COMPUTER SPECIFICATIONS FOR CIVIL 2009

[davidc.54965]

I am having hassles with the IT section regarding cad workstations.
What I am chasing are some specs for a mid to high end computer to run C3D 2009.

We generally work with dwgs in between 20 - 40M with occassional files around 220M.

Current computers seem to be around 2 years old and have
1-2Gigs Ram
pentium 3 processors
2 19inch monitors 1280x1024 with NVIDA Quadro NVS 290.

Lots of mem problems atm.

Any sugesstions as to what would be a good mid to high end system would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

[gandocadguy]

Autodesk's website says 3Gb's min on the RAM. Of course 4GB's is max on 32bit OS's. As for the rest I suppose it's all up for debate. If I had the money to spend I'd look into a QX9770 Intel. The 1600mhz FSB and 12mb L2 Cache would help alot.Even if C3D doesn't use all 4 cores. Their expenive and require liquid cooling. But I suppose a man can dream right?

[Harold Pei Jr]

They list the recommended specs here. Do you guys get your computers from the big companies (i.e. Dell, HP, Xi, etc.) or have someone build them locally?

[davidc.54965]

no the IT staff build them themselves.
Yes i have seen the recommened specs, but was looking to find some thing towards the higher end of cad work stations.
I wouldn't have a clue what was around these days.
Would moving to 64 bit be a better option?

[gandocadguy]

From the link above:

32-bit only: Microsoft® Windows Vista® Ultimate/Business/Enterprise, Microsoft® Windows XP (SP2)

So 64 bit won't help. You'd have to run it in compatablitiy mode.

[civil3Dguide]

Now I have no true 64bit systems to test this on, but doesn't 09 have the option to install as 64bit, as well as Vista having the same option?

Straight from Autodesk;
However, there are a few things that you can look at to increase your system's resources and help with the situation:

• Increase RAM - I would recommend 4 GB
• Use the 3 GB switch - The Windows Operating System (OS) only allocates 2 GB to run applications. The remained is reserve to run the OS. If you have 3 or more gigs of RAM on your machine, you can use the directions in the following link to make an additional gig available.
  http://support.autodesk.com/getdoc.asp?id=TS1071001
• Upgrade to a 64-bit OS - A 64-bit OS will allow you to free up even more memory for your applications.

They don't say how much C3D will max out at on the 64bit, or if it increases at all.

My best suggestion is to try and figure out how to reduce the size of your dwgs as well, thru x-refs, data refs, or something. I try to keep all my dwgs under 10mb, I know that's kind of small, but what can you do?

[sinc]

Current computers seem to be around 2 years old and have
1-2Gigs Ram
pentium 3 processors

Are you sure about that? Pentium 3 processors are very ancient. I think they stopped making them back in the 2001 timeframe.

Definitely get 2GB RAM minimum, preferably more. Autocad and C3D use only a single processor for the most part. Dual core processors help, because the OS can offload some things onto the other core, but quad-core processors are a waste of money for most Autocad users, unless maybe if you are heavily into rendering, or have some other program that can make good use of a quad-core.

Getting the fastest FSB available and a good MOBO helps a lot. Also, fast hard drives are critical. I recommend fast drives (7200 RPM vertical write drives are good, or 10,000+RPM for normal drives). We have machines with two 10K Raptors arranged in a Raid0, and the fast drives make a huge difference.

If you are going with a 64-bit OS, best bet is to go with Vista. XP64 is still weak when it comes to drivers, and with the advent of Vista, don't expect that to change. If you are going with 64bit Vista, make sure you verify that you will be able to get drivers for your printers. That's still a sticky point - not all manufacturers are releasing Vista drivers for their older printers, and you may have a problem there. So make sure you can get the drivers before you get the Vista machines, or make plans to replace any printers that will not have Vista drivers released.

[sinc]

Now I have no true 64bit systems to test this on, but doesn't 09 have the option to install as 64bit, as well as Vista having the same option?

Vanilla Autocad has a 64-bit version, but not Civil-3D. If you intend to use Civil-3D, you must run it in 32-bit compatibility mode.

[*]Use the 3 GB switch - The Windows Operating System (OS) only allocates 2 GB to run applications. The remained is reserve to run the OS. If you have 3 or more gigs of RAM on your machine, you can use the directions in the following link to make an additional gig available.

That's a bit misleading. It makes it sound like Windows will only use 2GB of your RAM unless you set that switch, which isn't the case. I went into a fair bit of detail about this switch on this page:

http://discussion.autodesk.com/threa...sageID=6026384

The general idea is that this switch may help some people in certain situations, but it can also cause other problems on your system, so it's something that should only be used on a case-by-case basis. If you are in doubt about whether or not you need it, best bet is to leave it off. It only really helps for certain operations, and only when you are using very large datasets. Most users will notice no benefit from this setting.

[davidc.54965]

Thanks guys for all your advice.
Sinc sorry they must be pentium 4's would have been before the duo cores came out.
Well at least i now have something to talk to IT about. Normally we just a glorified admin machine and it has worked so far.
The council i work for has just amalgamated with 2 other councils and the amount and size of work we are now doing is quite a lot bigger than what we were doing, so our current machines are starting to struggle and we are about to update to C3D2009 as well. So i am hopping to get IT to see that we need a beefier computers than the min. spec ones they normally give us lol.

[Harold Pei Jr]

Now I have no true 64bit systems to test this on, but doesn't 09 have the option to install as 64bit, as well as Vista having the same option?

They don't say how much C3D will max out at on the 64bit, or if it increases at all.

My best suggestion is to try and figure out how to reduce the size of your dwgs as well, thru x-refs, data refs, or something. I try to keep all my dwgs under 10mb, I know that's kind of small, but what can you do?

Civil 3D will only use, at max, 4 GB of memory on a 64-bit OS. It's able to install on a 64-bit system, but it's still a 32-bit program.