topic Re: PC Recommendations!!! in Installation & update

PC Recommendations

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 13:29:30 GMT

I work in a mac office. We are looking to purchase a PC for our network because we are going to be purchasing some new accounting software that only works on a PC. This software is called Deltek. We would also like to run ArchiCAD on the PC. I want to make sure that it works ok on a mac network. Are there any additional software or hardware that we would need to purchase in order for this to work. What would you recommend?

Re: PC Recommendations!!!

JCovarrubias — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 14:27:07 GMT

Dual screen setup (two 17" monitors or 19" monitors LCD or not) for extended screen real estate (dual VGA-out videocard needed)

those accounting tables and forms can take up a lot of room I can imagine...

Re: PC Recommendations!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:04:02 GMT

I'm trying to decide on new monitors for the office. Any recommendations on 17" or 19" LCD screens? Trying not to spend a fortune either.

Re: PC Recommendations!!!

JCovarrubias — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:40:51 GMT

Millard wrote:
I'm trying to decide on new monitors for the office. Any recommendations on 17" or 19" LCD screens? Trying not to spend a fortune either.

http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/009385.php

Personally - Samsung's would be my LCD of choice (I'm using dual 17" CRT monitors for now)

Re: PC Recommendations!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 17:16:52 GMT

what about my original question, does anyone have any comments about that, I am not really interested in dual monitors at this time.

Re: PC Recommendations!!!

aahatimo — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 17:31:37 GMT

Millard wrote:
I'm trying to decide on new monitors for the office. Any recommendations on 17" or 19" LCD screens? Trying not to spend a fortune either.

great link jeffry! also check out: monitorsdirect.com they carry a good selection. also dell has a deal on their 19" ($543) & 20 " lcds ($824).
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/sna.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~topic=q4wk3_snp_primary4
btw, the 20" lcds have the same diagonal measurement (20") as my older 21" viewsonic p810 crt. which i think i paid about $800 for. but, 2 of those 19" would really work great for just over a grand!

Re: PC Recommendations!!!

JCovarrubias — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 20:27:56 GMT

aahatimo wrote:
Millard wrote:
I'm trying to decide on new monitors for the office. Any recommendations on 17" or 19" LCD screens? Trying not to spend a fortune either.
great link jeffry! also check out: monitorsdirect.com they carry a good selection. also dell has a deal on their 19" ($543) & 20 " lcds ($824).
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/sna.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~topic=q4wk3_snp_primary4
btw, the 20" lcds have the same diagonal measurement (20") as my older 21" viewsonic p810 crt. which i think i paid about $800 for. but, 2 of those 19" would really work great for just over a grand!

http://www.centralcomputer.com/emerchant/specials.asp

PC Recommendations 2!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 21:43:56 GMT

I was hoping to get some feedback on what PC's people would recommend. Instead someone posted a question about a monitor and my original question got completely overlooked. What is a solid PC that you would get the most bang for your buck and that is capable of working within a mac network with an OS X Server. Any suggestions??!!

Re: PC Recommendations 2!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Nov 2003 22:29:56 GMT

I recommend sticking with the major brands. I like IBM ThinkPads and IBM, Dell & HP workstations. I have also heard good reports about Toshiba and Sony laptops.

Get a 2GHz or better Pentium 4 Xeon processor with a good video card (64MB vram min.) and a bunch of RAM (1GB seems to be enough, 512MB is a minimum nowadays). A Pentium 4 (not Xeon) is probably ok, but DO NOT get a Celeron.

The Xeon also has the option for dual processors but this is only really useful if you plan to run two or more power hungry programs at the same time, or if you use dual processor aware programs like Cinema 4D or Photoshop a lot.

Re: PC Recommendations 2!!!

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 03:47:27 GMT

Puget Custom Computers:

http://www.pugetsystems.com/gaming.php?symbol=u

Have one similar to the above, then customized on line. They talk with you about special needs and how to save money. Really excellant service and first class parts. Very happy. Highly recommend and all for a great price.

Re: PC Recommendations 2!!!

Conrado Dominguez — Tue, 25 Nov 2003 04:02:42 GMT

mikeadams wrote:
. What is a solid PC that you would get the most bang for your buck and that is capable of working within a mac network with an OS X Server. Any suggestions??!!

Just look at the DELL selections. I just installed a few of them on a Apple Talk network flawlessly using Miramar System software. No need to look at the Workstations, they are pricy. The only problem is the limited selections of graphics card they offer. They will not customize their machines with anything other than what they list.

E-mail me privately if you want further info.

Conrado Dominguez

Re: PC Recommendations 2!!!

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Nov 2003 05:26:27 GMT

You might want to check what Cadalyst Magazine is currently recommending. When I looked up their ratings, they'd given top billing to Polywell and Dell a few years in a row, *way* outstripping everything else.

