If I bought a CRAY super computer will CA be faster?

[dshall]

Are you sure about that? Seems like you may have found a problem but aren't ready to admit it.
Sometimes it results in something remaining that wasn't intended - some of which could be memory hogs.

Which problem have I found?

[Joe Carrick]

Which problem have I found?

Aren't you complaining about speed?

[dshall]

Aren't you complaining about speed?

Yes, I also complain about my poor golf game, but I an not sure that lack of speed and my bad golf game is due to the SAM, but if you tell me if I abandon the SAM my golf game will Improve I will certainly give it a try.

[Sledge]

Scott,

You may be able to run Chief faster on a Cray, but it still won't be able to do corner windows or ridge caps!!!

[marty]

I always look for a previous plan closest in style and size to a new job and modify that. I think there is a real problem of unwanted rubbish building up in the background which is why the "purge symbols" command needs to be expanded to inclued all unused or deleted objects.

I started using CAD about 20 years ago with Generic CAD and that had a "Compress File" command which did exactly that. Every other CAD program I have looked at has a similar command.

[Grantbd]

I always look for a previous plan closest in style and size to a new job and modify that. I think there is a real problem of unwanted rubbish building up in the background which is why the "purge symbols" command needs to be expanded to inclued all unused or deleted objects.

I started using CAD about 20 years ago with Generic CAD and that had a "Compress File" command which did exactly that. Every other CAD program I have looked at has a similar command.

I think this is how Chieftains like it Marty. Do you remember the old Harbourview template in X1 videos. They may still exist in later versions.

[Max]

Max, thanks! That will be great! Please don't forget to inform us.

Ozgur,
As I promised to do, I downloaded Windows Server 2008 and installed it today after burning the DVD. I am just now running it through it's paces after getting the graphics driver setup (nvidea GT 8800) which at first caused confusion until I realized server 2008 is Vista on Networking and Security Steroids and without much of the fluff enabled. I was able to convert the OS to perform as a Workstation easy enough.

It's pretty much Vista though. If you get it free that's one thing but I don't suggest paying much for it. I would go with Windows 7. For most it's cheaper anyway. I am not a huge Vista fan at all so will probably drop this pretty quick. Still up in the air for Windows 7 due to the many hardware and software issues I would have to spend a bundle on to be compatible. Just not inclined to go that road just yet.

One thing that I might suggest and I may try it out. The server disc I burned has all versions of the 2008 server so I can install the 64 bit version. That means I can go up to 16 gigs of memory with the standard version and even more with the others. Should be interesting to see how that plays out but I am not sure if Chief will even use it or not. Will get back on that one.

[Doug Park]

64 Bit Chief will use as much memory as your OS/Hardware can handle. Many systems can't handle more than about 16GB but I would expect that number to climb over time. I doubt that a model that used a full 16GB of memory would be very usable though as it would probably end up being very slow due to the complexity.

We don't test/support on any server products but in theory Chief should work on them because they are based on pretty much exactly the same OS as the high end workstation versions. From what I understand there should be zero advantage of running a server version of the OS unless you are actually running a server.

Windows 7 64 Bit is the way to go with Chief today.

For anyone still on XP that wants to remain compatible with Chief into the future I would recommend upgrading to Windows 7. I would like to drop support of XP when Windows 8 ships but we will probably still support it for X5. I'm going to push for X5 to be the last version of Chief that supports XP but I'm not sure that will fly. If I thought I could get away with it I would push for X4 to be the last XP version.

Every version of OS that we have to support takes some small amount of features away because it takes time to make things work right on all the operating systems. But more than that it decreases the overall quality because of less testing.

From what I'm seeing Windows 8 should be very compatible with software that works well with Vista and Windows 7. Our preliminary tests show that X4 runs flawlessly on it, but things can change.

[sherpa_jones]

PS: I am appreciative of being reminded of the save-as/reuse of older plan and layout files for future use. I have done this in the past and found it problematic empirically, any apparent time "saved" is lost due to the plan or layout's earlier associations to earlier plan files.

David,

If you open your last file as a template, not only should this association be broken, but if you use the time tracker, it will be cleared. There may be other benifits as well.

[portrait]

Max and Doug, thanks for the information. They were really helpful for me.

[Max]

Max and Doug, thanks for the information. They were really helpful for me.

Ozgur,
After making my post yesterday I continued to work with my Windows Server 2008 Installation, making several adjustments and keeping a watchful eye on the Events Logs under Administrative Tools for errors. I got things running well enough that I went ahead and activated the software (only one day left).

Today I was reminded I needed to download the latest service patch for my version of Chief which I did. Now that version is running better than ever before with no lag time at all. With the option I have now to run Chief with all the memory my system will support (8 gigs I think but not sure yet) I now plan to go ahead and add all the memory I can.

Maybe I spoke too soon yesterday because the more I use this system the better I like it. As I mentioned yesterday, this version of Vista does not come configured with all the fluff but rather focuses on stability, security and, of course, server side functions. Will keep you posted as I go. My wife and I are headed to Colorado for a week so will not be around to use it until after the first but I will post more after I have a chance to log in more time.

Edit: One more thing I wanted to add after thinking about it, I do like the fact that running this version of Vista is allowing me to inject new life in an older setup, making the need for latest and greatest unnecessary, at least for now while everything is still very uncertain economically speaking. Microsoft will be supporting this version for quite some time into the future as well.

[portrait]

Max,
I'll be waiting for your further observations. Have nice time in Colorado!

[thorn]

Windows 7 64 Bit is the way to go with Chief today.

For anyone still on XP that wants to remain compatible with Chief into the future I would recommend upgrading to Windows 7. I would like to drop support of XP when Windows 8 ships but we will probably still support it for X5. I'm going to push for X5 to be the last version of Chief that supports XP but I'm not sure that will fly. If I thought I could get away with it I would push for X4 to be the last XP version.

Please no.......not yet.
There are some of us not ready for Windows 7, or Windows 7 is not ready for us.

http://www.chieftalk.com/showthread.php?t=57256

[perryh]

In The computer world, you can't stay with one operating system for very long. It will just not work. The software companies keep updating their software so you have to pay to update, and keep them viable. They never intend to stop and say everything is good. Every time Microsoft develops a new system, the software Co's must also update, but you also get a better product. I have friends that bought windows 98 and still try to use it, not good because nothing works anymore, but they refuse to buy a new computer because theirs still works, that just won't be good for anyone. They think I can fix it for them, how funny is that. go to windows 7, or wait for 8, if your computer is up to snuff. I have learned that I will be paying out for these things for the rest of my life.

[Gary Doski]

In The computer world, you can't stay with one operating system for very long. It will just not work. The software companies keep updating their software so you have to pay to update, and keep them viable. They never intend to stop and say everything is good. Every time Microsoft develops a new system, the software Co's must also update, but you also get a better product. I have friends that bought windows 98 and still try to use it, not good because nothing works anymore, but they refuse to buy a new computer because theirs still works, that just won't be good for anyone. They think I can fix it for them, how funny is that. go to windows 7, or wait for 8, if your computer is up to snuff. I have learned that I will be paying out for these things for the rest of my life.

Well said Perry, I agree completely!