See Also:. (collection of articles related to the Revit Content library, including installation issues). Running Revit products on a Mac: Refer to the following links for information about using Autodesk Revit software with Boot Camp® (part of Mac OS® X that enables you to install and run Microsoft Windows, and Windows-based applications, on a Mac® computer) or with Parallels Desktop (a system utility available from Parallels, Inc. That allows you to run applications in each operating system without restarting your computer).
Autodesk Revit Mac FAQ.
I am going to school in the fall and I am required to bring a laptop for my courses. I have been specified that I need the follow requirements as I will be running Revit, CAD and Photoshop (I assume latest versions) 8 GB ram i7 processor 1920 x 1080 24-bit color resolution 500 GB hard drive. I am not very good with the internal tech stuff related to computers but I want something that isn't going to be laggy. I understand at a certain point of heavy renderings etc it will happen, but on every day use of these programs - no lag.
I am a must see in person kind of person so I wish to be able to see them in Edmonton,ab area. My price range is up to $1500 (CAD) Can you guys recommend something that will work?
Jay Zallan Author: These are Jay B. Zallan’s professional passions: An intense and experienced Virtual Design and Construction, BIM Leader, Designer, Artist, and AEC technologist. Currently heading up VDC at Harley Ellis Devereaux, Jay brings unique and qualified insights into the business and creative processes of architecture, focusing on communication and collaboration. He brings proven strategies of leveraging technologies and building teamwork toward efficient project delivery. Jay has more than 20 years of architectural experience and enjoys a varied and diverse portfolio of Architecture and Art.
Jay is an Autodesk Expert Elite member, President @ Los Angeles Revit Users Group, AUGIWorld magazine Revit Editor, and Graphic Standards’ BIM Advisory Board. He is a speaker at Autodesk University, Revit Technology Conference(s) and lecturer on Creativity & Architecture at the University of Southern California, Cal Poly, LACMA, as well as various AIA & CSI events. Get more information about Jay at or contact him at [email protected]. September 8th, 2016 What Is the Best Computer for Revit? What a moving target that question is!
LOL What is today? Did Intel release a new chip? With this in mind, let’s look at the computer needs for three types of computer users: The Management, The Superstar, and The User. Adding to those few typologies let’s overlay the following general, but driving tactic: Get the most your budget allows! For Autodesk® Revit®, the search should include, if not begin, by doing the research into Autodesk’s “Systems requirements for Autodesk® Revit® products.” Consider that those specs are far below any actual acceptable workstation spec for The User, let alone The Superstar. Both CPU hardware as well as GPUs have useful tools on Autodesk’s site to start your research.
The GPU requirements as well as their drivers are a most important item to become aligned with the Autodesk recommended spec, which can be found on their “Certified Hardware” page by tapping into the Graphics Hardware portion. There’s a link to this tool on the SysReq page listed above also. Use the tool for ideas and then get shopping and benchmarking (or researching benchmarks). I suggest you steer clear of the ADSK “certified” cards if you can help it and only go with the “Recommended” choices.
While I am at it, stick to the NVIDIA Quadro’s M or the more budget-conscious, though lesser, K series. Gigabyte motherboard drivers. Figure 1 The ADSK SysReqs can be found for 2008 through 2017 (at the time of this article, August 2016).
Macintosh is spoken to there as well, though the Windows-based specs are quite strikingly more thorough, if not ultra conservative (IMHO a bit too weak, but we’ll get there). And since I will mostly be sidestepping the whole “Mac thing” herein, let’s look at the terse requirements for Mac usage: “Running Revit® products on a Mac Refer to the attached document about using Autodesk® Revit® software with Boot Camp®, part of Mac OS® X that enables you to install and run Microsoft Windows (and Windows-based applications) on a Mac® computer or with Parallels Desktop, a system utility available from Parallels, Inc.
That allows you to run applications in each operating system without restarting your computer.” OK, back to Windows PCs and my general suggestions. Processor Xeon multicore processors. Get as many and as robust cores as your $ allows. Did someone say 44 cores and 512GB RAM? Yes, I just did.
You can and someone should check processor ratings and speeds at CPUbenchmark.net. RAM 64GB is my bare minimum recommendation; 32GB if your firm is absolutely broke and doesn’t really care as much about lost $$$ and productivity. GPU NVIDIA Quadro M or K series (and the bigger numbers of these series, too;) Storage SSD. This is mandatory imo. OK, now onto recommending specifics and my preferences for the three typologies: The Management, The Superstar, and The User.
The Management This typology encompasses project managers, BIM or VDC managers, and if you ask me today, most all executives. This group will not do heavy production, but will still need to push models around a screen from a multitude of places and for a multitude of purposes. For this group the best thing I found in the mainstream is the Surface Book. Figure 2 The Surface Book with 1TB SSD, Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM to be exact. Ikr, a bit light on the RAM for my taste, but outside of that it is close to perfect in its purposefulness, form-factor, and flexibility and there is no competition that I have found (yet). The Superstar These are the heavy-lifters.
