Buying Laptop to Use With Pro Engineer

[mecestudent]

Hello,

I am looking to buy a laptop that can handle Pro Engineer. I don't want to buy a really expensive one since I only really need to use Pro Engineer for one semester (I'm an engineering student), the rest of the time I'll be using the laptop for normal applications like MS Office or Internet.

I read that the recommended computer speed to run Pro E is 2.4 GHz...can I get by with just 2.2 or 2.3 GHz? Will there be a noticeable difference?

Any suggestions/recommendations would be appreciated! Thank you for your time!

[nico74]

Hi,

I think it all depend what you want to do.

If you stay away from complex surfaces, or power hungry FEA with lots of nods, you should be fine.

If you plan to create large assembly you will need lots of Ram.

But if you want to learn how to use proe and and keep to the reasonable complexity model you should be fine.

Nicolas

[RickGiguere]

I would get a 64 bit OS, with at least 6 gigs of Ram, with option to upgrade, and quad core.

I would spend at least a grand, If you end up using Pro/E you are going to glad you spent the $$$.

[mecestudent]

Wow! That is quite an expensive purchase considering I'm a student and I'll only be using ProE for one course...

But thank you for your input. 🙂

[RickGiguere]

I have a $600 lap top and it works fine, 32 bit with 4 gigs of ram, dual core.

It has a few quirks, you'll be fine with a less expensive computer, but if you get hooked on Pro/E, and start using it, you'll need to upgrade.

[nico74]

I don't think the 64bit OS is necessary as proe sudient is only 32 bit

Proe is not multi threaded and use only one core.

see below the spec requiered.

I found it on PTC official site

Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 Students Editions is only supported on 32-bit Windows platforms.

The following specifications are the minimum requirements to successfully run this edition.

• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP (Home and Professional - 32 bit)
• Main Memory: 256MB (512 MB or higher recommended)
• Available Disk Space: 900MB (Pro/E), 1.2 GB (Pro/E &Pro/M)
• Swap Space: 500 MB (1024 MB or higher recommended)
• CPU Speed: Pentium III 700 MHz (1 GB or higher recommended)
• Graphics: OpenGL supported card*
• Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 or later
• Network: Microsoft TCP/IP, Ethernet network adapter
• Monitor: 1024 X 768 (or higher) resolution support with 24-bit or greater color
• File Systems: NTFS
• Mouse: Microsoft approved 3 button mouse
• Distribution Media: CD-ROM or DVD Drive

* Understanding the user demographic for all edition, it is required that the edition be able to run without OpenGL. This is primarily due to the fact that users might be using this edition on home desktop machines and the available graphics cards may not support OpenGL. In order to address this issue in the event that users graphics card does not support OpenGL, PTC will include Software OpenGL technology into the installation.

This will be controlled by a new config.pro option called use_software_opengl=yes. When activated, Pro/ENGINEER will utilize the software OpenGL and ignore the standard graphics config.pro option.

[mecestudent]

I'm thinking of buying this laptop.

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/acer-acer-aspire-15-6-laptop-featuring-intel-pentium-processor-t4500-as5734z-4958-black-as5734z-4958/10146022.aspx?path=446c08aba9a91020e12c727cd70916f8en02

It has a Intel Pentium T4500 processor with specs as follows:

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42925&code=T4500

It is a Intel GMA 4500M for a video card...

I heard this is not good enough for Pro Engineer? Can someone please confirm this?

Thanks for the help. 🙂

[pwyndham]

I have personally run Pro/E WF3 just fine on 2 different Acer Laptops. It might not be on the preferred list but it should be just fine. For school work you will not be getting into anything with hundreds or thousands of parts in it, especially the first quarter. We put Pro/E on any machine someone needs it on here at work, and never have problems. Some machines are slower then others but that is given.

The only thing I would say to look at is make sure the video card is open-gl compatible and make sure the driver you are using supports open-gl as well, the windows driver will most likely not support it.

Otherwise a 32bit OS and a 2.3GHz processor should be fine. With 32bits Pro/E will only be able to handle assemblies upto approximately 2GB, but an assembly like that usually has hundreds of parts.

I would not hesitate putting Pro/E on my daughter 300 dollar laptop if I needed to use it and did not have mine with me.

Thats just my 2Cents worth. Let us know how it goes.