Computer Processing Power for OpenRoads

I've started with a new company and I've started modeling more in OpenRoads with SS4 and Geopak. OpenRoads is new to me, but I do have experience with InRoads modeling. I've been watching another engineer working on his station recently and noticed how slow it is to process and how he has to separate the model to allow the computer to keep up. I have some other colleges at other firms that do modeling that have killed multiple computers modeling and have convinced their firm to get them a high end gaming computer.

I'm curious what everyone else is using and get an opinion on what is economical and efficient for working in modeling with OpenRoads.

The computer they just got me is an Intel Xeon 3.3GHz with 16 GB of RAM on Windows 10. This is similar to the other engineer using a Xeon 3.6 GHz with 16 GB of RAM on Windows 7 mentioned that separates everything.

Thank you in advance.

Parents
  • I use Civil 3D and Power Civil SS1. Power Civil is lightning fast compared to Civil 3D. In fact Civil 3D is so slow I often think about giving up on it and moving to Microstation/Openroads. I haven't tried Openroads however. It sounds like my hopes for better performance from Microstation/Openroads is unrealistic.  

    Neil Wilson (aka Neilw)

    Power Civil v8i 08.11.07.245

    AutoCAD Civil 3D 2018

Reply
  • I use Civil 3D and Power Civil SS1. Power Civil is lightning fast compared to Civil 3D. In fact Civil 3D is so slow I often think about giving up on it and moving to Microstation/Openroads. I haven't tried Openroads however. It sounds like my hopes for better performance from Microstation/Openroads is unrealistic.  

    Neil Wilson (aka Neilw)

    Power Civil v8i 08.11.07.245

    AutoCAD Civil 3D 2018

Children
  • Like Civil 3D, ORD is "model-centric"; that is, the relationship of elements manipulated is in real time among all models. Such requires a heck of a lot of processing power. Are the things which ORD does (mostly) really slick? Yes, yes they are, but the computing power necessary to run complicated designs has to be at a "gaming computer" level; hence OP's inquiry (and my curiosity as well).

    Our legacy product here is InRoads SS2. It will continue to be our platform of choice until some of the bugs in ORD can be worked out. The promise of ORD is a real one, and I do suggest that folks start to be aware of its many good points as well as many of its "issues" either by watching videos or by working with the software directly. I really feel that in a couple of years it will take over the entire industry.

    Mark

    Mark Anthony Plum
    Chief Technology Officer
    1601 N.W. Expressway, Suite 400
    Oklahoma City, OK  73118
     
  • I'm glad to hear your feedback. I need to know about these issues so I don't invest a lot of time and money hoping the product is robust and stable, and then find out it is not. It's been several years already since it was released so I had hoped it would be far enough along to be stable by now. Looks like we should wait a bit longer.

    Neil Wilson (aka Neilw)

    Power Civil v8i 08.11.07.245

    AutoCAD Civil 3D 2018

  • It's stability is at times a subjective thing, LOL; however, I do suggest that folks spend some time in getting to know the program. I am on the development end of ORD for my employer (who has presented me with the levity to fully develop the program in accordance to in-house standards which I have developed and which are currently being implemented in SS2). The task of "transferring" SS2 XIN data and the intentionality of preferences into ORD has been a challenging one (and quite time-consuming). 

    The promise of ORD is such that my time developing the program has been completely worthwhile, I think. So, I would not put it aside just because some matters still have need for resolution. A few years from now many will be thinking "I should have tried to use ORD before now"... just my two pennies :-)

    Mark

    Mark Anthony Plum
    Chief Technology Officer
    1601 N.W. Expressway, Suite 400
    Oklahoma City, OK  73118
     
  • Hi Neil,

    I suggest you do a trial/pilot of ORD and see if it caters for how you deliver projects. Most of the enthusiastic team members we have who use OpenRoads are those who came from a Civil3D background - legacy users of products like MX, Inroads, etc. not as much.

    We went from MX to trialling Civil 3D and other products before making the move to ORD full-time. For large projects, ORD is exponentially faster than Civil 3D, however, workflows and setup are very fundamental in getting it to work with speed and stability. That being said, the legacy software will always be faster (for now) due to the lightweight model elements compared to all the new civil objects. A lot more information, but at a cost.

    There are bugs and issues, but we're looking to where ORD is going and not necessarily where it is now. It does seem to be developing quite substantially at a fast rate - however, project delivery right now, while this is getting sorted, can be challenging at times.

    Regards,

    Mark


    OpenRoads Designer 2023  |  Microstation 2023.2  |  ProjectWise 2023

  • Very good point! Bench testing in production level is not efficient.