February 2015 #001

REVITworld
INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF REVIT, BIM AND MORE

3D Printing

Discover how designers use

3D printers to turn REVIT
data into physical objects

14

USER SHOWCASES
FROM AROUND THE
GLOBE

Laptop Reviews
Find the best laptop for you
with our top 7 extensive
laptop reviews for REVIT

Tutorials

Tried and tested tutorials to

help with productivity in your
day to day use in REVIT

CONTACT US FOR OUR MEDIA PACK FOR ADVERTISMENT OPTIONS WITHIN THIS
MAGAZINE.

REVITworld
CONTACT US
REVIT WORLD MAGAZINE
email:

isla.revitworld@outlook.com

WELCOME
Welcome to the first edition of the REVITworld magazine. REVITworld is a
monthly e-magazine that you can download free.
This magazine is packed with the latest tips, tricks, and real world examples of
Revit and how Revit is being used in the real world. This issue focuses on the
3D printing era and how organi-zations are benefiting from using REVIT files to
print actual scaled models.
The section on laptop reviews will help when choosing a mobile working solution to use with REVIT. In the later editions there will be reviews for workstations, printers, monitors and accessories to suit all budgets.

REVITworld
MEET THE TEAM

If you are looking to maintain productivity or are just

looking to sharpen up your REVIT skills then head over
to the tutorial section where there is tried and tested
full picture tutorials for you to try out.
If you would like anything added for future editions of
this magazine then please email me on the email address below. Feedback is always welcome.

David Christie

Architectural Technologist
with 15 years experience
from designing small scale
refurbishements to working
on projects over 35m.
Confident user of REVIT,
AutoCAD, 3DS Max, Photoshop and In-design.
david.revitworld@outlook.com

The aim is to eventually have a website where you can

download free families, textures and will feature video
tutorials. The magazine will also feature tips, tutorials
and updates for REVIT structural and Mechanical.
Thanks for downloading and I hope you enjoy the
magazine.

Isla Christie
Strong background in all
aspects of office management,
from scheduling meetings and
coordinating travel to overseeing budget and accounting
functions. Outstanding work
ethic with an eye for accuracy
and detail.
isla.revitworld@outlook.com

David Christie

REVITworld

February 2015

FEATURED

DESIGNER

Some information about designer who has

contributed to this issues front page
COVER ARTIST
TIM ELLIOT is studying architecture at the UNSW
Architecture School in Australia.

After 4 weeks of learning Autodesks Revit, Tim was given a design brief from his
University which consisted of a wine bar and 3 apartments. For his submission he was
told to make some renders within Revit to show how the design would work in terms of
aesthetic qualities, materiality and lighting.
To find out more about Tim or to check out his portfolio, head to http://timelliottarchitecture.wordpress.com/

REVITworld

February 2015

REVITworld
CONTACT US
REVIT WORLD MAGAZINE
2 Winifred Street, Kirkcaldy, Fife,
SCOTLAND, KY2 5SR
telephone: +44 (0) 1592 562829
mobile:
+44 (0) 7757055397
email:
david.revitworld@outlook.com
isla.revitworld@outlook.com
Contact: David Christie - EDITORIAL, PRINT &
PRODUCTION, LICENSING,
Contact: Isla Christie- MARKETING, SUBSCRIPTIONS, CIRCULATION, ADVERTISING
Contributers
Pablo Lopez, CG Bridge, Alireza Borhan, Tim
Elliot, Ruth Nolasco, Angelo Washington

Copyright and Trademark

This magazine is not sponsored or endorsed by, or affiliated with,
Autodesk, Inc.
Autodesk Revit is a product that is wholly owned by Autodesk. Any
reference to Revit, Revit Architecture, Revit MEP or Revit Structure in
this magazine is made acknowledging this ownership. Refer to
Autodesks own web site and product pages for specific trademark
and copyright information. Autodesk represents a great many

ISSUE 001

CONTENTS
Our complete line-up for this
months REVITworld

16

3D Printing

I3D printing the future

Designs Showcase

Discover the best rendered designs

22
Revit v Revit LT
Discover the benefits from each package

26

REVIT Q&A

Your Revit queries solved

28

Plugin Reviews

Whats hot in the plugin department

REVITworld

February 2015

36

Tutorial

Create a Groined Vaulted Ceiling

33

Tutorial

Adding a logo to a wall or object

44
40

Tutorial

How to Create a Topo Surface

Tutorial

Learn how to create a stacked wall

47

The Route to BIM

10 Steps to BIM success in your workplace

46

Whats in BIM for me

What it means for firms around the globe

52

Laptop Reviews

Extensive reviews on a mobile soloution that

suits your needs

REVITworld

February 2015

FEATURED

SHOWCASE

The best rendered designs from

the REVIT community

SHOWCASE

REVITworld
GET PUBLISHED

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Photoshop/3DS Max.

REVITworld

February 2015

During the present years, Philadelphia has been through a

major architectural transformation which has raised interest
in reclaiming the piers as part of its context.
This Petty Island food innovation centre design was created
by Pablo for his NJIT College of architecture and design showcase.

RENDERS BY: Pablo Lopez, from

New Jersey (USA)
Pablo is a recent graduate from
the New Jersey Institute of
Technology Heritage where
Pablo works and is responsible
for assembling construction
documents, investigation
reports, Coordinating Field
Inspections and supporting the
architecture staff in the
completion of drawing sets. He
collaborates within the team
during schematic, concep-tual
and construction with a strong
focus in the small details via 2d
and 3d presenta-tion.
SOFTWARE: REVIT 2012, Photoshop

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SHOWCASE

RENDERS BY: CGbridge

CG Bridge is a German company

who specialize in Architectural
3D renders.
These renders are produced in
REVIT, but CG Bridge also specialize in creating scripts and
plugins for Cinema 4D.
You can go to cg.bridge.com
to check out their portfolio of
some amazing Architectural
renders.
SOFTWARE: REVIT 2013, Indigo
Render, Photoshop

REVITworld

10 February 2015

SHOWCASE

RENDERS BY: Ruth Nolasco

Manila (Philippines).
Ruth is from Manila, Philippines and
is currently based in Hong Kong
working for an Architectur-al firm.
She has been using REVIT for over
8 years and uses REVIT for all her
renders using no plugins and uses
Photoshop for adding background
images such as the sky.
Ruth studied Architecture for 5
years in the Philippines at the
University of Santo Tomas.
Ruth has a healthy portfolio and her
work will be featured on the front
cover of Marchs magazine cover.
SOFTWARE: REVIT 2015, Photoshop

REVITworld

12 February 2015

SHOWCASE

RENDERS BY: Angelo

Washington from Richmond
Virginia (USA).
Angelo is a BIM specialist and
CAD Designer at Austin
Brockenbrough Engineering and
Consulting.
He regularly uses software
platforms such as Revit 2015
Navisworks, Lumion, AutoCAD,
Civil 3D and Photoshop. His goal
is to provide a consistent quality
service and leadership while using the best industry practices.
SOFTWARE: REVIT 2015, Lumion

REVITworld

13 February 2015

SHOWCASE

SHOWCASE

RENDERS BY: Alireza Borhan

from Iran
You cant fault the detail that
Alireza has put into the models.
This is a great showcase with all
images rendered within
Autodesk 360.
Autodesk 360 has come on leaps
and bounds in the last few years
and is growing in popularity.
Autodesk 360 will be reviewed
full in future magazines.
SOFTWARE: REVIT 2013,

REVITworld

14 February 2015

FEATURED

3D PRINTING
THE FUTURE

REVITworld 16 February 2015

3D PRINTING helps firms to save

months of labor in creating scaled
models.
Among architects 3D printing has
become more and more popular
over the last few years.
Although a 3D printer is not to
be expected in every architects
office,that will probably change
soon. The design process in which
architects are involved in takes
a lot of time and is often very
stressful. Handmade Styrofoam
scale models are a waste of precious time in that sense.
To save some of their valuable
time, many architects already
adopted 3D printing into their
design process, the emergence
of affordable desktop 3D printers
made this possi-ble.
This section gives an overview
on companies who have bought
into the 3D printing era and what
benefits they are getting from it.

