Which Chromebook is best for Onshape?

caradon · February 2015

I'm thinking about getting a Chromebook. For use at home, in the office and on the go.
I'm sure some Onshape users and/or staff members are already using Chromebooks...

Are there particular models I should look at?
Google's Chromebook Pixel looks very impressive, but sadly it is not sold in Europe.
Many other Chromebooks feel quite flimsy...
Do any of the Chromebooks have dedicated graphics? (May come in handy for Onshape/Workbench.)

Dries

lougallo · February 2015

I own a Pixel that is almost 2 years old. It runs Onshape wonderfully and is my go to machine. I code on a Macbook pro but anytime I travel or go anywhere, the Pixel is my main machine and the only computer I own outright. I have been using Chromebooks since the idea of Chromium OS was announced. I built my first one on a eee701 and have had 4 others before the Pixel.

The biggest performance gain is with RAM (overall) and I would recommend looking at models that have 4GB. I know there is a new gen going to ship here soon (Pixel 2) and it will probably be pretty pricey. The leaders so far seem to be the ACER, ASUS and Toshiba with a recent entry from HP, doing a touch screen with the new T3 chip.

For me it is not yet my main machine but I am betting on the cloud and nearly everything I use (and evaluate to use) must run on a CB for me to take it seriously. I totally understand I might be on the extreme side of the spectrum but hopefully I have advanced the conversation. @John_F_Carr and I are continuing to make sure the builds are successful on Onshape and I am hoping soon we will support some touch event support on the web version. We have also purchased a few for our QA team so they are testing on them as well.

caradon · February 2015

Or... a MacBook Air. Not really decided yet.

Dries

billy2 · February 2015

Here's my criteria for choosing a new computer

-how much does it weight? 3.5lbs
-16 gig ram
-fastest cpu 3.0gig i7 3.6gig turbo (always pay extra for the fastest cpu)
-nvidia graphics (retina resolution)

I've just searched for a high powered chromebook and can't find one. Seems like they cater to the <$500 market. I'm interested in them but don't see me buying one for work. I'll stick with a 13" macbook pro.

Please prove me wrong,

john_f_carr · February 2015

The number-crunching on the client is in webgl and depends on graphics performance rather than CPU performance. My 2012 Samsung Chromebook can generate about a quarter the frame rate of a high end laptop. (From memory -- we don't have a client benchmark database.) We have been working on improving interactive performance of complicated models, so relative or absolute speed may change.

lougallo · February 2015

I own a Pixel that is almost 2 years old. It runs Onshape wonderfully and is my go to machine. I code on a Macbook pro but anytime I travel or go anywhere, the Pixel is my main machine and the only computer I own outright. I have been using Chromebooks since the idea of Chromium OS was announced. I built my first one on a eee701 and have had 4 others before the Pixel.

The biggest performance gain is with RAM (overall) and I would recommend looking at models that have 4GB. I know there is a new gen going to ship here soon (Pixel 2) and it will probably be pretty pricey. The leaders so far seem to be the ACER, ASUS and Toshiba with a recent entry from HP, doing a touch screen with the new T3 chip.

For me it is not yet my main machine but I am betting on the cloud and nearly everything I use (and evaluate to use) must run on a CB for me to take it seriously. I totally understand I might be on the extreme side of the spectrum but hopefully I have advanced the conversation. @John_F_Carr and I are continuing to make sure the builds are successful on Onshape and I am hoping soon we will support some touch event support on the web version. We have also purchased a few for our QA team so they are testing on them as well.

pete_yodis · February 2015

@John_F_Carr can you share what about video cards computationally? Is there a benchmark from someone else that correlates to better graphics performance in Onshape?

john_f_carr · February 2015

Pete Yodis said:

@John_F_Carr can you share what about video cards computationally? Is there a benchmark from someone else that correlates to better graphics performance in Onshape?

We have a little test that reports how many frames per second webgl can animate a model.

We don't have a number saying how visually pleasing the result is, and that's a reason we don't track test results.

Another reason is, in some circumstances we would rather change quality than speed in response to a change in the ratio (model complexity / graphics performance). My old, slow Chromebook has a smaller screen than my MacBook Pro. It doesn't need as much detail in the rendered model. What if in the next release we give my Chromebook a lower resolution model to render? Then it could keep up with my Mac. And any graphics advice we gave last month would be invalidated.

Would you even notice a small resolution difference? What our graphics developers consider horrible artifacts I hardly notice.

joe_dunne · March 2015

I have been using the Acer c720 to log into cad.onshape.com... It was the most inexpensive model I could find at our local computer store In 2013. works great for Onshape.

Here is the cool thing. Go to your local computer store and just log into your onshape account and try each model they have on display.... You can see for yourself how each performs.

My experience is that low cost to hi costs hardware, makes far less difference in Onshape than tradition installed applications.

Joe

devon_sowell · March 2015

Perusing online the Acer c720 is highly rated with used ones starting at $175 to new ones only $225. That sure beats the $2400 I paid for my SolidWorks laptop, nice

ales_1 · March 2015

I tryed OS on cheap ThinkPad E530 - Intel HD Graphics 3000 (2 years old) and open Sample - Lightweight CNC assy. Rotating with model is slow with delay. At work on workstation with nVidia GeForce K2000 - everything smooth.

Brian_1 · March 2015

I went to BestBuy and tried a number of Chromebooks head to head. Yeah, the model load time took a bit due to the slow connection at the store but I was just interested in trying things once the model was loaded.

