Just picked ups Mac Studio with the M1 chip. I was expecting big things but Sketchup still runs laggy with larger models. While V-Ray is somewhat faster on this machine than on my iMac, I’m still underwhelmed. Are others experiencing this? Also, are there plans to make an optimized for Mac version of Sketchup anytime soon?
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“large” means different things to different people. How big are your SketchUp files, how many entities? How big are the textures, can you upload a file that you are finding “laggy” but posting to a sharing site and replying with a link so we can see how it runs on other machines? There are many specific things you can do to take pressure off your graphics card and speed up models.
SketchUp 22 is currently available and is already ported to run natively on M1. What other type of “optimization” were you thinking of?
You have a subscription, if you are still using 2021 you can get 2022 from here:
Thanks. I have the SU2022 version now.
Obviously, I started this post with incorrect info about M1 native SU.
I have 12 days left to return this computer and get something else if need be. This is what the basic Mac Studio came with:
M1 Max chip
10-Core CPU
24-Core GPU
16-Core Neural Engine
- 32GB unified memory
512GB SSD storage¹
Not really knowing or understanding how any of this hardware impacts SU and VRay, I’d love to get your opinion on which machine to buy. `
Would I see much difference if I went to the Mac Studio Ultra?
Two Mac M1 Max chips
20-Core CPU
48-Core GPU
32-Core Neural Engine
- 64GB unified memory
- 1TB SSD storage¹
Likely, it’s a case of operator error. I just wanted to believe technology would be able to make up for that.
Technology can help to a point, but we also have to help ourselves. Keep graphics crushing options like shadows, profiles, detailed textures, massive high poly entourage all turned off to keep things cooking. Check out Model info>statistics to see just how complex your model has become.
SketchUp is a single thread application, so more cores does nothing for you. Your Mac specs are already high end, it’s a very capable machine. I doubt you would see a significant difference in speed when using an ultra. I would keep that Mac and clean up your models.
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SketchUp performance has increased somewhat with every release as has the performance of computers with new generations, but the core issue remains. Today, perhaps, the limit where SketchUp gets perceivably laggy is somewhere around a million edges or faces. You can see your model’s weight in the Model Info>Statistics window when you check the “Show nested components” box. When I started using SketchUp version 3 the limit was perhaps 10% of what it is today.
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Neither SketchUp or V-Ray can make good use of the GPU part of the current Macs.
There will be little/no difference in performance in SketchUp Between the M1 Ultra and Max
There will be a significant improvement in performance in V-Ray however.
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In your, opinion, would 64GB of memory make a performance difference when rendering?
It won’t really affect the performance per se, as in things won’t go faster.
Having spare overhead is always useful and you cannot upgrade this in a Mac, so it is worth thinking about it if the cost difference is not a concern.
If I was spending my own money? I think I would find it hard to reccommend going from 32 to 64GB for SketchUp and V-Ray in all but very specific large scale or dense scenes.
And even then, better modelling and optimising practices will solve most things you would run into.
or for V-Ray you can just run another machine on the same network and distribute the rendering between your current machine and that.
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Hi, We are also using the new Mac Studio in our design studio. We are using SketchUp Pro 2021 with the new Enscape for Mac. SketchUp is also very laggy for us. Our OS is up to date and we expected way more from this machine while using the program, but find ourselves watching the wheel turn for way to long.
We read the thread and checked our faces/edges and we are at 300 000. We have purged as well. Any advice?
Please upload the model so it may be examined and commented on.
You’ll want to be using SU2022 , that is the version that is supported on the new Mac Studios.
Beyond that you are relying on Apple to get it to work at all - some performance is lost due to Apple’s translation system.
As has been said already, SketchUp Pro 2021 has not been optimized to work with the Mac M1 processor. Version 2022 has.
Use lots of groups and tags and keep most of them turned off unless you need to see them. Use proxies when possible. When I am getting ready to render something big I create 2 versions of each view, one with only basic tags open for speed and another with all the tags turned on. That way I can adjust lighting or make simple corrections to a specific tag without the lag of a gigantic model bogging down SU.