CPU Clock Speed > RAM Quantity > NVMe Speed > GPU.
If the CPU is the engine, RAM is the fuel tank. When ETABS runs an analysis, it loads the structural stiffness matrix directly into your system memory. If your model exceeds your available RAM, your computer will use the hard drive as "virtual memory" (paging), which slows performance to a crawl.
If you are looking to build or buy a computer for structural design work, let me know your , the typical height or scale of your projects , and if you plan to run other software simultaneously (like Revit, SAFE, or AutoCAD). I can recommend a specific hardware specification for your needs.
The processor's architecture matters as much as core count. Intel's hybrid architecture combines performance (P-cores) and efficiency (E-cores) to balance speed with power consumption—a crucial consideration for long-running analyses.
: Rotating and rendering complex 15-story or larger models without "chugging".