Autocad Vs Revit
The advanced modelers, big project designers and producers, renderers, and the like. Sometimes The User will need these types of machines, too—it depends on the size, complexity, and scope of the project(s). Wood burning tool menards. For these pivotal folks we want to bounce our ideas off of workstations that one can rate on sites such as PCmag.com. HP and Dell and, to a lesser degree, BOXX seem to remain the most common players in the arena of tuned workstations with decent support, but if you are adventurous there are other custom manufacturers such as DigitalStorm and many others that can perhaps build even better machines at competitive price points.
Figure 3 The Superstars warrant, for instance, an HP Z840 or a Dell 7000 or a BOXX Apexx2 or a nifty GoBOXX 17 for Superstars on the go. Price point is key to balance, but in my experience one can stay around the $5,000ish range and get a great machine that will last a few years of new Revit releases, as well as capture their ROI within the first year. Superstars are worth every penny for a $4,000 to $10,000+ workstation, if they are truly one of the superstars noted above or similar and they are worth not having to wait for a machine to chug through the moderately large datasets they need to deal with day to day. The User As we have seen, sometimes The User needs a Superstar machine. If not though, I would look into the mid-range workstations from the manufacturers I have already mentioned. If you do some due-dilegence and cross referencing you can find a suitable setup for around $2,500 to $3,000ish, as in the Dell 5000 series, the BOXX Apexx2, or the HP Z640s.
I’d still get The User a Superstar machine, but that’s me—I’m not in control of the budget or productivity concerns in your office;) Figure 4: Image from CPU Benchmark That said, I have done tests with Dell, HP, and BOXX. I also did the math, and higher-end machines (as I mentioned under The Superstar) are easily shown to be the most cost-effective set of machines available, even if they cross the $7,000 plateau. So again, whatever level of workstation The User and The Superstar gets, ensure the best Xeon with the most multicore processors, ADSK recommended NVIDIA M or K GPUs, and get the most RAM above 64GB you can, with SSDs for the best Revitouring experience.
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Autodesk Trial Notice This Trial Notice describes a data collection and use program. We want you to have a useful, personalized, and engaging trial experience. We will use information we collect about your Autodesk product or service usage and website activity, and other information you might share with us, to help us decide what will be most relevant and interesting to you, and to learn more about how users like you work with our products and services. In return for providing you access to this Autodesk product or service, we may communicate with you by email, in-product, and/or content we display on the website. We handle personal information in accordance with the Legal disclosures.
Autodesk Trial Notice This Trial Notice describes a data collection and use program. We want you to have a useful, personalized, and engaging trial experience. We will use information we collect about your Autodesk product or service usage and website activity, and other information you might share with us, to help us decide what will be most relevant and interesting to you, and to learn more about how users like you work with our products and services. In return for providing you access to this Autodesk product or service, we may communicate with you by email, in-product, and/or content we display on the website. We handle personal information in accordance with the Legal disclosures.
If you’re looking for a new laptop to run a program such as AutoCAD, then you surely need to be prepared with the budget since these kinds of laptops require high-end specifications. There are also few other applications that are used by AutoCAD users such as 3D Max, Revit, Adobe 3D modeling and Solidworks. These are the programs mostly used by architects, and we have done all the research to find the best laptops for AutoCAD. For running such applications, you will need a laptop with a powerful processor, enough storage space, and good Memory. Here in this guide, you can choose any laptop that suits you, and we have made sure all these laptops are extremely reliable and powerful for your needs. Mostly architects used to go with Desktop PC, but nowadays almost every architect has to go to their client and showcase their work. Of course, that’s not possible with desktop, and that’s the first reason we decided to create this guide to finding the best AutoCAD laptops of 2017.
What to look for in an AutoCAD Laptop? First of all, you need a processor that’s as fast as possible, and currently, that is Intel Skylake Core i7 processor. Next thing to look for is surely the RAM which should be at least 8 GB and to run the machine smoothly we recommend going with 16 GB of RAM since you will have to do a lot of multi-tasking. Another important thing to consider is the graphics; of course, you don’t need a gaming graphics card but a decent GPU that’ll be able to handle the rendering tasks.
The display size of your laptop is another important factor that needs to be considered. You can’t use a mini laptop with an 11-inch display for such tasks, and that is why we suggest going with something that’s around 15 to 17 inches.
Our Top Picks for Best AutoCAD Laptops of 2017 1. ASUS ROG GL502VS-DB71 The ASUS ROG GL502VS-DB71 is a great laptop for using AutoCAD, but it might not be affordable for everyone. It will cost you somewhere around $1600, and it features super high-end specifications such as 6th generation Intel Core i7 processor and 16 DDR4 RAM.
