VMD-L Mailing List

From: John Stone (johns_at_ks.uiuc.edu)
Date: Wed Aug 02 2006 - 15:39:50 CDT

Michel,
  VMD can load structures that large with no problem if you have enough
memory, say 2 to 3GB. The main remaining issue after memory is that
you'll be able to load such a structure MUCH faster if you use a file
format that contains bond/connectivity information. If there's no
connectivity info (e.g. lone PDB), then VMD will have to do a bond
search after the file is loaded, and that can take a long time on
really really large structures.

With a structure that large, I highly recommend using the
Points, NewRibbon, and NewCartoon representations since they'll work better
for things of that size. If I knew more about your structure and what
you want to do with it once in VMD, I could give you more suggestions on
getting it loaded and displayed most efficiently. Let me know if you
need more help.

  John Stone
  vmd_at_ks.uiuc.edu

On Wed, Aug 02, 2006 at 03:25:41PM -0500, L. Michel Espinoza-Fonseca wrote:
> Hi John,
>
> I was wondering about what's the maximum number of atoms that VMD can
> handle. Currently, I have a system of about 6.5 million atoms, so I
> would like to know if I'll be able to visualize it :)
>
> Thanks!
> Michel 

-- 
NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Bioinformatics
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
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