New computer quote to run X2

[peon]

What do ya fellows think of this?

 

20in flatscreen monitor

 

2.66GHz/1066MHz/4/MB L2/Dual-core/VT)

 

OS = Windows XP Professional 64 bit

 

RAM = 4GB, DDR2 SDRAM

 

HDD = 250GB SATA HARD DRIVE (2) for a total of 500GB

 

NVDIA QUADRO better

 

CDRV/DVD

 

Mouse

Technology - Optical

Interface - USB

Features - Scroll

 

Audio Output

Type - Sound card - integrated

Compliant Standards - High Definition Audio

 

Opticall Storage

Type - CD-RW / DVD-ROM combo - IDE

Write Speed - 48x

Rewrite Speed - 32x

Read Speed - 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD)

 

Networking

Data Link Protocol - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

Ethernet Controller(s) - Broadcom BCM5752

Networking - Network adapter - PCI Express x1 - integrated

Remote Management Protocol - DMI 2.2

Features - Alert on LAN 2, Wake on LAN (WoL)

 

Storage Controller

Type - 1 x Serial ATA - integrated

Controller Interface Type - Serial ATA-300

 

Cache Memory

Type - L2 cache

Cache Per Processor - 4 MB

Installed Size - 4 MB

 

Storage Controller (2nd)

Type - 1 x IDE - integrated

Controller Interface Type - EIDE

 

Processor

Multi-Core Technology - Dual-Core

Type - Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 / 2.66 GHz

Processor Main Features - Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology

64-bit Computing - Yes

Max Supported Qty - 1

Installed Qty - 1

 

Expansion / Connectivity

Interfaces - 8 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A ( 2 in front ) &brkbar; 2 x serial - RS-232E - 9 pin D-Sub (DB-9) &brkbar; 1 x parallel - IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP) - 25 pin D-Sub (DB-25) &brkbar; 1 x keyboard - generic - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style) &brkbar; 1 x mouse - generic - 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2 style) &brkbar; 1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45 &brkbar; 1 x audio - line-in - mini-phone 3.5 mm &brkbar; 1 x audio - line-out - mini-phone 3.5 mm &brkbar; 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - 6 pin FireWire &brkbar; 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - 4 pin FireWire ( 1 in front ) &brkbar; 1 x audio - line-out - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ( 1 in front ) &brkbar; 1 x microphone - input - mini-phone 3.5 mm ( 1 in front )

Expansion Slots Total (Free) - 1 ( 0 ) x processor - LGA775 Socket &brkbar; 4 ( 0 ) x memory - DIMM 240-pin &brkbar; 2 PCI Express x16 ( SLI: x8, x8 mode ) &brkbar; 1 ( 1 ) x PCI Express x8 ( x4 mode ) &brkbar; 1 ( 1 ) x PCI

Expansion Bays Total (Free) - 2 ( 1 ) x front accessible - 5.25" x 1/2H &brkbar; 1 ( 1 ) x front accessible - 3.5" x 1/3H &brkbar; 3 ( 2 ) x internal - 3.5" x 1/3H

 

Input Device

Type - Mouse, keyboard

 

Manufacturer Warranty

Service & Support - 3 years warranty

Service & Support Details - Limited warranty - parts and labor - 3 years - on-site

[Guest]

It's looks like a pretty good system, though all it says is Quadro Card Better.

 

I think what you end up with in there will obviously be the final determining factor of how "Good" that system will perform

[peon]

I'm requesting a Quadro card only, but must be an FX-3500 or better. We are a mold shop and many of my models have 2000+ surfaces.

[bogusmill]

Read the benchmark thread. Our next PC will have 2 dual core Xeon CPU's. The Xeon's just destroyed all but my way overclocked Core 2 duo machine. I have both 64 and 32 bit XP Pro and the 64 bit is only 5 seconds faster on the benchmark so Im not sure it's worth the other headaches. If you do go 32 bit drop back to 2 gig RAM.

