Others say...

"ATTENTION BRODERBUND 3D HOME ARCHITECT v4.0 OWNERS!!"
From the negative reviews of the 5.0 product, I decided to do some research on another product that was recommended: Chief Architect Home Edition 5.0 (or CAHE5).

Apparently, the vendor who makes CAHE5 also made Broderbund's 3D Home Architect v4.0 product. But they did NOT make the new v5.0 software; it was sub-contracted out to another company. Probably explains the new interface and the fact that v5.0 is not compatible with v4.0 (you cannot import v4.0 designs).

CAHE5 *is* compatible with 4.0, and it will import v4.0 files. The vendor says that CAHE5 is the true update to v4.0.

FYI, The vendor also says that the next release of their software will be renamed to Better Homes and "Home Designer Suite" v6.0. It's available now, in fact.

...

NOTE: I do not work for Chief Architect, Broderbund or any other computer company. I'm just a homeowner researching for the best home design software and I believe in sharing the knowledge.

Regards,
Roland Thomas

"Try some other software"
I bought 3D Home Architect Pro 5.0 after seeing positive reviews. Oops, those were for earlier versions! Maybe those worked, but 5.0 doesn't. Nice features, but this program automatically closes itself on a regular basis, as others have reported. And not for lack of computer, this is on a 2.20gb P4 with 256 RAM and plenty of hard drive. Save your money and buy something else. I have Punch Home Design Pro Platinum now, which seems to have comparable features and at least lets me design something without crashing. I returned 3DHA 5.0 and got my money back, and you probably will too if you buy it.

"Three (or more) steps back"
Broderbund just lost a long time customer. I have been using their product for years and was very excited when I got the notice of the new upgrade available. I just loaded it and only after major frustration did I start searching the web for information on what I might be missing. I wish I had read these reviews before I bought into the upgrade. I'm going to check out Chief Architect as suggested... otherwise, I'll reload v4.0. v5.0 doesn't do half of what 4.0 did and its touchier than any software I've used in ten or more years. Shame on Broderbund... and shame of me for giving them money (but its the last time).

"Unnecessarily complex, unintuitive and unstable."
I'm an experienced CAD user and enjoyed using 3D Home Architect v4.0 to quickly experiment with remodel design ideas. V5.0 is not compatible with v4.0 (no file importing) and it cannot export drawing to other CAD packages. The user interface is unnecessarily complex. I suggest you save yourself some money and grief and buy v4.0 of this product on eBay.

"Buy Something Else - 3DHA 5 is Junk"
Like many others, I made many designs in 3DHA 4. It had its limitations, but you got used to them and moved on.

When 5.0 was released, I jumped on it. Even fell for the Professional Ver. (jokes on me. . .). What a waste.

I have never been so frustrated with software before. After many days of struggle, I thought it was me, or my PC. Then I read the reviews here. Those who like this product must never have tried to design a multi-level home, put on a gable roof, or tried to add a room to an existing design. This program, by CadSoft, tells you it can do all that, and it sometimes can, but good luck finding all the tricks and the touchy points, and all the other idiosyncracies.

If you like to crash computers or watch an application hang, you'll love 3DHA 5. If you like to design homes, don't be fooled by the low price; get some REAL professional architectural software.

  

Buy Cheap Software Now!
  3D Home Architect Professional 5.0

List Price : $44.99
Our Price : too low to display




What our customer's say!

"Frustration", I am extremely disappointed with this product! I was unable to get to the proper scale so it would fit my screen. No matter what scale I entered, it stayed the same on the screen. I just wanted to create a 2D floor plan and be able to place furniture, etc., and was totally unable to accomplish this.

"Close but No Cigar", The program has loads of excellent features objects, and very good rendering capability BUT...
You cannot output this to a standard dxf or dwg format. (If you try the current "dxf" ouput option, you get a file that autocad (the primary software that uses and created dxf) cannot display.

When asked about this I was told by Broderbund tech support that they don't intend to provide a capability to produce blueprint quality / compatible outputs. If you plan on trying to print out and paste together a large design - forget it! You can't be sure you have the same scale or orientation on the paper. Not a pro-quality package.

Window sizes are wacky - they don't match the way builders talk in terms of a "Three O by Four O window. (3 feet by 4 feet) Windows in this software come out with labels like - 2'11 11/15" by 3'11 15/16"

Less critical but very annoying is the pain of moving around in in 3d or 2d - not an easy thing to do. Nobody does 3D movement all that well but this one.... needs work. In 2D it's really ugly to move from one corner of a large drawing to another.

Bottom line - it's a fun program to play with but don't try to use it for a real home design. You will wind up having to hire a architect to create real usable drawings.

