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Hi all,

we wanted to add some information to the discussion about the CPU, RAM, Disk
and Graphics card. We cannot speak for acquisition software requirements but
only for analysis software needs.
All that Oliver Biehlmaier said about CPU, RAM etc. applies also for most
cases in Imaris. If the data and derived data fit into the RAM (rule of
thumb ten times the amount of RAM of the raw data set) the CPU speed will be
the limiting factor as well as the core count. Imaris is in many parts
multithreaded since Version 6.3 from IO operations to image filters. But you
can still get the impression that it uses only one or two cores as some
parts are not multi-threaded which may dominate the execution time. We
continue to make additional functions multithreaded like in the latest
version the distance transformations and diameter calculation in Filament
Tracer. However, to come back to Oliver’s post; our current hardware
recommendation for Imaris in general is:
- get a fast 4 (6) core processor (with hyper-threading). This is currently
the sweet spot in price-performance ratio; Imaris is making good use of this
8 or 12 threads;
- enough RAM; about 10x of the raw data set size to fit the data set and its
analysis into RAM;
- if possible get a fast SSD only used as Imaris cache drive (for cases
where the data set would not fit into the RAM); at least 10x the size of
your typical raw data set size;
- Get a high-end gaming graphic card (nVidia or ATI); unless you want to do
stereo 3D with shutter glasses in which case nVidia Quadro card is required.
Our take home message is: keep your CPU fed with data as fast as possible!


EU Support Team Bitplane AG