I’m looking at laptops with an RTX 5070 to use with a Trackit.
The ones I am seeing under $2,000 come with 32GB and can be expanded to no more than 64GB.
I’ve never had a problem using my MetroX on my desktop’s 64GB system, but the Trackit can scan much larger objects. The question is, roughly how large an object can I scan with only 64GB of RAM? For that matter, 32GB of RAM? I haven’t been limited when scanning with my Miraco Plus, either, but I haven’t scanned everything I’ve seen in the advertising.
Most likely, you will not use the maximum resolution for scanning large objects (as for small ones), so the “conditional weight” of the resulting scan should not be huge. Another issue is that the main memory consumption occurs at the time of building a dense cloud and the final model. If you choose non-optimal settings, then even a much larger amount of memory may not be enough (for example, I scan small objects with my stationary 3D scanner, but I need very high detail - and I often observed that RAM consumption reaches 80-90 GB (my system has 128 GB of RAM in total). If I reduce the density of grid construction, etc., then the memory consumption immediately drops several times.
Hi Jeff , you can get laptops below $2000 with 64GB of RAM .
For scanning there is not needed 64GB of RAM , more like 8GB of RAM , but then the question is when you get to process it .
So your question should be addressed to the processing , but that would be different depending on the fusing and meshing settings for various sizes .
Bigger objects use bigger point distance than very small objects.
So far I saw small airplane that was handled easy with 64 GB of RAM in processing .
Usually I never needed more than 64 GB RAM since most of the models I work with never get bigger than 50 million poly what usually take around 40GB of RAM in processing at maximum.
Recently I created test monster mesh in RS at 150 millions of poly , usage was 59 GB of RAM in processing , 9GB while scanning . I had to simplify it to 50 million in RS before able to edit it and use in my editing software anyway as not one of my editing software could open it not even Cloud Compare.
There is not many 3D editing software that can handle bigger 3D meshes than 50 million of poly. So even if you get bigger one, it can be not very much usable outside RS . ( Taking about 3D meshes not Point Clouds)
A few years back, I edited some objects around 250 MB in TurboCAD, but it was not a fluid series of events. I should pull them up when I get my older computer running after I get back from vacation and see what the newer versions can handle because a newer Hidden Line algorithm has been added.
Where? Certainly not MicroCenter. eBay has an MSI Katana with an i9 14th Gen Intel for a smidge over $2K.
Okay… I found an ASUS TUF A16 with a Ryzen 9 & 5070 with 64GB for $1,980. It’s only got 8 cores (16 threads), but the CPU’s Base Clock is 4.0GHz (the four I was looking at were no more than 2.4 GHz, but Turbo as high as 5.8 for the ‘Performance’ cores). Darn… WUXGA (1920x1200) instead of QHD.
Normally 50 millions of poly are the maximum for meshes in most 3D editing software , bigger meshes as that can create really issues while processing and for that reason the safe limitation are between 35-50 milion of polygons for meshes and that’s a lot . Usually it uses around 40 GB of RAM for processing ( not the mesh size )
I don’t think any of CAD software can load it at this size. But you can still decimate it without losing too much on the details , I saw Jonathan scanning a plane with Trackit and he use 64GB of RAM on his laptop .
I got my in February on Amazon for use with Beta Trackit scanner
2 other of my friends got it too, great little beast and performing better than my workstation . Sadly this promotion is not more available . But you can search Amazon , the only one I see are with i7 13 Gen
my Dell Precision i9 Quadro a4500 has 64GB of ram and I run out on really big scans. I bought it w/ 64GB because Dell uses much slower ram when they go to 128GB. It was a mistake. Can’t be upgraded. I also do a lot of CAD->FEA and run out of ram all the time. What i need to do is build a new tower workstation w/ 196GB, but my CAD package is a total PITA when it comes to having two machines and I need portability too. Just spec’d a new top of the line Dell laptop today and it was $8500. Yowie! Guess I’ll limp along w/ what I have for now.
Hi Robin , you can scan a smaller plane and process it with 64GB of RAM
What kind of big scans you talking about ? Big in size or big in high resolution and details.