The nice thing about Polywell machines is that you can customize them practically infinitely, much more so than you can with any of the better known brands, including a broader selection of higher end graphics cards, and a lot more expansion bays.

Both Cadalyst and Polywell have extensive websites. If you can't find what you want at Polywell on their website, even after configuring your own system, just call them or email them with what you want to get a quote.

Wendy

Computer Harware config question

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Dec 2003 03:19:51 GMT

Hullo.

I was getting acquainted with the example projects and find that the sample projects load and render very slowly.
My initial learning type projects have been small, so far, so they load and regenerate quickly....
but i am wondering what the level of detail in a project is that will cause my computer to start to get slow.

I have seen in the user guide that 1 gig Ram is recommended, but when I check performance meter
during load up of the sample projects it is the processor that is maxed out.
I have a AMD 1.3 thunderbird and 512k sdram- how do determine what processor would be adequate to run ArchiCAD ?
I am on a tight budget btw and could not buy a new 64 bit processor

I am planning mebe to get a AMD XP 2800 + 1 Gig DDR ? Will this be enough ?

Thanks.

Simon
D2G

Re: Computer Harware config question

Djordje — Tue, 02 Dec 2003 05:24:24 GMT

Simon wrote:
I have a AMD 1.3 thunderbird and 512k sdram- how do determine what processor would be adequate to run ArchiCAD ?
I am on a tight budget btw and could not buy a new 64 bit processor

You never have enough horsepower in your car and GHz in your processor

Go for the fastest you can afford, definitely go for 1 gig of RAM, and don't save on the graphics subsystem - nVidia with 64MB minimum with good OpenGL capabilities is recommended.

Don't forget the speed of the disk, and the size of it - you need lots of free space.

Re: PC Recommendations!!!

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Dec 2003 07:55:44 GMT

mikeadams wrote:
I work in a mac office. This software is called Deltek. What would you recommend?

Since no one else seems to want to answer your question, I'll take a stab at it. The fact that you work in a Mac office is null. Mac networks operate seamlessly with a Windows client. As far as a name-brand computer recommendation goes, Dell comes to mind first. The model you choose depends upon the hardware requirements of the Deltek software and your budget. The Compaq Prosignia series is also quite good.

Re: PC Recommendations

tsturm — Thu, 07 Apr 2005 20:38:30 GMT

Coming into a new office. Got put on the largest project in the office as far as the CAD work goes. Then I found out that my machine has a 1.1g Celeron processor and 384 megs of ram.

I really do not know much about this type of processor given my main working machine has been a G5.

I do know based on experience it is slow.

Can anyone help with the reason why one type of PC processor is better and why all the comments about not getting a Celeron processor?

What is ArchiCAD doing that is needs the Pentium processor and such?

I can get things done using the Celeron, but it does seem to take a long time. A very simple model to draw up a exterior elevation on a building took over 35 minutes to do. Something I would have expected to take less than a minute to do on my G5.

Could anyone help me out?

THX

Re: PC Recommendations

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 01:29:04 GMT

tsturm wrote:
Can anyone help with the reason why one type of PC processor is better and why all the comments about not getting a Celeron processor?

What is ArchiCAD doing that is needs the Pentium processor and such?

The Celeron is a slow, cheap version of the Pentium. It's sole purpose is to sell to the lowest price points. It is unacceptable for CAD work as far as I am concerned.

ArchiCAD makes heavy use of the processor, especially for 3D modeling and rendering. A fast graphics card also helps quite a bit, especially for OpenGL in 3D navigation.

Your computer sounds seriously deficient for the task. Your employer would be well advised to spring for the cost of new machine. It will pay back quickly in time saved and deadlines met.

Re: PC Recommendations

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 01:43:35 GMT

Man o man.....even my poor secretary has a P4 with 512mb.

Them giving you a celer-crap-on to do AC9 work on has got be a practical joke they are layin on you.

Unless managment doesnt mind all that time you sit there waiting....waiting...waiting.

Re: PC Recommendations

Djordje — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 08:33:41 GMT

tsturm wrote:
Coming into a new office. Got put on the largest project in the office as far as the CAD work goes. Then I found out that my machine has a 1.1g Celeron processor and 384 megs of ram.

I found out that people usually understand when you use car analogies.

Any CAD is Indy racing. You don't use a tricycle to go Indy racing. If you do, you don't win. Simple as that.

What you do need is spelled out on the Graphisoft web site. Multiply listed by two.

Heck, OS wants 512MB!!!!

Re: PC Recommendations

tsturm — Fri, 08 Apr 2005 13:24:25 GMT

Thank you all who replied to my post on the Celeron issue.

Wish me luck in getting an upgrade. Either that or the patience to wait through the long calculation times.