Dual Processors Utilized? Buying Staff Computers

[jrash77]

I currently have an order in Civil 09, Autocad 64, Inventor, Max, Revit MEP Suite, and Mapguide. I have to order more computers for my staff they have some 4-5 year old machines. However, my current System is a 64 bit, XP pro, Single Quad core 3.0, 8Gig Ram, 512 NVidia.... etc..... My question is... If i add ANOTHER 3.0 quad core processor, Will that help me any, or is a waste of money? Im just not sure if AutoCad will utilize Dual quad core processors like it does the single quadcore that i currently have. I need to figure this out before I order some systems. The Autocad Rep had his engineer call me and he told me the more processors the better for all AutoCad products... What do you all think?

Also, I wonder what Autodesk programs will be compatible with 64 bit systems in 2009 programs? Hopefully All of the ones Im buying, haha.... otherwise i will have a bunch of dissappointed staff people stuck on 32 bit systems until the software is ALL 64 compatible

[Anonymous]

On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:16:32 +0000, JRash77 <> wrote:

>I currently have an order in Civil 09, Autocad 64, Inventor, Max, Revit MEP Suite, and Mapguide. I have to order more computers for my staff they have some 4-5 year old machines. However, my current System is a 64 bit, XP pro, Single Quad core 3.0, 8Gig Ram, 512 NVidia.... etc..... My question is... If i add ANOTHER 3.0 quad core processor, Will that help me any, or is a waste of money? Im just not sure if AutoCad will utilize Dual quad core processors like it does the single quadcore that i currently have. I need to figure this out before I order some systems. The Autocad Rep had his engineer call me and he told me the more processors the better for all AutoCad products... What do you all think?

The minimum PC you would buy today would be a dual core machine, so you are
pretty much covered in the dual CPU arena. While only parts of AutoCAD are
multithreaded (and thus will use the second core), Windows overall will gladly
use the extra CPU for all of its tasks. If you've ever looked at the Task
manager you can see that there are many little things running in the background.
Allowing a CPU core for those will make everything else snappier.

That said, Max is particularly well suited for multi-core machines. It generally
scales very well with added CPUs in rendering. For everything else, it's a case
of diminishing returns, because with additional CPUs comes additional overhead.

With 64-bit computing coming on the scene (all 2009+ based products support
64-bit) you would be well advised to purchase as many cores as possible and as
much RAM as the system will hold.

You can go two ways: Purchase a "normal" single-CPU Quad-core machine, or a Xeon
quad core machine which is capable of holding two physical CPUs. My vote would
be for the single quad-core setup. I don't generally think the extra CPU is
worth it and it would leave extra money for more RAM, largers, more than one
LCDs, etc.

>Also, I wonder what Autodesk programs will be compatible with 64 bit systems in 2009 programs?

Yes. The only issue you will face is driver support. For new machines, it's not
a problem, but you may find many older peripherals (e.g. scanners) will not be
supported.

Matt
mstachoni@verizon.net
mstachoni@bhhtait.com

[Anonymous]

good comments, thx.
Gosh, I am wondering if the move to 64 bit will cause more problems than it solves.
Be sure to check on third party progs that your designers may use, test those plot drivers on heavy drawings.
Also, I remember hearing Sean Hurly comment that a video card optimized for 3d rendering is not the best for AutoCad
vectors. You might consider looking closely at the graphics card and the tasks being done, especially if you have money
to burn on another CPU.

Matt Stachoni
|>On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:16:32 +0000, JRash77 <> wrote:
|>
|>>I currently have an order in Civil 09, Autocad 64, Inventor, Max, Revit MEP Suite, and Mapguide. I have to order more computers for my staff they have some 4-5 year old machines. However, my current System is a 64 bit, XP pro, Single Quad core 3.0, 8Gig Ram, 512 NVidia.... etc..... My question is... If i add ANOTHER 3.0 quad core processor, Will that help me any, or is a waste of money? Im just not sure if AutoCad will utilize Dual quad core processors like it does the single quadcore that i currently have. I need to figure this out before I order some systems. The Autocad Rep had his engineer call me and he told me the more processors the better for all AutoCad products... What do you all think?
|>
|>The minimum PC you would buy today would be a dual core machine, so you are
|>pretty much covered in the dual CPU arena. While only parts of AutoCAD are
|>multithreaded (and thus will use the second core), Windows overall will gladly
|>use the extra CPU for all of its tasks. If you've ever looked at the Task
|>manager you can see that there are many little things running in the background.
|>Allowing a CPU core for those will make everything else snappier.
|>
|>That said, Max is particularly well suited for multi-core machines. It generally
|>scales very well with added CPUs in rendering. For everything else, it's a case
|>of diminishing returns, because with additional CPUs comes additional overhead.
|>
|>With 64-bit computing coming on the scene (all 2009+ based products support
|>64-bit) you would be well advised to purchase as many cores as possible and as
|>much RAM as the system will hold.
|>
|>You can go two ways: Purchase a "normal" single-CPU Quad-core machine, or a Xeon
|>quad core machine which is capable of holding two physical CPUs. My vote would
|>be for the single quad-core setup. I don't generally think the extra CPU is
|>worth it and it would leave extra money for more RAM, largers, more than one
|>LCDs, etc.
|>
|>>Also, I wonder what Autodesk programs will be compatible with 64 bit systems in 2009 programs?
|>
|>Yes. The only issue you will face is driver support. For new machines, it's not
|>a problem, but you may find many older peripherals (e.g. scanners) will not be
|>supported.
|>
|>Matt
|>mstachoni@verizon.net
|>mstachoni@bhhtait.com
James Maeding
Civil Engineer and Programmer
jmaeding - at - hunsaker - dotcom