The O/S is a fresh Install, with all updates/ service packs and proper drivers for all hardware. I have run defrag, CHKDSK and even broke down to running Norton Utilities which found absolutely everything in perfect order???

Jim, I did take note of your advise to set up a RAMdisk. The last time I found myself in need of setting up a ramdisk was back in the late 80's while running under DOS. It would seem like an extreme measure to have to go to in order to resolve this peculiar problem. However if you believe that this will be the answer to my dilemna, I will setup a Ramdisk and try your suggestion out. As for running ver. 7.2 it seems that if I were to do that, once again I would be tied to the stake and burned by this forum for suggesting that Mastercam has produced a product that is not as good as it predessor. I for one would like to resolve the issue and move on...

I apologize if I have in one way or another offended you. Further if I have broadened your interests and caused you to wonder if there is other software out there that can outperform Mastercam and is cost effective to implement in your specific field, therefore allowing you to increase profits I'm truly sorry if that means the programmers at cnc software have to stay late to kick it up a notch. Indeed there have been many, many CAD/CAM packages that have claimed miraculous capabilities. I've tried just about every last one of them in the search for improved efficiency, quality, quantity, accuracy and safety. I do not fear technology, nor do I fear that I will lose the chance to meet the challenge of today, tommorow or any future challenges because I wanted to improve and raise the bar here and now. I look forward to the challenges of an ever more competitive global marketplace and I will continue to surpass the competition by not allowing myself to settle for any one proposed solution. I will put all proposals to the test and the best will show itself and I will continually raise the bar for everyone else. If my proffesionalism has been slacking it can only reflect on the hours wasted trying to resolve a problem that should not have existed in the first place and has baffled myself and many others. Sorry...

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm looking for an answer to the sluggish performance. If I need assistance with comparing cam products or cad products I'll make a new post. This should be a simple solution. As I have used Mastercam for awhile now and have used 250+ MB files in previous versions with less problems. I can only say that this problem is a MC problem because when I was running version 7.2 on the same platform I had no issues...

The system is running Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional with all the latest service packs/updates

Actually although I have Mastercam V8.1.1 Mill Level 3 with the Moldplus add-on I have already migrated on the shopfloor to Depocam (aka Machining Strategist) I'm not here to argue dollar for dollar chip for chip. However I've seen Mastercam version 9 head to head comparison with numerous other CAM packages and unfortunately I had to make a change for the shopfloor. However I hoped that the design end of mastercam would carry me on. It seems that the toolpaths generated out of Mastercam are getting much better and crunch time has substantially improved since I initially started using Mastercam V5.5 I'm more concerned about the design end of the product.

I'm not looking to bash Mastercam, however like I've stated here, the file(s) are extremely slow in Mastercam. Yes I have deleted duplicate entities, I've ran Ramsaver. When I check my system's performance my CPU is maxed at all times when mastercam is open, even if there isn't any geometry in the file. As soon as I bring in a small 8Mb file my ram usage sky rockets and my pagefile jumps to its maximum size. Zooming, panning, analyzing etc... becomes a burden (I'm talking about a minute or so to refresh the screen or analyze a radius etc..) I've tried various other video cards (ATI RadeoN 64MB, 3Dlabs Oxygen, 3D labs GVX1, Nvidia Vanta 32MB) I always use the latest drivers via the internet, no difference. I've up'ed my pagefile to insane sizes no difference. I thought maybe it was a network issue so I tried saving the file locally and disconnecting from my LAN. Still the performance is dead slow. I simply want an answer. I'd rather not have to spend more money on new software. Small 2D files 1MB or less have no problems...

My local MC dealer is harrassing me to upgrade to version 9 plus. As I've told them until they can show me why I should keep using this obsolete, proccessor intensive RAM hog software I'll be trading of to the competition. So far they haven't called back! I'm running a Pentium 4 2.80Ghz system with 533Mhz FSB, 1 GB of 333Mhz DDR RAM, a 80GB Maxtor DiamondMax 7200rpm drive and 3D Labs Wildcat VP760 with 64MB on the card. I frequently deal with 100MB and larger files. I've given up! No one can give me a fix for this sluggish software. I can opn the same file in Cadkey, Autocad Inventor, SolidWorks and work with it no problem. I've maxed the config file in MC with still no difference. The dealer said more RAM! So I maxed my system out with 3.5GB on the Asus board still no difference! Anyone with any last suggestions before I am forced to migrate to the competition...