AutoCADderTuesday, November 10, 2009
Windows 7 compatibility
I admit, I like to experiment. So I was happy to test AutoCAD and other Autodesk software in the new Windows 7 operating system.
AutoCAD (and even more Inventor) is known to be rather touchy to the version of operating system and even to some OS service packs. You cannot simply upgrade your operating system and rely on that your AutoCAD version will keep to be compatible. It probably won't.
As our company plans to upgrade to Windows 7, the tests have to be done in any case. Better sooner than later to avoid any bad surprises. So I have used the German version of Windows 7 Enterprise (64-bit) and the German versions of AutoCAD 2010, LT 2010, Architecture 2010, Map 3D 2010 and Inventor Professional 2010 (all in 64-bit versions).
The first potential problem could be the installation. But all installations of these applications went smoothly. Then I tested each of the applications in a series of typical functions. I have not tested the performance as I have installed it all on a new PC (HP Z400) so I had no comparison with Vista or WinXP on the same machine.
Here are the results:
I have also tested AutoCAD 2009 and it worked also well. Autodesk will probably not support officially it but some older versions may also work well in Windows 7. And if not, you can always use the virtual WinXP compatibility box in Windows 7.
So if you have machines capable of running Windows 7 (preferably in the 64-bit version) - i.e. lower specs than for running Vista - and if your peripherals are supported in Windows Vista (Windows 7 use the same drivers), I recommend to switch to Windows 7. AutoCAD and Inventor are not any obstacle to do this.
AutoCAD (and even more Inventor) is known to be rather touchy to the version of operating system and even to some OS service packs. You cannot simply upgrade your operating system and rely on that your AutoCAD version will keep to be compatible. It probably won't.
As our company plans to upgrade to Windows 7, the tests have to be done in any case. Better sooner than later to avoid any bad surprises. So I have used the German version of Windows 7 Enterprise (64-bit) and the German versions of AutoCAD 2010, LT 2010, Architecture 2010, Map 3D 2010 and Inventor Professional 2010 (all in 64-bit versions).
The first potential problem could be the installation. But all installations of these applications went smoothly. Then I tested each of the applications in a series of typical functions. I have not tested the performance as I have installed it all on a new PC (HP Z400) so I had no comparison with Vista or WinXP on the same machine.
Here are the results:
- AutoCAD 2010: all worked fine, except not being able to open one password protected drawing
- AutoCAD LT 2010: the same as for AutoCAD 2010
- AutoCAD Architecture 2010: all worked fine
- AutoCAD Map 3D 2010: a sample drawing connected to a MDB database did not work (probably a MDB driver problem)
- Inventor 2010: all worked fine (Vault was not tested), except running Excel invoked from an iPart table; then I found an Autodesk fix for that
I have also tested AutoCAD 2009 and it worked also well. Autodesk will probably not support officially it but some older versions may also work well in Windows 7. And if not, you can always use the virtual WinXP compatibility box in Windows 7.
So if you have machines capable of running Windows 7 (preferably in the 64-bit version) - i.e. lower specs than for running Vista - and if your peripherals are supported in Windows Vista (Windows 7 use the same drivers), I recommend to switch to Windows 7. AutoCAD and Inventor are not any obstacle to do this.
Labels: 64-bit, AutoCAD 2010, compatibility, Inventor 2010, Windows 7
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Max. RAM available for 64-bit applications?
Not only AutoCAD 2008 or 2009, but still more CAD applications are released in the native 64-bit versions. This brings - first of all - much bigger directly addressable memory (RAM). So you can process much larger datasets without being slowed down by OS memory limits.
As you probably know, applications running in the 32-bit Windows versions can address only 2GB (3GB in special modes) of mmory. Native 64-bit applications running in the 64-bit versions of Windows can access much more physical memory (of course if you have enough RAM installed). How much more? This is an important question if you are planning new workstations which should last for the next few years.
It seems to be enough for many years to the future. If you pick the right version of your operating system, you'll probably never hit this limit:
So for your next workstation, plan 4 or 8 GB of RAM by default.
As you probably know, applications running in the 32-bit Windows versions can address only 2GB (3GB in special modes) of mmory. Native 64-bit applications running in the 64-bit versions of Windows can access much more physical memory (of course if you have enough RAM installed). How much more? This is an important question if you are planning new workstations which should last for the next few years.