REVITworld 17

February 2015

3DMTP have recently used there correction and preparation byStratasys Corporation to accomplish the
recent landmark 3D-print of Brazils World Cup Estdio do Maracan.
Stratasys printed the unusually challenging 50 cm x 40 cm x 6 cm finely detailed print on the Objet 500
Connex Multi-Material 3D Printer using rigid opaque (VeroWhitePlus) material in honor of the 2014 FIFA
World Cup.
The fully automated print of such an ultra-complex structure marks a major first for the 3D printing industry. The Maracan, with its renowned floating Teflon roof and other unique architectural and engineering features, is a championship challenge from a 3D printing perspective.
The CAD (computer aided design) model of the stadium
comprises millions of individual features, many of them
unprintable. Typically, such a project would require technicians to spend many days painstakingly inspecting and
modifying each detail for print ability. But not in this
case - the breakthrough 3D MTP solution totally replaced
this manual work with its patented automatic algorithms.
The whole process, from raw CAD file to a fully printable
Maracan was performed fully automatically, without any
technician work required.
As 3DMTP co-founder and CTO Ilan Sidi explains, CAD models are designed for viewing on the screen, not for printing.
So they usually have to be manually pre-processed in order
to make them printable. This works fine when the model
is simple. But when the model is complex, for example a
building, manual processing becomes time consuming and
costly. When the model is as complex as the Maracan,
manual pre-processing becomes virtually unfeasible. This
is the main reason that 3D printing is relatively under-used
in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction)
market today. The automated Maracan print shows that
the industry has entered a new era AEC customers can now print any model, regardless of how complex
it is, quickly and cost-effectively and without the traditional manual bottlenecks and file correction headaches.

REVITworld 18 February 2015

3DMTP is a cloud-based 3D printing service for Architects and

Developers that need to tranform their 3D models and 3D print
quickly and painlessly
3D Model-to-Print (3DMTP) is a cloud-based 3D printing
service for Architects and Developers who need to take
their 3D models and 3D print them quickly and painlessly.
After 3 years of de-velopment and testing, 3DMTP has
perfected an algorithm that makes it easier for users to
upload their CAD files and send them to their suite.
Laying out a 3D printed city and stomping around to reenact your favorite scene from Godzilla has never been
easier!
3DMTP has solved a problem that has been a thorn in the side of 3D Printing. I dont know how many
3D printing companies Ive spoken to (hint: all of them) that deal with holes or self-intersection surfaces
of user-submitted work. 3DM2P is following the same path as Sculpteo and other companies that aim to
automate the whole checking process.
3DMTP is dedicated to making 3D scaled models printable and available to every Architect, De-veloper
and Designer at a reasonable price. The innovation is based on cutting-edge algorithms which study the
geometric structure of the model. Then identify and automatically fix problems which would have prevented it from successfully printing. We are committed to providing a state of the art experience that will
simplify and enable seamless execution of 3D architectural scale model creation, comments Ilan Sidi, CTO
of 3DMTP and the pioneer of the technology.
STLs are fine for single colour printing, but what about
multi-colour printing? There are new non-proprietary
file formats like the Additive Manufacturing Format, developed by Hod Lipson at Cor-nell University. Until ATF
becomes the lingua franca of 3D printing, Architects and
Draftsmen can count on 3DMTP.
3DMTP is a slightly different from all those cloud-based
3D printing companies like Shapeways because theyre
concentrating on Architectural scale models. Perhaps
this will be the future of such an industry, where specialization of 3D printing is based on what CAD files, software and industry you work within?
More information on 3DMTP and its solution is available at: www.3dmtpusa.com.
or contact: Phil Magenheim, (410) 998-0880, Phil@3DMTP.com

REVITworld 19

February 2015

Architectural Modeling firm builds scale model of stunning

Abu Dhabi Edifice with 3D printing
After building designs have been conceptualized and before ground is broken, Real Estate
Developers often transform their two-dimensional blueprints into three-dimensional scale
models.
From balsa wood and knives to rapid prototyping, the tools used to create such intricate
models have come a long way in the firms
thirty-year history. Can you imagine carving an Abu Dhabi edifice model eight feet in
diameter out of balsawood.
The Challenge
By nature, architectural modeling requires high-level craftsmanship and attention to detail. Even for
our skilled craftsmen and women, amorphic shapes always present the biggest challenge; they are the
most difficult to model by hand to the level of preci-sion our type of work demands, says Josh Coulas,
Manager for PMAMI.

Prior to purchasing the Dimension 3D Printer, PMAMI steered

clear of 3D printing technology because it was not yet capable
of producing a product to their standards.
Instead, the firm used CNC machines or created parts by hand.
However, when chosen to construct the architectural model
for Masdar Headquarters, the search began for a tool that
would meet the projects standards requirements and time
constraints.

The Solution
Turned off by pushy vendors with inadequate products,
Coulas was impressed when he discovered Dimension. We
did our homework, he says. The high resolution and strong
outputs of ABS plastic are crucial, says Coulas. For our work,
we need to have the ability to fuse pieces together, which ABS
allows us to do.

REVITworld 20 February 2015

Overview on the differences between the full Revit and LT to

help decide what you need for your office.

Revit 2015 includes all of the components of Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, and Revit Structure. The easiest
way to get Revit is to purchase the Autodesk Building Design Suite Premium. If you do not need the MEP or
Structural tools, then purchasing Revit Architecture or Revit LT may be acceptable.

Revit Architecture vs. Revit LT

Revit Architecture and Revit LT are very close to each other in functionality, but there are several key areas
where the two programs differ.

REVITworld

22 February 2015

File Formats LT Creates Different .RVT Files

Revit LT has its own project file format (.rvt) that is different than the Revit projects created in Revit One Box,
Revit Architecture, Revit MEP or Revit Structure. A project file created in Revit LT must be upgraded if used in
the other Revit products.
Opening a Revit LT project in anything other than Revit
LT will result in a warning dialog box. Once the file is
upgraded to the full version, it can no longer be edited
in Revit LT. Note: Project Spark was the old codename of
Revit LT.
Revit LT based projects (.RVT) have an LT symbol on the
preview thumbnails indicating the LT file format.
Once a Revit .RVT project has been modified it can only
be linked into Revit LT read-only. You cannot copy elements from any linked Revit projects.
Family files (.rfa) do not have the same restrictions as projects. Most families created in full versions of Revit
can be opened and edited in Revit LT except for Mass, Adaptive Component or Curtain Panel Pattern Based
Families.. This means that component modelers can use Revit LT to build families for use in full versions. Revit
LT users can also use Revit families available from sources such as seek.autodesk.com.

