topic Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro- in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

TheoFaull — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 13:50:35 GMT

It's too slow.

The system requirements are too high. The program installed for me (just!) but using it is a jumpy, laggy experience. For geospatial analysis and editing, you need something quick and snappy. Pro (1.4.1) just isn't that.

I'm not in a position in my office to request having more RAM, a new CPU, graphics card etc. so I'm stuck.

I've change all the display options for best performance and it's still too slow. Here is my Shift+E readout:

Pro needs moire customising options relating to performance vs quality (one example off the top of my head: remove the glowing outline fade after editing a shape. Instead just have it change instantly.)

ArcMap 10.4 runs fine, using the exact same datasets. Other software runs fine.

I get that ESRI are going for a more flashy and graphical interface, but at the cost of slower performance? That shouldn't be the case...

My specs:

Windows 7:

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

George_Thompson — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 14:06:42 GMT

I can see why it may be running slow (64-bit Pro vs. 32-bit Desktop). That amount of RAM for a 64-bit system does not seem like much. I am not even using Pro/Desktop and my machine consumes about 4-5 GB of RAM just using: Chrome, Outlook, Skype, OneNote and IE on Windows 10 O/S. This is less RAM that Windows 7 used for the same workload.

I wonder if your machine is pegged out with the Physical RAM and using page file?

I would think that it is not realistic of your employer, in my opinion, to expect you to do real geospatial analysis and editing with only 4 GB of RAM and not have some issues with the machine.

Could send them the System Requirements documentation: ArcGIS Pro 1.4 system requirements—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

TheoFaull — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 14:28:33 GMT

"I would think that it is not realistic of your employer, in my opinion, to expect you to do real geospatial analysis and editing with only 4 GB of RAM and not have some issues with the machine."

Well 4GB was fine for ArcMap, so it's never been a problem until now.

Also I'm the only GIS tech in the whole company so my bargaining power is rather limited

We do run off Citrix virtual desktops. So not sure if that makes a difference. Perhaps my RAM specs posted earlier are simply what I've been allocated virtually? I'll find out.

I don't think I have a proper graphics card, so that must be bottlenecking performance a bit too...

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

George_Thompson — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 16:40:44 GMT

Yeah running it in Citrix may not be the best with the current configuration. I can understand you stance, but I still believe that your machine is very under resourced. If you started to use Desktop with larger datasets and/or very complex analysis (Imagery processing) you may see some performance issues with just 4GB of RAM.

I know that there are post in https://community.esri.com/?sr=search&searchId=35366b58-e1a9-46cf-83ba-8f8112eb44a0&searchIndex=1‌ that people ask about minimum specs for a machine.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

BrandonArmstrong — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 17:16:47 GMT

Hi Theo,

The following blog may also be of use to you...

Troubleshooting Performance Issues in ArcGIS Pro

Regards,

Brandon

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

JayantaPoddar — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 08:27:15 GMT

You might like to Enable ReadyBoost to Increase System Performance using a Flashdrive. I, sometimes, use the readyboost with an 8 GB pen-drive. It improve the performance of the system.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

DanPatterson_Retired — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 09:34:46 GMT

don't forget, no one is required to use Pro if arcmap is working fine. My reading on this whole Pro thing, is that it is a free offering... a taste of things to come, with no requirement to commit or even use at the present. ArcMap is going to be around for a while

http://support.esri.com/Products/Desktop/arcgis-desktop/arcmap/10-5#product-support

as well as Pro

http://support.esri.com/Products/Desktop/arcgis-desktop/arcgis-pro/1-4-1#product-support

in fact some Pro versions are already retired.

