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System requirements dilema

4 REPLIES 4
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Message 1 of 5
p.halczak
489 Views, 4 Replies

System requirements dilema

Hello people

 

I am new to autocad and about to purchase computer for it. Basically I am student at the moment so I suppose for the first few years I will not be even able to create any sophisticated drawings.

 

When I read the system requirements for the product, they seem to be pretty low. I was expecting a figures like 32gb RAM etc, therefore I gave up laptop idea and decided to full size due to much better pefromance for lower price. According to autodesk, for my MEP I would need following:

8GB RAM

Multicore processor (best affordble)

Directx 9.0 compatible graphic card or dx11 for advanced 3d modelling

 

What I am planning to use the suite for: there will be some 3d modelling for mechanical services in building, ducting ipework, plant room models (not very in detail, mainly to present the components positions such a boilers, pumps etc)
; plenty of 2d work..well almost every project will be modelled in 3d, but is this advanced 3d modelling? I would not think so...for me advanced is modelling the moving object with shading, light reflections etc...something that games people would do, am I right ?

 

8gb ram, is it really enough? if so, I could end up with mobile machine, they are offered with even 16gb. Is it worth to invest in more than 8gb for decent performance of equipment and software for next few years? If I go for stationary workstation, should I invest in 24, 32gb ram or rather focus on more powerful processor and 16(8) gb ram?

 

Now, the processor. Do I need very powerful one ie Pentium xeon 6-core en5-2440 2.4 ghz, or something like xeon quad core e5-2403 1.8 ghz will be good enough, or maybe something between those 2, i could get fast quad core or slower six core.

 

Now, the graphic card. I know many people recommend nvidia quadro, do I need quadro 600 or higher, or do I need quadro at all? Perhaps geforce gt610 1gb will be good enough for my application?

 

Finally the hard drive, serial ata or solid state? Is it massive difference in performance (in auto cad) between those two?

 

I am looking for fast machine, something that auto cad will be running smoothly on, no hungs or crashes or delays etc. I need it like that for at least few years. I do not want over spec that I never use in full. I am a student, starting up, it will take some time to be able to do heavy designs that will need top performance computer, is that right? Though I will be working in industry since I get the computer, straight away, I am experienced on site techincian, directing into design, so it will not take too long to work on bigger projects. I remaind again, I want to be able to efficiently create 3d model of buildings and services, maybe some sort of thermal simulation etc too, but no games design.

 

Please advise me what should I invest in, what should I ignore. I have limited budget, so cheapest possible. However, don't want to loose performance to reduce price of the kit. I mean, need something 'just right' for smooth, fast, delay-free work.

 

For those that will give some advice, could you also describe what type of work you do in autocad and what equipment you are working on please.

 

Thanks in advance,

Pat

4 REPLIES 4
Message 2 of 5
john_ratliff
in reply to: p.halczak

I'm assuming base on your post you are looking to build a system yourself. The primary problem with building a system your self is compatibility between parts. Pre-built systems have been vetted something you would need to do by trial and error or simply believing the advertised documentation. You might be able to save a few dollars assumbing a system but it is not worth the brain pain.

 

Chips

 

Xeon chips used to have the bang for the buck way back when multiple processors were the rage but today they are overrated unless you have the os and application that can take advantage of the multi cores. I have only noticed a few seconds difference in statup time and notthing as far as performance boost is a system with 4 cores vs 8 cores running AutoDesk applications. The i7 (fastest) is a no brainer for performance cost comparison.

 

Video Cards

 

Revit relies on the CPU rather than the GPU. 1 GB is probably enough but 2 gb is your basic standard. Always go with the dual video option.

 

SSD way faster than a 7200 RPM HD. Worth the investment if your doing really big models

 

Memory The more the better. I had very large models stall on me with only 8gb taking hours to convert where a 16gb took only 10 minuites

 

Suggestion

Look at alienware it's one of the bettter alternatives. Some say it's better than the business class options but that's only because they don't know how to tweak a system.

 

If you can't handle the price use this site to bring down the price of your local parts supplier.

http://www.pricewatch.com

Message 3 of 5
p.halczak
in reply to: john_ratliff

Well, I am not intending to build the system myself, most of the options are configurable though ,and that's where the confusion come from.

I have heard from many people that gaming computers are not good for autocad, often less powerful machine that is properly specified for autocad works much better then those demons of speed for gamers.

What annoys me the most, is the fact that neither autodesk, nor user on discussion boards can suggest particular model of workstation that is fully optimized for autocad performance. I am completely puzzled and have no idea what to invest my money in. I do not want to make mistake, I want a machine that will serve me for next few years without causing me grabbing a sledge hammer to unload the anger arising from bad system performance. I am very sensitive person, I expect my tools to work as hard and productively as myself, hate my effort being slowed down by the poor tools I use to get the task done. I also hate wasting money on something that really is not for the job it was purchased to.

Conclusion, is there any professional autocad fully compatible workstation that can provide top performance to be purchased on this planet? If so, please direct me to it!

Best regards
Pat
Message 4 of 5
john_ratliff
in reply to: p.halczak

A dell precision Desktop of Laptop will work fine.

 

http://www.cadmasters.com/desktops.asp

Message 5 of 5
p.halczak
in reply to: john_ratliff

I have analysed options and only one thing needs resolving. Could advise which one of those would be more reasonable choice:

 

3rd Gen Intel® Core™ I7-3770 Processor (Quad Core, 3.40GHz Turbo, 8MB, w/ HD Graphics 4000) + 16 GB non-ECC RAM

 

or

 

Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1240 v2 (Quad Core, 3.40GHz Turbo, 8MB) + 16 GB ECC RAM

 

or (proposed by seller):

 

Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1220 v2 (Quad Core, 3.10GHz Turbo, 8MB) + 16GB (4x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Non-ECC

 

and is it worth to put 250 gb SSD drive as a system boot drive? Would it have much difference in handling cad mep files?

 

Regards

Pat

 

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