[kami]

Hi all
Not much up here lately ...
I got a not maxwell related question: Some Rhino models are obviously overstraining my computer.
Sometimes the viewports gets very very slow (I have to wait more than a second after changing something). Could I lower the display precision (and how?)?
Or what else can I do? I noticed that when I change the model size from meters to centimeters it gets a lot slower ...
I could also buy a new card, I got the ATI HD 4870 with 512 MB RAM on a Mac Pro. But maybe I can change things easier with better settings.

Thanks for the help
cheers, kami

[JDHill]

Are you very familiar with how to use File > Properties > Document Properties > Mesh to control the resolution of your render meshes? Those controls are unitless though, so it should not make a difference what scale you model at.

[kami]

yes I know these settings. there at "jagged and faster". Is it worth it tuning around there?
are you sure that all controls there are unitless?
the speed difference between cm and m is clearly noticable on my model.

btw: what's more important on buying a new graphic card: the speed (Mhz) or RAM of it?

[JDHill]

I don't really know -- you'd want to go over to the Rhino newsgroup and ask. Jeff LaSor is the guy who writes all of Rhino's viewport code, and he regularly answers questions over there.

Generally, I try to keep the document mesh settings pretty coarse, and then use Object Properties > Render Mesh Settings > Custom Mesh to adjust only those objects for which the coarse mesh settings are actually visible in the rendered image. In other words, there is no need to use more detail than it is possible for the camera to see.

And I said that the mesh controls are unitless, because the topology of the meshes produced should not be dependent on the drawing units used. But that is, of course, in theory -- who knows if there are other factors which may come into play.