OK, this may be all too familiar territory (LB's recent thread on laptops/software comes to mind), but please bear with me...
I've got over ten years experience; the last six or so have been at a PA/PM level, so the majority of my computer time has been in the form of some minor (as needed) Autocad drafting, Adobe, and Excel type work - mostly custom residential stuff. About six/seven years ago, I was the FormZ guy in the office, cranking out some decent renderings, but since then I've done zero 3D modeling/rendering.
Anyhoo, I have to opportunity to start a small (
On the hardware side, I'm leaning towards a laptop. I'm happy working on either a PC or Mac, though my wife gets a great (30%ish) discount on Lenovos.
For software, I'm already planning to have MS Office and Adobe CS on board, but wanted to get some input from the folks with Sketchup experience. I've done a little research on Sketchup Pro and the price seems right, but would like to know more about it's 3D/rendering capability and more importantly, how effective it is at generating working drawings.
Trying to do this lean, and on the cheap - looking for good products, but don't want to go overboard with features, RAM, Graphics cards, bell/whistles, etc... just enough to get the job done well.
from what i can tell, i wouldnt expect working drawings of any decent quality from Sketchup
its basically just a modelling program, and you would waste more time making the drawings presentable than is worth it
its a good program to model in quickly though
i'd look for a cheap alternative to do your working drawings
yea go with it. Can't be the price/value and with the plugins dx mentioned no one would know it wasn't done with FormZ. You will as marmkid mentioned need another program for drawing production, S'kup is only good for a 3d modeller
layout is for doing presentation board type work, where model views are automatically updated...not appropriate for working drawings at all...i do design/build projects and find that the free version of sketchup is all i need...i do have a rendering plug-in which allows me to do high-res renderings with the free version, which otherwise limits the size of the output
would have to recommend autocad if you are going to do working drawings, surely you must have access to macros, scripts, other time-saving features you can add on...if cost is an issue, you can buy the subscription version for much cheaper (in blocks of months, or by year)...
if you are willing to spend some major time learning new software, then revit would be worth a try...it's a BIM which links changes to the model to live revisions in the working drawing set...so you work on one file only for both model and drawings...if you don't know what BIM means, then it'll probably be too much of a tme investment...again, affordable if you subscribe to this software (~$700/year)
regarding hardware, honestly, if one think's about it any non-celeron laptop made in the last 2-3 years will be dirt cheap, if not free, and run both autocad and sketchup fine...if you're buying new, almost any computer with Core 2 Duo will do unless you do complex graphic modelling and other 3D work...sketchup is not power hungry at all i find...
go for lenovo if it's a good deal, otherwise, i've been looking into customized HP's that you can order online at their site, much better deals for the latest machines than you'll get at stores...about $700-800 will get you a solid machine (T5XXXchip probably, integrated graphics), $1200-1300 is what i figure the maximum should be with everything loaded on (T9300 chip, discrete graphics)
toshibadirect.com also has good packages but without the same level of customization to get what you want...(had three toshibas in a row, now switching to HP because of better customization and less glossy finish)
lenovos aren't widely used amongst people i know in the industry, but there's no reason why it can't be...dell also shows up a lot...
yea I should of added about those lenovo's - they are as a consistent machine as you can get. I would find one with a dual core processor or an AMD chipset. But they are good, especially so if your wife can get you the 30% discount.
You can do anything with sketchup. I do a lot high quality renderings with it to which people are shocked when they hear is sketchup.
Of course there are things to help it such as v-ray, podium, and such. I also just tried the maxwell render plug in. It's very good but takes a little more time.
I should mention before anything else that I know relatively little about what different software offers now and even less about price. That having been said, I was under the same impression as marmkid that SketchUp doesn't offer much in the way of working drawings. I wasn't clear on whethere you'd be able to copy AutoCAD to your new machine, but if so using SketchUp with it might be a good option. If not, I'd recommend something more along the BIM line (from what I understand of it)... a program that offers the ability to do working drawings and good quality renderings in the same program: ArchiCAD, Rhino or VectorWorks (my personal favorite) based on whatever is most affordable and easiest for you to pick up. Are there any opportunities on any software websites to try a free trial? I think that would be my biggest suggestion before investing so much in something.
Jul 3, 08 1:49 pm ·
·
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.
small projects with Sketchup...
OK, this may be all too familiar territory (LB's recent thread on laptops/software comes to mind), but please bear with me...
