Editor's Note: Q&A with CADspeed answers CAD hardware questions from our readers. This question was a response to Tony DeYoung's recent blog series about remote graphics.

Topics: Workstations, RAM, Hardware, Graphics Card, Remote Graphics, AutoCAD, Graphics Cards, Connectivity, CAD

This series focuses on helping our readers understand what CAD workstations cost and how much they are going to have to spend to find a machine that meets their CAD production needs. The first part focused on entry-level systems. This post will discuss mid-range ($2,500 to $7,000) and high-end (more than $7,000) systems.

Mid-Range and High-End

Topics: Workstations, RAM, Hardware, Graphics Card, Hard Drive, Processors, Memory, Graphics Cards, Video Cards, Display, CAD

What's the difference between a workstation or consumer-grade PC, and why should you care? Well, ten to fifteen years ago, no one had trouble distinguishing between one and the other. Workstations were very expensive, high-performance, proprietary, 3D-equipped RISC or UNIX boxes. PCs were lower-cost, lower-quality toys that couldn't handle 3D.

Topics: Workstations, Hardware, Graphics Card, Processors, GPU, Graphics Cards, Sustainability, Video Cards, CAD

Optimizing hardware for SolidWorks is essential for getting the most out of this heavy-hitting CAD application, as we've discussed on CADspeed previously. So we were thrilled when the SolidWorks forum addressed this very issue recently on their forums.

Topics: Workstations, RAM, SolidWorks, Hardware, Graphics Card, Multi-Threading, Hard Drive, Processors, SSD Drive, GPU, Memory, Graphics Cards, Backup System, Video Cards, CAD

Price and performance generally increase as you climb the workstation ladder, and so do heat, nose and power consumption. These metrics, which were of low or no concern years ago, are top of mind today.

Topics: Workstations, Hardware, Processors, Graphics Cards, Sustainability, CAD

Autodesk has released it's juicy new 2012 software upgrades, and you finally have that software license in your hand. Here's a few tips from the Autodesk folks on preparing your system before installing Autodesk software.

Topics: Workstations, Autodesk, RAM, Hardware, Graphics Card, Hard Drive, AutoCAD, Processors, Operating Systems, GPU, Memory, Graphics Cards, Upgrade, Video Cards, Operating System, Windows, CAD

We're talking about remote graphics in this series. We've outlined the potential benefits for CAD users, the reduced hardware costs and the security advantages. This post will wrap up this discussion with some details about sustainability as well as some final comments.

Topics: Workstations, Hardware, Graphics Card, Remote Graphics, GPU, Graphics Cards, AMD, Connectivity, Upgrade, CAD

We're talking about remote graphics in this series. We've outlined the potential benefits for CAD users and the reduced hardware costs, and now we're going talk about the benefits for the heavy-duty 3D users.

Topics: Workstations, Hardware, Graphics Card, Remote Graphics, GPU, Graphics Cards, AMD, Connectivity, Upgrade, CAD

We're talking about remote graphics in this series. We've outlined the potential benefits for CAD users, and now we're going to get more specific.

Topics: Workstations, Hardware, Graphics Card, Remote Graphics, GPU, Graphics Cards, AMD, Connectivity, Upgrade, CAD

There is a growing demand for portability, energy conversation and cost savings in the CAD world — hence the movement to small form factor devices use of the cloud for review and commenting. But there still remains the need for complex 3D graphics, security and high performance computation. Hence killer workstations and professional graphics cards like the FirePro or Quadro.

Topics: Workstations, Hardware, Graphics Card, Remote Graphics, GPU, Graphics Cards, AMD, Connectivity, Upgrade, CAD