"GARBAGE... I WAS SHOCKED BY THE NEW INTERFACE...", NOT EVEN WORTH THE $10 BUCKS I PAID FOR IT. I HAVE VERSION 4.0 SO MUCH EASIER TO USE. VERSION 5 PRO AND DELUXE ARE NOT WORTH THE TIME,EFFORT, OR MONEY. BRODERBUND HAS CHANGED TO A COMPANY CALLED CADSOFT TO DESIGN THESE PROGRAMS. I SUGGEST HIGHLY USING INDIVIDUAL SOFTWARE ( TOTAL 3D HOME DELUXE 6.0 OR 7) THEY ARE VERY EASY TO LEARN AND THE INTERIOR DESIGNING PART OF IT IS REALLY FUN.

"This version is horse crap. Pitiful and useless....", I used a previous version on my old computer and had no difficulty. Apparently, I've lost intelligence in the past year and a half, as I cannot get this version to cooperate. You draw on the 2nd floor and the walls show up on the 1st. How'd that happen? I'd love to know. I gave up trying to draw from scratch, which I did before on the previous version, and began trying to modify an example model. Bugs are everywhere. I want my money back. I'm not a computer software engineer, but I do have a Mechanical Engineering degree and I can't use this piece of feces.

"1 Star or less", Strong "don't buy" of this product... less than 1 star.

I ordered it online at Amazon.com (through J&R Music and Computer World). Both of these companies delivered as promised... 5 stars for them.

I was very pleased with past versions of 3D Architect, unfortunately version 5.0 (and 5.1) has problems, the same problems as other users have noted.

When I ran into these problems on day 1 of using ver 5.0 I went to the Broderbund website and upgraded the system to 5.1 (available online for free). 5.1 has same problems of being booted out or locked up.

I was able to make some progress by setting the "auto save" feature to 4 minutes. This way WHEN (not if) it locks up you only loose a few minutes of work.

Lock ups are very frequent (SEVERAL PER HOUR) and it is not RAM, PC Speed or HD space related.

I am in the process of returning the software to Broderbund since both Amazon and J&R Music and Computer World have no refund policies on opened software.

Hopefully they will offer a refund.

Better Homes and Gardens is releasing "Home Designer" for $99. It is a bit pricey but appears to be more in line with older versions of 3D ARCHITECT.

Keith Landry
Houston, Texas



 
Read this reviews before You buy...

"Really poor, too bad I can't give partial star ratings", I have spent hours just trying to figure out how to create an element (aluminum) with its own measurements to design a screen porch. Althougth there are instructions on creating an element (and I am usually good at following them) they were not clear and even included "try this" phrases as if they expected me to be having trouble. One direction suggested importing the item from online but gave no sites to go to and so far I have not been able to find one. This program is definately not designed for blueprinting or those with only ten years experience on computers. Though intriguing to my wife (she can try different ideas and looks) it will certainly take a month for her just to figure out how to get to the point of finishing touches she would be interested in. If anyone can change my mind with some advice, I'll type in a humble retraction, but so far this has been a huge waste of my time.

""Upgrade?" - NOT", This is not an upgrade, but a new and incompatible product. Broderbund is the publisher, but not the actual company that writes the software. They have switched to a different company and the program is completely different. Gone is the easy and intuitive interface. The program is now difficult to use, and on top of that, it crashed my computer every time it ran. Stick with 4.0 or buy the REAL upgrade from Chief Architect, the maker of the previos versions of 3D Home.

"Don't Buy it!!", I stepped up from the original 3DHA 2.0 to the 3DHA 5.0 Professional. What a disappointment! This thing won't generate the contractor-ready plans as advertised. It fails to create the dimensions for window and door layouts. I don't know of a framer who can build with out these critical dimensions. This program may serve the needs of someone who is just daydreaming not actually building a house.

"The wrong upgrade path. This is not a compatible upgrade!", This is not an upgrade of 3D Home Architect 4.0. It is a different product made by a different OEM manufacturer for Broderbund. If you want to upgrade the older versions of this product then you need to buy Chief Architect Home Edition 5.0 from the people who made 3D Home Architect for Broderbund. It is completely compatible with 3D Home Architect.

"Been having lots of fun with this!", I'm not sure what all the complaints are about. Maybe the software has been upgraded. I have found it to be pretty intuitive, as I was able to start using it pretty much right out of the box. I find it to be a real help in looking at spatial relationships and flow between rooms for designing our new home, especially for my husband who cannot easily visualize from blueprints. It's quicker than Autocad for studies of different alternatives for laying in doors, windows, etc., at least for me!

  
 
 

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