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Alibre Performance on a Media Center Edition OS
- Thread starter SJX426
- Start date
For clarity, I'm using a Gateway MX6650 for traveling, this computer also run's Abaqus FEA, this is a pretty intensive application.
The specs are -
Processor Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology with Intel® Pentium® M Processor 750
(2 MB L2 Cache | 1.86 GHz | 533 MHz FSB)
Chipset Intel® 915GM
Screen 15.4-inch Widescreen Ultrabright TFT WXGA
Memory 1024 MB DDR2 (2 x 512 MB) SODIMM
Video Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900
Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT) supports up to 128 MB shared video memory
Hope it helps, I'm not really aware of the differences between XP and Media addition. I thought it was really just a couple of extra pieces of software. Why would this make a difference to Alibre ??
Regards,
Scott
I certainly can't answer the question of what the contributing functionality of MCE causes Alibre performance to be in jeopardy. There really are two versions of MCE; the first is the offering from the HW vendor as the installed OS. Although it is true that MCE is an add-on to XP-Pro, in this product, they are integrated without the option of uninstall of MCE only. The second is the true add-on product which is available from Microsoft as MCE 2005 for those who wish to add the functionality and purchase the HW ala carte. Obviously, uninstall is an option.
I requested specific data to support the statement but have not seen anything other than generalities. I am not convinced Alibre knows what or why there is the potential for performance irregularities, just that they could exist. Some times you know what you don’t know and other times you don’t know what you don’t know. It could be that they know what the issues are but don’t know how to address them or the priority is too low or it hasn’t been assigned.
I am upset to find this out 9 months after purchasing my HP. I would elaborate but feel it is prudent to contain my comments until I develop a clear strategy.
I can understand the thinking that says these computers (MCE loaded) are just for entertainment in the home. But what may be overlooked is that they have reasonably good HW configurations and performance that makes them attractive for CAD use. I found mine on sale for a very good price with the benefit of a mobile desktop with two TV tuners and Radio attached! Why not? I did check Alibre’s requirements, but MCE was not mentioned.
HP is notorious for locking purchased addons to the system in a manner that requires an expert to remove it if it can be removed at all.
Our church purchased a package including a printer. The cheap HP printer was a joke so we hooked up a real printer. No matter what was done the printer simply could not be unistalled or could any other printer be made to be the default printer. The only option was to manually remove all signs of the printer in the registry and the hard drive.
So good luck dealing with any system changes put in by HP because they want their own jucnk in there and they will force it on you no matter what. :roll:
There are a number of them and none are repeatable from my perspective. That is not to say that they don't repeat, I just don't know what the root cause.
1. Instant crash of Alibre. I can be in the middle of designing a part and suddenly Alibre totally shuts down. Of course the part is gone and I have to start over.
2. Constraints in Assemblies go unpredictable. If I constrain a part with a mate or alignment with another part, I can't constrain in any other way without getting an over constrain status. Some times i can't even use the move tool to slide the part along the constraint plane.
3. I am not consistant in the way I constrain parts. I forget to open the constraint tool first before picking the features. In this case, I can only pick one feature and must open the tool to pick the other. Other times, it doesn't matter if I open the tool or not, I can't pick any features.
4. Opening drawings is problematic in that I get an error and the dislplay is blank. No graphics at all. The error looks like a hex mem address number
5. Sheet metal is also subject to strange behavior. I made a part the other day with a basic rectangular base. Made the other bends and came back to modify the height constraint. The number was entered, the formula or dimension tool showed the right number but the grahics did not change. 10 inches was changed to 6 but the part remained at 10.
So now I get to say that I have all the lates drivers to support the hardware. I upgraded to 1GB memory. All the latest critical updates are loaded. Yes, MSJ is loaded along with DirectX 9c. I did do the diag with no failures.
Some times the solution is to exit Alibre and restart. In the sheet metal example, the part will not change. I submit all my issues with support and have a history that has too long to even review.
I believe I am competent. I sold CAD/CAM for a few years includeing some of the big ones that are gone like Computervision, I-Deas, Calma, VersaCAD and others like Solid Edge, etc. I am somewhat literate in HW as well having been the program manager for the PII functional tester at Intel along with having developed automated at speed functional test fixtures for the same company. I have about 20 years in the test engineering environment. So I have been playing with CAD and PC's since the early 80's in high tech. Having said that, I am not up to speed with the latest and greatest. I just want to use the tools.
My next step is to reformat the disk and do a fresh install this week end.
Sorry this is so long but you asked and I am in need to express myself.
Sounds more like a software confilct than hardware doesn't it. My bet is some other program running that is using the same drivers as Alibre. I had a few problems when running another program before (can't remember what it was).
Have you tried booting with limited startup options? (disable everything not glued in)
Yup, to a degree. I thought that my version of Symantic AV was the problem. I uninstalled it, but no change. There may still be some residuals hence the clean install. I will see what the results are then take that step. I should have cleaned the PC before using it. It was a demo at CompUSA, thats why the good price.