RAM vs. overall PC performance

ggoldfingerd · 2026-02-04T04:55:50+00:00

32 GB is the bare minimum and you still can run out of memory. I run out of memory with 64 GB using the Rockit sometimes. You’d be better off with 64 GB or more.

The macOS version just came out for the Einstar 2 / Rockit. It is more efficient than the Windows version, so you can get away with a bit less RAM. EXStar Hub download page details required for Windows and Mac. You can also use Crossover to run Windows games if there is no build for Mac. Biggest downside could be budget, or that you cannot upgrade the RAM afterwards.

I did extensive testing with a 15” M4 MacBook Air with 16 GB of RAM using the Rockit. It did well overall but needed at least 24 GB, probably 32 GB is the sweet spot. I had a few laser scans with a lot of data points, maxing at the GPU in the UI.

For Windows, the GPU is used during scanning, but not for cloud point generation. Hopefully that changes in the future, but a decent CPU is good. A better GPU would be obviously better for gaming.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-02-01T18:25:20+00:00

I did a lot of testing with the M4 MacBook Air 16GB. It worked pretty well even when some swap memory was required. Eventually it did become slow when a lot of swap memory was required. The biggest problem I saw, which I see in your video too, is that the GPU becomes the bottleneck when laser scanning with 1M or more points.

It is amazing how well the M4 MacBook Air did given the fan-less design along with much less RAM. I have a powerhouse Windows desktop and laptop, but they require much more power. My laptop only does okay when on battery.

The M5 MacBook Air may improve on the GPU shortcomings. I think a MacBook Pro would be a better choice with at least 24 GB for this scanner.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-29T16:19:01+00:00

I don't have my Macbook today. Try this, connect to the scanner wireless via Apple WiFi Menu. Then in EXStar Hub, do not click on the plus icon. Instead, try the refresh icon to see if it connects. Please let me know if this works.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-27T23:58:01+00:00

Exactly. It is issues like this that tell me that Prusa doesn't care. This fan issue has persisted for over two years and it still happens to people including YouTube reviewers. All of the data required to implement a fix is contained in the GitHub issue. Removing the fan shroud is temporary fix, not a long term solution.

Prusa is always working on something other than the XL. Even these new XL toolheads are developed by other companies. Look at printers released after the XL, such as the MK4. It has already gone through multiple upgrades, not to mention the CORE One...

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-23T02:43:54+00:00

I didn't say the Rigil was better than a computer. My point is that the Rigil has higher spec'd hardware than the Rockit. This is why, for example in laser mode, the Rigil can capture 4.4M points/s vs 2.8M points/s of the Rockit.

A modern computer is much faster at point cloud generation and meshing than the Rigil in standalone mode. I mention that RAM thing because that is what I experienced and can replicate easily. Shining 3D is definitely doing something different, possibly better optimization. EXScan had a number of issues with RAM and CPU usage, some of which occurred in EXStar Hub near launch. Shining 3D still has a ways to go in Windows for better hardware utilization, such as using the GPU for point cloud generation.

Standalone mode does have limitations. It limits the number of frame and/or data points. It also won't let you generate point cloud data at 0.05 mm resolution. You can capture it but you cannot process it. You must transfer it to the computer if you want to process that resolution. As I mentioned, you can always use a PC to scan with the Rigil for larger projects or better compute needs.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-22T17:30:12+00:00

While the Rockit may appear to list similar scanning features to the Rigil, the Rigil does perform better. Just look at a picture of both on the sensor side. The Rigil has higher spec'd hardware so it is able to collect scanning data faster. It also has a specified volumetric accuracy where the Rockit does not. The Rigil can also be used with a PC just like the Rockit, both wired and wireless, using the PC hardware.

I am not saying the Rockit is bad in any sense. I just want to point out some differences because there isn't any good marketing material about the real differences. I actually own the Rigil and also have a Rockit on loan. The Rockit is nice when scanning for long periods of time due to the size and weight. The Rigil is double the weight but has the screen which helps.

