warehouse and turn into proxies. Maybe even with subfolders for categories, just what you think is handy. Also try to be smart with the naming of models, a lot of 3D warehouse things are called Untitled.skp and that doesn't really help if you want to find something later on.

    After playing a bit with proxies you'll notice how useful it is. The only thing to consider is that if you create a model for a client who also wants the model as a file, to make sure the client understands he doesn't get a SU file with all geometry. Rare case maybe since most won't give clients the skp I think.

    Anyway, don't worry too much about hardware in SU. I used to have a 1070 (well, 2) but got a 2080Ti gifted from an online race friend from Finland. And yes, in Enscape and other render tools that makes a huge difference. So I gifted one of my 1070's to another Dutch guy and already curious what the Finish guy will do with his 3090 if the nVidia 40xx comes out ;)

    Since you are a starter, you most of the time also take longer for projects. Maybe you can make a deal with a client that instead of paying a normal bill they can buy you for example a nice graphics card. Not sure if that's legal in your country but here some clients like that idea since they can deduct those costs from tax/profit so while you end up with a nice GPU they might be paying even less netto. I've zero budget at the moment but some of my former clients helped me out with my change from 2D to 3D designs buying some hardware.

    Good luck!

  • Thats sooooo helpfull! Thanks so much for all that! I will have to google some of the terms but I get the idea. I only started in Feb this year so learning as I go.

    Payment in products I'm sure is allowed... sounds like a plan.

    I just need to get crafty 1st with my modelling skills

    • Best Answer

    Hi Tracyheywood


    I had exactly the same, I think they should make it more clear that you have to click on the folder icon in front of 'Project Directory'. It's not really clear what you have to do with the way it's current layout it. Would be better if it for example was a separate step/window with just 'Select Project Directory' and after it the next step (it only asks once). Maybe Demian Gutberlet can pass it on to the developers. A bit of a restyle of that window would already help a lot so you actually see where you have to click.

    The default projectdirectory is I think in <my documents>\Enscape\custom assets so try to point it there and click 'next'. That should make a lot clear :)

    It's where the 'asset' will be saved and if you use the directory I mentioned it's clear for Enscape it shows them in the library under the custom assets tab.