Custom Modeling
Massing and Forms
Revit LT does not support as many options for
modeling irregular geometry. Revit LT does not
support massing objects or support in-place
families (families never loaded that only exist in a
project).
Revit LT will let you create families manually with geometry forms and load them into a project still. This is a
suitable work around for custom families with irregular geometry, though, you still cant create families with
adaptive points and masses.

Collaboration No Worksharing
Since Revit LT is designed to be used on smaller projects, it does not support Worksets and Worksharing. This
means only a single person can work on a project at a time. If you require multiple users working on a project
simultaneously, then Revit LT will not meet your needs.

REVITworld

23 February 2015

Visualization Find your own render.

Rendering photo-realistic images locally is not available in Revit LT. However, it does support rendering in the
cloud with Autodesk 360. As of this writing Autodesk allows unlimited rendering credits, but additional fees
may apply in the future. You must be on subscription to use this service.

Civil 3D Compatibility ADSK Files

Revit LT does not support transferring Revit project data to Civil 3D using ADSK files. This functionality is only
available in the other versions of Revit. See Autodesks website for more information on transferring data to
Civil 3D using ADSK files.

IFC Files
Revit LT does not support exporting to the IFC file format. This can prevent you from exporting your Revit
project to AutoCAD Architecture or other software packages.

Add On Applications No Access to the API

Revit LT does not support third party add-on applications. For example, if you wanted to use CMI Tools for
Revit, you would not be able to use them in Revit LT.

Cost

REVIT DESIGN SUITE PREMIUM 2015

5,800.00*

REVIT ARCHITECTURE 2015

4,800.00*

REVIT LT 2015

1,150.00*

*correct at time of writing

The Conclusion
This is not a full list of all the differences between Revit and Revit LT. Just a highlight of some of the prominent ones.
If your organisation deals with small individual projects which require no renders or no need to work-share,
then LT is the one for you saving you thousands on the overall licencing costs.

REVITworld

24 February 2015

FEATURED

Q&A

All your REVIT questions solved

From: Timothyj6767
Hello for the life of me Ive tried to figure out how to make one of the web truss curved.
I cant figure it out. I have a curved or bowed roof and i need to place a web truss under the roof that
follows the curve of the roof.
Please help..
REVITworld:
Model a family. You can do it as an in-place model unless you want to make a seperate rfa for multiple projects.
Choose your category thats right for you (structural framing might be your best bet if youre doing structure).
From Reddrev
Hi, I am trying to create some realistic elevations but the window glass is a solid colour or fully
transparent. How do I control the property of the glass?
REVITworld:
Removing the transparency over-ride, VG setting or material transparency from the window should solve the
problem. In the Elevation view. right click on the window and check the over-rides. Check the VG settings. What
you posted for the material does not mean much without see-ing the material name and what the material is set
to in the window family. Check a stock window. NOTE: the material name. The solids are not set to show in
elevation or section.
From: Warchitect
I have two curtain walls forming a corner window. I had to adjust the underlying wall and
when I stretched the curtain wall to match the new length the glass panels didnt change
with it. I cant figure out what I did, or how to get the glass to stick with the curtain wall
line...
From: REVITworld
Is this CW an automatic one? Lets assume it is. In other words, are the panels and mullions as well as the
spacings set in the description? Alternatively, if you click on the elevation view you will be able to check the grid
of the panel and adjust from there.
From: RyanJavlyn
Im trying to utilize a polar array to create part of the geometry for a valve family that Im creating. However, I
am having trouble getting the center of the polar array to stay in one location. Im us-ing a nested family for
the array, but I cant find a way to constrain the geometry so that the center of the polar array stays in the same
location when the parameters are adjusted. Any constraints that I apply seem to yield the over constrained error
when I try to change the parameters. Thanks for your help. Ryan
From: REVITworld
First, I think you are not using the nested family you have arrayed in this family.
Place 2 reference planes where you want the center of the array and insert your nested family at that
intersection - align and lock the nested family there.

REVITworld

26 February 2015

From: mjlee101
My professor mistakenly told us to install Revit 2014 for home use. Turned out the computer lab only had 2013,
so to be compatible, I uninstalled Revit 2014. But when I try to install 2013, the AutodeskDownloadManagerSetup starts up saying it is repairing something related to Akamai netsession. Then it says it is stopping the DLMsession, and the installation does not proceed.
Any suggestions on how to fix this problem? I am running Windows 8 on a new HP TouchSmart.
Thank you, -mj lee
From: REVITworld
Check that you are not working with a download page that starts off with the Download Manger (AutodeskDownloadManagerSetup.exe). Instead try going to the My software Student Download page of the Education site, and download a different executable named Autodesk_Revit_2013_English_Win_32_64bit_wi_enUS_Setup1.exe. This executable file should run fine.
From: pwolf2142
Ive been creating my families and some of my families download into a project then others will not. I get the
following warning Couldnt find an appropriate Host. Try Selecting a different Host Face or Switch Placement
Mode. What is this warning all about and how do I fix this so once I put my families out online for others to use
they will work for them? I need to get this resolved ASAP
From: REVITworld
Your families are obviously built as hosted. Hosted to what? A floor, a level, a wall, a ceiling, a face, a work plane
based? Are you working in the correct view to place these objects? For example, a ceiling hosted element typically cant find a ceiling while youre in a floor plan view.
Alternatively, is the hosted element category turned on in the view you are working in?

REVITworld
GOT A PROBLEM
NEEDING SOLVING?
EMAIL YOUR
QUESTIONS TO:
isla.christie@hotmail.co.uk

REVITworld

27 February 2015

FEATURED

REVIT Plug-ins

Keep up with the latest tools that will help

save time on a project
CGS Revit Family Upgrade Add-in
With the Family Upgrade Tools users can upgrade all families from previous version of Revit Architecture
to current version. Users can choose whole folders to upgrade. You will save time upgrading Revit libraries
of different formats (*.0001, jpg, txt...) with just one click.
Go to cgsplus.com to download the free App.

Free Revit File Performance Tracking

For you DIYers out there, on his BIM 42 blog, Simon Moreau has shared some code to track Revit file performance in terms of open, save and synchronize times.
Revit performance API coding highlighted the need for precise feedback from user about starting and
synchronizing time. This is important when dealing with many users, with potentially different configuration and performance. In this case, these loading times can alert you soon enough to` a problem with a
model.
Having feedback from every user is also important, since you need to detect quickly if any user is having
more difficulty to open a file than the average.
You can also compare file size progression with loading time to establish and check your set of good
practices for keeping Revit models
powerful.
To be more accurate and systematic
with these measures, I create a small
piece of code to log every opening,
synchronizing and closing of Revit
model for multiples users and turn all
the data into a graph.
Go to bim42.com/2014/07/revit-tracking/ to download the code.

REVITworld

28 February 2015

Paraline Add-in for Revit: Convert Detail Elements

from Orthographic to Isometric
Available from the Autodesk Exchange Apps website.
Paraline is an Autodesk Revit program extension that
allows you to convert the detail elements from standard
orthographic drawings like plans and elevations into 3D
isometric drawings.

Free Autodesk-Authored Lighting Analysis Add-in

Lighting Analysis for Autodesk Revit is a fast cloud service that uses Autodesk 360 Rendering to ex-pose
electric and solar lighting results directly on the Revit model. The results are validated against Radi-ance, a
commonly used simulation tool, and displayed in-canvas more quickly. The service also offers au-tomated
daylighting analysis for LEED.

