CMS IntelliCAD - Upgrade Advice

Capt, have you looked into acquiring a copy of the new beta before it's released? I should think that the IntelliCAD people would rather like to have the input of a long time user, and would be happy to give you the beta free of charge in return for your impressions. They might even give you a break of the price of the final version. Just be certain that your computer has the horsepower to run it.

Dear Doc Moose,

Thanks for responding to my posting. You're probably correct about obtaining the Beta version and giving it a thorough workout.

I don't know if this desktop PC has enough hp to run the Beta software. I'll have to check it and see.

Probably a moot point as next week after I receive my tax refund I'll be building a new super-PC piece by piece (with my best friend) with at least 12 GB of RAM, etc that should run just about anything the graphics industry has to offer currently.

Just make certain to use either nVidia quadro or ATI Fire video cards. Gaming cards have exactly the opposite requirements. Remember that in gaming, you have a relatively few polygons that move about rather quickly, whereas in CAD/CAM, you have huge numbers of polygons which don't move about much at all.

I've been building desktop machines for years now, mostly from cast-off junk, and I have some very definite ideas about what constitutes the best components for building such a machine. If you like, drop me a line and I'll be happy to give you some input on the project.

Dear Doc Moose & C-W:

I really appreciate the help and input from you guys. This desktop is an older Dell PC with a Pentium 3 processor (I forget what the speed is, but it's slow), only have 250 MB of HD and was recently upgraded to only 2 GB of RAM. I think the vid card may be a nVidia, but will have to double check. Also have a a DC and DVD/CD/burner + external Iomega Zipdrive for my older drawings stored on that format.

The new PC when I do build it will definitely be quad-core processor and feature at least 2 new 2.0TB hard drives, a third HD of at least 500 MB for duplication of files, a very good video card. I also want at least 8 or 12 GB of RAM with room for future expansion....ditto with the case being larger and having enough expansion space.

I'm even been talking to my computer Geek friends around the corner that run their own repair business about putting together a very good package for me plus transfer of my data from this PC to the next one. They've done wonders on fixing this PC as well as a few of my laptops and my wife's laptop.

Right now I've had to close down my small office and layoff the draftsman (good kid...hate to layoff anyone, esp. him) due to the crappy economy around here plus I had to go on SS Disability for several chronic health problems. Hopefully within the next few years I can get off the SS train by getting healed-up finally and seriously get back to work.....ditto about not having to visit the VAMC all the time either! Hate that freaking place.

The CMS IntelliCAD Beta version is a freebie so I may give it a try on my laptop. I'll be doing that so if there's a problem with the Beta and I want to zap it I won't have problems retaining fully my IntelliCAD 4 PE.

Tell me, does the new MS Windows 7 behave much better than the XP and Vista? I sure hope so! I have XP Pro here and it runs quirky sometimes....ditto with WinExplorer 8, which is a piece of crap. My best buddy was running Vista and hated it, but now he's into Win 7, but hasn't much to report back with yet since he only converted to it last week. Any experiences with Win 7 yet or know of any problems? Is it really worth the money to purchase yet and is it pretty much debugged?

Thanks again!

Well, your old machine definitely sounds like it's getting long in the tooth. It also sounds like you plan to spend a bundle on this workstation. But boy is it going to be a hotrod when it's finished. I wish I was building it. Let me see *Rubbing chin and staring off into infinity* Gagabyte UltraDurable3, OpteronX6, 16gigs DDR3..... Snap out of it! *Slapping self* Sorry about that.

When they build this thing Capt., make sure to ask for a proposed spec first, and then read lots of reviews on the components. I've seen too many machines built with cheap and cheesy components.

As for Windows 7, I've been using it since the beta was first released early last year, and I have to tell you, it is as excellent as Vista is terrible. Easily the best Windows ever, and I've worked with 'em all. I have the Home Premium 64bit on my T61, and the 32bit version on my T40 and my Dell e1505, and I was able to find discs and licenses quite inexpensively on eBay. You may want to spring for the Ultimate 64bit version though, with your planned usage.

Sorry to hear about the health issues, and I've no love for the VA either, though the local VA hospital here in Cheyenne isn't bad. As for as the economy, I know exactly what you mean. I've been out of work for 18 months now, though there is now some light at the end of the tunnel.

Feel free to contact me if you'd like a review of your local geek's proposed specs.

