Autocad not running on T2600 Dell.

I have a problem with Autocad running very slowly.
New computer choices XPS M1730 X9000 2.8GHz Geforce SLI 8800GTX 4GB DDR2 160GB 160GB 5400 RPM
XPS M1710 T7600 2.32GHz Geforce 7950GTX 4GB DDR2 200GB 7200 RPM

Got very slow could not run well enough to keep mouse working.
Inpsiron E1705 T2600 2.16GHz Quadro 2500M 4GB DDR2 320GB 5400 RPM

I am trying to find an answer quickly because I either have to use or return the fastest computer I am trying not to spend the extra money if possible. Also my license from Autodesk seems to be hard to change from one computer to another.

Thank You

 

So, are you planning to buy a new computer or upgrade the current E1705 ?

 

I have already upgraded the E1705 but could not find a processor. I own the XPS M1710 and bought so I could use or return the XPS M1730. My inspiron has just gotten too slow for my purposes. I plays games well but not Autocad.

 

You can upgrade the E1705's CPU to a T7200/T7400. Those should run Autocad fine and are not that expensive on ebay.

 

So do you think the processor is the problem?

 

My sales people told me to turn off the internet and virus scanner it did help and I turned on the acceleration for opengl. Those things helped but I need to be connected to the internet so I can not disable the virus scanner or internet.

 

Yes, AutoCAD's performance will get better with a faster CPU. But the upgrade is entirely your choice, depending upon if you can get a cheap CPU.

 

So am I going to see a big improvement with core 2 duo T7400? Do I need the Quadro? I am only doing 2D.

 

The computer isn't performing as well as it used to running the same program? I wouldn't be looking at hardware upgrades if that is the problem.

 

I appreciate the help Autodesk says on their site minimum is 1.67GHz on multicore 2.2 on single core. I assume that is not exactly correct if you want or need to do other things like check e-mail or look things up on the internet.

 

No the computer has never had Autocad on it. We could not justify the cost of Autocad until recently. I also need to run Coade with it.

 

I may be able to get a T7400 reasonable. The reason for getting the new computer was I read somewhere that Autocad is not multithreaded and the fastest processor is the best processor. Just what I read. I have no knowledge lately of Autocad. I did however think it was multithreaded or thought it used to be.

 

How would I know a good reseller on Ebay? $430 is not worth it.
My only reason for ordering a processor that could be clocked to 3.2 was for Autocad. Otherwize there was no reason to upgrade computers. But if I can get by with the T7600 I am ok with that. I just won't have a Quadro for OpenGL.

 

Ok, honestly I am a bit lost now.

You bought the M1710 and now selling the M1730. Right ?

You have the E1705, with a T2600 which has AutoCad (?) on it ? And the license is not-transferrable, so you can run that software only on the E1705 ?

 

Sorry no I have both E1705 and M1710 got a good deal on the M1710. I bought a M1730 for the 2.8 OC'able to 3.2GHz. I can return it if it is not needed. I thought I would need the 3.2GHz from what I had read. I apologize I am just not in need of three laptops for programming and Autocad. I do like playing games but that is second to school and work. Hope that clarifies things. If I keep the M1730 the other two get sold.
Autocad is not installed at this point a Demo full version was installed on the E1705. I updated it so it was as the retail version would be. I can move retail version to another computer but from what my sales people say it is like going to Fort Knox for Gold to change computers Autocad is installed on.

 

Oh. Now I would say that keeping the M1730 is much better, and sell the E1705 and the M1710 (for a small profit ).

Now, I think AutoCAD will run fine even with a 2.0GHz processor. Have you tried running Autocad on the M1710 with the T7400 ?

(Or you could sell all three notebooks, and buy a nice MV Business Notebook such as the new Latitudes/Precisions)

 

I would like to have had a precision but did not see any with 512MB video RAM and a 2.8GHz processor. I really would like a 3.??? not sure what the Core 2 Duo or whatever they are called today goes up to now. But I would have much preferred the Precision with the fastest processor and large memory video Quadro. IF I could run lightwave and MS Visual Studio and Autocad all one computer would be great. The only advantage is this one has two drives in it I found no other Dell laptops with dual drives.

