MASTERCAM ON A NETBOOK

[littlebrewman]

i am considering a netbook for my new job.I was wondering if anyone has had any experience or luck in running X4 on a netbook.I will only be running Lathe on the netbook. If you have had success in running please let me know what netbook you are using and specs please.Any help is appreciated.

[jjacoby]

Originally Posted by littlebrewman i am considering a netbook for my new job.I was wondering if anyone has had any experience or luck in running X4 on a netbook.I will only be running Lathe on the netbook. If you have had success in running please let me know what netbook you are using and specs please.Any help is appreciated.

Why not buy a used notebook that will run Mastercam X4 instead of an underpowered netbook? You should not have to pay more than 2-3 hundred bucks for a good one.

[CNCRim]

I recommend you run it on notebook, Netbook will get the program up and run but quite slow compare to notebook. On other hand if you are depend on portable then maybe netbook is not a bad choice. Since you are only run lathe on it, it will do just fine unless you are do multiaxis lathe module....... otherwise you will be fine.

[TXFred]

I agree with all of the above. Netbooks are cheap little PC's. They are great for what they do, but I would never consider one for CAD/CAM. I have an Aspire One that I have maxed out with memory and disk upgrades, and it is not adequate for anything more intensive than Youtube videos.

Even if the CPU speed, memory capacity and disk speed are sufficient, (unlikely), you will be contending with a tiny screen, a tiny keyboard, and a tiny touchpad. So then you have to get an external monitor, external keyboard, and mouse. Having done that, your netbook is no longer portable, so you might as well have gotten a laptop or regular PC.

That said, nothing is stopping you from trying it. Just make sure that you can return the netbook within the first 30 days.

Cheers,
Frederic

[mcphill]

The new netbooks with an AMD Fusion porcessor should be able to run circles around the Intel Atom based ones. It has a REAL GPU on board, which is critical for CAD/CAM needs. If you look in to netbooks, make sure to put one of these on your "try before you buy" list!

New AMD Chip to Change Perceptions of Netbooks » OnlyHardwareBlog