As you may know, virtually all professional software applications are hindered in

some way by performance bottlenecks. From poor user software practices, to

inadequate hardware and legacy software code, these bottlenecks manifest

themselves in a variety forms.

As a leading innovator of professional, high-performance desktop and mobile workstation laptops, BOXX addresses

software-specific bottlenecks related to computer hardware. In this article, we'll outline specific hardware components in your

Revit workflow and explain which key features drive peak productivity.

One of the primary Revit performance bottlenecks is CPU frequency. Revit is referred to as "frequency-bound," meaning that the

application's performance is bound by the clock speed of the processor and not by the number of CPU cores. The reason for

this is that Revit, like nearly all CAD applications, is lightly-threaded and in most instances, will only make use of a single CPU

core.

High Frequency CPUs

How to Configure Your Revit Workstation for Optimum Performance

Since the majority of Revit tasks are done by one core, a processor with the highest clock speed will benefit it most. In fact, this is where we see a substantial difference between Intel® Xeon® and Intel® Core™ i7 processors. The Core i7 has fewer cores, but a higher frequency, and the clock speed of the CPU is often more important than the amount of cores.

An Intel Xeon is great for multi-threaded tasks like rendering and simulation, but in general, the more cores in a CPU, the lower

the clock speed. Regarding CAD systems, there's often a misconception that in order to qualify as a workstation, it must have

dual CPUs. It’s simply not true. Instead, you should be thinking about the best tool for the job. For CAD design, you need the

highest frequency CPU.

BOXX APEXX workstations are professionally overclocked up to 5.1GHz

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You need enough RAM so you don't have to swap or borrow from the hard drive, i.e., the virtual memory. If you're in the process

of configuring RAM on a new workstation, take a good look at what you're currently using. Open a Revit model representative of

your larger project files and monitor the memory usage for that file. If it's approaching the maximum, then you should opt for

more RAM with your new system. By doing so, you’ll ensure accommodation for future design complexities (with greater

memory requirements) over the life cycle of the machine.

When Revit opens a model, that model is completely loaded into the computer's memory. That's why Revit is so memory-hun-

gry. The amount of memory needed to run Revit smoothly is about 17 times the size of your project file. When the user executes

a command, there is a lot of interaction between the memory and the processor.

Tasks like modifying level heights, structural analysis, energy simulations, and calculations of MEP systems will benefit from

fast system memory. Also, be mindful of other memory-hungry applications you may rely on like Autodesk 3ds Max, or stand-

alone rendering engines like Lumion.

How Much Memory?

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Much like the CPU, many users are under the false impression that they need the most advanced GPU, like an NVIDIA® Quadro

RTXTM 5000 or RTX 6000, in order to accelerate the Revit viewport. The fact is, high-end GPUs like these are typically overkill for

most 3D CAD workflows. This may sound counterintuitive, because if you're experiencing poor interactivity within Revit's

viewport, it only seems natural to blame choppy visual feedback on an underpowered GPU. While Autodesk constantly improves

Revit to make more use of the GPU, currently, the majority of viewport changes are still handled by the CPU.

Most BOXX Revit users opt for the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 or NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000, as we recommend saving money on an

expensive GPU and allocating those funds for the fastest CPU your budget allows.

Getting Graphic

NVIDIA Quadro P2200recommended for most CAD workflows

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Because of the need to transfer large project files over the network, you'll want the fastest network you can afford. Gigabit

Ethernet is very common these days and depending upon the size of your project files, can be adequate for file-based

work-sharing on a local LAN. As project size and complexity increases, you’ll likely notice delays when synchronizing updates to

and from a central project.

Upgrading your network to 10GbE can greatly reduce sync times for large files, but you'll need to weigh the benefits vs. cost of

deploying 10GbE network infrastructure which includes cables and switches.

Another consideration is that most workstation motherboards currently do not have onboard 10Gb Ethernet ports. Although a

common solution is to use a PCle 10Gb network card, you should carefully factor this option into your overall system configura-

tion as the network card would occupy a PCle slot, possibly limiting more advanced multi-GPU configurations. If your workflow

incorporates other GPU-accelerated applications in addition to Revit, this is an important consideration.

High Speed Network

At BOXX, we understand the performance bottlenecks in your workflow. That's why we engineer

hardware solutions specifically designed to alleviate them, thereby increasing your productivity.

If you have questions regarding a Revit (or other AEC application) workstation, please contact one

of our AEC performance specialists at 512-835-0400 so they can custom configure a system

purpose-built for your specific workflow and budget.

Hardware Performance Consultation

Another significant productivity killer can be the speed of your network coupled with the speed of your local storage. Revit

models are becoming more and more complex, resulting in extremely large project files of 10, 20, 30 gigabytes, or more. In

addition, many Revit users collaborate with each other on a central project file over a LAN.

Fast local storage will benefit local changes that need to be synchronized to the central model, but you'll also benefit from fast

local storage when working on projects with linked files. Linked files benefit from fast local storage because when you open a

project with linked files, they are temporarily stored in your Windows Temp folder. But these linked files also need to travel the

network and in this instance, the network becomes the bottleneck. The Intel PCle 10GBe network adapter is available on most

BOXX workstations.

Local Storage