If arcmap is working fine for your purposes, what is offered in Pro that you need, should be the question.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

Robert_LeClair — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 15:08:32 GMT

Theo - to add to the discussion - you may want to run the "Can I Run it?" to see where your machine lacks, meets, or exceeds hardware recommendations. This will provide information on what hardware specs to request when you upgrade your hardware in the future. Like Dan mentioned, if ArcMap meets your needs, you can use ArcMap. It will be around for many years to come.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

jaybohac1 — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 20:03:24 GMT

That link pretty much sums up the problem right there.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

EvertGarcia — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 20:18:47 GMT

I agree with George. Your machine is severely bottle necked with 4 GB of ram and no GPU. Regular ArcGIS for desktop was meant to run in a 32-bit environment. Pro is runs in 64 bit and will take advantage of more processing power. I would think that even the updated GUI in Pro allows it to consume more ram. It's a pretty common story in the evolution of software, for example, Word 2016 needs more resources to run than Word 2010 did.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

RonaldLindquist — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 21:01:54 GMT

I just took on responsibility for local GIS applications for my municipality. After trying to run on a 4GB laptop, I upgraded to a HP laptop with 16GB ram and 500GB solid state HD under Win10 Pro (64 bit). All the difference in the world. Was even able to get about 90% successful file/program transfer using Laplink PCMover.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

JinhoKang — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 21:38:19 GMT

Unfortunately, your hardware specs are below the Esri's recommended requirements.

ArcGIS Pro 1.4 system requirements—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop

I'm running the latest 1.4.1 at home and it runs smooth;

Intel i7 5820K 6 Core 3.3GHz

32GB RAM

512GB SSD

Radeon R9 290 / 4GB RAM

I would recommend using Pro if the hardware specs meet the Esri's recommended requirements.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

JeremyWright — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 21:56:03 GMT

Theo,

You're running on a machine that doesn't meet the minimum requirements for ArcGIS Pro. As such, your user experience will be severely degraded.

The readout says WARP - that means your GPU is being emulated by the CPU. This is because you're using a Citrix version that doesn't support GPU acceleration.

Probably the easiest way to explain the need for an upgrade to your IT staff would be to run the "ArcGIS Pro system checker" - it should fail on the GPU requirement:

http://links.esri.com/run-arcgis-pro

See also the blog posts here for example:

https://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2014/06/30/38908/

https://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2015/03/08/arcgis-pro-in-vmware-horizon-view/

Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns in this matter.

Regards,

Jeremy W.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

JasonHarris2 — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 12:32:44 GMT

We provide ArcGIS Desktop (and now Pro too) to customers via CItrix based virtualization. ArcGIS Desktop runs like a champ in this environment. But, as you have seen - Pro will not for various reasons - but most obvious is the lack of GPU acceleration. So, that means if you want to run Pro you'll need to do one of 2 things. Start running Pro locally outside of the Citrix environment on a properly spec'ed machine or move to a virtualization platform with server side GPU acceleration. Amazon's Workspaces product has a GPU enabled virtual Desktop that will run Pro smooth as butter. Really really good stuff. AppStream2 - which is most like Citrix's streamed applications, will be getting Elastic GPU support in the near future and that's very very promising.

I believe that in the long run, when people look at the specs required for Pro they'll opt to run it inside a virtualized environment.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

TheoFaull — Tue, 02 May 2017 08:47:26 GMT

Out of curiosity, what model HP laptop did you get?

Lindy2017‌

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

TheoFaull — Tue, 02 May 2017 08:48:53 GMT

Thanks all for the responses. Glad to get this discussion up and running.

Looks like IT will have to allocate more resources towards GIS, and at home I'll need to invest in a new computer!

Theo

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

AlexanderGray — Tue, 02 May 2017 14:26:13 GMT

More things change the more they stay the same... I remember this exact same discussion when ArcInfo 8.0.1/8.0.2 and ArcGIS 8.1 was release. The thing was a beast, it needed 1GB RAM to run properly, imagine. At the time esri only had minimum specs which were for a relatively high end workstation at the time but ridiculously low for ArcMap. Minimum spec, to me, means it will start up, play around and that's it. Recommended spec means it will start up and I will be able to use it for real work. Optimal spec it will fly but I will probably not be able to justify it.

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

RonaldLindquist — Thu, 04 May 2017 00:43:22 GMT

I have an HP ZBook 15u G4

Ron

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

TheoFaull — Thu, 04 May 2017 08:29:10 GMT

Thanks, that is an impressive laptop!

Re: Simple reason to avoid ArcGIS Pro-

BillEveringham — Thu, 04 May 2017 13:10:06 GMT

I'm not a fan of AGS Pro... I guess I'm just use to Desktop. I've tried using it, but just get frustrated.