I've got over ten years experience; the last six or so have been at a PA/PM level, so the majority of my computer time has been in the form of some minor (as needed) Autocad drafting, Adobe, and Excel type work - mostly custom residential stuff. About six/seven years ago, I was the FormZ guy in the office, cranking out some decent renderings, but since then I've done zero 3D modeling/rendering.
Anyhoo, I have to opportunity to start a small (
On the hardware side, I'm leaning towards a laptop. I'm happy working on either a PC or Mac, though my wife gets a great (30%ish) discount on Lenovos.
For software, I'm already planning to have MS Office and Adobe CS on board, but wanted to get some input from the folks with Sketchup experience. I've done a little research on Sketchup Pro and the price seems right, but would like to know more about it's 3D/rendering capability and more importantly, how effective it is at generating working drawings.
Trying to do this lean, and on the cheap - looking for good products, but don't want to go overboard with features, RAM, Graphics cards, bell/whistles, etc... just enough to get the job done well.
TIA...
from what i can tell, i wouldnt expect working drawings of any decent quality from Sketchup
its basically just a modelling program, and you would waste more time making the drawings presentable than is worth it
its a good program to model in quickly though
i'd look for a cheap alternative to do your working drawings
Sketchuop is great for the price
Rendering plugins
maxwell Render
Vray
NXT (irender) http://nxt.accurender.com/ (free)
Indigo Renderer http://www.indigorenderer.com/joomla/ (free)
yea go with it. Can't be the price/value and with the plugins dx mentioned no one would know it wasn't done with FormZ. You will as marmkid mentioned need another program for drawing production, S'kup is only good for a 3d modeller
What about Layout w/ Sketchup? I thought that was their "working drawing generator"...
layout is for doing presentation board type work, where model views are automatically updated...not appropriate for working drawings at all...i do design/build projects and find that the free version of sketchup is all i need...i do have a rendering plug-in which allows me to do high-res renderings with the free version, which otherwise limits the size of the output
would have to recommend autocad if you are going to do working drawings, surely you must have access to macros, scripts, other time-saving features you can add on...if cost is an issue, you can buy the subscription version for much cheaper (in blocks of months, or by year)...
if you are willing to spend some major time learning new software, then revit would be worth a try...it's a BIM which links changes to the model to live revisions in the working drawing set...so you work on one file only for both model and drawings...if you don't know what BIM means, then it'll probably be too much of a tme investment...again, affordable if you subscribe to this software (~$700/year)
regarding hardware, honestly, if one think's about it any non-celeron laptop made in the last 2-3 years will be dirt cheap, if not free, and run both autocad and sketchup fine...if you're buying new, almost any computer with Core 2 Duo will do unless you do complex graphic modelling and other 3D work...sketchup is not power hungry at all i find...
go for lenovo if it's a good deal, otherwise, i've been looking into customized HP's that you can order online at their site, much better deals for the latest machines than you'll get at stores...about $700-800 will get you a solid machine (T5XXXchip probably, integrated graphics), $1200-1300 is what i figure the maximum should be with everything loaded on (T9300 chip, discrete graphics)
toshibadirect.com also has good packages but without the same level of customization to get what you want...(had three toshibas in a row, now switching to HP because of better customization and less glossy finish)
lenovos aren't widely used amongst people i know in the industry, but there's no reason why it can't be...dell also shows up a lot...
just stay with cad since you know it...
mess with sketchup for the b.s. stuff......
and then your sharpie
yea I should of added about those lenovo's - they are as a consistent machine as you can get. I would find one with a dual core processor or an AMD chipset. But they are good, especially so if your wife can get you the 30% discount.
You can do anything with sketchup. I do a lot high quality renderings with it to which people are shocked when they hear is sketchup.
Of course there are things to help it such as v-ray, podium, and such. I also just tried the maxwell render plug in. It's very good but takes a little more time.
I should mention before anything else that I know relatively little about what different software offers now and even less about price. That having been said, I was under the same impression as marmkid that SketchUp doesn't offer much in the way of working drawings. I wasn't clear on whethere you'd be able to copy AutoCAD to your new machine, but if so using SketchUp with it might be a good option. If not, I'd recommend something more along the BIM line (from what I understand of it)... a program that offers the ability to do working drawings and good quality renderings in the same program: ArchiCAD, Rhino or VectorWorks (my personal favorite) based on whatever is most affordable and easiest for you to pick up. Are there any opportunities on any software websites to try a free trial? I think that would be my biggest suggestion before investing so much in something.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.