Getting ACAD 2010 & New PC - 64Bit ?

[cfee]

My comoany is buying us 3 new CAD PC's with VISTA and ACAD 2010 plus another program - RHINO v4.0 which is 32 bit only. I'm aware ACAD 2010 will run on 64-Bit VISTA and I'm tempted by the ability to install & use more than 3Gb RAM.
1. Are there any significant limitations to ACAD-2010 in 64-Bit mode ? I'm expecting drivers to have matured by now.
2. Can I run a 32-Bit program at the SAME TIME in "compatibility" mode?
3 can the 32-bit program access peripherals via the 64 bit mode or does the program successfully reach out in 32 bit mode and find the peripherals (printers, space-ball, etc) ?

Its looking like I put off the promise of 64-Bit yet again. The promise of more than 3 Gb RAM has been lurking since the earliest days of Win-64 (-XP) and is still yet to be broadly accepted. I guess no one really needs the extra power or RAM ?

 

[mcgyvr]

#1-no there are only improvements in speed,etc...
#2-yes
#3-your rhino should have no problem accessing peripherals.
3 Gigs of RAM is pretty much the minimum now (Vista alone needs 2Gigs easily). I wouldn't buy a new system with anything less that 4G of RAM now.
My new system will have 12 Gigs of RAM. (I use Autodesk Inventor primarily which is much more demanding that Autocad)
Make sure you can easily upgrade to Windows 7 once its out as it is much better than Vista.
Operating systems like Vista and Windows 7 do not have the RAM limitations like XP and older OS's do.

 

[francesca]

Isn't RHINO rendering? If so, you'll have significant performance enhancement on 64-bit. I'm surprised it's still 32-bit and would expect a 64-bit edition within the life of the computer. I would, however, go with Windows 7 instead of Vista.

 

[cfee]

to mcgyvr-
THANKS !
I've submitted my specs to management in the context of upgrading to VISTA-32Bit. I was very clear to request all 4 Gb RAM. I'm EXCITED about your responses to the 32Bit compatibility mode question, because that's what will allow me to run the other CAD program (RHINO) plus other legacy software I use in support of my CAD functions. I run full ACAD 2D/3D + RHINO 3D. You mentioned something interesting, tho at the end of your comment, regarding limitations. So-
1. Will 7 still have the 32-Bit RAM limitation since that's really an address limitation and not really a programming shortcoming ? and-
2. I hear 7 is a significant improvement over VISTA in terms of weight on system resources. How's it for the 32-bit compatibility-mode thing in 64-Bit ? If it sports a performance increase and less RAM usage, sounds like a good alternative as soon as its available ? I have a CAPABLE home PC and am curious. The work PC's will be stuck in VISTA for the forseeable future !!!

Thanks again !

Charley.

To Francesca-
You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ! Yes they plan a 64-Bit version at their next release. Right now their new release (~1yr) is still 32Bit. RHINO is a VERY capable surface modeler, allowing very free-form almost "organic" modeling ! Well you'd expect some good rendering capabilities, and you'd be right ! Their basic renderer that comes included is almost as capable as AutoCAD's, including materials, lighting and walk-thru animation. AND for some VERY reasonable prices you can get full plugins both from McNeel & Assoc's and from 3rd parties that extend those capabilities significantly, to the point of maybe equalling AutoCAD's ! That's the attraction of RHINo- FULL free-form (no history) stand alone surface modeling with REALLY decent rendering !
You can get a FULL copy of RHINO plus their Renderer package: FLAMINGO, PLUS a full function (basic but decent) Kinetic Animator: BONGO from a reseller, all 3 for ~$1500 !!! AND it will run on what ANYONE would consider a MODEST system (as long as you max out RAM). I ran it on an old Dell Laptop so I could take it out in the field with me, and as long as my assemblies stayed under a couple-dozen modest components, I could get VERY resonable performance.
So I recommend it to anyone who is considering it. But yes, I'm looking forward to the 64-Bit version !

Tks-
Charley.

 

[jartgo]

I had trouble on a 64 bit machine with running various aftermarket programs such as pump design software, etc.

I didn't realize that "compatibility mode" might have been an option, but just wanted to point out that if you use a lot of ancillary programs, 64 bit might be an issue for a little while longer.