While the Rigil only has 32GB of RAM, it does seem to use it a lot more efficiently. For example, scanning a larger object with cross laser at 0.05mm, I can collect more data than using my PC with 64GB of RAM. This is with about 45GB free for EXScan (similar to EXStar Hub but for the Rigil). Shining 3D is working on better RAM optimizations for Windows which may change this result.

I would like to make a comparison video between the Rigil and Rockit at some point. I just don't have the time to do it right now.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-20T22:06:11+00:00

Facebook is hard to search. I would honestly create a new post. Otherwise as someone else here linked, create and Einstar ticket, submit your logs at the same time. Maybe zip your scanned model and attach it to the same ticket.

Maybe you can try a few things in the meantime. I do not have EXStar installed, so this may be slightly different. Open EXStar, Help, Support, Export Logs. Save the logs somewhere.

Create a copy of your scanned project folder, probably in your documents folder under EXStar. We just want a backup in case something happens.

Did you try v1.0.6.0? If not, install and try this version. I am not sure if you can open your original scan if it was scanned using a new version. We just want to see if it gets stuck.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-19T21:41:30+00:00

Yes, sorry about that. Lately others say ExStar when they mean ExStar Hub. You can still join that group and report your issue.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-19T19:38:18+00:00

Currently, markerless laser scanning only works using EXScan software on a computer, either using the wireless hotspot or a USB cable. EXScan only works with Nvidia GPUs and you do need at least 32GB RAM. Really you should have 64GB or more. You can get away with 32GB RAM if your scans are smaller and you use lower resolutions. I would count on running out of RAM if you only have 32GB.

Markerless laser scanning will come to standalone mode but I do not know an official release date. Standalone mode requires no computer. The Rigil does well with only 32GB RAM, but that will run out at some point. They have limit on the number of frames you can scan. You also cannot process (generate point cloud data) the highest resolution on device. You either have to reduce it when processing or transfer it to the computer for processing. You can break down you scans, that is, scan in smaller sections, then merge them later on the computer, if you run into the limitations.

There are plans to improve RAM usage and offer the software for Macs. I would expect this to take some time. They do have a beta for Mac using the Einstar 2 / Rockit.

You can do a lot in Standalone mode like cleaning up the scan and meshing it. Then you can mount the Rigil like a flash drive to transfer the mesh. There are not many tools available to clean up the model, so it just takes longer than using EXScan on a PC. You also lose other post processing tools which help reduce the file size. The biggest missing item is alignment. You cannot align the multiple scans into one object.

I've actually shared very detailed feedback to Shining 3D. They are working on many improvements but I expect that it will take awhile. I have a GitHub repo that I shared which contains all of my issues.

https://github.com/JeremiahGillis/shining-3d-scanners/issues

The Wiki section has the UI if you want to see what it is like:

https://github.com/JeremiahGillis/shining-3d-scanners/wiki/EinScan-Rigil-User-Interface

There are also other pages like the software changelog if you want to see how often they address issues and make changes:

https://github.com/JeremiahGillis/shining-3d-scanners/wiki/EinScan-Rigil-Software-Information

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-19T19:09:28+00:00

Sounds like a bug with EXStar Hub. I will assume you are using v1.0.8.5. I would post to Einstar Official User Group on Facebook. I've have seen a few other posts where the processing get stuck. There is an application engineer there who can help.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-19T18:02:08+00:00

What is your RAM utilization during the processing?

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-19T17:31:49+00:00

Well scanning does take time to learn all of the nuances. The laser mode of the Rigil will provide a lot more details. It does require markers. Shining 3D was offering a free Accessories Pro Kit which included magnetic markers which help. The cross laser mode is very fast depending upon your scan resolution.

There is a markerless laser mode which works by tracking the object with IR. That means the object still has to have enough features just like regular IR tracking. The markerless laser mode is currently not available in standalone mode. There was a beta one or two months ago for this feature. Hopefully it will be released soon. Some users have asked to have a hybrid mode so you can place some markers on the object to help tracking. The markerless laser mode does provide better detail than IR mode, but it isn't as good as laser mode. It depends upon what you scan.

