Can anyone help me please with some memory upgrade advice, I think I need to increase my RAM on my HP Z230 Desktop running CAD for my architecture business, the RAM has been running at 68% and AutoCAD becomes jittery (multiple Xref drgs) and can pause during tasks which is getting infuriating. Ive got 4GB RAM and thinking of maxing it out at 32GB (4 x 8gb). Ive done a Crucial memory search and it states I need UDIMM (irony), my query is can I not just install DIMM modules?. UDIMM is out of stock and could do with getting it sorted.
Advice from the STW PC specialists would be greatly appreciated!
If you run the serial number of your Desktop on HPs website it should spit out the model numbers and spec of the RAM you have, I'm sure the HP store will sell you some but they tend to be expensive, but once you have the model number you can usually find them via Amazon or even the Non-HP equivalent model.
From what I Understand, yes you can - but you can't mix and match, but i'd imagine you'd retire the 4gb module anyway, and fit a 2x8gb set or simmilar.
Whether it's worth going up to 32gb is unclear, depends on the cad software and the rest of the PC spec - what processor does it have? might be worth upgrading that and fitting 16gb rather than just throwing loads of RAM at it.
Or adding an SSD drive if you don't already have one, the are cheap these days.
PC specs are a balance between CPU, RAM, Drive and if applicaple, graphics card). Overall performance is only as good as the weakest link.
Massivley upgrading one aspect may just shift the performance botleneck elsewhere.
Most DIMMs are actually UDIMMs, it's the same thing. There's no such thing as "just" a DIMM in this context, they either are or aren't buffered. The alternative would be an RDIMM, which is also a DIMM. (There's a couple of other types too but you're highly unlikely to encounter them.)
I'd be sticking an SSD in that.
Great advice, thank you. Ah, may need to give you the full picture. The PC spec is as follows:
Windows 10 Pro
HP Z230 tower workstation
Intel Core i.7-4790 CPU @ 3.6ghz, 4 cores, 8 logical processors
Installed physical memory 8gb (2x4gb) (whoops - thought it was 4gb total!)
Total physical memory 7.76gb
Available physical memory 1.72gb
Total virtual memory 15.8gb
Available virtual memory 4.65gb
Page file space 8gb
NVIDIA Quadro K2000 graphics card (latest driver installed).
Samsung SSD 850 Pro 250Gb (OS and all programs run off this) - 237gb used - 34gb free
WDC 1TB hard drive - (for data/CAD drg storage) - 734gb free
What would you do to improve performance? cheers!
not shure if it would help but I have one of these kicking around
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/quadro-fx-5600.c1339
its older than your card but was a giant in its day for workstations
it might be heat related as well, a good dusting and refreshing thermal paste might have some positive effect.
Im not an expert with CAD by anymeans, but if you're playing with files stored on the:
WDC 1TB hard drive – (for data/CAD drg storage) – 734gb free
That may be causing a/the bottleneck if you are reading and writing files to the slower spin drive.
As its mostly empty at 734 gb free, you could replace that with a 500gb SSD for about £60.
It wouldn't hurt to up the ram to 16gb at the same time too, second hand DDR3 16gb you might be looking around £40.
So a £100 upgrade in total.
That's making the assumption that your performance issues are hardware related as opposed to windows running shonkily due to malware/misconfguration/too many background apps running etc.
Have you got your page file size manually set there?
Cougar - Its as setup by Graitec who supplied me the machine a few years back.
Matt - hadnt thought of that, good idea.
Right. Set it to system managed on the C:\ drive and disable it on the D:\ drive. I absolutely guarantee that Microsoft knows more about Windows memory management than you, I or Graitec do.
Cougar - 'Automatically manage paging file size for all drivers' already ticked. C: System managed E: None. Sound right? basically I havent changed anything. Really appreciate you passing on advice. Had to look up how to change the page file size which gives you some idea of my PC knowledge.
^I hadnt thought of the page file - try what cougar said first, as it's free, and good advice to let windows manage the page file on the C drive, which in your case is the faster SSD too.
Ahh ok, sounds like that is already as it should be then.
Groovy. Yeah, that's how I'd do it. I flagged it up as it was the same size as the RAM so might've been manually nailed up, but sometimes coincidences are just that I suppose.
Based on current evidence I'd be filing your PC knowledge as "above average" so don't worry. You can use Google for a start so you're ahead of the curve.
So is the general consensus to swap the Hard drive for an SSD and up the RAM?
