Choosing the Right Workstation for Architects
by Sonalika Dewan September 22, 2021 0 commentsThe field of architecture is growing at a rapid pace, due to the increasing demand for design, development, and supervision of all sorts of real-estate projects. Architects and designers, therefore, need the right machine to do justice to their work. If your existing system keeps showing buffering pop-ups or takes ages to export a project, then that’s a lot of wasted architect time, which can be expensive. If you can save this time, then the amount of money you’ll save will probably be enough to buy a good, high-performing workstation class system. Let’s understand how to really choose the right workstation for your needs.
Desktop or Mobile Workstation?
The answer to this is pretty straightforward. If your work is such that you need to carry it around with you, then a mobile workstation obviously makes more sense. However, do bear in mind that a desktop workstation allows a much better configuration, and therefore, can give you far more improved performance than a laptop machine. Therefore decide with care. Maybe you should consider a powerful desktop workstation for all the heavy-duty work and a regular laptop with a decent configuration to carry your projects to show to your clients.
Which Software do you plan to run?
This is an extremely important factor to consider. Is it basic email and pdf editing, or do you plan to run some serious software like Autodesk Revit? Whatever be the case, the best thing to do is to list down all the software you plan to run and look for their recommended specs. Please note that you should NOT look for minimum required specs, as they will just not suffice. For instance, Revit requires at least 8 GB RAM, but it will not suffice. That’s because any loaded Revit project requires 20 times more memory than the loaded project file size. So, if your project file size is 200 MB, then you need at least 4 GB RAM to run it properly. However, you’ll also need RAM to run your OS and other applications. All this will easily consume 8 GB RAM, which will lead to performance bottlenecks. You should therefore consider at least 16 GB RAM. The same goes for CPU. A quad-core is minimum, but six cores or more is recommended.
Which OS?
You can choose between Apple or Windows. The former does provide excellent performance, but the number of machine options at various budget points is far more in Windows. You can therefore get both the configuration as well as the required performance by going with a Windows-based workstation.
What’s your Budget?
Usually, new professionals and students can go for a low-budget workstation to start with. These days, there are a number of budget-friendly workstations for architects. For example, the HP Z1 Tower PC is an affordable workstation and all-around machine for students and new professionals. It offers more than a dozen processor configurations up to the latest Intel Core i9-9900K processor with turbo boost technology and integrated UHD Graphics 630.
Similarly, there are compact workstations if space is a constraint in your office. You’ll also find mid-range workstations that offer a big boost in performance, without an equivalent jump in price. Then, there’s the upper end of the spectrum, with machines that can have up to 48 CPU cores and a huge number of customization options.
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