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Auto CAD and System Resource Usage
ResIpsaLoquitur
Not a grammar nazi, just alt-write.Registered User regular
Not a grammar nazi, just alt-write.Registered User regular
I'm building a computer for my sister, who does interior design work. I know very little about Auto CAD, and in particular, I don't know the degree to which a good video card would help. I know that maxxing out system memory is my first priority, but I don't know how to balance the CPU vs GPU comparison.
Anyone know?
Anyone know?
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I don't know your price range, but in most 3D applications, all of the rendering and computation is done by the CPU itself. The graphics card only assists in your "live" view of the scene when you are actually working on it, or whatever the term is in CAD itself.
As long as you stay above the GeForce FX5 series you should be fine.
I would go with a GeForce 6600, they should be relatively cheap now, and ample for CAD.
Focus your cash on CPU and RAM.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
This one ought to suit her needs very well.
And Jasconius is right, make sure you don't skimp on the processor. That GPU is ample enough to handle most tasks including gaming, and definitely design work, and having a lot of RAM is great because it will speed your throughput but you need to actually be able to keep everything running and if you go too low on the CPU end you'll bottleneck everything.
I stridently disagree.
I do CAD design and analysis for a living. A major part of the solid modelling process is manipulating the model in the computer space, rotating for view, selecting faces/edges, boolean operations, et cetera ad nauseam. Unless you just want to look at parts and do nothing more, you're going to be constantly re-rendering the image on the screen. AutoCAD/Inventor is actually rather middle-of-the-road as far as modeling suites go (I prefer Unigraphics NX or SolidEdge), and it really depends on the complexity of the assemblies being modeled, but I can say from experience that second to the amount of RAM in your box, your video card has the greatest effect on performance. A fast CPU is requisite, sure, but a good video card is absolutely essential if you don't want your computer to chug like a freight train when you work.
If I were you, I'd look at installing a workstation-grade 3D card. The Nvidia Quadro series is my recommendation; it's what I've got in my workstation and it does the job. The big difference between one of these and what one would put in a gaming rig is the focus of the hardware: gaming cards are optimized to push lots of textures, effects, and all that wonderful stuff that makes games look more and more realistic every day, while workstation cards are optimized for moving mass quantities of flat- or gouraud-shaded polygons that are being drawn from complex models.
I guess it really depends on what kind of design we're talking about. I do Finite-Element Analysis on bus and truck chassis, so I have no qualms about demanding $12,000 systems from our IT department, but an architect doing 2-D blueprints and the occasional elevation view will need substantially less.
This is just a tribute.
Your question greatly depends on the version of AutoCad you are planning on using and, to a slightly lesser degree, what you're using it for.
If you are planning on installing AutoCad 2007 or 2008, I would HIGHLY reccomend a workstation class card, and if you are also working on Windows Vista, then it is *Required* that you do so. Here is a requirements/compatibility list for Autocad 2007/2008 regarding graphics cards:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/hc?siteID=123112&id=6711853&linkID=9240618&is_results=1&card_sel=&manufac=0&card=0&cert=0&d_stat=1&d_stat=2&prod=AutoCAD-R17.0&prod=AutoCAD-R17.1&os=1&os=2&os=256&os=512&os=2048
If you are using any other version of Autocad software AND you are *not* going to be using it for 3D modeling, I would focus more on the Processor/RAM.