What Computer Specifications Are Required for Rhino3D?

Rhino3D For Architects

What Computer Specifications Are Required?

Rhino3D (McNeel Rhinoceros 6) is the world’s most versatile 3-D modeler as it utilizes NURBS or Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines. With more than 2,000 enhancements as well as modeling and editing tools, you can design anything and everything. Even better–as flexible and powerful as it is, Rhino3D is reasonably easy to learn and use effectively.

4 Requirements For Rhino 6 For Windows – (as of 06/08/2018)

Please note that these requirements are different from those listed by McNeel. Our suggestions represent practical recommendations for professional users and are based on new hardware specifications available at the time of writing.

The best specification for running Rhino6 For Windows ultimately depends on what you are using it for. But here are some pointers on the various facets that can influence performance.

The four hardware variables that we are commonly asked about and that have the most effect on Rhino3D’s performance are the:

1. Operating System (OS)
2. Processor (CPU)
3. Graphics Card (GPU)
4. Memory (RAM)

As well as operating hardware, the way in which Rhino models are built and large files are referenced can make a huge difference in the speed and efficiency when working with Rhino and its associated plug-ins.

1. Operating System (OS)

Rhino 6 For Windows is a native 64-bit application. Unlike Rhino 5 there is no 32-bit legacy alternative.

Windows 10 Professional is the preferred choice for Rhino 6, and if you are purchasing a new Windows system, then this will be the default choice. The “Professional” version offers additional features such as encryption, remote log-in, and creating virtual machines over the more basic “Home” version.

Microsoft will support Windows 10 fully until October 2020 and provide extended support until October 2025. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 are the only other Windows versions officially supported by McNeel; however, Microsoft no longer offers mainstream support for these products.

If you are considering Apple hardware then the only supported solution is Apple Boot Camp; virtualization is not officially supported by McNeel.

2. Processor (CPU)

The main specification value that affects CPU performance is the combination of processor clock speed and the number of processor cores — So, for example, a 4GHz six-core processor will be faster than a 4GHz four core processor.

Most modern processors from the two leading manufacturers, Intel and AMD, are multi-core but even with 64-bit operating systems and multi-core processors, modeling applications such as SolidWorks, 3D Studio Max and Rhino will use only one processor core for modeling tasks.

Some complex modeling calculations are linear and don’t lend themselves well to multi-threading, (i.e., splitting the calculation between a number of processors). Rhino 6 and Grasshopper 1 are, however, more supportive of multi-threading than Rhino 5 and the Grasshopper Beta. We expect this situation to improve further as development continues.

Rendering plug-ins like V-Ray for Rhino, Maxwell and KeyShot will, however, make use of all the available cores.

Using Intel as an example there are three main processor families that will be of interest to Rhino you:

1. Intel i5 – Budget
2. Intel i7 – Mid-Range
3. Intel i9 – High End

The latest processors from Intel feature “Turbo Boost” dynamic over-clocking, meaning that when the CPU senses a maximum load, it increases the processor clock speed. The i7 and i9 processors also feature Hyperthreading; this a process where the number of physical processor cores is effectively doubled so that, a quad-core processor has eight logical processors.

3. Graphics Card (GPU)

The GPU handles the display of your work on your monitor. More powerful cards will be able to represent the various manipulations of complex models more smoothly, reducing or eliminating the display lag that can cause jerkiness with very complicated models.

GPU performance has become increasingly important with Rhino 6 and its associated plug-ins. The display pipeline in Rhino 6 has been dramatically improved, and it now takes full advantage of professional level GPUs.

Rendering applications are now making use of GPU acceleration too, for example, the Cycles raytracing renderer in Rhino 6 can be configured for GPU acceleration, and V-Ray for Rhino has features that are designed to take specific advantage of NVIDIA’s proprietary CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) core acceleration.

There are two main graphics card vendors, NVIDIA and AMD. Both manufacturers produce both consumer cards targeted toward gamers and professional workstation cards targeted toward the 3D CAD market.

NVIDIA’s gaming cards are called GeForce and the pro cards Quadro. AMD’s gaming cards are called Radeon and the pro cards Fire GL. We generally recommend NVIDIA graphics cards like these, particularly the workstation class Quadro cards, are well proven with Rhino.

The consumer AMD cards are generally fine but may require specific Rhino settings to be adjusted to solve well-documented display issues. To summarize, the safe bet is with NVIDIA Quadro professional graphics cards.

4. Memory (RAM)

We recommend 16GB of RAM as a practical amount of RAM for professional use with 32GB or 64GB being preferred for more extreme use. If you are modeling and/or rendering large scenes, then it will be worth investing in more RAM.

Conclusion

Our suggested mid-level practical system requirements for a new desktop machine for Rhino 6 are as follows:

• Intel Core i7 8700K or AMD equivalent CPU
• NVIDIA  Quadro P2000 GPU
• 16 GB RAM
• 250 GB SSD
• 2TB HD
• Windows 10 Professional

Source – simplyrhino.co.uk

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