Mastercam laptops?

[Houdini]

The numbers in Ghz may be the same but the measured computing performance is a lot higher.

yep this is an old myth also that CPU frequency is exactly correlated to single thread processing speed, it isn't.
cycles/processes per second relative to megahertz/gigahertz.

as a side note, if you look at things more in depth anyway, without pushing the CPU into stability/reliability issues (the main reason for a "workstation")
they overclock numbers have definitely not been the same, they increased drastically.

Specs on i9 13900K

i9-13900K


Total Cores
24
# of Performance-cores
8
# of Efficient-cores
16
Total Threads
32
Max Turbo Frequency
5.80 GHz
Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost Frequency
5.80 GHz
Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Frequency ‡
5.70 GHz
Performance-core Max Turbo Frequency
5.40 GHz
Efficient-core Max Turbo Frequency
4.30 GHz
Performance-core Base Frequency
3.00 GHz
Efficient-core Base Frequency
2.20 GHz

 

[SteveEx30]

I asked the OP to explain more of what files he pulls in.
It's funny how people jump right to saying he needs to spend 4k on a powerhouse when nobody knows what he does. I'm still surprised what my ancient I5 elitebook can process in a pinch.

 

[Houdini]

I asked the OP to explain more of what files he pulls in.
It's funny how people jump right to saying he needs to spend 4k on a powerhouse when nobody knows what he does. I'm still surprised what my ancient I5 elitebook can process in a pinch.

He is referencing buying $800 rigs, So doesn't matter anyway.
because of being a computer tech. in a prior life, I'm the "build me a computer guy".
And @ $800 I would say doesn't matter, get what you like/want.

 

[empower]

I asked the OP to explain more of what files he pulls in.
It's funny how people jump right to saying he needs to spend 4k on a powerhouse when nobody knows what he does. I'm still surprised what my ancient I5 elitebook can process in a pinch.

process in how long? i'm doing some very simple but large molds right now with I9 13900K cpu, 128gb ddr4 3600mhz ECC ram and RTX A5500 video card and it takes hours to process some toolpaths and simulate. unless you're doing very simple/small parts, i'd never run anything less than this kind of setup. i like my sanity

 

[SteveEx30]

process in how long? i'm doing some very simple but large molds right now with I9 13900K cpu, 128gb ddr4 3600mhz ECC ram and RTX A5500 video card and it takes hours to process some toolpaths and simulate. unless you're doing very simple/small parts, i'd never run anything less than this kind of setup. i like my sanity

I definitely agree. My background is molds, and having programs crunch all afternoon in the background was the norm.

The shops using mastercam that I deal with are not doing molds but small detail work. Only reason I asked the OP to elaborate.

 

[Houdini]

process in how long? i'm doing some very simple but large molds right now with I9 13900K cpu, 128gb ddr4 3600mhz ECC ram and RTX A5500 video card and it takes hours to process some toolpaths and simulate. unless you're doing very simple/small parts, i'd never run anything less than this kind of setup. i like my sanity

When I did molds you have to check renderings ALL THE TIME, and they are HUGE, not that this is the norm for people but,
I used to actually hit render, then go to sleep in my chair for a couple hours, gett'n paid!

And this was on dual socket Xeon systems with a flock of RAM, and what ever $2,000 Pro video card Nvidia had that year, because I had them swap them to lower end guys yearly.

Not that this is even close to what Op needs, just shoot'n the shit.

 

[SteveEx30]

I'm just realizing how I haven't missed working with those large mold files!

 

[Mtndew]

128gb ddr4 3600mhz ECC ram and RTX A5500 video card

That's a hell of a GPU.
Can your motherboard accept faster RAM? 3600Mhz is really slow these days. I'd look into that. You'd definitely notice a difference if you can fit in 5800-6000Mhz RAM. But that's DDR5 territory that goes up to 6400Mhz . I would imagine it won't accept that stuff.
https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-128gb/p/N82E16820374530

https://www.newegg.com/kingston-128gb/p/N82E16820242816

 

[empower]

