Why should I look into Autodesk certified hardware?

[MetroVancouverDrafting]

Hello all,

We are looking to upgrade our CAD stations with the new HW. Basically, it will be the same Desktop as anybody else’s PC including management and  reception. The CAD users are only about 2-3% of the company.

The only improvementI could get was double the RAM and certified GPU.

I know it will be not sufficient to use with Revit 2013 or Civil3D 2013.

So my question are:

Do we really need Autodesk certified workstation?

Would be enough to quadruple  RAM on regular PC to achieve the workstation performance?

Would be enough to put certified GPU?

What is better, the workstation with 8GB of RAM or the regular office PC with 16GB + GPU?

Why at all we talk about workstations? Is it hardware producers gimmick to pay Autodesk to put certificate?

How to convince the IT (is it worth the fight 🙂 that we need Autodesk certified workstation?

Thanks

[braudpat]

Hello

To work on medium/large models with Revit 2013 / CIVIL 2013, you need absolutely 64 bits software

on Win Seven 64 with 16 Gb Ram and ONE good CPU based on FAST Core i5 (eventually Core i7: not significative)

- If possible : 2.8 Ghz or more ...

- If possible : a "good small" graphic card (Cost 150-300 $)

- a fast HD SATA oy better but expensive : SSD as primary HD

I prefer a fast regular PC Office with 16 Gb compared to a workstation with only 8 Gb !

If the PC Office has a FAST CPU (Core i3 or better Core i5) !?

If the PC Office has a small graphics card with its OWN memory !?

Bye, Pat

[stevev0983]

Don't get hung up on the term workstation since anyone can call any computer whatever they want. If you are using Revit, you want as much RAM as possible - 16GB should be the minimum and preferably 32. Revit is much more memory intensive than GPU intensive, so I would suggest putting your money into as much ram as possible and using a less expensive graphics card such as a Quadro 600 or a FirePro V4900.

Also, a core i5 is your best option since an i7 only gets you multi-threaded capabilities. Most of Revit (except for rendering and a few other commands) is single threaded so you will not see a big performance gain in an i7 over an i5. So if they are starting with stock IT computers, just have them put as much ram as possible in yours and preferably get a Quadro or a FirePro card as opposed to a gaming card.

[MetroVancouverDrafting]

More likely it will be FirePro V5800 1GB + 16GB + i5 3.3GHz. and it's for 4 years!!!

Probably good idea to request 2x8GB RAM in case of upgrade to 32GB in two years?

[braudpat]

Hello

YES a very fast Core i5 is the BEST choice !

A Core i7 will give you about 10% better performance at the same speed, so it is "null" to buy one !!

Only ONE CPU because ACAD or REVIT are not all all multi-thread except when rendering ...

16 Gb to begin, with empty slots for future memory is TIP-TOP !

Good Luck, Bye, Pat

[stevev0983]

That setup will work great. I know because I'm using basically the exact same thing and it works great for Autocad, Revit, and Rhino. I'm using a core i5 @ 3.4 Ghz, a FirePro V5800, and 16GB ram (2 x 😎 and it's very fast. The V5800 is an excellent card. My older system was a core 2 duo with 8gb ram and it basically wouldn't open a 156 MB Revit model (same video card). With the i5 and 16 GB ram it opens with no problem.

[MetroVancouverDrafting]

What about Xeon CPU?

[braudpat]

Hello

XEONs are expensive and at the same speed (compared to Core i5/i7), they will be about 10-20% faster

because they have better / larger cache ...

Most Core i5/i7 are 4 cores (8 threads for Core i7) - Most Xeons are 6 cores (12 threads)

4 or 6 Cores for AutoCAD / REVIT / Inventor is not very important !

Xeons and theirs motherboards accept generally ECC memory (which is expensive)

but if your PC has to run 24H/48H/xxxH without switching OFF, it's much more better !

Bye, Pat