[GH85Carrera]

We have just one computer with 128 gig. Most of the software we run never use all of 32 gig. Only once did we get close to using all 128 gig on a huge project.

The number of CPU cores is a big part of the speed for the software we use. Ironically none of them can use a dual CPU setup except one CPU at a time. Video card speed is a big part of it too.

We have no servers at all. Everything is peer to peer. One software package can split a project up into work units they call fusers. Each fuser cost us another license fee. We have to buy extra fuser seats on a as needed basis. The program sets up one computer as the maser source, and each of the other computers have one fuser seat, and it gets a hunk of data, churns for hours, spits it back, and asks for more. That can run for a week at a time. That is a big part of why we have more computers.

One of the big projects we are still in the running to get a piece of is a large 3D capture of a metropolitan area. It would end up with over a million images. We will have to pay the software manufacturer a fee to run it for us. They are caculating it might take 256 fusers a few weeks to produce. Right now it is a pipe dream. I suspect the final client will fold at the cost of doing it. They all want super high resolution, super accurate imagery, and super low prices. That part is impossible. We don't work for free.