With150 milion to 250 millions of polygons that can consume in processing around 50GB of RAM in RSM what CAD software or any software can edit it ? Or even load it.?
I’m currently using the MSI Vector 16 HX AI Gaming Laptop (2025) with my Metrox scanner, and it works flawlessly. It’s a large and slightly heavy machine, but the excellent cooling system makes a huge difference—especially for long scanning sessions. I’ve also upgraded the RAM to 64GB for even better performance.
Specs include:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (12GB)
Intel Core Ultra 9-275HX (2nd Series)
16” QHD+ display
1TB SSD
Originally 32GB RAM (upgraded to 64GB)
Windows 11 Home
English & Arabic keyboard
Cosmos Gray finish
The Middle East version is priced around $2,800: MSI Product Page.
There’s also a more affordable option at around $1,700:
MSI Vector 16 HX AI (A2XWHG-212US)
Intel Core Ultra 7-255HX
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
16” FHD+ 144Hz display
16GB DDR5 RAM
512GB NVMe SSD
Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 6E
Windows 11 Home
Cosmos Gray
Whether you go for the high-end or budget version, these laptops are solid choices for demanding tasks.
Thought about opening a seperate thread but my question kind of fits in the vibe of this one. Im waiting for my Metroy Pro to arrive but my pc is a bit limited. I have an older Ryzen 5 3600 cpu, 32gb ram and a ATI 7800XT GPU. Can i use my GPU at all to help out with scanning because it’s not Nvidia? If not is this a problem? I am considering changing CPU, Ram and motherboard. But im unsure about what to pick. I Usually go for AMD but theres a lot of options. Will the scanning software benefit from more than 8 Cores for example. How about the CPU’s that have additional cache? Does that help or not at all?
Honestly, I didn’t realize how much I needed to upgrade until I hit a wall with my own setup.
I started with a Mac Mini with an M Pro chip, thinking it would be plenty. But when I tried scanning small, high-resolution objects (around 20x20 cm), it really struggled. The processing was so slow it just wasn’t enjoyable.
That’s why I ended up upgrading my laptop to a new Windows 11 machine with an Ultra 9 processor and 64 gigabytes of RAM. My graphics card is a 12GB NVIDIA RTX, which does help a lot with the processing.
The difference is night and day. I’m finally getting the results I wanted without the constant waiting and frustration.
So based on my own hard lesson, my recommendation is to invest in a powerful computer from the start. If your system is underpowered, you won’t be able to enjoy the full benefit of 3D scanning. You’ll just waste a lot of time and risk crashing your computer every time you push for high resolution. A good upgrade now will save you so much headache later.
So far, the software (despite obvious improvements in version 5.8.0) has not yet learned to work in multi-threading, using (at best only one processor core, at worst - only one thread).
My CPU i9 14th Gen runs at over 60% at 5.8 Ghz it literally processing in seconds ( Fusing/Meshing )
I9 10th Gen that I used in my older PC was too slow already for my liking . Processing took sometimes 30 min but I did not used it yet with 5.8.0 , mostly with Revo MetroX
The 5.8.0.134 is designed to run at full utilization only if Revo Metro window is maximized , once you open anything else or minimize the window it automatic stopping/slowing the CPU utilization .
The only issue with processing at lowest utilization are Feeling holes , Detect Holes , Detect points etc .. as it only runs the CPU at 4%
I don’t know the particular algorithms used in Revol Metro. But I do know that certain algorithms that I have had experience with in the past actually slow down dramatically with multithreading, and some of our pipelines would switch between multi and single thread depending on the best speed for the step in the process
just got a AMD 9900X system with 64gb ram i have ordered for the scanner, im going to test how that works before looking into getting an Nvidia card because i allready have an 7800XT from AMD that is plenty fine for all the other stuff it needs to do so im hoping on getting decent performance without GPU assist. Fingers crossed
I did changed it under bios and there was not really significant changes , but the software was an older build .
According to Dev.team single tread CPU are not recommended.
Hello, that’s strange that Revoscan throttles its performance when the window isn’t maximized or in the foreground. What about the Task Manager window? Mine is set to be in the foreground by default. Does Revoscan’s behavior also apply to the Task Manager?