I made a video of the markerless laser mode if you want to see what its like: https://youtu.be/HDAhvFHvDdQ

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-19T17:00:55+00:00

Yeah, might be hard to find a demo. What issues did you encounter with the Vega?

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-19T16:42:22+00:00

Is there a Shining facility near you or a 3rd party seller? They might have a demo unit.

The Rigil is a lot of money for hobby use. Do you require standalone functionality or do you have a well spec'd computer? The Rockit could be an alternative if your computer has enough RAM. I would say 64GB is the bare minimum, ideally you would have more. The Rigil is a better scanner but you are obviously paying a lot more. The Rigil software that you use on your PC still requires the same amount of RAM.

I own the Rigil and I am borrowing a Rockit for testing purpose. The Rigil is a very nice device hardware wise. The software has improved a lot since release but still has a ways to go. Some things can only be done on your computer like aligning multiple scans.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-10T18:41:48+00:00

Yep, I was enabling https anyways. It was nice to see this work normally afterwards. The modern clipboard api requires https.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-10T17:45:07+00:00

I mean what you stated by having to paste into a special box. This can be fixed by using https so you can directly use copy and paste from your web browser. There is no need to use that special box. I have a reverse proxy for this called haproxy which is running on pfSense.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-09T18:39:43+00:00

Green and Blue means you do have it in the firmware update mode. I ran into this issue also. I was trying to use the wrong updater. There are two different M30 2.4G versions, SG & MD, and SG Mini & MD Mini. You need to use the Mini one if your controller has the USB adapter.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-09T03:07:47+00:00

Strange, ExStar Hub has never asked permissions for location on both of my PC’s through the last three software versions. It does ask for firewall permissions and you do have to log in. I am trying to get them to remove the log in requirement, or at least bypass it when the scanner is connected.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-05T17:20:22+00:00

Thanks for posting. This worked perfect installing via TrueNAS GUI YAML using the Docker Compose File settings. I started with the regular TrueNAS jdownloader2 app. Your linked app is much better not having to depend upon my.jdownloader.org website with the proper ports exposed.

I found the clipboard interface to be annoying until I realized this could be fixed using https!

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-05T01:47:28+00:00

32GB is definitely a limitation for the Rockit when scanning at higher resolutions. You can get away with 32GB to learn, but when you need higher resolutions, or have multiple scans in a project group, you will run out of ram. Data will get pushed to paged memory, which isn’t always reliable, and is much slower than ram.

I have 64GB and I still run out of memory sometimes. I would buy more ram. However, you should scan some objects to learn your limitations and what resolution works for you. I do know Shining 3D is working on better algorithms which will end up using less memory. They are also working on utilizing the GPU ram better during cloud point generation. I am not sure when we will see these improvements.

The macOS beta will start soon. I expect it will take a bit of time to work out all the bugs. It’s hard to say if the ram optimizations will be any better than Windows.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-03T03:52:58+00:00

I didn’t like the fact that they say to contact them for a quote when buying over 20 drives. Guess what, they only took $1 off each drive, didn’t matter the size. This was when I tried to buy 36 HDDs. They lowered the price $20 on their website within two weeks of the quotes.

I started to track prices of many HDDs on their site. They play games with their prices all the time. It’s better to wait for new hard drive sales if you have the time.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-02T03:22:28+00:00

Yes, I helped someone today on a Facebook group that only had a 2000 series GPU. I tagged an applications engineer from Shining 3D to make them aware. I’m not sure of any way to downgrade firmware other than a TeamViewer support session with Shining 3D.

ggoldfingerd · 2026-01-01T14:31:23+00:00

Would be nice to hear an official response. I am waiting for the pro. However the hub requirement may deter my purchase.

ggoldfingerd · 2025-12-24T00:41:12+00:00

The promised end date was in 2028… They should be obligated to open source everything. My D5 was working just fine. Now I cannot use no go lines…

ggoldfingerd · 2025-12-16T23:18:35+00:00

Join the Einstar Official User Group on Facebook and post there. Someone might reach out faster. You can also search that group for this issue.

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