To the best of my knowledge*, yes - you could still keep the WDC drive for media/music/finished projects, and use the new SSD purely as a 'CAD data' drive.
*Im assuming the workstation GPU you already have is up to the task, but I don't want to start talking about stuff (CAD) that I don't really have much experience in.
Here's an idea.
Shift your current work onto the SSD. Ie, whatever specific files you're working with that day. Move them back when you've done. Does that make any difference to anything?
*Im assuming the workstation GPU you already have is up to the task, but I don’t want to start talking about stuff (CAD) that I don’t really have much experience in.
I know enough to know that's a CAD card and that's about the extent of my knowledge. Google would suggest that it was high-end seven years ago so that might be an issue? At that point I'd want to be running perfmon or some form of testing / benchmarking rather than playing parts darts.
Ooh! Does your CAD package use its own scratch file(s)? They're not on the spinnydisk are they?
Yep same here, I know enough to know that you want to be using fast storage for files you are activley working with for graphics or audio prduction, I guess thats what a scatch file is?
Yeah all drg files inc temp files (scratch?) Are on spinny d. Going to test the SSD drg location idea tomorrow. Were shielding our disabled son so no time left for worky stuff today. Many thanks for the advice!
Sounds like a plan to me.
If you have enough space on your C drive (SSD) to test, then that will answer a lot of questions, I think.
If it's DDR3 dimms, full size not so-dimms - which looks to be the case - I have a pair of 4gb DDR3 dimms sat here doing nothing.
So if you want another 8Gb for nowt pm me an address and I'll send you them next time I'm near a post office. Someone on here once sent me a CPU for free, so happy to pass on the good karma! Can't promise speedy delivery mind.
AutoCAD should be using your VRAM on the GPU if its calling data from RAM it is going to perform poorly however much you install.
Check you are using the ACAD drivers not the gaming ones.
Your GPU's specs are not great TBH even compared to the much older fx-5600
more RAM never hurts W10 will use it, but doubt it will do a lot.
SSD will reduce loading times but not really improve other aspects of performance
Yep same here, I know enough to know that you want to be using fast storage for files you are activley working with for graphics or audio prduction, I guess thats what a scatch file is?
It's a temporary workspace, think like a swapfile only app-specific. IMHO you absolutely want it on the fastest storage you have. There's a long-standing argument against using SSD for scratch space as it will create excessive wear, but technology has come a long way and prices have tumbled, I'd counter that that's now out-of-date advice.
It'll be a setting somewhere rather than just moving files around I'd have thought. I don't know the first thing about CAD, that was a blind (but hopefully educated!) guess.
If it's a workstation it's likely to have ECC UDIMM's, so double check what it will take.
We have an Lenovo workstation that's running ECC, but won't run some server ram... tricky !
HP Z230 Mobo chipset supports ECC https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c03919165#AbT2
But the Intel 4790 CPU does not support ECC memory https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/80806/intel-core-i7-4790-processor-8m-cache-up-to-4-00-ghz.html
Gotcha to watch out for, is to check the height of the 1600-MHz DDR3 DIMMS, if the CPU heatsink/fan overhangs the DIMM slots, then some DIMMS with heatsinks can be too tall to fit in some of the slots.
The DIMMs I have spare are regular height, tho with heat spreaders. Happy to send them for you to try, if they don’t fit just hold onto them or pass them on. They’re 1600Mhz ddr3.
Servers will usually use Registered DIMMs , regular PC will use Unregistered DIMMs
you cannot mix the two types together as they will have timing errors.
ECC is something else
The DIMMs I have spare are regular height, tho with heat spreaders. Happy to send them for you to try, if they don’t fit just hold onto them or pass them on. They’re 1600Mhz ddr3.
If the OP doesn't want those, I'll gladly take them off your hands.
Late into the office today to check in...thanks for all the posts and advice, what a great forum this is!
Cougar - Appreciate you taking the time esp considering CAD isn't your speciality - cheers! Just had a look at the Autocad options, all the search paths/file locations that run the program are off the c: (SSD), this includes the temp drawing file location and temp external reference file location.
One thing I forgot to mention is that all my drawing files are saved in the google drive folder on the e: spinny drive. The idea being it creates a backup in the cloud. Im not sure this will effect things but maybe I need to reconsider my backup strategy to an external SSD which I have sitting around.
IA - yes please to the RAM, really appreciated, I will PM you my address and if I can pass on the favour to someone else on the forum if possible.