584,850 active members*
4,428 visitors online*
Register for free
Login
IndustryArena Forum > Community Club House > Computer Technology > Computers / Desktops / Networking > Best laptop for mastercam with a budget of around 1200?
Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. #1

    Best laptop for mastercam with a budget of around 1200?

    I'm heading to college to get my associate's and cnc machinist certification and I will need a good laptop for mastercam but there are so many options that it's hard to look through so I'm posting here for some help
    My budget is around 1200 usd

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    1567

    Re: Best laptop for mastercam with a budget of around 1200?

    ...what color?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Posts
    1516

    Re: Best laptop for mastercam with a budget of around 1200?

    You ideally need to look at workstation based ones with Nvidia Quadro or Radeon Pro type graphics in them.
    Gaming graphics just don't cut the mustard.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    683

    Re: Best laptop for mastercam with a budget of around 1200?

    Look for refurbished workstation laptops. Lenovo or Dell. MCAM is bloated and buggy so be prepared for lots of problems regardless.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Posts
    1206

    Re: Best laptop for mastercam with a budget of around 1200?

    I think you would have to look really hard to find a current computer that won't handle Mastercam.If you go too cheap,it might take an extra couple of seconds for some computations.....
    Realistically,the big resource drain is simulation of a toolpath on a complex object.Unless you get fairly deep into 5 axis work,even this shouldn't be too taxing.A long time ago I used a 450MHz Pentium 2 workstation for 5 axis Mastercam work and it did the job with a mighty 64Mb of RAM.My phone has a lot more processing power than that now.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Posts
    1516

    Re: Best laptop for mastercam with a budget of around 1200?

    Quote Originally Posted by routalot View Post
    I think you would have to look really hard to find a current computer that won't handle Mastercam.If you go too cheap,it might take an extra couple of seconds for some computations.....
    Realistically,the big resource drain is simulation of a toolpath on a complex object.Unless you get fairly deep into 5 axis work,even this shouldn't be too taxing.A long time ago I used a 450MHz Pentium 2 workstation for 5 axis Mastercam work and it did the job with a mighty 64Mb of RAM.My phone has a lot more processing power than that now.
    I've a laptop with an i7, 16gb ram, ssd, nvidia 1050ti 4gb gfx (2018).
    Using HSM cad/cam, it copes relatively fine with single parts. However when it comes to assemblies it is a different story.
    Cad when zooming, some areas will dissappear/reappear.
    Cam if I try to select 9 or more toolpaths (each one tends to be fairly long) to simulate together it will totally crash and close the prog without saving.

    This is even with resolution scaled back from 1080x1920 to 1360x768.

    Apparently because gfx gaming are built for movement speed but less information. Workstation gfx built for huge amounts of information and less speed.
    Makes a big difference.

  7. #7

    Re: Best laptop for mastercam with a budget of around 1200?

    best bet is probably to go on eBay and look for a 3-4 year old professional laptop in your budget.
    Last edited by RaderSidetrack; 03-23-2023 at 12:08 PM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    1195

    Re: Best laptop for mastercam with a budget of around 1200?

    I have laptop with I7 but my laptop is not too good for cadcam, I use fusion 360. I found computer with a lot better specs and cheap, it is an old workstation PC LENOVO C20 THINKSTATION,XEON E5620-2.40GHZ, (16 CORE), Vga NVidia QUADRO NVS 310, Memori Ddr3 - 16Gb ECC, ssd 500GB, LAN Gigabit, Sound, Dvdrw, price usd300 ... I can add memory, hdd, etc. I think this one is good enough.

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 5
    Last Post: 04-18-2013, 02:44 PM
  2. laptop for mastercam
    By claya in forum Mastercam
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 11-02-2012, 09:47 PM
  3. 1200 by 1200 machine build
    By Rodm1954 in forum DIY CNC Router Table Machines
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 05-04-2012, 01:55 AM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •