Laptop question

[ptc-169947]

Hi all,

I inquired about specs for a laptop for ProE a while back and got some good responses.
Currently looking at a Dell Mobile Precision M6700.
Anyone have any experience with this machine, specifically with ProE? Benefits/drawbacks?

Thanks,
Stefan

Configuration includes:
Intel Core i7-3740QM (2.7GHz)
32g SDRAM
NVidia Quadro K5000M w/4 gb memory
512gb solid state HD


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[bbenitez]

I have a 6500 and after 2-3 years it's still going strong (replaced the SSD
& went to 32 gigs of memory about 2 months ago) - my co-worker has the 6700
and his is a real screamer, too.

These are extraordinary workstations

Pro runs just fine on them - NO worries - fast even through VPN connections,
or working offline.



They are a brick, however. I wouldn't want to lug them through airports
every day.

Home and back to the office and the occasional road trip - just fine.



Cheers

Anthony



Anthony R. Benitez
Senior Mechanical Designer - Supervisor
Applied Research Laboratories - The University of Texas at Austin

[wbowling]

I’ve got a Dell Precision M6600 with 32G RAM and it’s running Windchill 10.1 M020 and Creo 2 M080 very nicely.





W.C. (Bill) Bowling
Fellow-Engineering Design Process Development

Aerojet Rocketdyne
CAD Services

[mlocascio]

I have Creo Parametric 2 and Windchill but I can't use the Windchill on my laptop - it won't load up.



> On Nov 19, 2013, at 11:41 AM, "Bowling-Jr, William C     PWR" <-> wrote:
>
> I’ve got a Dell Precision M6600 with 32G RAM and it’s running Windchill 10.1 M020 and Creo 2 M080 very nicely.
> 
> 
> W.C. (Bill) Bowling
> Fellow-Engineering Design Process Development
> Aerojet Rocketdyne
> CAD Services

[davehaigh]

Huh?

I’m confused are you trying to install Windchill on the laptop? Or are you trying to connect to an existing Windchill server?

I’ve installed Windchill on a laptop before, I don’t think you really want to do that unless your just trying to figure out the software.

If all your trying to do is connect, you need to register your server.
File, Manage Session, Server Management, Server, Register New Server, and enter the Name, and web address. Then log in and select a workspace. Pick the server, then select Server, Set as Primary Server, Close. You should be all set.

David Haigh

[nrollins]

Why would you not want to do that? I have Windchill installed and I use it to connect to two different clients, one of which lets me connect from anywhere. Isn’t that the point of WC over I-link? WC is PDM and a collaboration tool and a whole lot more – designed for off site work. Especially if your laptop is your main workstation.



-Nate

[JayateerthaMala]

We use Dell Precision M4700 (Win7-64 bi,/8GB RaM, Core i5,AMD Firepro M4000) running WF 5.0/Creo elements & WIndchill.



I also run Autodesk Simulation (V2010) for fairly complex analyses (~6 hrs run time) along side Pro/E with minimal issues.



Overall build quality is very good (chiklet back-lit keys,full numeric keypad, HD camera) so very happy with the product.



Best,

Jay

[mdebower]

Nate,

I think what David is saying is that in the majority of cases you only need a Windchill client on your laptop to do what you describe. That client software usually consists of an internet browser like IE or Firefox or Chrome or Safari pointed to your Windchill server. (

[wbowling]

I beg your pardon for having injected Windchill into the discussion. As noted by Haigh, most folks have no need to run the Windchill server on a laptop. I do because of the nature of my work.



My response was to indicate that the laptop I use is capable of running both the Windchill server (non VM) and Creo 2 quite well. If my company didn’t insist on full disk encryption and certain virus checkers it would be even better 😉





W.C. (Bill) Bowling
Fellow-Engineering Design Process Development

Aerojet Rocketdyne
CAD Services

[nrollins]

OK – I misunderstood the difference – I get it now. Thanks.

[ptc-169947]

Thanks to Anthony and everyone else who responded. Looking forward to getting the right tool for the job.

Stefan

[cjohnstone]

So I'm sure I'll smack myself in the forehead later, but here goes:

I have a user working from home on a Dell Precision M4700 laptop with 16G, running Creo2 (M070) and accessing our Windchill 10.1 via our VPN. He is experiencing a number of intermittent crashes that he doesn't see when working on his office desktop. His graphics card checks out with the current software matrix. Any idea where else I should look to try and make it run more smoothly?

Thanks, all -
Chrystal

[rstewart-2]

Dell has recently release the M6800. Faster, longer battery life, etc. The
key is to select a SSD (solid state drive) for the OS and applications. I
would install at least 16GB of RAM. A regular drive can be used for
backups, etc. Like the other members of the family, it's a brick. I have
the M6700 and I am very happy with the features and performance.



Regards,

Ray

[rstewart-2]

Is it Pro/E that's crashing or the OS. Usually crashes point to faulty
drivers or bad memory. You can use memtest86 to test the memory. The
Windows built in memory test is not very good. I have had several modules
that failed. This resulted in the famous BSOD. Crashes were random and
infrequent. It depended on what was using the faulty memory. Heat could be
a problem if the processor and video chip heat sinks are not properly
attached. This would be a Dell warranty issue.



Good Luck.

[bbenitez]

Good answer, Ray -

The first thing I'd do after exhausting the tests for the *usual suspects*
as Ray pointed out, is find out what's different at home that could possibly
affect connection. On my old laptop, if my wife turned the microwave on, it
would clip the VPN connection every time. I make this point since the
solution was to simply *wait* until VPN reconnected, Pro/WC reconnected, and
keep right on working. If I tried to do anything during that process of
reconnecting, game over.

The second test would be to bring the laptop into the office and run it via
VPN and see how often it crashes. It won't take long to eliminate the
differences until the guilty party is discovered.



Anthony



Anthony R. Benitez
Senior Mechanical Designer - Supervisor
Applied Research Laboratories - The University of Texas at Austin