AutoCADderTuesday, 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
Monday, February 19, 2007
Do we need a new computer for AutoCAD 2008?
No and yes - it depends.
Autodesk recommends 2.2 GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon CPU, 512MB RAM, 750MB disk space, 1024 x 768 graphics (OpenGL/DirectX) on Windows Vista, Windows XP sp2 or Windows 2000 sp4. This is not much more than the requirements for AutoCAD 2007. So if you are running AutoCAD 2007 you will probably run AutoCAD 2008 with the same speed on the same PC.
What is new is the 64-bit version of AutoCAD 2008. It can handle much larger data sets but it of course needs a stronger hardware. The increased requirements for AutoCAD 2008 64-bit climb to AMD Athlon, Opteron or Pentium 4 or Xeon with EM64T, 1GB RAM, 750MB disk space, 1024 x 768 graphics (OpenGL/DirectX) on Windows Vista 64-bit or Windows XP x64. Those planning to use the 64-bit AutoCAD will probably have to upgrade their old ACAD workstation.
Update: as Shaan Hurley just added - for conceptual design (3D) you will need: 3 GHz CPU, 2GB RAM (or more), 2GB free disk space (+installation), 1280 x 1024 x 32b workstation class graphics gard with 128MB RAM and OpenGL or Direct3D support (Direct3D only for Vista)
64-bit CADs will not be any faster, they will just have access to more memory allowing to process larger files.
Autodesk recommends 2.2 GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon CPU, 512MB RAM, 750MB disk space, 1024 x 768 graphics (OpenGL/DirectX) on Windows Vista, Windows XP sp2 or Windows 2000 sp4. This is not much more than the requirements for AutoCAD 2007. So if you are running AutoCAD 2007 you will probably run AutoCAD 2008 with the same speed on the same PC.
What is new is the 64-bit version of AutoCAD 2008. It can handle much larger data sets but it of course needs a stronger hardware. The increased requirements for AutoCAD 2008 64-bit climb to AMD Athlon, Opteron or Pentium 4 or Xeon with EM64T, 1GB RAM, 750MB disk space, 1024 x 768 graphics (OpenGL/DirectX) on Windows Vista 64-bit or Windows XP x64. Those planning to use the 64-bit AutoCAD will probably have to upgrade their old ACAD workstation.
Update: as Shaan Hurley just added - for conceptual design (3D) you will need: 3 GHz CPU, 2GB RAM (or more), 2GB free disk space (+installation), 1280 x 1024 x 32b workstation class graphics gard with 128MB RAM and OpenGL or Direct3D support (Direct3D only for Vista)
64-bit CADs will not be any faster, they will just have access to more memory allowing to process larger files.
Labels: AutoCAD 2008, CPU, hardware, RAM, Vista