 

Well, I see that you like Dells.

You could checkout the Montevina offerings from Asus, Lenovo and Clevo as well. They have good CPUs, good GPUs, and the 17"+ have support for RAID as well. And they should be in the same price bracket as the M1730.

Otherwise, if the M1710 CPU - T7600 is sufficient for your needs atm (CAD, etc). You could return the M1730, and stick to the E1705 and the M1710.

You could also upgrade the M1710's HDD to the new 7200RPMs, which are quite fast as compared to the older generations.

 

I have seriously thought about going to a similarly equiped Precision. I just checked the price is $800 more than what I just bought. Might be worth it in the long run. That was not available when I bought mine a week and a half ago. I try to stay with American made products. I do like Dell but they have good service most of the time and good warranties. So I have no preferrence but prefer American and when it comes to following guidelines set out by each software company it is easy to look for Dell specific models and be sure they work. This time I guess I should have waited a week but my Autocad showed up this morning and I knew I could get that machine here by this morning. Where could I look at Montevina from Asus I do like Asus a lot. Clevo has been around for a while where should I look at their equipment? The drive is very possibly a needed item in my M1710 XPS the 200GB is great but room is critical. I play games on it only but may use it for Autocad. I seem to waist space or something I run out of room a lot.

 

I believe the ASUS G50V and the M70Vm are very good.
From Clevo, the M860TU and M570TU are great and provide excellent gaming performance even with the base 9800M GT/S.
Check out the Clevo Guide and the ASUS sticky. They have alot of info regarding both these ODMs.

If you think that upgrading to a newer system is not right ATM, the XPS M1710 will be fine for gaming and intensive performance. The T7600 is fast, and with a fast 320GB 7200RPM HDD (~$100), the notebook will perform really well. I don't think you will have any problems running any CPU or GPU intensive tasks.

 

I think I may try keeping the M1710 and returning the M1730. I was afraid the processor would not be enough for Autocad with an addon running inside of it. Coade told me today they thought the faster the processor the better but the video memory was also critical. 512MB for now is hopefully enough I am going to try that. I am interested in the ease with which a Clevo or an Asus is certified by the companies I use. That always seems to be a problem like I stated earlier. The Asus I gave my wife is a wonderful computer. Clevo I have never tried but it always seems hard to get upgrade parts for the other companies. Video cards are like pulling teeth to get my hands on and that seems to be my problem area.

 

Sounds fine. The M1710 is a good notebook, esp looking at the specs. 2.33 GHz is more than enough for CAD (multi-threaded or not). You could probably replace the T2600 in the E1705 with a T7200 down the line, which are about 120 bux on ebay.

Anyway, good luck with CAD and the M1730 Return.

 

How can I tell if someone is ok to buy a CPU from on Ebay? I always get a little concerned about computer parts on Ebay but it seems many people do ok there. Most parts seem to come from china and not that I have a problem with china but how can I be sure they do not get my money and blow me off. I would hate to send the money and not get anything since it is another continent.
The Clevo have not got very large memory on the Quadro's I am still looking at the Asus though.
Asus not new enough video Clevo might be where it is but where can the upgrade video be bought?

 

Unless they fixed it recently, AutoCAD runs faster on XP than on Vista.

A Demo is also only good for 30 days and can be moved to another machine if your savvy enough & an authorized version's license can be moved, you just need to contact Autodesk.

Also, look here for info and for asking ACAD questions.

http://discussion.autodesk.com/forums/

 

Unforunately I do not know for sure. I read somewhere that Vista runs Autocad better. That is a strange thing I admit but that is what I read when reading about other peoples systems. I am not sure but I will try to install the Demo to the newer old machine and try it. The license is possible to be moved but my retail person says it is very hard to do. They say you have to write a letter to Autodesk wait for them to respond ... That is just what I was told. So I am a little concerned since I can not talk to Autodesk support.

 

Why dont we solve the problem. You have two T7600 processors in your laptops. Why dontyou take the T7600 out of your M1210 and put that in your E1705?