It seems to be enough for many years to the future. If you pick the right version of your operating system, you'll probably never hit this limit:
- Windows XP x64: 128 GB
- Vista Home Basic 64-bit: 8 GB
- Vista Home Premium 64-bit: 16 GB
- Vista Business/Ultimate/Enterprise 64-bit: 128GB
So for your next workstation, plan 4 or 8 GB of RAM by default.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
RAM is still limited in Windows Vista
Many people believe that Windows Vista makes more RAM available for your CAD programs. But if you compare the most common versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista, nothing has changed in terms of memory limits. The 32-bit version of Windows XP and Vista 32-bit share the same application memory limit of 2GB (or 3GB in special modes).
If you need more memory - what you always need when working with large CAD data - you have to pick the 64-bit version of Windows. But again, the 64-bit version of Windows XP and Vista 64-bit share similar memory options. Even in the 64-bit OS a 32-bit application cannot use more than 4GB of RAM; native 64-bit applications can use virtually unlimited memory. So remember - Vista doesn't bring higher memory limits, the 64-bit operating system does.
There is one more difference between WinXP and Vista - the way you control the 3GB memory mode. If your 32-bit application supports this mode (e.g. AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, Civil3D...), this mode makes 3GB of RAM available for it. In Windows XP, this mode is switched on through the BOOT.INI config file (/3GB). In Windows Vista, you can switch this mode with the BCDEDIT config tool - as described here (bcdedit, not bsdedit) or here.
If you need more memory - what you always need when working with large CAD data - you have to pick the 64-bit version of Windows. But again, the 64-bit version of Windows XP and Vista 64-bit share similar memory options. Even in the 64-bit OS a 32-bit application cannot use more than 4GB of RAM; native 64-bit applications can use virtually unlimited memory. So remember - Vista doesn't bring higher memory limits, the 64-bit operating system does.
There is one more difference between WinXP and Vista - the way you control the 3GB memory mode. If your 32-bit application supports this mode (e.g. AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, Civil3D...), this mode makes 3GB of RAM available for it. In Windows XP, this mode is switched on through the BOOT.INI config file (/3GB). In Windows Vista, you can switch this mode with the BCDEDIT config tool - as described here (bcdedit, not bsdedit) or here.
Labels: 32-bit, 3GB, 64-bit, AutoCAD, RAM, Vista
Sunday, February 25, 2007
AutoCAD 2008 compatibility
How compatible is AutoCAD 2008 with the older versions?
OK, the DWG files are compatible - that's important. AutoCAD 2008 still uses the DWG2007 format. It looks like the DWG file format is upgraded every 3rd AutoCAD release so we are safe for one more AutoCAD release (AutoCAD 2009 ?).
As for add-on applications it is more complicated. Generally, AutoCAD 2008 should run the 2007-versions of add-on applications. The 32-bit version of AutoCAD 2008 is binary compatible with AutoCAD 2007. VisualLISP, VBA, ActiveX and most ARX add-ons will probably run unmodified, there may be some problems with their installers.
With the 64-bit version of AutoCAD 2008, it is a different story. The LISP applications should still run fine. For VBA add-ons there is some workaround developed by Autodesk. ActiveX and ObjectARX applications need to be upgraded to work with AutoCAD 2008 64-bit.
OK, the DWG files are compatible - that's important. AutoCAD 2008 still uses the DWG2007 format. It looks like the DWG file format is upgraded every 3rd AutoCAD release so we are safe for one more AutoCAD release (AutoCAD 2009 ?).
As for add-on applications it is more complicated. Generally, AutoCAD 2008 should run the 2007-versions of add-on applications. The 32-bit version of AutoCAD 2008 is binary compatible with AutoCAD 2007. VisualLISP, VBA, ActiveX and most ARX add-ons will probably run unmodified, there may be some problems with their installers.
With the 64-bit version of AutoCAD 2008, it is a different story. The LISP applications should still run fine. For VBA add-ons there is some workaround developed by Autodesk. ActiveX and ObjectARX applications need to be upgraded to work with AutoCAD 2008 64-bit.
Labels: 64-bit, ARX, AutoCAD 2008, LISP, VBA