REVITworld

29 February 2015

EXCLUSIVE

TUTORIALS

Renew your skills or find something new with our

tried and tested picture tutorials to suit anyone
from beginners to advanced users.

TUTORIALS

REVITworld

32 February 2015

TUTORIAL

ADDING A LOGO TO A WALL OR

OBJECT
Interestingly last week I was trying to add a simple logo to the side of a building. For something that I
thought would be simple turned out to be a frustrating time-consuming exercise. After searching forums for an answer I found that there were a few people asking the same question but there was no
solution that I could see.
This tutorial will explain how to add the REVIT world logo to the side of a building with the Decal tool
and will show you how to add translucency to the background colour (white) so that the logo or text will
stand out.

1. In REVIT, create a simple wall or open a project that you want to apply the logo to. Im using the REVITs own advanced sample file.
First of all, select a 3D view or elevation that you would like to add the logo to. Click on the Insert tab
Decals then Decal Types

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33 February 2015

You will have to create a new decal by clicking on the Create New Decal and name the Decal Type Then
Click OK.
Next, Click on the Insert tab Decals then Place Decal
Now place your image by clicking on the surface that
you want it located. In this case we will use a wall.
The positioning doesnt have to be perfect as you
can accurately place it after placement by clicking on
the image and dragging it to the desired place.
Once inserted, rescale the image by clicking on
the image then selecting one of the blue circular
handles and dragging outward to increase the size
and inward to decrease the size. Change the Visual
Style to Realistic so that you can see the image on
the wall. All other visual styles will only show a blue
outline only.

This is the image so far. The

obvious problem that most
people encounter is to make the
white on the texture disappear
so that you can only see the
logo or text.
To remove the white background, use the same image but change any white colour to black and black to
white. You can use this new image and enter the Decal as a Cutout.
You will have to use a photo editing software such as Photoshop to alter the original logo.
We need to create a new Decal after you have converted the logo.

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34 February 2015

To remove the white background, use the same image but change any white colour to black and black to
white. You can use this new image and enter the Decal as a Cutout.
You will have to use a photo editing software such as Photoshop to alter the original logo.
We need to create a new Decal after you have converted the logo.

After selecting your converted logo click ok.

Check your 3D view and all should be complete

BITE SIZE
Use the technique above to add Decal
images onto TV Screens/Picture frames
ect.

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35 February 2015

TUTORIAL

CREATE A VAULTED GROINED

CEILING

In this tutorial we are going to create a groin vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or
cross vault) which involves producing intersections at right angles of 2 barrel vaults. The main
advantage of the groin vault is that it takes all the weight of the roof and concentrates it on just four
points at the corners of each bay.
1. In REVIT add 4 columns to Level 0. I have chosen the Doric Order Columns which you can import in by
going to: Insert then load family. Click on columns then Classical Columns and Orders. Scroll down until
you find Columns_Doric_Order. You can of course use this ceiling technique with standard walls.

2. Set the columns at approx 6 metre centres (you may have to select the column from the Families tap
on the property panel). Then go to the Architectural ribbon and click on Grid

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3. You should end up with something like the two images below.

Elevation View

Plan View
4. Now go to the elevation view then click on the Architectural tab/componment and Model In Place
Componment. Click on the Ceilings category and name Vault Ceiling.

5. Go to the Create Tab and click on Extrusion. Select the Grid : 1 work plane and click OK. Make sure
you are in the east elevation to draw your roof profile.

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37 February 2015

6. You are now in sketch mode. Sketch a profile

that you would like your roof shape to be then
mirror. Complete your profile by ensuring that all
lines are joined creating a closed loop. Set your
extrusion to end at 6 metres then click the green
tick on the Modify panel to finish off. Then the
Green Tick again to complete the model.

Your roof should like this.
7. Go to the modify panel and copy the roof we have just made, then rotate 90 degrees from the centre
of the existing roof until you have something like this.

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38 February 2015

8. Lastly we are going to create a void extrusion to both the roofs to create the vault effect. The best way
to do this is to firstly to go to the North Elevation, then click on the Create tap thenEdit in Place.

9. Select Grid: A then click OK. You will now enter sketch

mode. Select the inner lines and sketch the profile to be
removed.

10. Once you have created your profile and

clicked the green tick. Repeat on the other

other roof by clicking on the East Elevation
and set the work plane to Grid:1.

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39 February 2015

TUTORIAL

STACKED WALL TUTORIAL

In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to create a basic Stacked Wall in Revit. But before
we get into the detail, I am going to give a quick explanation as to exactly what a Stacked Wall
is.
In the context of Revit, a Stacked Wall is quite simply a Wall made up of different Wall Types
stacked vertically on top of each other.
A simple example would be an external wall where you have a Foundation, Engineering Brick
and Block with Render.
Now, I can almost hear some of you saying Simple. Ill just draw the foundation, set a new
Level to match the top of the foundation and then trace around with a new wall type, to create
the upper wall. You can do it that way but its not the most elegant (or appropriate) solution.
So lets do it properly!
The main thing to keep in mind is that Stacked Walls are their own specific System Familydistinct from Compound Walls and Curtain Walls. This involves creating separate wall types that
we will combine into one stacked wall.

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40 February 2015

1. Lets begin creating out wall

types. Click on the
Architectural tab and slect Wall,
then Wall: Architectural. Select the
wall named Brick.

Select Edit Type and click on

Duplicate. Re-name the wall to
something sensible that you
can find easy. In this instance
I will just call this wall Simple
Brick then click ok.
Now that we have created our wall
Click on Edit and change the thickness of the wall to 100mm.

Now duplicate the wall that we have just

made and call it SIMPLE BLOCK WITH
RENDER

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41 February 2015

Now we will change the properties of

the wall to 100mm Block with 20mm
Render.

Click on the Layers Category.

This will bring up the Material
palette. On the top right hand
corner there is a search bar.
If you type in Block this will
bring up any materials associated with Block. In this instance
only one should come up.
Select the material then click
OK.

Go back and edit the wall again. Now click on insert and move this below the Core Boundary
Click on the Function (structure) and change this to finish. Now Change the material to Render,
Beige, Smooth. Lastly change the thickness to 20mm then click ok.
The foundation (footing) is already made-up in REVIT as standard therefore we have completed
the walls and now have to add them within the Stacked Category.

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Select Stacked Wall then duplicate the wall the same way you did
the previous two. Name it something like SIMPLE STACKED WALL
Click on EDIT to bring up the wall properties. It may be easier to click
on Preview for the Stacked wall to check that the wall is stacked correctly.
Change the wall properties as per the setup below. If everything appears correct, click ok.
No matter how many layers you add to your Stacked Wall Type, ONE
of them MUST have a Variable height. This is so that when you
are using this wall type in your models, it can automatically vary its
height according to Top and Base constraints. OK, lets take a look
at our finished Wall Type......

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43 February 2015

TUTORIAL

HOW TO CREATE A TOPO SURFACE

In this tutorial I will show you how to create a topographic surface. So lets do a quick run through
on topo surfaces.
Start off by selecting Level 0 from the Floor Plans
menu in the project browser.

