Computer Help- Mastercam 9 V 1.0

[Striko CNC]

Hi I need help choosing a new system. I've looked through the forums but everyone seems to have very expensive $5000-10000 machines. We dont do very heavy stuff, simple surfacing, milling and lathe work. Most files are around 3-5Mbs, max 10mbs.

 

We are looking to spend around 2000. By the way I have noticed that Mastercam doesnt take advantage of Dual Core processors, so would you suggest that i just get a single core processor, maybe 3.6ghz or higher. Should i stick with Intel or go with AMD. Whats the difference between a Xeon processor and a regular processor? And what kind of video card should i get? Does the video card really make a big difference in Mastercam?

 

I was thinking something like this:

 

p4 3.6ghz

2gb DDR2 533 Ram

250Gb sata 2

ati 1600xtx 512mb video card

win xp pro

 

Please reply as soon as possible.

Thank you

[Thad]

MC doesn't always play nice with ATI video cards. NVidia is the preferred card. I'm sure others can be more specific.

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

Thad

[Guest]

Compliments to Mike Gates for the link

 

Dell CAD/CAM recommended systems

[Colin Gilchrist]

Striko,

 

Get the Dell. It is an awsome box. I have a Precision 370 here at work and it kicks butt. Go for the best video card (Nvidia Quadro) that you can get your boss to spring for (512mb if you can) I have a 256mb quadro 3450 and I love it. If you can go for the Precision 690. You can pick it up with the 1kw power supply and the 3.0Ghz chip for about $1900.00. You could get the Precision 380 for about $1100.00. Get the most for your money by getting the fastest you can get now. Mastercam may not use dual core or dual chip technology yet, but three years from now???

I love my Dell (is that a bad thing?).

 

Just my 2 cents,

 

Colin Gilchrist

www.multiaxis.com

[gcode]

quote:

---

I love my Dell

---

I do too but a computer I'm using at my current job has forced me to rethink things.

 

I've got 2 Dell workstaions's at home.

My main computer is a Dell WS360

it has a P4 3.2 gig EE processor,2 gig of RAM

and Quadro FX-3000 video card.

I bought it from the Dell outlet store for $1900

nearly 2 years ago and have never had a seconds trouble with it.

 

At my current job they have given me a HP desktop

with an AMD Athlon64 4000 processor. We put 2 gig of RAM and a Quadro FX-1300 PciE video card in it.

This box absolutley rocks. It surprises me daily,

and I'll bet they haven't spent more than $1200

on it.

I don't think it could hang in my old job or in a

mold shop, but its great for simple 3D, moderatley sized solids and lathe stuff.

[cadcam]

Gcode did you change jobs?

[gcode]

quote:

---

Gcode did you change jobs

---

Yes, three months ago.I'm working with a friend of yours now. Fred L.

[Hardmill]

quote:

---

Yes, three months ago.I'm working with a friend of yours now. Fred L.

---

LOL, I just talked to Fred a couple weeks ago, said he

hadnt heard from you in awhile Jay.

 

 

PEACE

[Striko CNC]

Thanks alot everyone...I will definitely look into it.

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

Gcode is right. I've got an AMD Athlon 64 4000+ (2412MHz) with 2GB RAM, and an Nvidia Quadro FX 540 video card (a step or two cheaper than his FX 1300). Some of my files get to 130Mb or so, with some fairly complicated solids, and I rarely have to wait. Dynamic rotate is as smooth as can be, even with the chord height set to .0002. The video card has two outputs, one digital and one analog, and will support both at once for dual screen. The computer was around $1200 about 6 months ago, and the screens (2x Samsung SyncMaster 204T) were about $450 each.

[Roger D]

I looked at the systems on the Dell site,how much diference is there performance wise between the laptops and the desktops they recomend?I'm not sure which way to go,I'm leaning toward a laptop at the moment,but if the desktop is much more powerful I may go that route.

Roger

[desmotom]

Need to upgrade our computer for version X right now were running MC9 on a vic 20 can take a nap during regen.

[S.Hall]

The AMD 64 bit processor is by far, the fastest at floating point number calculation then any other chip on the market. The Pentium series are good but Hyper thread technologie still has only one through put , like series . The AMD utilizes two pipe technology like parallel, which is way faster and, more reliable.