The E1705 is as powerful as the XPS1710. Actually they are the same computer. They share the same motherboard. They have a slightly different casing, and the 1705 doesnt have the flashy lights and touchpad.

The T7600 will run autocad much better than the T2600 will.

The answer is not to buy another laptop, because you will not see much of a performance increase.

I am an architecture student, and I use a T5300 for most of my autocad and it runs fine. It gets a little bogged down with big files, but it is still very fast.
If I need more power I use my Voodoo with the Opteron 185 at 2.6Ghz and that thing just keeps going.

K-TRON

 

I dont think think that it is a lack of processor at all. They should all be able to handle it no problem.

Have you defragged? ran check disk?

 

I was able to install the demo on my XPS with T7600 runs much better. I tried something though that makes no sense. I left it with task manager running to watch the memory. When I came back it had used anotehr 150MB of memory with no use of the program. It could be another program on my computer but this is exactly what happened on Windows XP. The difference was it continued to draw the memory down. Vista handles memory better from what I am told. Is it possible all the problems are coming from memory loss and not processor?
Nizzy when it was installed on Windows XP I had to defrag every 25 minutes. It would quit running if I did not do that.
Ktron I have thought about swapping processors but I love my little M1210 the way it is or I would do just that. I may in the end just sell the E1705 with what runs well in it and move on. It runs games with the 7900 GS very well but I have too many computers to keep updating and upgrading software. The cost is why I want to return the M1730.

 

why do you need to defrag every 25 minutes. I usually do once a day, but the amount needed to defrag does not take very much of the drive up. I have a faster drive so that may be why.
I have XP, and I idle with 180mb of memory. With autocad 2008 professional running, it idles at around 540mb of memory. Under heavy usage I can use around 1.2Gb of memory for the whole system. I usually only have autocad, and windows media player running and I do not experience any slowdowns.
I think you are having a driver problem, because I have a slower spec processor and I do not have the slowdowns you talk of.

Are you using a trial version of autocad? or the real deal?

If youre using the trial, than the slowdowns are from that.

K-TRON

 

Ktron I realize Autocad Mechanical 2009 should be the same roughly as 2008 but it does seem to hover the whole system running and Autocad at 1.30 to 1.4? GB. That is on Windows Vista. In Windows XP Pro it was fluctuating with the Demo very radically. The full version is on my XPS and seems much more stable. I think I need to download the SP1 for my version. This version and I do not claim to understand the recommended vs. preferred system requirements but preferred is this

Intel Pentium 4 or later, with 2.8 GHz or faster processor (e.g., Intel Pentium M 1.8 GHz for laptop) and with at least 1 MB total cache
1.5 GB or more RAM
2.5 GB of free disk space
128 MB or more Open GL workstation-class graphics card or DirectX 9 support

It is running now with the full purchased version. On T7600 7950GTX 4GB RAM. I think I am starting to feel comfortable with returning the M1730. My only concern is when I installed the full ACAD MECH 2009 the first time I ran it my computer locked up and had to be rebooted. The hard drive was going wild. Always it seems the drive is involved. This drive though is 7200RPM not 5400RPM like the other machine is. I am not sure how to control drive caching for Acad yet. I think that might be the trouble. I really want to thank all for your help. In case I forget later.

 

LapQuest, the informatation that you've read and that state that AutoCAD is not multi-threading is wrong. I'm a user of Autocad since R14 and I can tell you for sure that it's multithreaded.

I've used AutoCAD both in 2D and 3D with different type of hardware (no server or workstation infortunately). The slowest computer I used with autocad was a Pentium II 233 desktop.

The only time I've seen AutoCAD comming to hold is:
1- A Faulty drawing file
2- Lot of Windows/Views open in the Model space (with a slow processor)
3- When you use a lot of haches (with a slow CPU)
4- When the drawing is not optimased (e.g. using and copying lines instead of using blocks).

What's the size of your DWG (drawing) file?

Edit:
The multithreading in AutoCAD is not as such that all the cores are used at 100%, and not all the different aspects of the program are multithreaded.