2. Click on the Architectural tab and pick any basic wall type
and roughly draw the walls at 8000mm x 8000mm

Now select the Site Floor Plan from the Project Browser. This is the view that gives you a broader
range possible and is the view that you should use when making a topo surface where as a normal
plan view is just a horizontal cut through a building.
Now select the Massing and Site Tab and click on
Toposurface.

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44 February 2015

Click the four points to make it a rough rectangle as shown then click on the green tick to
make your topo.
You can see from the 3D view that we have
created a flat plane. Revit automatically applies
a brown (earth) colour to the topo. Unless you
are extremely lucky you will never have an all
flat topo therefore we will add depth to it.

To add some dept. Click on the topo. Once

selected the topo will turn blue then click on
Edit Surface.
Select the back two node
points by clicking on one then
select the other by holding
down the Ctrl key.
Change the elevation height to
5000mm.

You should now have something that resembles this

If you want to make the surface more organic looking rather than a ramp affect then all we have to
do is go back Edit Surface mode. As you can see from this image I have added four extra nodes and
set them to 0mm which has created a flat surface. Click on the green tick to finish.

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45 February 2015

A survey by Pinsent Masons has found that around two-thirds of construction businesses believe the government
mandate of achieving Level 2 building information modelling on central govern-ment projects by 2016 is unachievable.
The survey respondents were primarily Design Consultants (48 per cent) and main Contractors (22 per cent).
Almost all were aware of the Level 2 BIM mandate (98.4 per cent) but 64 per cent of respondents to the survey
from 70 businesses in the infrastructure sector said the target was unachievable.
Asked about barriers to achieving Level 2, 27 per cent of respondents cited the absence of col-laboration as the
most significant barrier while 13 per cent cited a lack of willingness by clients to invest in BIM.
More than half (52 per cent) of respondents cited the integrity of information input into models as a key risk of
BIM to their organisation.
The government has said it will use Level 2 BIM on all central
government construction projects by 2016, with some departments such as the Ministry of Justice already bringing Level 2
BIM into procurement.
Chris Hallam, partner in Pinsent Masons projects, the Construction and Engineering team, said: The overriding
message from our survey points to greater collaboration if BIM is to be a success.
Collaboration is not, however, a new concept for the industry. For over a generation the govern-ment and industry stakeholders have strived to create a utopia of a more collaborative construc-tion industry with some, albeit
limited, success.
The problem is that the majority of construction contracts are not very collaborative. Risk tends to be allocated in
a binary manner, with each party incentivised to look after its own interests ra-ther than the wider interests of a
project.
Because the parties interests are rarely
aligned, this tends not to create an environment where true collaboration is possible at least not if things go wrong. BIM,
however, by its very nature re-quires a more
collaborative environment.

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46 February 2015

THE ROUTE TO BIM IN 10 STEPS

The industry will have to put its foot down to
meet the governments BIM deadline. Here,
five experts break the route in 10 key stages
The race is on. By 2016, all centrally procured
government construction projects, no matter
their size, must be delivered using Building Information Modelling, also known as BIM. This
will extend right through the supply chain,
from the largest contractor to the smallest supplier, and it is hoped, will lead to the
industry-wide adoption of BIM as the benefits
become more widely understood.
A building information model contains not only the design of a building but data concerning the properties of its components, its construction and ongoing maintenance. The database and the way information
is shared is as important as the model itself - which means that BIM doesnt just mean a major technological change, but an overhaul of the whole design process. The transition from CAD to BIM will be much
more significant than when computers replaced paper drawings, around 20 years ago. That merely automated the process, leaving it intact, while BIM is intended to transform how project teams work.
The governments target is ambitious, but it does recognise that there are several stages along the way.
The strategy paper produced by the Government Construction Client Group, reporting to the Department
for Business, Innovation and Skills, uses the Bew-Richards maturity model, which defines three levels of
BIM, based not only on the level of technology used to design a building, but on the level of collaboration
within the process. Level 0 describes a paper-based process with CAD drawings; level 3 is a fully open and
integrated process with models shared between the project team on a web-enabled BIM hub. That is still
some way away, with a number of technological hurdles to be overcome first. For 2016, the target is level
2, in which separate disciplines create their own models, but all project data is shared electronically in a
common environment.
Many firms have already begun implementing BIM, and some have been working on it for several years.

THE EXPERTS
Dave Glennon, Project Technology Manager, and Mark Enzer, Engineering Director and BIM champion
for Europe and Africa,

Mott MacDonald set a vision to be an early adopter of BIM two years ago. Since then, he used BIM on
a range of building and infrastructure projects.
Mark Stodgell, IT Director, Pozzoni Architects
Pozzoni implemented BIM back in 2006. It now produces all projects to level 1 BIM and strives to meet
level 2 wherever possible.
Lee Zebedee, formerly UK BIM Manager, Ramboll
Engineer Ramboll started working in 3D in the late 1990s and was using collaborative BIM by 2006 on a
healthcare PFI project. It is now used company-wide for clients in a wide range of sectors. In January 2013,
Zebedee joined Autodesk.

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47 February 2015

1. Get over the software

When companies see the cost of the software as a barrier to BIM, its a surefire sign that they dont really
understand what theyre taking on, says Stephen
Griffin, director at Allies and Morrison. Your biggest
investment is not going to be the BIM technologies
themselves, he says, but the change management you will have to put into effect throughout your organisation.
BIM is about a process and thats where the real cost will be. Theres really only one way of benefiting from the
process and thats to have a fully integrated internal and external team.
Removing all possible technical barriers can encourage people to focus on the process instead, says Dave Glennon, Project Technology Manager at Mott MacDonald. His team developed standard policies, procedures and
processes, upgraded the behind-the-scenes infrastructure, and negotiated enterprise-wide licence agreements
for key design products: That makes the technology very available to people, but at a sensible cost because
we can take advantage of economies of scale. If you resolve the basics, you make it easy for people to make the
transition.
There are other ways to take the sting out of the cost. A number of free products enable users to view and mark
up models, which can be useful for members of the project team who are not actually designing, or to get an
initial feel for the software.
These include Autodesk Design Review, Solibri Model Checker and Tekla BIMsight. Mark Stodgell, IT Director at
Architect Pozzoni, notes that there is also a wealth of useful, independent information on the UK BIM Task Group
website (www.bimtaskgroup.org/bim-faqs), and a thriving social media community, which uses the #ukbimcrew
hashtag on Twitter. Its 40 or 50 people in the UK who are engaged in what the government is trying to do and
who are quite happy to share information,

2. Work out where youre starting from

A very important, but often overlooked, question is how exactly a firm is working in the first place. BIM is about
taking the tools and workflows that people are using and changing to a more transparent and collaborative way
of working, says Griffin. You need to ascertain as much information
about the technology and the process that you want to go towards,
but first you need to understand the current situation in your office or
practice.
Over the last five years, he points out, every function of the practice
has become increasingly reliant on technology. Its not just the programmes that the architects are using, but software for document
control, HR and accounts, for example.

3. Dont leave it to the IT Manager

Everyone agrees that a change as radical as BIM will only take hold with an organisation if it is led from the very
top. At Mott MacDonald, the board set a vision for implementing BIM - something that engineering director
Mark Enzer believes has been crucial. Because the message is coming from the top, everyone listens - people
think, My career might depend on it, so Id better get on board. If the lead was coming from someone lower
down the organisation, it wouldnt be so successful.
At Allies and Morrison, the partners who make the decisions are supported by a team of advisers who fully
understand the technologies and can summarise them in a relevant way. Decision makers dont need that level
of understanding of the technologies but they do need to have a thorough understanding of the processes that
are being proposed, says Griffin.

