Software and Hardware Specs for CAD Workstations

Good question-I am considering a new computer for just that purpose-so I am interested in the responses to this question. James

Hi James!

As you may recall, I'm a long-time Mac User. I just got a new MacBook Pro 15", mainly so I could run Windows software. It has a 2.16GHz Intel core 2 Duo, 1GB of RAM, and a 120GB Hard Drive, with a 1440x900 pixel display. Since I travel roughly every other week, I didn't even consider anything other than a laptop.

My previous one was (and still is, my backup) a 1.0GHz PPC , 768 MB of RAM, 60GB HD. I rarely saw slowdowns until I had more than a dozen Apps running at once.

Since I installed Windows on my new one, 1 GB of RAM is clearly NOT enough!. I don't know what would happen if I were not also running Mac OS10, but I always use MacOS, and plan on getting another Gig of RAM as soon as I get the computer paid for!.

I'm currently using VectorWorks 12.5 (Mac version), but had been led to believe that my company was going to buy SolidWorks - now I'm not sure.

I do not do any FEA, although I'd love to if I had the software... As long as there is sufficient RAM, I've found the laptops quite adequate, and I definitely like the screen position of the laptops. I get neck strain every time I have to use a desktop computer for more than a few minutes (I'm quite far-sighted, so have to use the lower part of my progressive lenses to see the computer screen - looking down is clearly better - where do you hold a book to read?)

Dick

Depends on the CAD system. See the manufacturer's website for system requirements. Here are a few:

Solidworks: http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/VideoCardTesting.html

Solidedge: http://www.ugs.com/products/velocity/solidedge/sysemRequirements.shtml

Inventor: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=8410923

I tried to find something on Pro-E (www.ptc.com), but I couldn't find it in just a few minutes.

Catia: http://www.3ds.com/support/workstations-peripherals/

The biggest issue is what you want to do with it. Large assemblies need lots of RAM and video memory. FEA needs processor speed and RAM. What you want to do (and how much you want to spend) will affect the CAD system and the computer system you buy.

Solidworks not only has graphics card ratings, but other system requirements listed as well. They also have what they call "solution partners", such as Dell, that they work with to ensure an adequate system is built to your needs. I bought a Dell Precision 360 workstation, P4 2.8, 1G RAM and an Nvidia Quadro FX500 graphics card from them 3 years ago (I'm a self employed mechanical designer) and am very happy with it. Only ridiculously large assemblies (like an entire steel mill cooling bed) bog it down.

Similar story with Autodesk Inventor, we run fairly new PCs with dual core processors, 3Gb RAM and the FX500 graphics. Autodesk recommend a specific list of graphics cards & as much RAM as you can afford. Having said that, using the portable license, Inventor also runs quite happily but not quite as quickly on my home PC with a 2GHz processor, 1Gb RAM & 256Mb graphics (the PC base unit was £300 on E-Bay).

Sorry. I should have mentioned that the Solidworks link that I included has a link to the following page as well:

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/SystemRequirements.html

I just posted the first link that I got when I searched the website.

Running 2 Xeon Quad 4 3.19 GHz with 2 GB of Ram & Nividia Quadro FX 4500. This machine is a beast! Overkill for Microstation & AutoCad. We were suppose to go to NX but I have not done the tranistion yet (not sure if I will).

I know of other Co-workers working NX with less (single core 2.0 GHz, 2GB Ram) having no problems.

I just got a Dell Precision 690 with 2 Xeon quad cores at 2.66GHz, 8GB ram, Win XP x64 (you need 64 bit OS to use more than 4 GB of ram), NVIDIA Quadro FX 4600, running SolidWorks Premium 2007 (can do some structural and thermal FEA). It is amazing. It was like coming out of the dark ages switching from an old version of Pro/E on a 6 year old workstation.

On the OS, most cad programs will run on Vista, or will with their next version. But, Vista has a lot more overhead than XP x64, so XP is usually recommended by the software companies.

That system is overkill for most things, but I like being able to have multiple large assemblies open, multiple large spreadsheets, etc at the same time without any degraded performance.

As far as increased productivity per dollar, DEFINITELY opt for a 3D input of some kind (I love my 3d Connexion Space Explorer) and multiple large screens. The 3D input speeds up modeling drastically and it is amazing how much of a difference large screen area can make.

I agree with the comment about using a 3D joystick type controller, I also use the 3D Connexion device which is only about £30 for personal use & makes a major difference to work speed (you will find it works in other applications like Google maps). It also impresses the hell out of visitors when you can zoom & spin models without appearing to do anything.

This is an incredibly open question. What will you be designing? 2d or 3d? The complexity of geometry? The number of anticipated parts in an assembly? The answers to these questions will provide us with a narrower scope of what software you need. Then you can spec out the hardware.

Butcher has the right idea:- DON'T go for the minimum hardware requirement when buying new software - it is much better to buy the most advanced system you can which has been proven reliable. That way you have a system which will also cope with the next few versions of the software, as well as the other programs you run concurrently.

The minimum standard will only give good performance when that software is the only one in use.

Simple answer as always for CAD station: as much as you can afford, as fast as you can get. Non of the current CAD use 64bits yet so non of them can you more then 4GB of RAM.

The answer highly depend on what you gonna use it for. Are you using it for single parts? Some assemblies? Huge assemblies with 1000s of parts? The more you want out of it, the faster and more expensive it'll get.

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