How about some MAXIMUM sys requirements

[Anonymous]

I've been reading about what others are using (system wise).
How about what would be ideal, in a perfect world, to run:
(2) two workstations accessing a server, IV6 SP2, for making 30ish part assemblies including all the models to give the programmers, 2d drawings for the guys at the machines, assembly drawings (that don't take 20 years to generate;> ), etc...
I am of the opinion that our system could be improved but, alot of the trouble is the software (sorry Autodesk).
My boss thinks that the software is fine, we just need to find the "magic" combo of RAM, graphics card, hard drive etc....
BTW, this forum has been a very helpful to us. Thank You.
Matt Mengel Aeromet Industries Inc.

[Anonymous]

Good news, both you and your boss are correct. It is partly software
and poorly planned hardware combo that will make watching molasses seem
like spectator sport.

Network wise, make sure it is a dedicated 100Mbit system, NO 10/100Mbit
switchable parts. If it can switch to the slower speed it will, sooner
or later.

Workstation wise, Dell, IBM, XI, Polywell, TriStar, and others make good
platforms. I've found the Cadalyst reviews to be reliable and helpful.
Graphics cards currently seem to be limited to 3Dlabs or nVidia. RAM,
buy brand name, keep it matched (don't mix brands in a machine) and
install as much as you can up to 2GB (beyond that requires OS tweaking).

My previous system was a Dell, 800MHz, 512M, Elsa Gloria II 64MB. I
have seen a big time improvement in overall performance.

--
Hal Gwin
Mechanical Designer
Xenogen

Dell Precision 650
Dual 2.66 GHz Xeon
1.5 GB DDR
Quadro4 900 XGL
nVidia 6.14.10.4201 drivers
Dell UltraSharp 19" LCD

[MechMan_]

"will make watching molasses seem like spectator sport"



LOL, good one!



I agree with all that Hal said about computer hardware.



MechMan

[Anonymous]

Hal,
Thanks for the reply, thats helpfull. BUT.......
After talking to my boss, he helped me realize there is no perfect world. So my question needs to be rephrased.
I have a 2.4G pentium made from components by a local computer place, it is all Aopen, geforce 4 TI4200 8X (in a 4X bus),2.5G RAM, Windows2K, virtual mem set at 3830.
We are on a dedicated 100mbps network running 1/2 duplex.
My new questions are this: 1)Is there something I can do to optimize this 2)are one (or more) of these parts slowing me down. I am talking most bang for the buck. A new dual Xenon with a $600. graphics card ain't gonna happen.
Thanks again
Matt Mengel Aeromet Industries Inc.

[Anonymous]

Well, you have a nice system and it is still going slow so it must be the nature of your parts. Things are slow for me too but it is because my computer is slow. No sense in us both suffering why don't we switch computers.

This isn't the first time I've made this offer, yet no takers so far. What gives?

Rich Thomas

[MechMan_]

That's an awfully nice sounding system to be working with 30 part assembiles. How complicated are your parts? Do you have lots of circular edges (holes, slots, curves etc...)? Seems to me that you might have a configuration problem instead of a weak hardware problem.



Are IDW's the only place you're experiencing slow downs or is it across the board slow? Do other programs on that system seem sluggish? Do you have other IV systems to compare with?



MechMan

[MechMan_]

Misery loves company Rich. As long as other slow system sufferes know that you're around it makes them feel like part of a family and who wants to give that up? 😉

MechMan

[Anonymous]

We have upgraded the RAM and Video driver to what is listed above in the last couple of days and I have seen improvements but the assembly *.idw are still slow. Everything else screams. Also if I have an .iam and an .idw ass'y open at the same time, when I drag parts etc...
Crash-ola. Oh, and no I wont swap 😉 Matt

[Anonymous]

Matt,

Upon booting, go into your BIOS and see what your AGP aperture is set at....
make sure you have it set to 128Meg.

What drivers are you running your 4200 on? I'm running a 4600 with the 4109
drivers and am VERY pleased.

As far as raw opening speed is concerned, are you using Project files
correctly in that you have your locations in fairly "flat" directory
structures looking for parts in proper order?

I know there are tools out there that will show you the _actual_ speed of
your network. You mentioned dedicated.. as in only the IV guys, or are the
secretaries on there shooting notes back and forth among themselves?

QBZ


"surly" wrote in message
news:f15499a.2@WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> Hal,
> Thanks for the reply, thats helpfull. BUT.......
> After talking to my boss, he helped me realize there is no perfect world.
So my question needs to be rephrased.
> I have a 2.4G pentium made from components by a local computer place, it
is all Aopen, geforce 4 TI4200 8X (in a 4X bus),2.5G RAM, Windows2K, virtual
mem set at 3830.
> We are on a dedicated 100mbps network running 1/2 duplex.
> My new questions are this: 1)Is there something I can do to optimize this
2)are one (or more) of these parts slowing me down. I am talking most bang
for the buck. A new dual Xenon with a $600. graphics card ain't gonna
happen.
> Thanks again
> Matt Mengel Aeromet Industries Inc.

[Anonymous]

When you migrated, did you make sure to do a total rebuild on ALL
(including iParts) the parts and assemblies? Are you using iParts or
content library parts?

I also partitioned my hard drive to keep the swap and temp files
separated from everything else. I have 2GB swap and about 4GB left over
for temp files. The temp file location must be change in System
Properties>Advanced>Environment Variables for W2K, the file location in
IV preferences will not override W2K.

Sean's iTweak graphic settings have helped also.

--
Hal Gwin
Mechanical Designer
Xenogen

Dell Precision 650
Dual 2.66 GHz Xeon
1.5 GB DDR
Quadro4 900 XGL
nVidia 6.14.10.4201 drivers
Dell UltraSharp 19" LCD

[Anonymous]

Wow, now were getting somewhere. I have not tried rebuilding all the parts, I'll try that. My drive is not partitioned the powers that be arent crazy about that idea. I'm not sure why. As for the AGP settings, thanks for the tip, I'll look into it. Also, I said dedicated server but I meant 100mbps dedicated as opposed to 10/100mbps. We share the network with about 20 other stations (non-cad). We are looking into upgrading the network to get rid of the 1/2 duplex situation. Alot of this is way over my head at this point. I'm working with my administrator and I'm a draftsman not a computer guy (neo-luddite). Thanks again to all, you've been very helpfull.

[Anonymous]

Quinn is right on about the AGP settings in the
BIOS.  I think the default is 64.  It will make a
difference.