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48 February 2015

4. Make a plan
Once you have the leadership, you need a strategy to actually make the vision a reality. When Mott MacDonald
began developing a strategy two years ago, a subcommittee of BIM enthusiasts were assembled from its offices
around the world. We decided to hold a global BIM summit, says Enzer. We brought people from around the
world together, locked them in a room for the best part of a week and ran through all of the technology and
cultural issues we needed to address. For each one, we asked, Is it important, is it a priority, and if so, what do we
have to do about it?
Over the course of the week, and many flipcharts, a consensus gradually emerged. Then a smaller group convened to make sense of the workshop output and distil it into a concise strategy. At its biggest, the group numbered about 20, but Enzer says it was most productive when there were about 12.
One of the most important decisions, he believes, was to appoint BIM champions throughout the business, ranging from a Senior Director with global responsibility for leading BIM implementation across the group, through
champions for each region - Enzer is BIM champion for Europe and Africa - and then each business unit, and
local champions, implementing the strategy on the ground. Its a classic change-management technique, he
says. When a lot of cultural change is involved, a huge amount depends on communication.

5. Learn in your own time

If you dont tool up until your first live project, youre not going to be popular with the rest of the team. Stodgell
suspects that some firms hire BIM Consultants to write very convincing statements to win tenders - which are
not borne out once the work starts. People are getting BIM consultants to fill out their prequalification questionnaires, but are only tooling up for BIM once they get the job. Then we find that our partners are taking their
first step on the BIM journey on our time.
Much better to crack on with a pilot project. Select one with a reasonable timescale, or a friendly client who
wants to explore BIM, Stodgell advises, or youll be struggling on your first live project.
Lee Zebedee, formerly UK BIM Manager at Ramboll, now Customer Success Manager at Autodesk Consulting,
says its important to choose a project that is representative of the work you do. If youre an Architect and you
normally design football stadiums, dont choose a public toilet as your pilot project. Its very easy to do - companies pick their simplest project as a pilot.
Zebedees other tip is not to automatically choose your smartest people to lead the pilot. If theyre not keen to
adopt new technology, it wont move forward. Enthusiasm is possibly the most important thing in staff who are
adopting BIM. You cant go too far wrong by picking enthusiasm.
If you are trying out a new approach, do warn your client upfront. Stodgell notes that with BIM, drawings tend to
emerge in one go at a later stage in the process, in contrast to the steady stream of CAD images clients might be
expecting. Youve got to educate the client about what youre doing, or they could think, Where are the drawings? These guys are really slow

6. Make it easy to do the right thing

Perhaps the biggest leap is from a few BIM pilot projects to making the processes and technologies just part of
business as usual. Company-wide standards are essential, says Zebedee, especially for the larger firms. If you
dont have standards, people will be modelling in different ways, so it will be very hard to pass models from
office to office and team to team. For companies that are new to BIM, he recommends adopting an existing
off-the-shelf protocol, such as the AEC (UK) BIM Protocols (aecuk.wordpress.com) or the protocols soon to be
released by the UK BIM Task Group (www.bimtaskgroup.org).

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49 February 2015

7. Dont treat everyone the same

BIM may be an organisation-wide change, but not everyone
needs to be able to build a Revit model from scratch. We
mapped out the people in the organisation to try and understand their different needs, says Glennon. Practitioners
using design tools will have different requirements from
someone in business development, who needs to understand the concept and how to add value for the client but
not how the tools work.
Griffin identifies three types of people, based on a matrix of
ability and willingness. There are the luddites, not willing or
able to get to grips with the technology; the critical mass, who are generally willing but dont have the skills; and
the early adopters, mad keen and probably already using it.
You need to educate the critical mass, support the early adopters and isolate the luddites. Other people say you
should bring them along for the ride, I say isolate them and let them see for themselves if their old design processes are as efficient.

8. Dont train until the last minute

Early adopters of BIM have learned the hard way that training people to use the software before they need it can
be a waste of money. Experience tells us that the wrong way to do it is to buy a new product and train everyone straightaway, and then no one uses it for six months, by which time theyve forgotten all their training, says
Zebedee.
Ramboll now trains on a just-in-time basis: We identify a project, make sure the team is enthusiastic, and then
train them so that they can support each other and jump straight on to the project.
On key software products, Ramboll has also recruited in-house trainers to save money on external providers.
We go by the 80:20 rule. For the core software we use on 80% of projects, we have our own internal trainers,
and then we buy in external training for the software required on the remaining 20%.
Its also important to have resources that people can access in a live situation, says Griffin. The last thing you
want is for an Architect to come to something they werent taught or that theyve forgotten and for them to be
unable to issue a set of drawings. Allies and Morrison can take advantage of an external support team who are
available after UK business hours, via screen-sharing using GoToMeeting. Previous support calls are also categorised and logged so that they can be accessed later by others who may have the same issues.

9. Dont use e-mail as a project tool

Its not just that email too often becomes a substitute for genuine communication - it simply isnt up to the job.
With BIM, company IT systems will have to cope with files that are many times larger than anything theyve had
to deal with in the past.
Everyone thinks about whether their computer is fast enough, but they tend to forget about server capacity
and the speed of your internet connection, says Stodgell. Files arent 1 or 2MB, theyre 20, 30, 40, 50 or even
200MB and you can easily run out of disk space.
Swapping files and coordinating progress is much more straightforward with a dedicated project collaboration
tool. Basecamp is cheap and simple; more sophisticated alternatives include Asite and 4Projects.
Glennon reckons associated project tools are just as important as the BIM platform itself. Its about making it
easier for people to work in a more collaborative way - so you need associated technologies such as good networks, VoIP [voiceover internet protocol] and screen-sharing.

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50 February 2015

10. Stop buying low-spec computers

It may sound counter-intuitive, but by only buying top-spec, relatively expensive computers, you could actually save money. This is the approach Ramboll has taken. We avoid ever buying low-spec PCs, says Zebedee.
Whenever we have a new starter, we buy the highest-spec model thats available within our budget at the
time and filter all the machines down. Sometimes a machine will be swapped out three or four times. So the
super-user gets a new machine, and their computer goes to an Engineer who needs reasonable power, and their
machine goes to a graduate or someone requiring less power, and the new starter or admin person gets their
old machine.
Its a bit of a headache for IT, but it saves an absolute fortune because you can effectively upgrade four people
for the price of one machine. And it means the super-users are always using the best computer possible.

Follow these steps and Im sure you will find the change over to BIM a breeze. To find
out more on the UK BIM mandate, go to WWW.GOV.UK and download the Building
Information Modelling document. This document outlines the capability assessment
set out the actions that government and industry will take to create opportunities
for the UK construction sector by becoming a world leader in Building Information
Modelling (BIM). To build on the considerable progress already made in embedding
BIM into the domestic
sector.

