Optimizing Tobe Builder settings for optimal performance across various hardware configurations involves a strategic approach to managing system resources, understanding the software’s demands, and adjusting settings to find a balance between visual fidelity and performance. The objective is to ensure smooth operation, particularly in real-time rendering situations, without compromising too much on the quality of the output. Here’s an expanded guide on achieving optimal performance in Tobe Builder:
Understanding System Capabilities
Assess Hardware Specifications: Begin by assessing the capabilities of your CPU, GPU, and RAM. Tobe Builder’s performance is heavily dependent on these components, especially the GPU for 3D rendering tasks.
Benchmarking: Use benchmarking tools to understand how your hardware performs under stress. This can give you a baseline understanding of what settings are realistic for your system.
Scene Size: BIM + GIS
Imported BIM and GIS Data: The complexity and volume of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data significantly influence the amount of RAM and system resources required. The article outlines how the addition of geometric details to a scene can decrease frame rates due to increased computational demands.
Triangle Count and Expected RAM Usage: It provides examples ranging from simple BIM models to city-wide projects, detailing how the triangle count correlates with RAM requirements, from less than 200Mb for basic models to over 50Gb for extensive urban simulations.
Very Simple | Default GIS with a few work zones and paths created | Triangle Count | Expected RAM |
Room | A few simple BIM models | 100000 | <200Mb |
Area | 10 BIM Models | 1000000 | 200Mb - 1Gb |
Zone | 50 BIM Models | 100 000 000 | 1Gb-10Gb |
Project | 500 BIM Models | 500 000 000 | 20Gb+ |
City | 1000+ BIM Models | 1Billion + | 50Gb+ |
GIS Scene Load
GIS Complexity: The complexity of GIS services adds to the GPU load, albeit not as substantially as BIM data. The article suggests managing GIS quality settings to mitigate this effect.
Adjusting Scene Quality Settings
Graphics Presets: Lower the graphics preset settings to reduce the strain on your GPU. This includes simplifying shadows, lighting, and other post-processing effects that are resource-intensive.
Managing Monitor Resolution and Display Settings
Monitor Configuration: For laptops connected to high-resolution external monitors, consider setting the display resolution to match the laptop’s native resolution when using Tobe Builder to reduce GPU strain.
As you can see on the diagram below, if your laptop shipped with a FHD screen, and you plug in a 4K monitor, you have quadrupled the load on the GPU to render 3840x2160 frame, vs a 1920x1080 frame.
Multi-Monitor Workflows: Disable secondary monitors or lower their resolution when working on complex scenes to ensure that the GPU can focus resources on Tobe Builder.
Hardware Considerations
Upgrades: If consistently working on large or complex projects, consider hardware upgrades. Increasing RAM can significantly impact performance, as can upgrading to a GPU with more memory and processing power.
Cooling Solutions: Ensure your system has adequate cooling. Thermal throttling can reduce performance significantly, especially in laptops.
With 3D Applicaitons GPU tends to the governing factor, with the application performing well up until the GPU memory is expended, after which performance will drop off steeply.
Recommended Hardware for Tobe Builder is therefore based on the quality of the outcome a user wants to achieve, and the complexity of the input data. A user wanting to push every quality setting to its highest, with large and complex models will acheive better performance with a powerful modern computer, with at least 64Gb RAM, and a powerful current generation discrete GPU.
While users wanting to have standard settings, on a more modest scene will be able to still successfully work within Tobe Builder on standard hardware.
Rendering Performance on Export
Export Settings: Adjust export settings based on the criticality of the output quality versus the time available. For draft versions, lower settings can be used to speed up the process.
Batch Processing: If possible, schedule exports to run during off-hours. This allows Tobe Builder to use system resources more freely without impacting your workflow.
Software and System Optimization
Background Processes: Close unnecessary applications and background processes to free up CPU and RAM resources.
Software Updates: Keep Tobe Builder and your graphics drivers up to date to take advantage of performance improvements and bug fixes.
Conclusion
Achieving optimal performance in Tobe Builder Pro across different hardware setups requires a mix of system knowledge, project data management, and software setting adjustments.
By taking a proactive approach to optimization, users can ensure that their projects run smoothly, regardless of the complexity of the scenes or the power of their hardware.
Balancing performance and quality is key, and with thoughtful adjustments, Tobe Builder can be a powerful tool for rendering 4D environments efficiently on a wide range of computer systems.