Using latest SketchUp Pro & Layout
I’m working on an iMac:
| Model Name:|iMac|
| Model Identifier:|iMac15,1|
| Processor Name:|Quad-Core Intel Core i7|
| Processor Speed:|4 GHz|
| Number of Processors:|1|
| Total Number of Cores:|4|
| L2 Cache (per Core):|256 KB|
| L3 Cache:|8 MB|
| Hyper-Threading Technology:|Enabled|
| Memory:|32 GB|
Every day…while working in SketchUp &/or Layout I’ve been experiencing BIG delays (while zooming in/out) AND Big Jumps while finessing a zoom with my scroll wheel (Logitech M525). I can get stuck inside a model element and need to scroll out, just a bit, and BOOM, I’m now 500 feet away from where I was, OR worse, gotten lost inside my model, so I try to scroll out, and not seeing any results, scroll again, and again, and then…it can take 30 seconds or even 15 minutes for the processing and I am locked-up, waiting for the the command to finish. Otherwise I have to Force Quit and start over from the last save. IS this a SketchUp/Layout issue or do I need to upgrade my hardware to Mac Studio? If I need to upgrade, will the Mac Studio “eliminate” this issue. I am very frustrated with the Lagging issue and it is wreaking havoc on my productivity and faith in mastering the program with each update.
I read something here about a separate or dedicated GPU. Here are some spec’s from Apple on the Mac Studio.
There are multiple GPU configurations for the M1 Max ($2000) and M1 Ultra ($4000). The base Mac Studio with M1 Max features a 24-core GPU, but can be upgraded to a 32-core GPU.
The base M1 Ultra chip features a 48-core GPU, but it can be upgraded to a 64-core GPU.
Apple’s M1 Max chip offers 3.4x faster GPU performance than the 27-inch Core i9 iMac, and the M1 Ultra offers up to 4.5x faster GPU performance.
According to Apple, the M1 Ultra GPU is 80 percent faster than the highest-end Radeon Pro W6900X graphics card used in the Mac Pro.
Hope that all of the above isn’t too much to digest…thought that I’d give it a shot.
Share example SketchUp and LayOut files so we can see what you are working with. Most often performance problems wind up being related to modeling workflow.
Well, looking at the emdedded SketchUp files, the Retail Display file shows a fair amount of improper tag usage and a lot of unused stuff to purge.
Purging this file reduced the size by about 86%.
The other .skp file has the same issue with incorrect tag usage although not quite so much unused stuff.
You could Do things like softening edges on the seated figures which would help to reduce rendering work for your GPU.
There are some other components that have a lot of exposed edges that don’t read very well in the document. You might consider cleaning those up. The chairs here are an example.
In general I’m not having any difficulty working in your LO file or even in the SketchUp models on my old PC. It’s even smoother after reducing the .skp files, though.
One thing you might consider is leaving your viewports to render as Raster instead of Hybrid. That can help reduce the load on the GPU as well.
Thank you DaveR. I’ll ask my colleague to see if we can make the suggested revisions that you have mentioned. I did make some of the them myself, but am still having lag issues (not smooth zoom’s, Apple Beachball popping up during processing/zoom scrolling.) Is Apples M1 Max GPU considered a “dedicated” GPU or is the Architecture totally different AND an improvement for better/best graphic response?
I don’t know how about the M1 Max GPU but I suspect that would be part of the bottleneck. GPUs typically are and some work better than others. No matter what GPU at whatever price point, keeping your model files lightweight will help. When you render in Hybrid or Vector, LO has to pick through all of the edges in the view and render them. Although the stools with their woven backs look nice enough, that’s a lot of edges to be rendered. The same goes for things like the logo on the refrigerators. Does it even made sense to have those logos when one of them is shown reversed?
The chairs at the other end of the space are like the stools. A texture would be more appropriate and easier to deal with. And those lounge chairs. Are they supposed to be transparent?
The wheelchairs could be lightened up more than they are. You could also improve performance by turning off Profiles in the styles. In general it may be partly a hardware thing but I think you could do some things to streamline your models.
Thank you. All of what you mention as “fixes” I am sure will/would be helpful…and not obvious to me as I create my model. Some things I just grab from the Warehouse and don’t know that I should or can modify it without causing some other problem. I find it difficult to be a sole practitioner and create documents that meet the Planning & Building Code requirements, convey the design intent, and, oh yes, are understood by the client (look nice). As mentioned previously, I am frustrated by the issues of lagging (spinning beachball) and having to wait, wait, wait for the software to resolve and let me move forward.
It’s getting increasingly difficult to keep up with the nuances of the software and the limits of the hardware which all change every few months. Thank you again for your observations. I’ll look into each of the potential issues you pointed out.
I think that’s a learning experience sort of thing. Always best to download entourage from outside sources (Warehouse or else) into a separate SketchUp file and go through it with a fine toothed comb. You sometimes need to be brutal when cleaning things up. Or be willing to take a pass and find something else. Also consider what details are required and which you can get away without showing. I did a very quick and simple stripping of the wheelchairs. More could be done. I think most people would still know what they are even with a large part of the frame geometry deleted.
I don’t want to make it seem like I’m flogging you or anything. It’s a common thing to put in more detail than is needed partly because you can. I can be as guilty of that as anyone. Example from a model I’ve been playing with. Lots of detail with things like screw threads and parts that don’t show.
But this is for my own amusement. If this was something I was doing on the clock or for a client, it would be stripped down considerably.
Stay on top of purging unused stuff, too. The components you bring into your project and then discard remain in the file until you purge them. Deleting a chair component from the room is like taking it and stuffing it up in your attic. At some point the attic gets overloaded and down comes the ceiling.
Didn’t know I had an “attic” storing stuff that I ‘thought’ would be deleted when erased…but apparently is saved in the “attic”…now I’ll have to find the access panel the the attic (file) to see what else is there that I thought discarded! Thanks again.
If you go into the In Model components and click on the Detals menu you will see an option for Purge Unused. It’s grayed out here because I already emptied it.
Also be aware that materials that come in with components are also kept. Best is to go to Window>Model Info>Statistics and click on Purge Unused there. That will get rid of the unused components and then the unused materials.