I am not in a position to advise on any Windows operating system, having abandoned Windows for the most part in favor of Linux, for everything except CAD. For that, I still have a machine that dual boots with XP and Ubuntu (and, PS. I still have an older machine down in the lab running 98SE that does just fine! But don't spread that little bit about. it could have a negative impact on my image!) I first switched to Firefox as a browser before I switched operating systems, and found Firefox to be much, much quicker. I gave Chrome a try also- even speedier, but missing some critical functionality, at least in the Linux rendition. Since I no longer allow ANYONE with access to my computers to allow them to go on line when booted in Windows, I really don't know much about IE since about Version 6...

We are running CMS Intellicad 6.6 on a small network and get very frustrated with the slow performance at times.

I would be really grateful for any information you could give me about what system specifications we require to get Intellicad running well.

Thanks in advance.

Andrew Lockwood

Meeses having a conversation about CAD. Now I've seen everything!

1. If you are happy with the package you have, there is no reason to upgrade. Even staying within the same product family, the user interface is likely to have changed drastically in the past six years, and you will have a significant learning curve just to figure out how to do what you already know how to do in the old version. Furthermore, as you upgrade your system, you may find that the drivers for your older hardware (digitizers, plotters, printers, etc.) no longer function, and there is a good chance that the manufacturers of the equipment are not going to offer upgraded drivers for discontinued product lines. This is especially true if you are upgrading operating systems (although I have heard that Windows 7 has a virtualization of Windows XP which may overcome this issue to some extent).

2. If the only reason you feel you need to upgrade is so that you can view files being sent from others (*.dxf or *.dwg), there is a free reader out there called "eDrawings" that can give you this capability (I believe they may also have a paid version that allows you to annotate the drawings you are looking at).

3. It would be cheaper in the long run to hire some young kid fresh out of drafting school to do your 3D work for you, then to spend your time learning a new skill (unless you want to learn the new skill just because you can). From the sounds of it, you would not be using 3D capabilities often enough to warrant the learning curve.

4. I have encountered free libraries on the Internet on occasion, but I have lost my bookmarks for such sites- probably not the sort of libraries you are looking for anyway (mechanical components, like screws and gears and such). Some come in *.dxf format, others are *.pdf (which, theoretically, can be converted to vector graphics). Google cad libraries free to see a pretty extensive listing of what is out there.

As DrMoose suggested, the easiest way to determine if upgrading offers anything of value to you is to try to get in on the beta testing project.

I too am an Intellicad user and I find the program works well for me. I am currently using version 5 Pro and it has the 3D capabilities you ar talking about.

I find that the interface did not change through the 4 versions that I have used. The ease of use has changed to be a bit more simplified and the commands are more easily available throught the right click method.

You can configure all your toolbars however you like and it is compatible with pretty much everything that Autocad is compatible with. You can configure it to be used with drawing pads and the like and all the keyboard shortcuts pretty much stayed the same.

I have found it a good choice for the design work I do both at work and at home.

Hope this helps. I am also looking forward to version 7 and have been using this software since 2000.

Hello double j b,

Thanks for the posting and advice.

Do you think it would be worth while (and hard gained $) to upgrade to version 7 when it comes out? I don't think I'd be using too much of the 3D unless it's for insuring that I don't have process pipes crashing into one another or goofy things happening with structural steel and concrete members. How is the learning curve for the 3D aspects?

What is your take on this new Beta version that's out? I see that to download it is free. I wonder how free and for how long (30 days probably?)? Have you heard anything about it? Any problems reported?

Also, do you know where I can find Work Blocks and templates for civil and structural details that'll run in IntelliCAD? AutoCAD details included as long as I can convert them...

Again, many thanks!

I will try and respond in kind to your questions.

The cost of this software in comparison to other autocad like softwares is amazingly cheap for a full functioning cad system. I personally am going to go to 6.6 before going to 7 because I am not a debugger type person. I prefer to use a software that has been tried and tested when I purchase it. I have no extra time usually for trying to figure out why a program just crashed and I why I have to recreate 30 minutes worth of work or more because of it.

I am still trying to get a firm grasp on 3D but luckily I have a younger brother that is giving me a bit of tutoring when necesary. He is suprised at the abilities of my cheap little program though when it comes to what it will do. The ease of use is there if you learn how to do it. His company has the best of the best when it comes to their design software and they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep it that way.

I have not tried the beta version so I cannot provide you with any feedback on it but as stated above I will use the 6.6 version before I go to 7.

I have found that googling templates for autocad will net you what your after I have found not one yet that didn't easily open in Intellicad. Even 3D templates.

Hope this was helpful.

Jeff