How do you procure you CAD equipment?

[Wigman]

Hi,

 

Im a long time observer of these boards, but hardly ever post, I have a question to pose if i may.

 

As the title suggests i'm interest in gauging how individuals procure their CAD equipment, focusing a Hardware (workstations) rather than software.

 

Id like to hear from Freelance individuals and CAD managers, what their preferred options for procurement are and why.

 

Do you buy off the shelf, do you custom build, do you have hiring agreements.

 

I am a CAD Manager and have been ask to look into procuring workstations for a new project, so im trying to gauge what my options are and what the pro’s and con’s might be.

 

Your advice and opinions would be welcomed .

[ReMark]

The first thing I DON'T do is call my IT department. I spec all the hardware for our CAD workstations, research my options, get quotes, make a selection then discuss it with my boss (Manager of Engineering). When (not "if") he approves my recommendation I write up the purchase order which goes to the budget committee. I've never had a purchase order denied. Why? Because I do my homework first and I know hardware having built and troubleshooted computers. I also recommend all software that is CAD related.

 

BTW...all our CAD computers are basically custom units.

[Organic]

IT department buys standard machines as it is cheaper than what they can be custom built for.

[RobDraw]

As long as the option is available, I would spec the machines as ReMark said. Most off the shelf machines are not worth the trouble because they usually need some upgrading and end up costing more than a custom machine, unless you buy a high level machine but then you are probably paying for something you don't need. Check with some suppliers about bulk pricing. Long term contracts will get you better prices and service but requires a good analysis of future needs for new machines in order to justify.

[jweigle]

My suggestion about computers echoes what has been said already.

 

If I may - if you want to talk plotters, same deal here too except look into service contracts and who you want to deal with is key as well. Invest in one that going to last you 10-15 years. How much volume or production are you looking at square footage wise? Watch what you get in the contract as far as bond/mylar, toner, service calls, etc.

 

Case in point - me and my co-worker shopped around different brands(Oce, Kipp, Toshiba, etc.) after our Xerox 8830 failed us for the last time. After we offered our input, the higher ups in our department decided to buy a Xerox 6604 plotter with all the bells and whistles added on to it, including a 5 year service contract that I thought was horrible for what was paid upfront for. They thought they were getting a deal, then just after purchasing it they got a letter in the mail from Xerox saying they were getting out of the wide format business here in the next few years. At the end of the day, we spent xx amount on a plotter that is going to obsolete and our service contract is going to go nowhere but up because of parts and the upgrades they bought to maintain.

 

The Lesson - The cheapest route isn't always the best.

 

Best of luck to you.

[SLW210]

This is the topic of the most recent Cadalyst CAD Manager's Newsletter.

[rkent]

We have a long term relationship with Dell and as such I couldn't buy something else if I wanted to. But I can customize a computer like most other places offer. We are not in the computer building business and leave that to others. If there is a problem IT calls them up and Dell sends another one. The pricing is about 2/3's of what you would see on their web page so the prices are pretty good compared to other options.

 

You build it then you are also providing support, if you have the overhead for that then go for it. We prefer to focus on what we do best and let others that do nothing but build computers supply the computers.

 

I had a workstation computer for 6 years and never had any problems with it. I have had the newer workstation for 3 years and also not a single problem with it. The lower model Dell's are where we see some problems but never with servers or workstations.

[tzframpton]

I use the HP Business Outlet. All refurbished products but are reconditioned as "new", and come with 90 day warranty but if you buy their extended warranties they wave shipping, so most of the time it's only an extra $50 for a 2-3 yr warranty. The way it works is you sign up with an email and they send you a daily inventory of products mon-fri @ 9am. There are limited quantities but keeping a watchful eye on a certain brand you're interested in can yield fantastic deals. Patience is definitely key, though.

 

I also build custom rigs for my personal side-business. Half of it is labor of love, and other half is just quality components in every facet of the build. My new build is just smokin' fast and was only $1k as of 2 months ago.

[BIGAL]

We have around 800+ computer users so we have to go via IT but they allow us to upspec but must be the corporate brand which at moment is Dell and they seem to work fine no problems, the current anybody's Pc is a I5 win7-64, you can order better graphics etc via Dell ours have dual screen Nvidia cards and in our case more RAM.

 

Me personally I would look at the HP workstations all in screen model look pretty impressive.

 

The real question here is what are you doing we are using CIV3d but without mega models largest project 70Mb if your going to do 3D work plus rendering then you need grunt.

[Wigman]

Hi All,

 

Thanks so much for the detailed responses. I would personally air on the side of Remark, as i have always built my own machines and am confident that i can build a much better machine than we currently purchase.

 

I believe the current situation here is we have an agreement to hire the machines from a local supplier, but they are off the shelf desktops, with a bottom of the range cad graphics card added and a bit of extra memory and they really aren't fit for purpose.

 

We will have a mixture of uses, some just using AutoCAD and and some using more intensive programs, Civl 3D, Revit etc. And they may change during their life cycle so i need something which can be adapted easily if need.

 

Thanks again for all your views, time for some serious research!!

[Dadgad]

Hi All,

 

Thanks so much for the detailed responses. I would personally air on the side of Remark, as i have always built my own machines and am confident that i can build a much better machine than we currently purchase.

 

I believe the current situation here is we have an agreement to hire the machines from a local supplier, but they are off the shelf desktops, with a bottom of the range cad graphics card added and a bit of extra memory and they really aren't fit for purpose.

 

We will have a mixture of uses, some just using AutoCAD and and some using more intensive programs, Civl 3D, Revit etc. And they may change during their life cycle so i need something which can be adapted easily if need.

 

Thanks again for all your views, time for some serious research!!

 

I suggest that you include visiting the XI Computer website in your serious research, and take note that they have a lease option, and get consistently

outstanding marks on all of the Cadalyst testing done on their line, and have for a number of years.

[rkent]

Hi All,

 

Thanks so much for the detailed responses. I would personally air on the side of Remark, as i have always built my own machines and am confident that i can build a much better machine than we currently purchase.

 

I believe the current situation here is we have an agreement to hire the machines from a local supplier, but they are off the shelf desktops, with a bottom of the range cad graphics card added and a bit of extra memory and they really aren't fit for purpose.

 

We will have a mixture of uses, some just using AutoCAD and and some using more intensive programs, Civl 3D, Revit etc. And they may change during their life cycle so i need something which can be adapted easily if need.

 

Thanks again for all your views, time for some serious research!!

 

If I understand ReMark correctly, he buys from a local builder called ThinkMate, he customizes what is wanted the same way it is done with Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. Unless I am mistaken he is not buying parts and assembling, instead he is checking off boxes to specify what is wanted, ThinkMate assembles it and delivers. I hope I am not putting words in his mouth, but that is how I read his response.