Sam thank you so much for your detailed and thorough response. I still have a lot to learn about computers and it’s been difficult to figure out. You explain it very clearly though and that’s very helpful.
I opened your file in my PC as is, did a quick pan and zoom and did not notice your lag . Here is what I see:
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Hi Rod, difference in viewports can possibly be caused by using ‘clipping mask’ function in Layout and scaling it after clipping it. This will quickly degrade the quality. So make sure there aren’t any clipped viewports.
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Similar to what I saw. Seemed to be little to no issues in pan and zoom.
Update:
I got an Alienware m15 Ryzen R5 laptop
Windows 10 Home
AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX Processor (8 core, up to 4.60 GHz) with Raedon Graphics
32 GB up to 3200 MHz DDR4 SoDIMM Non-ECC
1 TB solid state drive
15.6" 360 Hz 1ms Non-Touch Display, NVIDIA G-SYNC
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB GDDR6
I don’t know what most of this means, but it’s the fastest computer I’ve ever used. There is no lagging with either sketchup or layout. Both programs seem to just work better on the PC.
Cons of PC: I can’t import a PDF into layout, the dimensions in layout seem off-center, I can’t just double click a PDF and open it (it tries to open in the browser and it doesn’t work), the screen isn’t as nice as the Mac screen, and it’s a little more tiring on the eyes to stare at for hours.
Pros of PC: everything is smoother and it’s a more pleasant computer to work in, importing a PDF into sketchup, I can snap to the lines of the pdf. so much better.
Result of this experiment:
I don’t know. Leaning towards returning the Alienware and sticking with Mac because it’s more comfortable for me to look at all day. But I keep looking back at the PC because it is nicer to work in. One big shrug from me. I am remembering hearing someone describe putting Windows OS into a Mac body…
I think it’s important to bear in mind that the M1 is a very new technology, and applications like those in the SketchUp suite are running via Rosetta. The software hasn’t been recompiled over to work with an ARM processor. I hear things are as smooth as ever in the browser-based version (I use Shop because I’m cheap AND I like having options), but obviously that’s not going to be much help to you.
I think returning the Air may be a wise move. I have no doubt the software will get there, but it’s going to take some time, and by then there will be a more capable machine available. Early adoption wasn’t the most prudent move in your case. It happens. In fact, based on this, I’m going to hold off upgrading to an M1 Mac mini for the foreseeable future. Once SketchUp gets the optimization overhaul, I’m all over it.
Yeah that was my concern, that early adoption might be too early. But since it was completely returnable it was worth a shot to try it. And buying the PC off the Dell Outlet website means that is completely returnable as well. I’m glad this could be useful information for you!
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Thanks, no problem.
It really would be nice to see some SketchUp and LayOut benchtesting that settled the hardware debate around speed and cost/benefit worthiness.
One thing is for certain; the very expensive hardware isnt a good investment for either SketchUp or LayOut - unless you want to do rendering. Mainstream “gaming” hardware is ideal.
One thing that a lot of people forget is cooling, especially on laptops. Doesn’t matter what CPU might be slightly better If one of them is going to be running at 100 degrees under load!
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Your alienware laptop has a gaming display which is optimised for speed/motion, but you should be able fine tune the image tone, brightness etc to make it more comfortable. There are loads of windows settings for this.
Other laptops screens are optimised for visual quality/consistency. More for pro use eg graphic design and photography.
Let us know some details of how they work with your layout file…how many copies before it slows down etc.
Does Layout use discreet graphics? I did not think that was possible. Please explain if you know anything… Thanks!
New laptop: significantly less expensive and seems to run just as well as the alienware (I’m sure there are differences, but I’m not noticing them while using sketchup/layout). I’m going to return the alienware and keep this one since I got a 27" monitor and 4 year protection plan for still less money.
Dell Outlet G5 15 - 5500 Laptop
Windows 10 Home
Intel Core 10th Generation i7-10750H Processor (6 Core, Up to 5.00GHz, 12MB Cache, 45W)
512GB PCIe M.2 NVMe Class 35 Solid State Drive
15.6 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Wide View Angle Anti-Glare 144Hz 300-nits LED-Backlit Non-Touch Display
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB GDDR6
16GB (2X8GB) Up to 3200MHz DDR4 SoDIMM ECC
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That seems very smooth. Good luck