Most of the AutoCAD laptops usually offer top-notch hardware, but this one comes with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPU which is way better than any other notebook in this guide. It also includes dual storage drives such as 1 TB HDD and 256 GB SSD. Well, that’s more than enough space for any architect to store the files for at least a couple of years. On top of that, it features a 15-inch full HD IPS display and of course a backlit keyboard.
Its battery can keep it turned on for around 5 hours without the need for a plug. Even though it’s able to handle all of the latest games, it will be able to run programs like AutoCAD, Sketchup, TurboCAD Pro, ProgeCAD and DraftSight with ease. While it’s designed for playing games, it packs a lot of power that can be used to run such applications. 256 GB SSD 2.
ASUS ZENBOOK UX501VW-DS71T The ASUS ZenBook UX501VW is another one of the best laptops for AutoCAD in 2017. We have also listed it in our guide of best gaming laptops under $1500, and it can effortlessly handle all kinds of applications. This particular laptop from ASUS promises to deliver the performance like no other machine in such price range. Its insides include Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB DDR4 RAM and NVIDIA GTX960M graphics card.
Its 15-inch touchscreen 4k UHD display is the best treat for your eyes and comes with 3840 x 2160 resolution. It packs all the necessary as well as latest ports including Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.1 with Type-C and USB 3.0. One can even use it pretty roughly as it comes with one full year of International warranty as well as one year of accidental protection. Its latest model comes with the same design as well as similar specifications, and that’s why we recommend this customized product by CUK. However, its battery life might be an issue while using the processor on high speed or otherwise it can easily last up to 5 hours.
512 GB SSD 3. Dell XPS 15 Here comes another one of the high-budget laptop for AutoCAD. It’s as powerful as other machines on this list, but when it comes to design, it’s very slim and measures less than 0.7 inches.
It’s known for its UHD display with InfinityEdge Touchscreen along with the resolution of 3840 by 2160 pixels. The display is very helpful for AutoCAD users, and it also includes 6th generation Intel Skylake Core i7-6700HQ processor, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB DDR4 RAM and NVIDIA GTX 960M graphics card.
Dell’s XPS series has gained a lot of popularity within very less span of time, and most of their notebooks are fast, powerful and portable. I understand it might not be affordable for everyone, but when it comes to programs like AutoCAD, you simply can’t work on budget machines. It features a chiclet keyboard along with smooth touchpad, and we highly recommend it to those who want a powerful yet portable PC.
That being said, it can handle intense games as well and is a perfect choice for travelers and everyday users. 512 GB SSD 4. Lenovo Thinkpad P50 The Lenovo Thinkpad P50 is a different laptop that is rarely seen at anyone. It’s mostly recommended for professionals as well as businessmen that require a lot of power for their programs such as AutoCAD. It’s also used by some well-known professional gamers as it packs enough power and good GPU to handle all kinds of games. It comes with Intel Xeon E3-1505MV5 processor, 16 GB DDR4 RAM and 256 GB of SSD. It also includes NVIDIA Quadro M2000m GPU which is pretty expensive if you want to buy it separately.
On a conclusive note, it’s the best laptop in its budget range and is incredibly fast while running on Windows 10. Multi-tasking is never going to be an issue for anyone, and it’s undoubtedly the best mobile AutoCAD workstation laptop for architects.
You can expect it to run just about any high graphical game or intensive program without ever bothering about the formal requirements. It might be a little heavy to carry around, but it’s a great performer and like no other device. 256 GB SSD 5. ASUS N550 The ASUS N550 is an older version of ASUS ZenBook Pro, and it’s a very reliable laptop for programs like AutoCAD. Even though we have listed it in the last spot, it’s among the of 2017. It features Intel Core i7-410HQ processor, 16 GB DDR3 RAM, 256 GB SSD and NVIDIA GTX 850M GPU.
It boasts a unique and stylish design that can’t be compared with any other PC in this guide of best AutoCAD laptops. Its 15-inch full HD touchscreen display is an ideal option for architects as well as graphic designers. Other than AutoCAD users, we also recommend it to home users that require a notebook for their regular use.
It offers a great design, solid aluminum body and powerful specifications including the HD webcam and SSD. It comes with pre-installed Windows 8.1 and is surely a decent option for gamers. Hence, it’s clearly not the most powerful notebook for using AutoCAD, but surely it’s more than average. 256 GB SSD So if you’re an architect or a student, then I believe now you know what kind of laptop you need. Also, if you’re just starting out using AutoCAD, then you can practice for a couple of years with Desktop PC. You should always prefer going with a laptop that comes with pre-installed Windows 10 or at least Windows 8.1. We do not recommend old laptops that come with Windows 7 since there are plenty of performance issues while using the latest AutoCAD version on classic Windows.
So that’s it for us, it’s your turn now to tell us what laptop you think is best for AutoCAD.
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