There are many questions about rebuild time and slow response of SW software in this forum.

I always used the reported "Total rebuild time in seconds" when presssing Perfomance Evaluation button, to compare the speed of Parts.

I noticed this was not always useful to compare the "speed" (responsiveness of the software) of models.

When pressing the Perfomance evaluation button there are processes started, which are listed at the bottom of the screen:

1. "Rebuilding feature x of y – Featurename (Default)". (The numbers of x and y are often incorrect).
2. Updating pattern visual properties.
3. Generating graphics.
4. No message, (you just have to wait)

The #1 process is reported as "Total rebuild time in seconds".

With simple Part models these processes are done within the blink of an eye, and the different times needed to complete each process can not be noticed.

For some models the #2 process is much longer than proces #1.

I have created some small models to demonstrate this.

The Part is a base plate with dimensions 320x320x20mm, containing 1048 holes, diameter 8mm.

Model A is started with the Boss extrude to create the base plate. The the Cut-Extrude is patterned 32x32.

Model B is starting with 1 body 10x10x20mm including 1 hole. This body is mirrored 10x.

Model C is based on surface features and also 10x mirror. It is thickened to create 1 body with holes.

Model A is a straight forward method and my rebuild time is 0.28 sec, which "feels" correct.

Model B is reports also 0.28 sec but it feels not correct because it last 26 seconds to get SW responsive.

Model C reports 0.99 sec which is 3,5 times longer than A and B, it feels correct.

Model B needs much more time in process #2 than A and B, but it does not contain a pattern.

With more complicated versions of these models, I could create a model which needs 6 to 7 seconds rebuild time, but needs hours to get the software responsive.

The question; is rebuild time useful to compare the speed of models  ?? Is there an alternative ?