Yes. This is a point that many non-programmers don’t understand. Tweaking an existing algorithm (or hardware) generally brings only incremental improvements. Big changes come from finding a completely different way. In this case, the big change was the Apple Silicon M1 architecture, which executes around twice as fast as Intel. Changing from the Rosetta 2 translator to a native implementation will bring a much smaller improvement because Rosetta 2 is already pretty efficient.
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I modelled as little as possible. Cabinets are for the most part only boxes with no interior. This was not a project where any fancy renderings were needed, just the information that the cabinetmaker needed.
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I have a feeling your materials might be very large images (wood, tile, rugs, marbles, etc). There are many ways optimize their resolution and file size so that they don’t bloat your model.
How complex (in terms of edge and face count) are the stove grates, burners, and racks, the sink faucet, the spoons in the bowls, the cabinet knobs, etc.? If they are complex, is it necessary? Probably not unless you zoom in and want a beautiful picture.
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The devil is in the details. Check everything you don’t model yourself. I don’t know exactly which downloaded components you have used but the range, for instance, might be the one someone else also had inadvertently used, where even the numbers on the knobs were modelled in 3D text. And some people model their doorknobs with hundreds of arc segments… and so on. Today the Warehouse shows you the critical data (file size, number of faces and edges) to check before you click Download.
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Do you switch to a simpler render mode when you are modelling? Turning off shadows and using “Shaded” rather than “Shaded with textures” can make a big difference.
I haven’t but I will give it a try thanks
Another thing to speed up modelling is to turn off Profile edges in the Style.
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Even better, use monochrome.
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While designing then switch back to standard??
Yes. Set up a scene for Modelling, and save the style. Then use other scenes for different views - plan, elevation, perspective, detail, etc.
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What is it you mainly use SketchUp for?
I use SU mainly for amateur theatre set design, woodworking, and 3D printing design.
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I’ve never had any Sketchup model end up that big, maybe 50 MB for a complete model for a set of construction documents…
Colleagues who have been using a MacBook Pro Intel machine, and also have tried SketchUp on an M1 MacBook Pro, find that SketchUp works better on the M1 machine, even with it being converted by Rosetta 2. I would argue to leave all features turned on, and only turn off ones that make things noticeably smoother. Turning off Profiles, that John mentioned, will make things many times more smooth.
Hi All
I’m in the market to upgrade my Macbook Pro. Are the new Macbooks with the M1 chips that come standard with 8G RAM sufficient ? Or do you have to have the 16G RAM option ?
Thanks
Warren
I have the M1 MacBook Air with 8gb, it depends on how big your sketchup files get? 90% of the time mine are ok but if I have two loaded up at the same time to copy and paste I sometimes get the dreaded wheel of death.
Once sketchup is optimised for apple silicone it will be fine.
The battery on the MacBook Air lasts all day on sketchup 8-5 no bother.
I intentionally bought an 8 GB M1 iMac so that I could test better what it will be like for people using SketchUp without getting the bigger memory machine. For SketchUp, things are working well enough, but if I have a lot of programs open, the whole system get slow down at times.
HI
Thanks for the reply. My files are usually around 250MB. I do have multiple programs open so think it best to get the 16G RAM if its available.
Cheers