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What is the fastest, what is the best bang for your buck?

Here is the link to download Benchmark 3.0, instructions on how to run the test are at the end of the video. This is a 2017 file which opens in any version 2017 and newer....
Benchmark 3.0

Even though Mastercam is the most popular CAM software on the planet, we've yet to get a real test on the software to see what works best. Video games, video production and photo production softwares are all tested in every conceivable scenario and computer configuration. Even during my search, I wasn't able to find much data related to SolidWorks that was at the least less than a year old. 

I know, all the manufacturer recommendations say what you need and what you should use. But like many others, I have been running GeForce cards instead of Quadros for many years. Yes, it works. Is it as good as the recommended Quadro? I can't say for sure. I have no complaints though. Do you need 8GB or Ram or should you have 128GB...what about 256? Is Intel still ahead of AMD in the CPU sector? These are all tough questions and right now, I really can't say.

What I can say, when talking tech support, both SolidWorks and Mastercam would prefer you had a Quadro card running a certified Quadro driver. I won't tell you otherwise. If you are working on the next rocket mission to Mars, you probably should be using a computer with ECC memory for both RAM and videocard....but we're getting off topic now. I'm purely interested in performance here and really aiming towards high performance at a lower cost. (high end Quadros can be $3000+, just for a video card!) 

As I allude to in the video, I don't think we can answer all these questions with the testing file we have. We are going to need a new file that tests Mastercam in more than just toolpath calculation. I will need help in creating this file from the Mastercam community. I think it would also be a good idea to host a thread on the main Mastercam forum so we can get the eyes of those at CNC Software who could guide us on this Benchmark 4.0 journey. I'll leave this out there for now and see where it goes. In the meantime, test out your system and let us know your time. Don't forget to give the specs of your machine....it isn't a contest to see whos computer is the fastest, just a way for users to see what a particular setup produces for performance.

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