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51 February 2015

SHOWCASE

REVIEWS

TOP 7 REVIT LAPTOPS 2014

Despite competition from next-generation desktop workstations the sales of dedicated REVIT/3D laptops
have increased by 50 percent since 2013, according to the graphics gurus at nVidia. And, of course nVidia
has a lot to do with that success, as its GeForce range of graphics cards almost completely dominates the
3D industry, dazzling users with super-fast frame rates and ever more spectacular 3D eye-candy.
nVidias domination looks set to continue with the arrival of its latest generation of graphics cards for laptops, the GeForce GTX 800M series. These new GPUs are faster than ever thats only to be expected but
this improved performance means that prices
of 3D laptops have finally begun to drop quite
significantly.
High-end laptops with true potential typically
cost 1,500 to 2,000. However, as we discovered, the enhanced performance of the 800M
series GPUs means its possible to get respectable performance from more mid-range machines in the 1,000 to 1,500 category. In fact,
Chillblasts Defiant 2 and Scans 3XS Graphite
even manage to come in under 900, yet still
maintain great credentials thanks to the strong performance of a mid-range GTX 860M graphics card.
The new 800M series bring another shift in emphasis, too. Like Intels Haswell-generation chips the
fourth generation of the Intel Core series they are now starting to focus more on energy-efficiency
and portability. 3D laptops have traditionally been big, heavy and noisy, with large air vents and cooling
systems required to cope with the heat output of their powerful GPUs. And, of course, the power requirements of these GPUs meant that battery life was always pretty poor.
Many 3D laptops still follow that pattern, especially the 17in monitors.
However, better power efficiency means its possible to cram some serious
potential into smaller, lighter designs. Were seeing more 13in and 15in
laptops that are small enough to fit into a backpack without giving yourself
a hernia. The Chillblast Defiant 2 fits easily into a bag, while the 15in P35W v2
from Gigabyte Is an Ultrabook-esque 20.9mm thick. This means that theres
now greater choice in the market than ever before, so read our reviews to see
which laptop is right for you.
Best REVIT laptop 2014: Conclusion
Our key conclusion after looking at all these laptops is that nVidias latest range of GPUs really does provide strong performance at more competitive prices than ever before.
At the other extreme are the 17in monsters from Alienware and Asus. These are old-school 3D laptops
expensive and so big and heavy theyll probably never leave home. Their performance is, however, exceptional and their large screens are ideal for designing and other forms of entertainment.
But, sitting right in the middle of this group is Scan 3XS Graphite LG156. The LG156 chosen by Scan isnt
quite top-of-the-range, but its performance will satisfy most people, while also allowing Scan to slim this
15.6in laptop down to just 42.7mm thick and a weight of 2.7kg. Its not quite in the Alienware territory, but
the LG156 manages to provide excellent performance in a genuinely portable design. The finishing touch
is a price of 8,99 whichre presents real value for money and earns it our Best Buy for using REVIT.

REVITworld

52 February 2015

Schenker XMG P504 review: REVIT

laptop bigger and heavier with a punch
1,544 RRP inc VAT
Manufacturer: Schenker
Build Quality:
Features:
Value for Money:
Performance:
Overall:

The XMG P504 laptop isnt going to win any awards for elegant design. But it provides strong 3D performance at a competitive price.
The rather generic black-plastic casing used to house the P504 is sturdy enough, but its chunky and
heavy, measuring a full 45 mm thick. It also weighes 3.5 kg, rather than the 3.3 kg quoted on Schenkers
website. Thats big and heavy, even for a 15-inch laptop with a built-in DVD drive.
The keyboard feels firm and comfortable, but its slightly cramped layout includes a half-height US-style
enter key and puts the Fn key over on the right of the space-bar.
Still, the size of the unit does at least allow it to cover plenty of connectivity options. Along with HDMI, the
P504 includes two DisplayPort interfaces, and S/PDIF digital audio output along with its standard headphone socket. Theres even a Firewire port too, although thats of less use outside recording studios these
days.
Schenker XMG P504 review: performance
Good looks arent a strong point but the P504 does come up trumps on performance. Prices start at
around 1,100 with a Core i5 processor, but a top-of-the-range model that costs 1,544 with a Core i7 running at 2.4 GHz, 8 GB memory and nVidia GeForce GTX 880M with 8 GB of video memory.
Windows boots from a 240 GB solid-state drive, and a secondary 750 GB hard disk is available for more
data.
Schenker XMG P504 review: display
The P504 also seems to use the same screen as its predecessor. Its matt finish and 1920 x 1080 resolution
provided good image quality, with wide horizontal viewing angles.

REVITworld

53 February 2015

Alienware 17 review: REVIT laptop with a

Haswell processor for the BIG boys
1,683.60 RRP inc VAT
Manufacturer: Dell
Build Quality:
Features:
Value for Money:
Performance:
Overall:

Alienware 17 (2014) review: performance

The performance of this new GPU promises to be impressive, especially as it should provide high-end performance at a more competitive price than weve seen before.
The design of the Alienware 17 is essentially unchanged its built like a tank, measuring a full 48.5 mm
thick and weighing 4.2 kg. Portability obviously isnt its strong point. And like all Alienware laptops, its
bedecked with customizable coloured lights that smoulder from beneath the keyboard, trackpad and
various other sections of the matt-black chassis.
Battery life isnt outstanding, but switching to integrated graphics did allow the Alienware 17 to manage
4.5 hours of streaming video from the BBC iPlayer. Thats not bad for such a powerful machine, and should
allow you to get a good few hours design work done before you need to charge it up again.
Alienware 17 (2014) review: display
The 17.3-inch screen is as attractive as ever, with 1920 x 1080 resolution and a bright, colourful image that
provides excellent all-round viewing angles.
The speakers sound a little tinny at higher frequencies, but they produce a fairly full sound with enough
volume to handle explosions in games and films without needing external speakers.
But while full-HD resolution is perfectly adequate for HD video presentation, there are other applications,
such as video- or photo-editing, that benefit from even higher resolution.
The P504 also seems to use the same screen as its predecessor. Its matt finish and 1920 x 1080 resolution
provided good image quality, with wide horizontal viewing angles.

REVITworld

54 February 2015

Chillblast Defiant review: compact

REVIT laptop offers great value
949.00 RRP inc VAT
Manufacturer: Chillblast
Build Quality:
Features:
Value for Money:
Performance:
Overall:

At the core of the Defiant 15 beats a vastly powerful Core i7 4710MQ quad-core processor, 8GB of
1600MHz DDR3 memory and an incredible GPU that seems completely at odds with the compact size of
this machine NVIDIAs GeForce GTX 860M. This card is fully compatible with Intels hybrid GPU feature so
when you are using your machine for something less demanding than REVIT, the GeForce switches off and
the Intel HD4600 takes over, saving power in the process. Fire up REVIT and the 860M immediately kicks in
giving you amazing detail and frame rates. The jewel in the crown, however, is the stunning 15.6 screen
with a Full-HD 1920 x 1080 non-reflective display.
A 1000GB hybrid SSD / HDD gives you lightning fast response rates and the space for your entire family
library in a single device, but an mSATA SSD can provide even faster dedicated storage for your OS if desired. 8GB of RAM comes as standard, expandable to 16GB for power users.
The high-quality turbo response keyboard is ideal for long sessions. It is backlit for night-time use and
there is the facility to turn off the touchpad at the tap of a button. A host of shortcut keys run along the
top of the keyboard allowing you to adjust brightness, volume, wireless and Bluetooth all at the touch of a
button. The Creative sound system THX certified for a cinema-like experience.
In terms of connectivity the Defiant 15 is fully equipped with contemporary connections. It has VGA &
HDMI video outputs as well as built-in 802.11N 2.4GHz wireless, USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet ports, USB
2.0 ports and multiple audio jacks.
All of this is provided in a chassis that provides surprising portability. The Defiant measures just 374mm x
250mm x 16.3-42.7mm and weighs 2.7kg including the battery.