That's a hell of a GPU.
Can your motherboard accept faster RAM? 3600Mhz is really slow these days. I'd look into that. You'd definitely notice a difference if you can fit in 5800-6000Mhz RAM. But that's DDR5 territory that goes up to 6400Mhz . I would imagine it won't accept that stuff.
https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-128gb/p/N82E16820374530

https://www.newegg.com/kingston-128gb/p/N82E16820242816

i could OC the ram, but i havent seen it to be a bottleneck yet. most software is just goddamn awful at utilizing available resources

 

[Houdini]

That's a hell of a GPU.
Can your motherboard accept faster RAM? 3600Mhz is really slow these days. I'd look into that. You'd definitely notice a difference if you can fit in 5800-6000Mhz RAM. But that's DDR5 territory that goes up to 6400Mhz . I would imagine it won't accept that stuff.
https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-128gb/p/N82E16820374530

https://www.newegg.com/kingston-128gb/p/N82E16820242816

OE on a ASUS WS MB 1700 socket was DDR5 4800, with bios update could be higher now, always use vendor approved modules IMHO

 

[Houdini]

i could OC the ram, but i havent seen it to be a bottleneck yet. most software is just goddamn awful at utilizing available resources

you mean Windows is. and remember good ole single thread. you do have XMP on at least yeah?

 

[empower]

you mean Windows is. and remember good ole single thread. you do have XMP on at least yeah?

i'll have to check the bios next time i reboot, but i do believe so. i see the clocks jump up to 5.5ish ghz when calculating stuff.

 

[Houdini]

i'll have to check the bios next time i reboot, but i do believe so. i see the clocks jump up to 5.5ish ghz when calculating stuff.

you can check in task manager, performance tab, click memory, down at the bottom.
or better CPUID/CPU-Z

CPUID/CPU-Z I like the ROG versions of stuff

 

[empower]

you can check in task manager, performance tab, click memory, down at the bottom.
or better CPUID/CPU-Z

CPUID/CPU-Z I like the ROG versions of stuff

 

[empower]

interesting, got cpu-z, but it shows nothing for my memory...

 

[Houdini]

You can also try running as Admin, right click run as Admin
Also MB chipset could need updated.

 

[Freedommachine]

A question for all:

If someone handed you $1400 to go on ebay and buy yourself a laptop -with a backlit keyboard - for cad/cam work; what specific computer would you buy?

"Make sure it has xyz, eec, high speed, blah blah" has me totally lost lol.

 

[Houdini]

A question for all:

If someone handed you $1400 to go on ebay and buy yourself a laptop -with a backlit keyboard - for cad/cam work; what specific computer would you buy?

"Make sure it has xyz, eec, high speed, blah blah" has me totally lost lol.

Spend a couple doll hairs more, and get this.
Hi Power gaming Rig

Here is a i7 version, single thread computes are VERY similar.
i7 4070 gaming rig

At this low price point you cant afford a good "workstation" laptop, So a gaming laptop would be better.

$1500 is the bare minimum I suggest for a PC, below that and your either buying slow or obsolete product.
both these are good though.

 

[Freedommachine]

Spend a couple doll hairs more, and get this.
Hi Power gaming Rig

Here is a i7 version, single thread computes are VERY similar.
i7 4070 gaming rig

At this low price point you cant afford a good "workstation" laptop, So a gaming laptop would be better.

$1500 is the bare minimum I suggest for a PC, below that and your either buying slow or obsolete product.
both these are good though.

Thank you. I wouldn't mind spending more, $2500ish would be reasonable if it was a good machine that would remain usable for a decade. I'm not a fan of windows 11 though. What about a nice "refurbished" high end laptop?

 

[Houdini]

Thank you. I wouldn't mind spending more, $2500ish would be reasonable if it was a good machine that would remain usable for a decade. I'm not a fan of windows 11 though. What about a nice "refurbished" high end laptop?

I dunno, I don't buy used anything.
So don't know the value of a used rig.
At $2500 you could get a Dell or HP workstation laptop.
Or build a good tower workstation.

The ones I linked are fast, they just don't have Pro video cards, nor ECC memory.
Those two things add a lot of cost but are more reliable/stable.
So you have to debate on paying that extra cost.
I personally cannot stand not having a Pro video card.
and Pro card in a laptop is expensive!
I'll link some workstation laptops tomorrow, I usually don't buy less than a Nvidia 2000 model.