Workstation and OS questions for C3D2013 and up

[sfore]

I currently run C3D 2013.  My workplace workstation is Intel Core i7-2600 @ 3.40, 24.0 GB RAM, Nvidia Quadro 2000, OS Win 7 Professional, 64 bit.  It runs pretty good considering its 2 yrs old and I can still work with large datasets.

I'm getting ready to purchase a new 'Home' Workstation.  I'll install C3D 2013 on it now and eventually C3D 2015 when it comes out.  We typically skip 1 version.  C3D 2013 isn't supported with Windows 8, but C3D 2014 is and I'm assuming C3D 2015 will as well.   Not sure which OS to get since 2013 isn't suppported by Win8, but newer C3D versions are.  Is there a mode switch I could setup for Win7 and Win8?  I don't know enough about Win8 and C3D compatibility to make an informed decision and was hoping someone on the forum could offer a solution.

Lastly, Xeon or i7?  I know the HP spec and prices say xeon's are better but are they better for Civil 3D? For video card, I probably won't get anything less than a Quadro 4000.  Any comments on this or recommendations for others with price in mind?   

[mathewkol]

I'm not sure how much this will help you given that it appears you will not be using 2014.  Autodesk suggests that 2014 is compatiblewith Win 8.  It also goes on to say that Win 7 is recommended.  Whether that will stay for 2015 is anyone's guess.

[michael.robertson]

With our testing of C3D 2013,  i7 performed as well as the Xeon. The main thing with Xeon is that for a true workstation you can have multiple Xeon processor chips on a single workstation were you can only run one i7 in a workstation. C3D really doesn't do much with multiple processors (even with the i7) except for some rendering tasks (not day to day C3D tasks).

[sfore]

Sounds like Win7 is my safest bet. 

I'll probably have my IT guy to custom build a machine rather than buy a particular whole unit from HP or Dell. 

On HP site, the i7 is only available for the lower end workstations such as Z220 and Z230.  The i7 are not in the higher end workstations such as Z420, Z620, and Z820, only Xeon processors are available for these.  This kind of tells me that Xeon preocessors are better, but my experience with performance has been as long as I have an i7 and a mid to upper range quadro card, then I'm good.

[dgorsman]

You need to watch that thinking, particularly what is called a "workstation" and what is called a "desktop" computer.  From HP's point of view, a workstation will run software that is designed to run across several cores and/or multiple processors and will bog down in a conventional desktop.  Civil3D isn't one of those programs - you will *not* see a performance difference in equivalent Xeon vs. i5/i7.  If you are tied to HP, Dell, etc., through some sort of bulk purchase agreement then a Xeon will be "better" in that you can get some of the things they don't offer on their desktop models (Quadro video cards, large amounts of RAM, and so on).  If you have the option, go to Boxx or Xi, or even purchase parts for an i5 or i7 - you'll save a ton of bucks and get slightly better performance to boot.

[mmoore73]

Hi. We are preparing to go from Windows 7 32 bit to 64 bit. We run C3D2013 currently. Has anyone had any major problems with the 64 bit operating system or had any glitches in routine operation? Thanks.

[michael.robertson]

Just remember that you cannot run 32bit C3D on 64bit operating system (supposedly there are workarounds to do this but they are not supported).

So... any ARX programs you have that you currently run you need to make sure you have access to 64bit versions to be able to use them in 64bit C3D. (We've also run into one .NET based dll that ended up being bit specific even though it was written to run on either bit platform).

[mmoore73]

Thanks for the quick reply. It is appreciated.

[MATRIX3DSURVEYS]

Windows 7 64 Ultimate Supports 32 bit applications in a 64 bit environment. There are problems with Net Framework in Windows 8. Causing problems with DB programs.

Though I would suggest setting a workstation up as Multi-Boot with different OS's on separate drives.   Segate Drives come with a Drive Clone program that allows an exact copy of a drive to be made; so copy your master drive and keep a backup drive in a safe place. If you crash swap drives out and you are back online in 5 minutes.

Jim

Matrix3DSurveys

[michael.robertson]

What I was refering to is not Windows 7 64bit's ability to support 32bit applications, what I was refering to is Autodesk's installers will not let you install 32bit C3D 2013 on 64bit Windows (without some tricks/modifications).

[dgorsman]

Don't forget, you are going to a 64-bit operating system.  Thats going to affect nearly everything you run more complex than Notepad.  MS Office can be a real sticking point, many companies will continue to run 32-bit office *not* because of any stability or crashing issues but they have built customizations for which there is no 64-bit Office equivalent (mostly controls on dialogs/forms).  You may also run into some database problems as there is no 64-bit version of JET, which was the most common way to access... Access.

Overall, its a good move.  Just do your homework and test everything.

[sfore]

Is anyone running C3D 2015 with Win8?

[Jeff_M]

Yes, I have C3D2015, SP1, running quite nicely on Win 8.1

[sfore]

Win8 is a tough call for me because Microsoft plans are unclear.  They are starting to just advertise Windows, not Windows 8 and they wont support Win7 forever.  I currently run C3d 2013 on Win7 and am really hesitant to move to C3d 2015 due to all the issues and not really knowing if SP1 fixed a lot of the issues with Survey DB and any point cloud issues plus everything else thats been mentioned....list of bugs 2015 thread, you know the one.

Last thing, in reference to my original post....I still haven't built/purchased a home pc, but will in the next few weeks.  I know there's a ton of debates about workstations and cpu types, and vid cards.  I was considering HP I7-4770 @ 3.50 ghz and a minimum of 12gb ram Nvidia Quadro 4000.  Thoughts?

Thanks, Shawn