REVITworld

55 February 2015

Asus RoG G750JZ review: REVIT

laptop offers powerful performanceto
1,769.99 RRP inc VAT
Manufacturer: Asus
Build Quality:
Features:
Value for Money:
Performance:
Overall:

This flagship model from Asus is one of the most expensive gaming laptops weve seen recently, coming
in at almost 1800. However, Asus really has thrown the kitchen sink into this one.
The G759JZ makes a good impression right from the start. The 17-inch machine may be big and bulky,
weighing in at a hefty 4.5 kg and measuring a mighty 58 mm thick. But the build quality is excellent. The
matt-black chassis has an attractive soft-touch finish, while the keyboard has a nice, firm feel to it.
Its based around a quad-core Haswell-gen Intel Core i7 running at 2.4 GHz, backed up by a top-of-therange nVidia GeForce GTX 880M with 4 GB video memory.
Theres a healthy 16 GB of system memory, and the G750JZ boots from a 256 GB solid-state drive, with a
conventional 1 TB hard drive included to store your games, music and videos.
Theres also a Blu-ray drive for high-def films, a 2.1 speaker system, and even an Intel/Apple Thunderbolt
interface for high-speed back-up drives.
Asus RoG G750JZ review: display
The 17.3-inch screen has 1920 x 1080 resolution, and the image quality is enhanced by its anti-glare matt
finish. But while the horizontal viewing angles are very good, the vertical viewing scope is more limited,
and we did find ourselves needing to nudge the screen to improve visibility.
Despite its decent volume, the stereo speaker system sounded annoyingly tinny at times. Those arent
fatal flaws by any means, but they do stand out on an otherwise impressive piece of kit.

REVITworld

56 February 2015

Scan 3XS Graphite LG156 review: a solid

REVIT laptop on a mid-range budget to
899.00 RRP inc VAT
Manufacturer: Scan
Build Quality:
Features:
Value for Money:
Performance:
Overall:

The Scan 3XS Graphite LG156 is a good laptop that doesnt break the bank.
Its starting to look as though the real star of nVidias new GTX 800M series is the mid-range 860M graphics processor. It enables laptops such as Scans 3XS LG156 here to provide strong performance at more
competitive prices than ever before.
Compared to some its not too heavy, weighing in under 3 kg but at a still uncomfortable 2.7 kg and 42.7
mm thick. So thats in between the old-school millstones like the Alienware 17 and Asus RoG, and the
scaled-down Chillblast Defiant 2.
Scan 3XS Graphite LG156: build quality
The build quality is good, and we liked the firm feel and travel of the keyboard. The trackpads a bit small,
but REVIT users will often use it with a mouse so thats not a major issue.
The 15.6-inch screen provides 1920 x 1080 resolution and is very bright and colourful. Its viewing angles
arent what youd find from an IPS display but weve seen worse on laptops costing more than this.
The speakers have a bit of a metallic edge to their sound, but theyre reasonably loud and adequate for
playing games or music without needing external speakers. Scan also includes some useful bonuses, such
as up-to-date 802.11ac wireless for high-speed Wi-Fi, and an S/PDIF interface for digital audio output.
Scan 3XS Graphite LG156: value for money
Its good value for money too, costing just 899 with a Haswell-generation Intel Core i7 running at 2.5
GHz, 8 GB of Corsair Vengeance gaming RAM, 1 TB hybrid drive; and of course, the GTX 860M for graphics.
The hybrid drive isnt ideal, but its an acceptable compromise to keep price down.

REVITworld

57 February 2015

Gigabyte P35W v2 review - slim and

light laptop offers sheer performance
1,399 RRP inc VAT
Manufacturer: Razer
Build Quality:
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Value for Money:
Performance:
Overall:

Its impressive to see a laptop as slim and as light as the Gigabyte P35W v2.
The slimline Blade laptop from Razer grabbed headlines when it was launched last year, but it still isnt
widely available here in the UK. Instead, its Gigabyte that has delivered the first Ultrabook to these
shores. It may have a clumsy and unwieldy name, but at just 20.9 mm thick the Gigabyte P35W v2 is far
and away the slimmest, most elegant REVIT laptop weve ever been able to get our hands on.
Gigabyte P35W v2: thin and light
We found the Gigabyte P35W v2 weighed 2.5 kg though, rather than the 2.16 kg listed on Gigabytes website, which was a little disappointing. Battery life isnt great, at just 4 hours of streaming video when using
integrated graphics.
Theres a lot of power crammed into that slim unit too. For 1399, the P35W v2 includes a quad-core Intel
Core i7 running at 2.5 GHz along with 16 GB of memory, and an nVidia GeForce GTX 870M on graphics
duty.
Gigabyte P35W v2: value for money
The laptops weve seen with the 880M tend to be around 300 more expensive, so the P35W v2 certainly
provides excellent value for money. And, of course, its got that high-performance storage system
Our only complaint concerns the display the 15.6-inch display is darker than we might have liked. And
the limited brightness doesnt help the limited viewing angles. A laptop costing 1399 deserves more than
a budget screen.

REVITworld

58 February 2015

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon review:

The brainy professor goes on a diet to
1,709.99 RRP inc VAT
Manufacturer: Schenker
Build Quality:
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Value for Money:
Performance:
Overall:

The Carbon is the successor to last years X1, and ticks all the ultrabook boxes, but it tries to go even further and outdo everyone: its a 14-inch laptop thats barely bigger than a typical 13-inch model, and its
carbon fiber body is less than three quarters of an inch thick and weighs all of three pounds. Theres no
shortage of power inside, either, thanks to a Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD in the base
model.
The Carbon is undeniably a ThinkPad Lenovos understated black look with a few red accents isnt
particularly exciting, but its handsome in a very professional way. And when its matched with the matte
carbon fiber build of the X1 Carbon, it gets even better.
The carbon fiber itself is comfortable and almost rubbery, but its incredibly sturdy too. Lenovo says it
picked the material because its lighter than aluminum but still as strong, and both claims seem to be true
the X1 Carbon weighs exactly three pounds and is only 25mm thick at its fattest point, but it still feels
extremely well-made. Lenovo even boasts that it passes eight different Mil-SPEC tests, which stress-test a
laptop in extreme temperatures and situations.
Since everything is black, it can actually be hard to locate the ports on the side of the X1, but theres a
decent selection to be found. The right side houses an SD card slot, a Mini DisplayPort, a USB 3.0 port, and
a 3.5mm headphone jack. Theres a USB 2.0 port on the left, next to a wireless switch and the slot for the
power adapter. The rectangular power plug looks a bit like Apples MagSafe plugs, but sadly its not magnetic. In a nod to the traveling professional, theres a switch on the left side that shuts off all the devices
radios in an Airplane Mode of sorts. Notably absent are an Ethernet port (though theres a USB adapter
in the box) and an HDMI port but the DisplayPort helps to offset that. On the back of all but the base
model, theres a SIM card slot that you can use to add 3G data access to your ThinkPad; it worked seamlessly with my AT&T SIM, which is awesome.

REVITworld

59 September 2014

NEXT MONTH

SHOWCASE

ISSUE 002 AVAILABLE 12 FEBRUARY