Planning new PC system - requirements?

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Joe Harkin
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Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Joe Harkin »

I am planning to build a new desktop system (this one is @6 yrs old) and I cannot find my eCab installation CD. I am running the current version 5.2 build 2.
Can I get a replacement CD, and will I need a new reg-code to activate on the new system? I'd like to keep them running in parallel until I get the new system full up and running all my software.
The new system will be:
-Dual-core Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 on an Abit MB
-4GB DDR2-800 RAM,
-MSI R4670-2D512 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 video
-500GB Seagate sata HD
-CD-RW and DVD-RW drives
If you see any problems with this config particularly the video card , pls advise as I have not yet ordered all the pieces. Any other comments also welcome.
Joe
Todd Miller

Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Todd Miller »

Joe,
I will forward this information onto the person that ships out the CD's. Below is a link to our system requirements page on our Thermwood website.

http://www.ecabinetsystems.com/ecab_new ... system.htm

Note: I recommend running windows XP or Vista 32 bit as the OS.
Joe Harkin
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Joe Harkin »

Thanks, Todd. I guess I'll login for a new reg code if I need one.
As for the PC config, I am specifically interested in the applicability of the video card I'm looking at (the ATI4670/512MB ram ) for running eCab. Anybody care to comment?
Joe
Nick M Singer
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Nick M Singer »

To add grist to the video card spec mill, I offer the following observation. I have a system running a Quadro FX 3500 with 512MB and a system using an Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB. Both are on the same type of platform / processors, RAM, etc Both run the same, Rendering is just as quick and handling of items in the editor is smooth. So my conclusion is.. save your penny's and buy a good gamers card, these high end high priced CAD/Workstation cards are simply not worth it... no matter what Dean says, the proof is in the eating.
Gregory Hairston
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Gregory Hairston »

I agree with Nick. Im using a Gaming Laptop and it runs Faster than any Desktop I have ever used. My laptop is equipped with a Nvidia 9800M GTS card with 512MB and is faster than any desktop I have seen Ecab run on. One thing is to be careful with the ATI card you picked. I do not think it is one of their more powerful cards. I have always been a big ATI fan buy you may want to go with nvidia and get a 9800 series card.

Greg
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Rick Palechuk
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Rick Palechuk »

I would have to jump on your wagon too. I run two 8600 SLI and it rips. I think the rendering capabilities of these new cards is "good enough" for most work you would do. Some may need a superior rendering to sell the job, or to change things on the fly while with a client. In that case, it might be beneficial to have the Quadro series cards. JMO
DanEpps
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by DanEpps »

Okay, I know going into this post that it will upset--even anger--some of you, but I must respond to the technical incorrectness of the previous posts.

The subject of computer configurations and video cards has been covered numerous times in this forum. Some things bear repeating though.

I’m going to state the reasons for choosing a particular computer configuration or video card as a series of rhetorical questions.

1. Do you go to Wal-Mart and buy the cheapest tools to run your shop with?
2. Would you attempt to build a space shuttle with a Wal-Mart welder?
3. Would you attempt to design a space shuttle with a Wal-Mart computer?

If you answered no to any of those questions, why would you want to skimp on the computer you use to design the cabinetry that you build and sell?

Its not that “cheaper” won’t work, it is that it doesn’t have the technical capabilities to perform the job. Games and productivity applications have different graphics needs that do technical applications like CAD and eCabinets.

Games and productivity applications use DirectX to produce fast, but not precision, graphics. Technical applications use OpenGL to produce precision graphics.

Gaming video cards (and computer systems) may run technical applications but their support for the needs of those applications takes a back seat to the needs of gaming applications.

Likewise, technical workstations (and video cards) “also support” for the needs of gaming and business applications but it is not their primary function.

Don’t try to use the same computer for running your business and personal entertainment. Your business computer is far too important to risk getting hammered by viruses and spyware. This brings up another rhetorical question:

Would you allow your neighbor to come into your shop and use your production equipment to build a playhouse for his kids? Probably not, so why let your kid play games and surf the internet with the same computer you run your business with? To do so invites the risk of shutting down your business and keeping you from providing food and shelter for your kids!

If you consider your cabinetry to be fine woodworking (and charge accordingly), why skimp on the tools used to produce it (and your computer is just another tool)?

Likewise, if you consider your work to be comparable to what Joe Homeowner can buy at Home Depot, then a Wal-Mart computer is probably sufficient.

I back up my observations with over 30 years in the computer industry, so I'm not just blowing smoke or repeating what Jack Downthestreet said.
Nick M Singer
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Nick M Singer »

Dan that is all very well but the fact is (in practice) it is proven to make no difference in the example I have given. i agree one uses the finest tools for the job but only if they are actually the finest and not just hyped up. I have only been disappointed by the performance of so called workstation/ CAD graphics cards and conclude that they are not worth the massive cost overhead especially when one knows that these cards are essentially the same and just use different drivers. Sounds like a scam to me!
DanEpps
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by DanEpps »

No, they are definitely NOT the same with differing drivers--they have completely different GPUs.
Damon Nabors
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Damon Nabors »

[quote="DanEpps"]
1. Do you go to Wal-Mart and buy the cheapest tools to run your shop with?
2. Would you attempt to build a space shuttle with a Wal-Mart welder?
3. Would you attempt to design a space shuttle with a Wal-Mart computer?

.[/quote

So Dan, If I understand you correctly. If I design my cabinets on one of these super computers, My cabinets will be worthy of being shipped on the space shuttle? :joker:

You do have some good points Dan. Especially the ones about letting your kids use the computer. That is a common complaint in our house. I will not let anyone use my computer for the reasons you posted. I have a computer in another room right now that I paid $6,000 for and the kids did all there reports for school and looked up anything and everything on the computer and now it is a pile of crap. I have this great big screen that pops up when it is turned on that informs me that the computer is infected with some sort of virus. I have purchased all kinds of virus removal tools and non of them will wipe out this one. I guess I need to take it into a shop and have them look at it. The only good thing that came of it, I did get the OK to purchase a nice new laptop to run ecabinets on.
Damon Nabors
DanEpps
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by DanEpps »

Damon Nabors wrote:...So Dan, If I understand you correctly. If I design my cabinets on one of these super computers, My cabinets will be worthy of being shipped on the space shuttle?...
No, just that they can be INSTALLED in the space shuttle. :joker:
Nick M Singer
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Nick M Singer »

Do your homework Dan, they do not have different processors
Nick M Singer
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Nick M Singer »

Before i get an indignant reply to my previous post please refer to this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_Quadro
Damon Nabors
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Damon Nabors »

Thanks Dan, Now that we have that cleared up, I am not so worried about the housing market anymore. We are now focused on NASA. :joker:
Damon Nabors
Kerry Fullington
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Re: Planning new PC system - requirements?

Post by Kerry Fullington »

Nick,

A lot of the performance problem of graphics cards only show up when the system is stressed. Many people may get by with a card that doesn't meet the eCabinets bench mark. The problem arises when someone purchases a computer with total disregard for the specifications eCabinets has given and they have problems. Now that person finds fault with eCabinets because it won't run on their computer. The eCabinets guys have spent a great deal of time determining the best system to run their software. It is best to follow those guidlines.

Kerry
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