We have been looking at hardware specifications for use with Pointools (and probably Descartes SS4) processing large LiDAR surveys of buildings, but appropriate (as opposed to minimum) hardware specifications seem to be thin on the ground.
The best I can find is that i7 or equivalent, 8GB of RAM, 512MB AMD or nVidia cards are 'recommended', but I have to admit that what hardware features Pointools will take advantage of seem rather opaque. I gather that the current version of Pointools is 32-bit (when is 64-bit out?), but would investing in more CPU cores and beefier GPGPU's be worthwhile? Is OpenCL a safe bet for the near future, or is there a chance of being stuck with CUDA (i.e. nVidia cards only)?
The same as above goes for Descartes. A broad outline on what hardware 'next-gen' MicroStation might benefit from would be welcome also, of course ;-)
here's the recommended (as opposed to minimum) specs for Pointools from the user guide:
Windows 8 or Windows 7,
Intel i7 or equivalent AMD quad-core processor, 2.6 GHz or higher
8GB RAM
NVidia or ATI (AMD) graphics card with 512MB on-board memory
200Mb free disk space for installation
1920x1080 display resolution with true colour
3 Button mouse
I agree with all Mathieu says, although Pointools does use the GPU more than Descartes. I have a NVidia Quadro 2000M which works very nicely, but my previous laptop had an ATI card which was also very good. I'd say it's not worth spending a lot on a graphics card solely for Pointools as you won't get much more bang for your buck.
more RAM is always nice, and 64bit Pointools will arrive at some point - although this will only really help import/export and video render time. it's unlikely to have any significant effect for on-screen performance.
I spec out Dell optiplex's for my office with i5 - quad core 3.2 or higher, 8GB RAM and 1GB AMD RADEON (Dual Display - 1 DP, 1 DVI) Win 7 Pro. They run about $1000 after Microsoft Office H&B and Adobe, no monitors.
They do the trick. I have a Mobile workstation that has a Nvidia card and the driver crashes on me from time to time. If you are looking for a good deal check out Dell Outlet. They get some really good computers in there.