 

With 2 hard drives you should use RAID 0. It speeds up loading and saving of files. We have a Pentium 3.0 and 3.6 machines and the 3.0 is faster on the benchmark by 2 minutes. The only difference, RAID 0. Do you need 1/2 Terrabyte of storage? If you can drop to 300 Gig, a pair of 10,000 RPM, 150 Gig Raptor HD's in RAID 0 will be ungodly fast. Our next PC will be a Dell Precision Workstation 690.

[peon]

Thanks bogus, I'll get the system quoted with the the hard drive changes that you suggested. We don't need that much hd space.

[gcode]

Mastercam runs fine on the x64 OS but overall

its way more trouble than its worth.

SolidWorks is buggy, Cimco Edit doesn't run right

I had to bag my Zone Alarm.

I got a real good deal on a Dell refurb that came with x64, but I'm about ready to wipe the hard drive and reinstall regular XP.

I haven't seen any advantages to the x64OS and a lot of disavantages..

[88Matt]

quote:

---

Mastercam runs fine on the x64 OS but overall its way more trouble than its worth.

SolidWorks is buggy, Cimco Edit doesn't run right

I had to bag my Zone Alarm.

---

What kind of trouble?

2 of our comps are running dual Xeons with XP Pro 64-bit and they have been the most reliabe for us (and yes I know MC doesn't take advantage of the duals...yet ).

I have also read on the forum that out of the guys running Vista, the 64 bit has been much more stable than the 32. I just got a new laptop at home and will be trying it out personally on Vista 32 bit maybe next week.

[peon]

I currently have no problems running X2 with XP 64bit, but, I do have problems getting drivers for some of our printers.

[bogusmill]

Thats the trouble with 64 bit XP. MCX2 is fine with it but you need 64 bit antivirus, 64 bit drivers for everything that uses drivers. The small speed gain may not be worth it.

 

MCX2 runs fine on Vista 32 bit. I ran the benchmark and there was only a 6 second difference from XP on the same PC. However no one here at the University has been able to load Catia on Vista 32 bit. IMHO if you use Vista, 64 bit is it. Vista is a memory hog but in 32 bit, 4 gigs of memory (RAM + pagefile) is all that can be addressed. You can put 8 gigs ram in a 64 bit Vista PC and the RAM hog has what it needs most.

[peon]

We're not even considering Vista. Bogus, what are the advantages of dropping ram down to 2 gig if we get a 32 bit op system?

[Ed@Elite]

Why not go with a Q6600 Intel Core 2 Quad? Prices came down a lot for the Quad Cores and it gives you the option of running 4 Mastercams at a time.

 

As far as 64bit Antivirus like someone mentioned, I am using the FREE Avast Antivirus and it seems to work great.

 

I used XP 64bit before switching to 64bit Vista Ultimate. DO NOT switch to Vista just yet, I don't use Mastercam everyday, I use Powershape and Powermill, but when I do use Mastercam the screen CONSTANTLY flashes and it is so annoying.

 

I know a lot of people use the Quadro graphics cards, but why not save some money and go with an Nvidia 8800GTS or 8800GTX? They will run Mastercam just as well in my opinion.

 

I would NOT go with a Raid 0 configuration. If you lose one hard drive you lose ALL data and the performance difference is not that significant.

 

Good Luck!!!

Ed

[bogusmill]

Saving money and more memory speed. I've done alot of research on this and found that Windows 32 bit can only address 4gig memory, RAM and pagefile combined. Windows reserves 2gig for its use and 2gig's for the running apps. Windows never gets close to using up all its 2gig and my motherboard will only recognize 3gig if 4 is there.

 

Items stored in memory can be found faster if you have fewer places to look for it. Two 1gig sticks is faster than four 1gig sticks. This is also why a PC with 2 x 1gig RAM is faster than one with 4 x 512Mb sticks. Fewer sticks is faster as long as you don't overflow into pagefile.

 

About the RAID 0, if you lose one drive you do lose ALL the data. With a single drive if you lose 1 drive you lose ALL the data. You should be backing up important data, the speed difference is substancial, 2 minutes on the benchmark for one of our older PC's. Your going to have 2 drives and let one sit doing nothing most of the time? Doesn't make sense to me not to use RAID if you have it available.

[peon]

Thanks fellas for the advice. I'll let ya know what we end up with when the order is placed.

[peon]

I just got a call from our computer dealer. He mentioned that I could get a GE FORCE 8800 ULTRA 768MB for the same price as the Quadro FX-3500(256mb). The GE FORCE does support Open GL. Any comments on this card?

[iowajim62]

Here's a link to a page for comparison of GeForce vs Quadro cards. Last link at the bottom of the page.HTH

GeForce vs Quadro

[bogusmill]

You don't want an 8800 Ultra. Get the 8800 GTX. The only difference is a minor clock and memory speed bump you can do yourself with Coolbits software. Actually I have the 8800 GTS 320 Mb card. Half the memory but otherwise about the same and you dont need that much memory when the object is'nt running and dodgeing bullets. Save the $500 difference. Check this out.

 

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2979

[peon]

Would the 8800 GTX still be better than the FX-3500 for my applications? I'm sorry for asking dumb questions. I'm certainly no computer expert. I'm great at mcam, but I don't wanna purchase a computer that won't work properly.

[Ed@Elite]

I personally don't know which one is better, but the 8800GTX will be able to handle anything you can throw at it and Im sure its a lot cheaper than the Quadro.

 

Like someone else said, avoid spending the extra money for the Ultra, its a waste of money IMO. I can overclock my 8800GTX to Ultra specs.

[peon]

Ed. I'll make that phone call for the 8800GTX. He told us he'll swap it out for another card if it isn't to my satisfaction. It seems you and bogus have no problems with it. Thanks again!

[bogusmill]

I've often questioned if Quadro cards are worth the 3X price of GeForce cards. I've had no issues with MC or Catia at home on GeForce but have had lots of problems with Quadro's at work over the years. Quadros seem alot more finickey.

[Ed@Elite]

No problem, glad to help and save someone some cash!!!

I agree, I have NEVER had any problems with using Geforce cards instead of Quadro cards.

[MIL-TFP-41]

All of my testing that I have done I have seen little if any difference with mastercam with a Quadro card...and this was using a Quadro FX4000 (big $$$$) vs a GeForce 7300 GT.

 

I think if you were to have 2 instances of Mastercam open, and both of those running verify, the Quadro might be better at dynamically rotating them.

 

My personal thoughts are extra money should go to processing power

[bogusmill]

As a follow up on this subject, this weekend I played with MCX2 on my home PC with a GeForce 8800 GTS 320Mb video card. I had 2 instances of MC on 2 monitors, both running a backplot of a 5th axis sample file without a glitch. This is on XP Pro SP2 so I would reccomend this video card to anyone not wanting to spend the big bucks on a Quadro card. It's only $259 here.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130082

[Troy Gossett Indepak Inc.]

RAID 0 is the way to go, but the drive size doesn't really matter just speed. and 4 drives at RAID 0 gives you 4 channels for memory functions which happens to be the same as the available paths to the processor. It works like this:

 

Processor side. Drive Side.

1 Drive

Channel 1----------------------- Write1

Channel 2----------------------- Write2

Channel 3----------------------- Write3

Channel 4----------------------- Write4

2 Drives

Channel 1----------------------- Write

Channel 2----------------------- 1,2

Channel 3----------------------- Write

Channel 4----------------------- 3,4

4 Drives

Channel 1----------------------- Write

Channel 2----------------------- 1,2,3,4

Channel 3-----------------------

Channel 4-----------------------

 

The 1 drive shows each channel has to wait its turn for the drive, the 2 drives channels 1,2 alternate waiting on one drive while 3,4 alternate waiting on the other drive. On the 4 drive setup each channel has it's own drive so now your limited by the write/access speed of the drive.

 

As said before this does open up a concern for the if/when a drive fails scenario but you should already have a data backup plan in place.

 

I would stick with 4 sticks of 1gig ram and utilize 2gig of ram for a RAMDRIVE because as fast as 10k raptor drives are they are no match for DDR2 memory.

[bogusmill]

The RAM drive would be great if it worked. I've read many posts in this thread but mostly in one of the X2 lag/slowdowns threads that users couldn't get any speed increase on MCX using a RAM drive, and I haven't read anyones post that did get it to work in X2.