Optimal CAD/CAM Workstation specs and configuration for Mastercam

[Aaron Eberhard]

Jake - Feel free to give me a call, as this sort of thing is easier to explain on the phone, but basically, it's really hard to create a perfect toolpath that will utilize 100% of all available processors.  Really hard.   Keep in mind that a highway at 100% utilization is a grid-lock....

Stock models are a great example of something that can't really be multithreaded effectively.  You have to take one toolpath and step through it to see material removed.   One step at at time.  There are some tricks being played when there's logical sections that can be established, but you always have to balance something like that with how much effort to spend pre-processing to see what can be split up vs. just getting through the work.

At the end of the day, clock speed is still king for a lot of this sort of stuff. 

[Jake L]

10 minutes ago, Aaron Eberhard said:

Jake - Feel free to give me a call, as this sort of thing is easier to explain on the phone, but basically, it's really hard to create a perfect toolpath that will utilize 100% of all available processors.  Really hard.   Keep in mind that a highway at 100% utilization is a grid-lock....

Stock models are a great example of something that can't really be multithreaded effectively.  You have to take one toolpath and step through it to see material removed.   One step at at time.  There are some tricks being played when there's logical sections that can be established, but you always have to balance something like that with how much effort to spend pre-processing to see what can be split up vs. just getting through the work.

At the end of the day, clock speed is still king for a lot of this sort of stuff. 

Funny, I was just reading one of your responses from 2020 - https://www.emastercam.com/forums/topic/100265-nvme-drive/

Any chance you could PM me contact info? I tried to PM you but it said you couldn't receive messages. I'd love to have a conversation on this topic.

[Aaron Eberhard]

23 minutes ago, Jake L said:

Funny, I was just reading one of your responses from 2020 - https://www.emastercam.com/forums/topic/100265-nvme-drive/

Any chance you could PM me contact info? I tried to PM you but it said you couldn't receive messages. I'd love to have a conversation on this topic.

I just sent you a PM.  If it doesn't come through, feel free to email me @ [email protected]

 

[Jake L]

Graphics Cards - is there recommendations for how much memory Mastercam / Vericut wants? Is an NVIDIA RTX4000 16GB a good choice or should I up the memory? I see it starts to get pricey real quick going up from here. 

I would like this gpu to be able to handle a MC 500MB file, with 300 operations, 20 stock models, and Vericut be able to handle the posted code from this file with no interruptions or stuttering.

[crazy^millman]

That is a mid range card should serve you well. RTX5000, RTX6000 and RTX8000 start heading into high end cards in my opinion.

[JParis]

13 minutes ago, Jake L said:

Is an NVIDIA RTX4000 16GB a good choice or should I up the memory?

Much depends on how hard you'll need to work it but I have the RTX A-4000 in my laptop and it has served me pretty well..

Some of the 3D printing files I lay out challenge it a bit but that's with 200+ stls laid out....

[Aaron Eberhard]

Agreed.  I'm rocking a 5000, and it's superb.  I'd imagine the 4000 is totally fine.

[cncappsjames]

I've got an RTX-4000 in my laptop and I just ran a 632 Operation, 6 stock model part from Mastercam through CAMplete's collision checking with no issues. My card is only an 8GB card. Probably on the lower end of the scale today. When I got it, it was their #2 mobile card. I usually get the 2nd from top of the line video card and CPU when I get new rigs. They usually serve me well for 2-3 years-ish.

[nickbe10]

On 8/21/2023 at 6:04 AM, Corey Hampshire said:

Any feedback on how much performance difference there is between the same generations of i7 and i9?

I have 2 HP laptops.

One is an i7 and one is an i9.

The i7 is used on my main work station laptop and is set up with max RAM and the most expensive Quadro card I could afford (5000).

It smokes the i9 machine with an Quadro 2000 card.

The i7 CPU allowed me to distribute my RAM evenly over my DIMs, really helps with temp. control.

[Colin Gilchrist]

2 hours ago, nickbe10 said:

I have 2 HP laptops.

One is an i7 and one is an i9.

The i7 is used on my main work station laptop and is set up with max RAM and the most expensive Quadro card I could afford (5000).

It smokes the i9 machine with an Quadro 2000 card.

The i7 CPU allowed me to distribute my RAM evenly over my DIMs, really helps with temp. control.

Hi Nick!

Great point on temp control by using smaller memory modules, but filling all the slots. I prefer that as well.

High Clock speed is essential, but I also try to remember that cache is king! 

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

A GeForce 3070 is keeping up with my work just fine, even when I do an array of a hundred or so parts in a sheet, but my parts are smol.