Technical tips

Before installing pCon.planner, always check that your hardware meets the recommended minimum system requirements. If this is not the case, there is no guarantee that the software will run smoothly.

The type of graphics card on your system is a crucial factor for the stable operation of pCon.planner and determines its performance level. There are two basic types of graphics cards. One is the onboard card. These are simple graphics chips without their own processor (GPU) and have only a small amount of dedicated memory with which they can process graphics data. They utilise parts of the RAM (random access memory) of the computer in which they are installed. They have the advantage of not consuming much power, being relatively inexpensive to purchase and being suitable for most applications such as text and image processing. Onboard graphics cards are particularly common in laptops. The other type is the dedicated graphics card system. These are cards with their own processor (GPU) and a large graphics memory. These systems always deliver much better performance than onboard card solutions. They are available for everyday office use, which usually means 2D applications, such as image processing, but they are also intended for use in 3D.

As pCon.planner is 3D software, it requires sufficient hardware resources. This means that it can only be used to its full potential if installed with a dedicated graphics card. However, it is possible to use it with onboard graphics, albeit with some limitations.

Problems with the images in pCon.planner are often not due to the graphics hardware, but to a specific piece of software – the driver – with which it is installed in the (Windows) operating system. For this reason, we recommend that you always use an up-to-date graphics card driver. These can usually be found on the website of the relevant graphics card manufacturer.

The render modes for pCon.planner differ in terms of processing speed. If you select Concept mode for modern graphics cards, this will usually be the fastest option. On older systems, Shadow mode will be the fastest. It is worth testing how the differences between the modes perform on your system.

If a second monitor or a projector, which extends the main screen to create a second display, is connected to your computer whilst pCon.planner is running, display errors may occur and the software may even crash. One of the most common reasons is a lack of memory on the graphics card. In both cases (crash or poor display), we recommend using only one monitor whilst pCon.planner is running.

Use the following tips to optimise performance. They can be particularly helpful if your graphics hardware is more than two years old, allowing you to work with the software despite its limitations.

The advanced options allow you to adjust the graphics display so that it places less strain on hardware resources. The Advanced options can be found in the Render group, under the View tab. There is a small icon in the bottom right-hand corner (see the red circle in the screenshot below). Click on this.

Go to the Quality tab. Set Texture Quality to Simple and Shading Quality to Normal. Global Anti-aliasing is preset to 11%. Increasing this value has a positive effect on the calculations for rendering objects.

It is better not to open pCon.planner more than once, as the necessary hardware resources would then have to be shared rather than being available exclusively to this single programme.

Do not run other 3D applications (such as AutoCAD) at the same time as pCon.planner, as both applications will access the same hardware resources, resulting in reduced performance in both cases.

If you have relatively weak graphics hardware, it may be advisable to work in a single viewport without splitting it. Reducing the screen area used by the software on your monitor also ensures that the images are rendered more quickly.