The benefits of real-time ray tracing for Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) cannot be overstated. For those unfamiliar, ray tracing is a method of graphics rendering that simulates the physical behavior of light. For architects and engineers, this solution affords better visibility and enhanced communication at all stages of a project which, in turn, results in exceptionally designed buildings and infrastructure. It helps to eliminate costly errors and can be used to keep everything on track.
To get started with enjoying the benefits of the above-described modern real-time workflow, customers must not focus on budget when defining workstation configurations. Instead, they must consider (and only consider) application and workflow requirements. That’s because with proper configuration, workstations can help AEC customers radically improve design decision making, speed up the creation of renders and animations, and ultimately enjoy a major advantage over their competitors.
Now, unfortunately real-time ray tracing cannot be supported on a workstation designed to run CAD or BIM software with just an entry-level to mid-range GPU. To support this level of processing, architects and engineers need a machine that is built for the task at hand.
Enter Dell’s Precision workstations, all of which are certified to work with the most popular 2D and 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software applications from popular Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). They come equipped with a dedicated NVIDIA RTX or Quadro RTX GPU to empower designers with the ability to iterate more and see the impact of accurate lighting, shadows, and reflections, and to do so in real time.
Here it’s worth pausing to note that the latter point is an important one to call out. Design visualization can provide an architect or engineer with incredible insight into a project as it develops. However, to exert the greatest influence, the results must be delivered in real time so that decisions can be adjusted and workflow can continue without interruption.
Dell offers a range of desktop and mobile workstations that are suitable for design visualization and real-time ray tracing. The desktop workstations offer more performance and scalability than the mobile workstations, with the higher-end models being fully customizable and able to support more than one CPU with lots of cores, one or more GPUs, and expandable memory and storage.
That’s not to diminish the value of the mobile workstations, of course, which have the major benefit of being highly portable. The recently launched Dell Precision 5560, 5760, 7560, and 7760 mobile workstations offer GPU options ranging from the NVIDIA RTX™ A2000 up to the RTX A5000. So, not only do they afford portable rendering, these workstations can do so while also handling highly demanding visualization workflows.
Learn more about what makes the Dell Precision workstation the ideal solution for AEC rendering by downloading the white paper below: Selecting the Right Workstation for AEC Rendering
