Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

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mpyusko
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Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

Post by mpyusko »

I've been googling around looking at different CAD programs and I was wondering, what hardware is recommended for FreeCAD? Is this project optimized for gaming or professional GPUs? I've made some lighter, not very complex models with it and it runs very well on my entry level system with a Pentium Dual-Core and Radeon HD 5670 1GB. But when I was talking to a friend who is used to using Solidworks on a Xeon workstation and mid-level professional FirePro GPU, he was quite skeptical about the hardware requirements and results of FreeCAD.

Thanks.
kwahooo
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Re: Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

Post by kwahooo »

Forget about FirePro. FirePro and Radeon are exactly the same piece of silicon (eg. Radeon 6670 and FirePro V3900 are internally named Turks). The difference is in drivers - CAD software uses some tricks and AFAIK Coin3D doesn't.
jmaustpc
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Re: Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

Post by jmaustpc »

My opinion
Don't buy Nvidia, due to their slack attitude to opensource drivers.

Don't buy the absolute latest generation AMD because the o/s drivers are still not ready. Not a good idea anyway...unless you have enough money not to care about the higher price.


But actually this is a subject we should probably take more seriously,.. or technically accurate. Perhaps we can start a list of requirements in this thread and then transfer it to the wiki somewhere.

Minimum requirements for full functionality, might be higher that the real minimum required to get it to function. Their might be something missing like the ability to show dotted lines, that might have little impact for some users.

Also the minimum requirements will depend on the size and complication of the models the user is making. A lot of us are running FreeCAD on some very old hardware.

Jim
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mpyusko
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Re: Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

Post by mpyusko »

Perhaps a platform independent benchmarking script with a semi-complex model is in order? (Maybe split off the self-test feature?) I have 4 different machines from 4 different generations of technology, all dual-boot both windows and linux. I've taken a part (.step) file of a small compound gear and opened it in both on all 8 configurations. The most interesting point to note is, regardless of hardware, the reported fps is 10 times higher on a windows platform, than linux. However.... it seems like windows over processes? Meaning if I open up multiple instances of the same file and leave them spinning, under windows there will be a significant fps drop for each additional instance, where under linux the reported (10x lower) fps stays stable with the additional instances. GPU load will increase for each one though. Better allocation of resources?

But I digress. My primary system is a Pentium Dual-Core E6700 @ 3.2 GHz, Radeon HD 5670 1GB, and I get excellent performance for my basic needs.
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NormandC
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Re: Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

Post by NormandC »

mpyusko wrote: the reported fps is 10 times higher on a windows platform, than linux.
But on Linux, would that be with open source drivers, or proprietary ones?
jmaustpc wrote:Don't buy Nvidia, due to their slack attitude to opensource drivers
The problem is, AMD/ATI has the habit of dropping support for old cards a lot faster than Nvidia.

My small laptop has an Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics chipset and even though it's not in the same league as mid-range Nvidia or AMD cards (not by an extremely long shot), I was surprised how well FreeCAD seems to run with it. Of course, I haven't loaded any big models.

Given a choice, if I knew I wouldn't deal with big models I'd try to go with Intel graphics, because the open source drivers come straight from Intel. It's a lot less of a headache.

P.S. Jim, I wonder if you've heard about Linus Torvalds' latest rant :D
jmaustpc
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Re: Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

Post by jmaustpc »

on Linux depending on your hardware, there may well be more than one driver available, o/source or proprietary. The driver will greatly effect gl issues and performance.
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mpyusko
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Re: Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

Post by mpyusko »

I'm more into ATI/AMD that NVIDIA. So my general test was done with Catalyst 12.4 and 12.6 beta drivers, except on the one system where I used whatever comes with debian Sid for NVIDIA. Could do more extensive testing with newer and legacy hardware... all I have is consumer graphics though. (My Radeon HD 6950 is on its way from Newegg and should arrive tomorrow.)

Oh, I do have an old Elsa Gloria XXL AGP... its the only workstation card I have.
kwahooo
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Re: Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

Post by kwahooo »

Idea for a very simple GPU benchmark:
1. enable the fps counter,
2. open Schenkel example from the Start Page,
3. open Tools-View turntable, tick Fullscreen option and click Play,
4. observe the fps counter.

Radeon 6670, R600g (open source drivers), 1920x1080, Ubuntu 12.04: 200-300 fps (180-270 with AA)
Mark Szlazak
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Re: Hardware Recommendations for FreeCAD

Post by Mark Szlazak »

Thought I would put this video on hardware requirements for CAD. What can one get away with using consumer cards? Benchmarks included.
Video is from 2018.

phpBB [video]
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