Punch Professional Home Design Platinum v10 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a really fun program - if you're just playing with imaginary floorplans. However, if you're trying to work on an actual house, forget it! I've tried various amateur CAD programs over the last two decades for landscaping and renovation plans. The underlying Punch! program is decent, but this version is very buggy.
Pros
- "trace" option is nice, if you can get your compy's video card to work with the program, and if you've got the patience to do repeated iterations of the zoom feature to match the program grid to your image.
- lots of options for sizes, etc.
- no wait time for tech support
- fairly generic format; easy to learn for anyone used to CAD programs except when bizarre hiccups occur (i.e., see note below about staircase)
Cons
- it takes over 1/2 hour to load this program as there are tons of graphics of brand name items; would have preferred to have downloadable packets for items that are actually needed.
- objects don't move, even though they should be repositionable; this occurs sporadically and very unpredictably
- your entire plan disappears from the file, no clue as to why this happens, but it's gone and isn't recoverable
- third party applications (PowerTool PlugIns) aren't all compatible yet
- using the 3D feature will often crash the program
- no way to preview the print output; sometimes it prints what you want, sometimes, it doesn't
- absolutely not for newbies - steep learning curve for the uninitiated and the tutorials don't explain everything (like why your staircase, drawn as per directions, looks like an Esher nightmare)
I'm running this program on a brand new VAIO with maximum memory, graphics card memory, etc. I can't imagine what a horror this would be on an older, slower computer.
This program goes back tomorrow. I'll give it another try in 9-12 months, AFTER they've debugged.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Punch Professional Home Design Platinum v10

Punch! Professional Home Design Suite Platinum™ is a special two-for-one package loaded with incredible capabilities. You get all of the features of both industry-acclaimed Punch! Master Landscape & Home Design™ and Punch! Professional Home Design Suite™ software, and more, in this easy-to-use home and landscape design package.This updated home and landscape design software version is built on the same powerful platform as Punch! Architectural Series 4000, allowing you the flexibility to integrate Punch! PowerTools and much, much, more!Version 10 gives you even more features and enhancements:design with Decorator Palette—change your room colors with just one click! Use Accessories to easily add art and window treatments.Also includes dormer & skylight tools, supports fractions and now imports 3DS files.Room Wizard helps you get started fast—just input your room dimensions and the rooms are created for you.Keep your designs up-to-date with brand name content and Punch! Updater.Home Design Software that Lets You Design and View Your Home with Incredible 3D Home Design Realism!Our PhotoView technology lets you import real-world photos into your home and landscape designs to create a truly realistic image of your home. You can import a photo of your own home, add landscaping design or deck design, and then view your work from any angle -- with realistic, 3D perspective.

Click here for more information about Punch Professional Home Design Platinum v10

Read More...

Better Homes and Gardens Architectural Home Designer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been playing with this product for about a week, I bought it because It looked like a major upgrade from Home Designer Suite 7, which was a little quirky but got the job done. Maybe its just my expectations but the final renderings you get with this program don't look very good, as in not close to photo-realistic. They are no better than the Suite 7, and because this really isn't intended as professional home design software, the real function of it should be great visualizations. Bottom line they look pretty cartoonish.
There are a lot of great features in this software, like being able to design in the 3D view, importing your XYZ terrain data (DTM), stair tools, plant choosing tools, a whole bunch of authentic items like windows, furniture, fixtures, floor coverings, etc (although a good bit of the extra ones you have to download, which is odd because the software only ships on DVD-ROM). You can probably design your exact house using this software and maybe even build from it (if you're an experienced builder) but you may become frustrated in the process because of 2 fundamentals of the Better Homes & Gardens line of software.
They are:
1. It is real quirky and some of the "automatic things" can ruin your design if your not careful. For example, I added an "automatic stairwell" once and as it turned out ruined my design because it created "attic walls" that were not able to be deleted. I had to go back to my last save point because was unable to undo it. The zoom & pan tools work but they are very unintuitive and nonstandard. It just isn't fun to try new things for fear of screwing something up. If you are patient and creative you can get your design done, but not without some frustration. In short, the quirks are numerous, and I've only used this software a couple of weeks.
2. The maker of this software have 2 more expensive products ($500, & $2195) that are subtly hinted can do more. This is a gateway product, teasing you enough to want just a little bit more. The renderings of the $500 product don't look any better, however.
I think bottom line, if you are determined to design your house and learning new software is fun for you, this will do nearly everything, but if you get frustrated easily and/or only like easy to use software, steer clear.
Also, if you use Vista, it turns off Aero-glass while it is running.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Better Homes and Gardens Architectural Home Designer

Better Homes and Gardens Architectural Home Designer is an all-in-one Home Design software and provides feature rich tools for design projects including: Home Design, Remodeling, Decks & Landscaping, Interior Design, Site Planning & Estimating. Quickly place and arrange walls, windows, doors, and cabinets.Choose colors, place furniture, create decks and landscaping. Powerful building tools like standard CAD tools, automatic roof generation, dormers, stairs, framing, foundations, and Plan Check make it easy.Choose from a Library of more than 7,000 items including windows, doors, lighting, furniture, interior/exterior fixtures, cabinets, and more.A Sprinkler Designer tool and full landscaping capabilities including a library of 3,200 plants are included.

Click here for more information about Better Homes and Gardens Architectural Home Designer

Read More...