12d v14 OpenGL view

[James Masemann]

Cheap cables you say. Hmmm will keep an eye on speeds.

Due to the shipping problems getting products to market here, I've ended up with a Dell laptop, an HP docking station, and using the laptop screen and dual monitors. Looking at the Performance tracker in Task Manager, I think what's happened is that by restoring defaults, the laptop is now using the Intel graphics for 3D processing. It's ok for small jobs but will become a problem for larger projects. So I might've just solved this temporarily...

I might look at the docking station driver as you said Ed, and experiment with different setups.

[paul hardwick]

I had the same issue with Dell and dock.
This was the best $150 I ever spent. https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/off ... r-cocmmp09

[Ed Wilson]

Oooo 1 more tip in this space. Make sure your laptop has its OWN charger/power supply and NOT through the dock unless you are sure the pwr supply wattage is high enough to power both at full demand. Typically for the Dells we use that would be a 180W power supply. You can use less, there are lots of 130W and older 90W pwr supplies on desks and for the non cad types would be fine but the pc wont run at full throttle, and you wont easily know what feature is disabled ... And sometimes you get a message to that effect at startup but more often no clue.

think what's happened is that by restoring defaults, the laptop is now using the Intel graphics for 3D processing. It's ok for small jobs but will become a problem for larger projects.

Yukkkkkkk Its really not straight forward to get into all this is it....

Good tip with that one Paul. WRT other brands dock etc, I've been hesitant to use any power supply incase it was too high/low (flry / slow) - but I guess these days a laptop is just another usb device . (?maybe)

[Sam Cech]

There are so many adaptors and cables out there
Look for 'active' or 'high speed'

the usb-c to HDMI adaptors are good, got one, more stable than docking, just don't have too many USB drives plugged in and copy big files around at the same time.

Some graphics cards support multiple monitors but only one monitor has openGL, lot harder with laptops, with a desktop you can at least tell which card the screen is plugged in to.

[Ed Wilson]

Vulkan!

[James Masemann]

I can see this as becoming quite critical as more and more people are wanting/having to work remotely with all the disruption. If there was something we could give our IT providers as guidance, that would be great, as it looks like there are a few things to look at straight off the bat i.e. drivers, power supply, cables, PhysX setup, local computer policy for roaming profiles etc.

But from the looks of things, beyond that it's a bit of an experiment as each case is individual...

Ed, your were correct, the HP docking station is underpowered for the Dell, but I wouldn't know how to use the supplied power unit and the docking station in tandem. Perhaps that product Paul sent through is an answer.

We're running 12d, C3D, Bentley, AutoCAD with often large datasets and an ever increasing emphasis on Design/BIM management. So as a company we're trying to sort all this stuff out so that designers are using their machines as efficiently as possible and the right tool for the job, because as we know IT equipment gets expensive and time is money

Cheers all for your comments, they have been helpful.

[Ed Wilson]

Ed, your were correct, the HP docking station is underpowered for the Dell, but I wouldn't know how to use the supplied power unit and the docking station in tandem. Perhaps that product Paul sent through is an answer.

1. You can plug in a power supply to the Dell laptop and You can plug in a power supply to the docking station (ie 180+90, 130+130, 130+90)

2. You can plug in a big enough for both (180+W) to the docking station only

[Blake Gregory]

I can see this as becoming quite critical as more and more people are wanting/having to work remotely with all the disruption. If there was something we could give our IT providers as guidance, that would be great, as it looks like there are a few things to look at straight off the bat i.e. drivers, power supply, cables, PhysX setup, local computer policy for roaming profiles etc.

But from the looks of things, beyond that it's a bit of an experiment as each case is individual...

Ed, your were correct, the HP docking station is underpowered for the Dell, but I wouldn't know how to use the supplied power unit and the docking station in tandem. Perhaps that product Paul sent through is an answer.

We're running 12d, C3D, Bentley, AutoCAD with often large datasets and an ever increasing emphasis on Design/BIM management. So as a company we're trying to sort all this stuff out so that designers are using their machines as efficiently as possible and the right tool for the job, because as we know IT equipment gets expensive and time is money

Cheers all for your comments, they have been helpful.

The product Paul supplies is not the answer.

USB Spec and Thunderbolt spec only allows up to 100W of power over the connector (this is being updated to 280 W soon but not backwards compatible).

As such, what DELL do, is have their own hardware in the laptop to allow it. (This is not in all models, for instance hte dell precision line has this capability, but the dell G Series does not)

This hardware allows them to draw more then the 100W from the port. BUT if you dont have a compatible power supply, or not using one thats high enough rated, you get whats known as Dell running in low powered mode.

This can cause MASSIVE slow downs of CPU and GPU.

Unfortunately, USB-C and Thunderbolt docks are still a mixed bag in how they function, especially with each laptop being different.
The promise of 1 Cable for all, as usual, is still a pipe dream.

[Lee Gregory]

James,
I can see this as becoming quite critical as more and more people are wanting/having to work remotely with all the disruption. If there was something we could give our IT providers as guidance, that would be great, as it looks like there are a few things to look at straight off the bat i.e. drivers, power supply, cables, PhysX setup, local computer policy for roaming profiles etc.

Unfortunately you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.

We have programmers working from home with portables but it is turning out to be an expensive and inefficient solution.
Most people want a number of large monitors and a decent speed.

We are finding it much cheaper to give them:
(a) a stand alone computer - eg a Dell Optiplex 7080 for a slug like me or for better graphics a Precision 3240
(b) two decent monitors
(c) mouse and keyboard
(d) an external solid state drive for taking large data backward and forwards if they aren't on 12d Synergy

The standalone computer is usually much cheaper and more powerful than a portable, and can be changed over more regularly to faster boxes.
Monitors usually outlast portables and can be much large than the screen on a portable.