 

try this, it may help

 

I am having problems now starting the computer where it use to take 2-3 minutes it now takes 5-8 minutes. Is Autocad now that much more bulky than it used to be?
Naton I will copy those instructions and try that at this point I will try anything. I only have a little while be fore my choice must be made. I think it will work but I have another software that has to be added to Autocad for the projects we do then we shall see how it works. Any other tips or tricks would be welcome also. That is why I am not sure my sales people know enough. They told me ACAD was not multi-processor capable.

 

Are you using scripts under AutoCAD?

If your computer run slow, you probably need to uptimise it by configurating all the applications that start automaticaly and that you don't necessarily use such as: Skype, MSN messanger... You need to uncheck "Run/Start at Windows Startup".
Once this done, delete the application that you don't need
Last, defragment your harddrive.

AutoCAD ia multi-threading but as any other software not 100%. As far as I know the only 100% multithreading apps are rendering engines. Autocad will use mone than one core for some tasks and only one for others.

 

As for the laptop choice; the CPU in the XPS M1730 should be fast, but I'm not sure about the graphics card. I mean if it was a gaming laptop that you're after the SLI 8800GTX is very good, but I don't know if it's as good as an nvidia Quadro GPU. Quado cards have optimised drivers for CAD and 3D applications.

I think you should return the fast computer and ask for your money back because your Inpsiron E1705 has a good spec to run AutoCAD. Then when you decide to upgrade you should buy a Dell Precision laptop which are more adequate for your line of work.

Regarding upgrading your T2600 to a T7400 or T7600. I think you won't see a big inprovement in the performance if any... in other words, save your money for a future laptop upgrade.

 

Naton I think you are right I have always known it was multithreaded back to R12 R13 that was the last time I used Cad. I thought they had changed it. My Inspiron really has other problems as far as programming and Acad. I suspect it is the Core Duo once I went to my M1710 Core 2 Duo MUCH has improved. I then installed an addon that also helped the file I was working with. It was for example looking for a font I did not have. After installing the addon it works correctly and does not ask for the font. I also think the command you told me about has helped. If they had the Dell 6400 they have now that is what I would have gotten but it was not there when I ordered last week. I am going to return it now though and get my E1705 sold. I am not sure if I should move the Quadro to the XPS though. I talked to someone that makes the addon and he said the 7950 GTX is more along the Quadro FX 3500M lines and the Quadro FX 2500M I have is a midline graphics card? I am not having any problems so far with directx optimized but I have seen the quadros are always tested to work for compatibility. When I get a new computer later it will be a precision. I was waiting for and the 6400 has dual drives I really use a lot of space for these big programs. To be honest there is something about the inpiron it runs fine with T2600 7900GS and games. It came with a 7800GS and that would not work for anything. So as far as games go it is great the way I will leave it but for work it really is not too good.

 

Lapquest,

Core 2 Duo will run AutoCAD much faster than a Core Duo. As far as graphics card goes, unless you are expecting to do renderings you won't see much of a difference in AutoCAD. You should look at what else you are intending to run on the laptop though.

In terms of XP versus Vista, I have heard from my fellow users here in the office that they prefer running on XP (in the office) because of the speed versus at home on their own Vista OS.

Couple more tips, even though AutoCAD will let you use long names for files and blocks, try to keep it short and simple. Also check your block and layer naming. Characters like "$" and such will eventually make the drawing unstable. Try to stay within a 31 character limit, I have seen drawings crash because new employees coming out of college will rename stuff with spaces, characters or with long names just because you can.

 

I will try to remember about the file names. Right now I have to use prebuilt user files for Autocad. All I am doing at this point is making changes. I think Vista probably is slower if I did not have a Core Duo in my XP machine it might be faster. I think though I am going to either wait with what I have the XPS M1710 and sell the E1705 or sell both. I hate not having enough power when Visual studio gets involved and Acad then it might be a nightmare. When next semester comes around it is back to programming at school and drawings in the afternoon for my employer. I really need a very versatile computer and right now it looks like selling some or all of mine might be a good move. All the programs I use need or at least seem to need resources badly.