Computing Resources Necessary

More computer processing power is always better, but what is the minimum? This depends entirely on the number of sites (cells) in your landscape, the cell resolution, and the number of processes simulated.

However, there are a few rules of thumb:

1. Small cells (< 50m) + large dispersal distances requires the most processing power because the model will need to search through a much larger neighborhood (more site) to find adequate seed sources.
2. More RAM is MUCH better. If you use all the available RAM, your computer will begin using virtual memory (memory on the hard drive). Virtual memory is VERY slow. I recommend at least 2 Gb of RAM to be safe. Note: If you have access to a 64-bit machine, you can access much more RAM.
3. If you are using a lot of output extensions, you will need a lot of disk space. More frequent maps = more disk space. Writing maps also takes a fair amount of time. In summary, create only the output you will actually use. Remember, you can always add more output later.
4. Simulations last from 20 minutes - 20 hours. However, 100,000 cells should last less than an hour. If not, review the above.

Many people will start with a coarse resolution and a few outputs. After that is working, they will move to a finer resolution and more output.