Issues with Running Dimensions on Macbook Pro

[Ray28404224ccmu]

My daughter is having performance issues running Adobe Dimensions on her 2020 Macbook Pro with 16 GB Unified Memory. She is trying to convince me that buying a new Macbook with the M1 Chip will solve her problems. However reading all of the dialogue about similar issues have me concerned that this solution will work.

She is an art student, so Adobe Dimensions and similar design applications are critical to her schoolwork. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Ussnorway]

she is right and wrong, her 2020 Mac has a pathetically small amount of Ram and anything with more Ram is better than nothing... however Dimenion is FINISHED and Adobe isn't spending any effort to update their software to run well on M1 chips

to be clear, M2 chips are on the way but spending $$$ on those will still be a mistake... honestly her best option is to move to a cheap Windows 10 laptop with 16G Ram, I3 or I7 {not I5 or I9} chip and a Dedicated {not Integrated} Graphics Card... in Australia they average $400-$800 and easily outperform Mac for 3X the cost but if she has her little heart set then wait for the M2 and pick up a cheaper M1... it will still be lousy on any Adobe software but will handle other "newer" software

p.s, [by design] Mac systems use the Cpu, Windows systems use the Gpu... 32G Ram on a Mac performs about the same as 16G Ram on Windows or to say it another way Mac system need more Ram to do the same task

[Ray28404224ccmu]

Thanks so much for your helpful reply.

[Lumigraphics]

Please just ignore this entire post as it is not helpful.

You can find numerous reviews of Apple Silicon, the general verdict is that M1 and M2 chips (both shipping) are a huge performance and efficiency improvement over Apple's previous Intel machines.

I personally use a 2019 16" Intel MacBook Pro at work, and have an M1 Mac mini at home, both with 16GB of RAM, and the M1 is notably faster. Its also considerably faster than the Windows i7 desktop I use at work and the i7 laptop I have at home.

Dimension is presumably going to be replaced at some point in college and design schools with other software, that would be something that the art school would need to inform students about (just like Flash was big 10-15 years ago, its gone now.) My advice would be to have your daughter talk to the school, go over any problems she is having, and see what they recommend.

Now, there is nothing wrong with using a Windows computer is that is what the student prefers, but an entry-level laptop would not work well in a design envoironment. A designer would want more RAM, a high-end dedicated video card, and a premium screen. Design/graphics-focused Windows laptops (and ones that have similar performance to Apple's higher-end machines) will be a lot more than $400-$800.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/694436/best-laptops-for-graphic-design.html

[Imaginerie]

I don't think Dimension will die soon. However, updates are kept to a minimum which would indicate that Adobe will concentrate on their full 3D solution: Substance
https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d/3d-augmented-reality.html

(also, Apparently substance is free for students and teachers... Lucky her! 🙂
https://substance3d.adobe.com/education/)

Dimension does only one thing: Staging 3D models into a scene. Substance is a suite where you will be able to create and sculpt models, create and apply textures on those models, and stage them. It's the whole shebang. It also integrates better with Photoshop, Illustrator and soon After effects (Ae beta already has some integration)

Understandably, it calls for powerful machines, so I'd follow @Lumigraphics 's advice

PS: I am a windows user and I use Dimension on a regular basis. The software is extremely useful, but it has its limitations. I think she needs to talk with her school to see if they plan any changes in the short term.

[Ussnorway]

I don't think Dimension will die soon. However, updates are kept to a minimum which would

(also, Apparently substance is free for students and teachers... Lucky her! 🙂
https://substance3d.adobe.com/education/)

By @Imaginerie

read the fine print... its free for the first year only

after that your teacher \ kids have to pay full price for [still in dev] single use app that still only runs on M1 chips by emulation and costs a $$$ more

true M1 & M2 are both vast faster than the old Mac systems but the bar is low

[Ussnorway]

Now, there is nothing wrong with using a Windows computer is that is what the student prefers, but an entry-level laptop would not work well in a design envoironment. A designer would want more RAM, a high-end dedicated video card, and a premium screen. Design/graphics-focused Windows laptops (and ones that have similar performance to Apple's higher-end machines) will be a lot more than $400-$800.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/694436/best-laptops-for-graphic-design.html

By @Lumigraphics

my old laptop was a Asus TP500LN [https://valid.x86.fr/uh81mr] cost me $550 and i upgraded the drive for another $100... it ran Adobe Dimension well and you can see the image i made on it here

https://windowsforum.com/threads/share-your-windows-10-desktop.211969/page-8#post-708349

this system was replaced by my current Asus X580VD [https://valid.x86.fr/fsmjd1] for around $700 and that is going to be replaced later this year but still runs any software with ease

my dauthers new laptop Asus strix gl753v cost $700 because its refurbished Oct last year... i personally don't agree with these so called 'gaming' systems but it has the extra Ram to really do a great job if rendors

my advice is shop around

[Ares Hovhannesyan]

Try to use Stager as it is on roadmap in Adobe 3D ecosystem. 

[Warren Heaton]

The challenge of running Adobe Dimension on a 2020 MacBook Pro isn't the RAM, but rather the graphics.  Assuming it's the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports), then it has integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics.   The minimum recommended system for Adobe Dimension (Mac or Windows) includes having dedicated graphics.

If it was the slightly older MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) which has dedicated AMD Radeon Pro 5300M or 5500M graphics, then she'd already have a great laptop for Adobe Dimension.

On her MacBook Pro, launch Adobe Dimension and then go to Help > System Requirements to get a System Requirements Check.

Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020) 8GB/512GB Adobe Dimension System Requirements Check

I'm guessing that her MacBook will not pass the VRAM check.  If it happens to come back all good, then some other issue affecting performance is happening.

Even if her MacBook Pro passes, it may still be worth trading her MacBook Pro in for a newer, Apple Silicon-based model.  The other applications she's using (Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign, and After Effects - and maybe Premiere Pro) are all Apple Silicon native and run extremely well on any of the Apple Silicon MacBooks.  The above system check is from a 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 8GB/512GB.

While Adobe Dimension is not Apple Silicon native, it is supported.

If "having performance issues" means that it takes an image a long time to render, that is to be expected from less expensive hardware.

Here's a list of how long the image below took to render with Adobe Dimension at "Medium" quality on a variety of systems (approximate hardware price included based on when the hardware was new):

• 2 minutes 36 seconds on a $7,000 2017 iMac Pro 64GB/2TB with Radeon Pro Vega 56 8 GB
• 3 minutes 16 seconds on a $1,800 2019 HP Omen 15-inch laptop 16GB/1TB RTX 2070 Super Max Q
• 3 minutes 35 seconds on a $3,500 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 Max 32GB/1TB
• 4 minutes 7 seconds on a $1,500 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 8GB/512GB

1,920-by-1080 render from Adobe Dimension at Medium quality

If trading in her current MacBook Pro, I'd opt for an M1 or M2 with at least 16GB of RAM and then as much Flash storage as fits your budget.  If you have not done so already, check with her campus student bookstore to see if there is any special pricing (sometimes schools have negotiated something better than the standard Apple educational pricing).