optimal computer system

[Michael Billings]

Hello, I have a basic question. If I were to buy a new computer now, what would be the optimal setup for eCabinet software? I have previously had trouble in the shop drawing and presentation areas and the techs could not figure it out and came to the conclusion that it was probably my graphics card. There was previously talk about a cirtain graphics card that was $1800 alone, without a system. Is this still the recomendation or has something else been deemed the perfect ecabinets card? How about Mac?

[Al Navas]

Michael,

The following is from the eCabinet Systems pages: http://www.ecabinetsystems.com/ and click of Software on the left-hand sidebar. Fourth from the bottm on the sidebar, in blue, you will find "Computer System"; select this item and you will see (notice there are both desktop and laptop systems recommended):

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Requirements:
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The eCabinet Systems software requires both a robust computer system and a fast, compatible graphics card. The Recommended System below details the current recommended system, balancing cost & performance.
Working with Dell Computer, the system has been configured and tested and found to operate properly with the current version of the eCabinet Systems software.

We may, from time to time, make changes in the system recommended as both the computer offerings and our software requirements change.



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Computer System

Recommended Desktop Systems (11/6/2007):

Dell Precision Workstation 390, or
HP xw4600 Workstation
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6700
Windows® XP Professional (32-bit)
2GB, 667MHz, DDR2 SDRAM Memory
160GB SATA Hard Drive
256MB PCIe x16 nVidia Quadro FX3500 Graphics
XGA (1024X768) Capable (or higher) Monitor
Integrated Ethernet and/or 56K PCI Data Fax Modem
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo Drive
Two-button mouse w/Scroll
Broadband Internet Access
Microsoft Office Basic Edition (Word, Excel, Outlook)
Minimum Requirements:

2.0GHz Intel or AMD Processor
64MB nVidia GeForce or ATI Radeon series AGP or PCI Express graphics card
Windows 2000, XP Home, or XP Pro (eCabinet Systems recommends Windows XP Pro)
Note: Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4, and Vista are NOT supported.
512MB Memory
XGA (1024X768) Capable Monitor
Internet Connection (either modem or broadband)
CD-ROM Drive
Two-button mouse w/Scroll
Note: The eCabinet Systems software does not benefit from multi-processor or multi-core processor systems.

Important: eCabinet Systems strongly recommends avoiding computers or laptops with 'Integrated' graphics that have 'Shared' memory."

Important: eCabinet Systems is not compatible with Windows XP 64-bit Edition or any version of Windows Vista.

Recommended Laptop Systems (11/6/2007):
Dell Precision Mobile Workstation M6300, or
HP Compaq 8710w Mobile Workstation
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7700
Windows XP Professional
2 GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM Memory
80GB Hard Drive (7200RPM)
NVIDIA® Quadro FX 1600M OpenGL Graphics Adapter
Integrated Ethernet
24X max/10X min CD-ROM Drive
Two-button mouse w/Scroll
Broadband Internet Access
Microsoft Office Basic Edition (Word, Excel, Outlook)
Note: The eCabinet Systems software does not benefit from multi-processor or multi-core processor systems.

Important: eCabinet Systems strongly recommends avoiding computers or laptops with 'Integrated' graphics that have 'Shared' memory."

Important: eCabinet Systems is not compatible with Windows XP 64-bit Edition or any version of Windows Vista.

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[Wally Schneeberger]

Hello, I have a basic question. If I were to buy a new computer now, what would be the optimal setup for eCabinet software? I have previously had trouble in the shop drawing and presentation areas and the techs could not figure it out and came to the conclusion that it was probably my graphics card. There was previously talk about a certain graphics card that was $1800 alone, without a system. Is this still the recommendation or has something else been deemed the perfect ecabinets card? How about Mac?

Micheal -- As you can see from the min to the max there is a great difference in the price pf the graphics card. I run a P4 3.2 hyper-threading with 2gig ram and a Nvidia Quadro FX 570 which costs approx. $200. It can be tweaked and does a great job as far as I'm concerned. I don't design every day but when I do I have not had any problems with slowdown or crashes with this card. I don't see any trails or jitters and it operates nice and smooth. This is just an example for you of the lower end Quadro card. FWIW .