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Pc Question


john1983

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Hi all happy new year to everyone. :)

 

Ive just got a quick question to ask, At the moment im doing rendered drawings of office furniture layouts and they are taking ages, I only have one pc and when im rendering I cant do anything else on my pc so I have to wait around for a good hour or so while the pc does its thing. Im not too sure what spec my pc is but I have been told its a good one by our previous cad designer, what pc would you recomend getting that will be powerfull enough to do rendering and other work at the same time, or should I get seperate pc to do the renderings on??

 

Thank you for your advice

 

John

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John: We could use some details. For all we know your computer is fine but the files sizes you are working with could be the problem.

 

So, first get us the specs (as detailed as possible) on your computer. Critical items are how much memory (speed of memory too), the make and model of the graphics card you're using (need to know how much video RAM is on card), the size and speed of your hard drive, the OS you are running and whether or not the service pack for 2009 has been installed. And secondly it might be helpful to know the average size of the drawing files you are working with. Let's start there.

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I have just had a look on my system properties and this was listed below.

 

Windows xp 2002

service pack 3

 

Intel ®

Pentium ® D Cpu 3.20GHZ

3.21GHZ, 350GB of RAM

 

The sizes of the files I am using range from 1000kb to 5000kb

 

Im not too sure about the service pack as auto cad was installed on here for me

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"Im not too sure about the service pack as auto cad was installed on here for me."

 

john: One of the best things you can do for yourself and your career is to become as self-sufficient as possible. Learning little tips and tricks will make you more self-confident, self-sustaining, a better employee and a more valuable resource in your next job.

 

To find out the details about the version of AutoCAD you are running do the following.

 

At the command line type the word About then press Enter.

 

This should bring up the About AutoCAD dialog box.

 

Click on the button labeled Product Information in the upper right hand corner of the dialog box.

 

This should bring up the Production Information dialog box.

 

Look at the second line down on the left hand side. It should read Product service pack: and in the box below it there should be some information that looks similar to this: AutoCAD 2009 - English Version 3.

 

That's the information we are looking for.

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To find out some information on your graphics card do the following.

 

Click on Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance. Then click on System and next on the Hardware tab. Click on the button labeled Device Manager. Find and click on the sign next to the heading Display adapters. What does it say below that?

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sorry yes it should be 3.5

 

in the product information it says service pack 0 so im guessing that there isnt a service pack installed.

 

I have had a look and there isnt that tab but I have found out by searching in the device manager and the graphics card is a ATI fireGL V5100

 

I Think I have alot to learn still

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We all have a lot to learn john as AutoCAD continues to change with each new release.

 

My first piece of advice is to download and install the latest service pack. I believe they are cummulative.

 

3.5GB is an odd number. Maybe you have inadvertently hamstrung your computer by running more than 3GB of RAM. I know it sounds counter intuitive but it is a known problem. One work around when dealing with large files and rendering times is to alter the boot.ini file to take advantage of what is referred to as the 3GB/switch. I've done this on my XP Pro / AutoCAD 2009 computer and it does work.

 

We still need to get some further detail on your graphics card.

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I can see where you might have a problem with your graphics card. The ATI FireGL V5100 is listed as having just 128MB of onboard video RAM. That's pretty weak for doing large scale rendering. On the plus side, your graphics card is optimized for professional workstation applications based on OpenGL and DirectX 9.0. Unfortunately it is choking at this point. Sounds like you may be in need of an upgrade.

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ahhhhhh i was just looking on the internet to see what this card is like.

 

I have also found the tab you mentioned earlier this is what it says below

 

Name: ATI FireGL V5100

Manufaturer: ATI

Chip Type: ATI FireGL V500 (0x5551)

DAC Type: Internal DAC (400Mhz)

Approx Total Memory: 128.0MB

Current Display Mode: 1280x1024 (32Bit)(75Hz)

 

What graphics card would you recomend getting? If I upgraded would it mean that i could render and do other work at the same time?

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"What graphics card would you recomend getting? If I upgraded would it mean that i could render and do other work at the same time?"

 

I think the place to start would be at AutoDesk and see what cards they currently give the "thumbs up" to. I would suggest picking at least two, if not three, graphics cards and then research them a bit. Make a matrix of features so you can compare them side by side. I would also suggest visiting cadalyst magazine and read their most recent articles about graphics cards. They put the cards through a series of tests using AutoCAD and rate them accordingly. Finally, with information in hand (including current retail pricing) sit down with the CAD Manager or your boss (which ever is the case) and make your case for upgrading your graphics card. Get him/her to agree on a choice then present it to the bean counters. Good luck. Let us know what you come up with. We'll give you our unbiased (?) opinions. You definitely will benefit from a graphics card with more vidRAM (I'd recommend a minimum of 512KB).

 

As to your question regarding rendering and working on something else at the same time I really can't say with 100% certainty. It's going to depend on a number of factors. You may well have to consider a dedicated computer just to handle renders.

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Hi REMARK

 

Ive been looking pretty much all day and i havent got a clue what card to get. i have found this tho, I did the 3dconfig and this came up,

 

 

3D Device

---------

Name : ATI FireGL V5100

Manufacturer : ATI

Chip set : FireGL V5100

Memory : 128.0 MB

Driver : 6.14.0010.6755

Your machine contains a certified 3D Device with a driver version that is certified.

Current application driver: direct3d9.hdi

Current Effect Status:

----------------------

Enhanced 3D Performance: Available and on

Smooth line display: Not available

Gooch shader: Available and using hardware

Per-pixel lighting: Not available

Full-shadow display: Available and on

Texture compression: Available and off

 

Available application drivers and effect support:

-------------------------------------------------

Software driver

Effect support:

Enhanced 3D Performance: Not applicable

Smooth line display: Not applicable

Gooch shader: Software emulation only

Per-pixel lighting: Not applicable

Full-shadow display: Not applicable

Texture compression: Not applicable

OpenGL driver: Certified

Effect support:

Enhanced 3D Performance: Available

Smooth line display: Not available

Gooch shader: Software emulation only

Per-pixel lighting: Not applicable

Full-shadow display: Not available

Texture compression: Available

Direct3D driver: Certified

Effect support:

Enhanced 3D Performance: Available

Smooth line display: Not applicable

Gooch shader: Available

Per-pixel lighting: Not available

Full-shadow display: Available

Texture compression: Available

 

 

say if i wanted to get a new computer just for rendereing what would you recomend getting? i will be doing all the drawings on the computer I have now and sending them to the computer that will only be used for rendering.

 

sorry about this

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john:

 

It all depends. If I'm spending your money I'm going to get the most expensive one.:lol: Probably one of the nVidia cards. I'll give it some thought and get back to you. The Stykman will have an opinion for sure.

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A little requisitioning tip I got from my old Supply Sergeant. Present 2 choices, the one that wins on your cost/benefit analysis and one with an edge on performance and a fairly healthy price bump. Make your pitch for the more expensive one by getting them first to agree on the need for improved performance, at this point the conversation turns more towards the cost. Just before it looks like they are going to play the "We just can't budget for that" card present the other option (cost/benefit winner) as an alternative.

 

This way the bean counter gets you to concede to the "lesser" card and feel they've done their job to save the company money. You've got 66.7% positive results with this strategy, they either say no, concede to the good value option or you may luck out and get the "Beast".

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If price is no object then the AMD ATI FireGL V8600 ($1,899 list) and the V8650 ($2,799 list) with 1GB and 2GB of vidRAM respectively offer good performance for graphically demanding applications according to cadalyst magazine (July '08). Maybe you'll luck out and the prices have dropped by now.

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