I found that Chromebooks with real graphics worked best. I have an Acer CB5-311 with a Nvidia Tegra K1 chip in it and runs just fine ... $300. I tried ones with just an Intel graphics chip and OS didn't perform well.

As Joe suggested, if you have the option to try out some Chromebooks at a store, do it.

I've tried a number of graphics cards for OS and it does better with a good graphics card but nothing crazy. GeForce cards do well as do entry to mid-level Quadros (K600 or K2000, for example).

caradon · March 2015

Thought I'd let you guys know that I ordered a new MacBook Pro 13-inch. I wanted something like the Chromebook Pixel, but since it isn't available in Europe, the Macbook Pro seemed like the most sensible alternative...

Dries

kylemoore · March 2015

I am using onshape on both a work laptop (HP 8750w with nvidia quadro graphics card) and my 2008 hp 8510p running ubuntu 14.04 LTS with a Quadro FX 570M/PCIe/SSE2 graphics card with only 256 mb onboard. I use just 4gb ram on the ubuntu laptop running chrome browser and I am amazed at how quick onshape runs. It is a bit jerky especially with a large assembly but very workable. The whole onshape team should be happy that a laptop from 2008 can run onshape with very little problems.

lougallo · March 2015

@kylemoore That is great to hear. Thanks for sharing..

caradon · March 2015

Btw, new Macbook Pro 13" is brilliant with Onshape.

Dries

billy2 · March 2015

That's what I have, I really like it. No moving parts and nothing to ware out. Did you get the retna display?

JPC204 · March 2015

sorry for bringing this thread back to life but wanted to ask a bit more about hardware

kyle above says " I use just 4gb ram on the ubuntu laptop running chrome browser and I am amazed at how quick onshape runs. It is a bit jerky especially with a large assembly but very workable."

is onshape CPU or GPU bound when it comes to delivering the actual graphics stream in the browser? IE is it better to look for a computer for a better graphics card or CPU to have the best possible performance? this assumes most or all other actions are done "in the cloud"....

thanks!

pete_yodis · March 2015

@JPC204 I believe Onshape is ascertaining how well your device functions and offloading more or less to the local device based on how it's doing. I think the cloud and local device are melded and are automatically optimizing your experience. That said, my guess would be to look for a device with decent graphics compute performance that supports WebGL quite well - Browser support of WebGL is important too - which is why Onshape won't run on IE at the moment. I think the graphical data is being cached locally and manipulated as much as can be locally. My bet (correct me if I'm wrong Onshape) would be that CPU won't be as important as GPU, because model creation/rebuild is being handled by the Onshape cloud system and graphics and view manipulation is largely being handled by your local device. Maybe @John_F_Carr will set us straight.

JPC204 · March 2015

thanks for the input pete, will keep my eye on the thread for more info.

an interesting test would be to run onshape through a remote desktop where there is no graphics support, that would be a true test!

3dcad · March 2015

What would be the best full HD $500 chromebook to replace laptop? I would like to give it a try..
Quick search gave me ACNXMPRED008 13,3" Acer Chromebook with 4gb ram - I would like to have 8gb or more ram if the price is reasonable since I tend to collect a lot of tabs in my browser for reading later.. New Pixel is too expensive and I'm glad they don't ship to Finland (might be too tempting if they did)

chris_aicher · April 2015

Has anybody tried running OS on a Chromebox?
ASUS CHROMEBOX-M004U perhaps?
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-CHROMEBOX-M004U-ASUS-Desktop/dp/B00IT1WJZQ

3dcad · April 2015

Just begin testing with Acer Chromebook 13, Full HD, 4gb ram, $399 at amazon, 449€ in Finland

At first glance everything seems to run just fine. Opened Porsche model from public and gave it a spin, works like a charm.

Only thing bothering (if not having external mouse) is turning model with two fingers pressed over touchpad since two finger press acts like RMB.
Does anyone know any workaround to better use of the touchpad for turning model?

lougallo · April 2015

@3dcad This is going to be two finger click drag will be rotation.

andrew_troup · April 2015

@3dcad
On my Chromebook, where the trackpad serves also as the mouse button, I do the initial two-finger, snakebite click (near the bottom LH corner of the pad) with an index finger from each hand. Then I can keep the pressure on with the left finger, which keeps the rotation feature "alive", so that I can use multiple swipes with the right finger until I have the desired orientation. Easier to do than to describe.

ON EDIT:
Even if you begin with a one-handed snakebite, you can change horses in midstream.
The one-handed snakebite has to be near the bottom, because the hinge is at the top of the trackpad, otherwise you cannot hold the 'button' down.
But once you are holding the pad down, which keeps rotation alive, it is no longer necessary to use two fingers. If you need more time or room at this point, you can bring in the left index finger to take over holding the button down, so your right finger can perform repeated swipes anywhere on the pad.

3dcad · April 2015

@Andrew_Troup Hey, that's working. Needs some practise to get muscle memory on 2to1 finger turn.. Thanks for tips!

lougallo · April 2015

+1 on the "Snake bite click"

andrew_troup · April 2015

We might all end up concert pianists!

3dcad · April 2015

It's all good until we need six finger clicks

anthony_douglas · September 2017

ok, so back in 2015? My computer is doing 55 million triangles per second, and still having real issues just drawing a couple boxes. I am trying to figure this out; if cheap chromebooks 2 years old were working ok for various assemblies with curves etc. there has got to be something more to the picture here than insufficient horsepower of my ux305f laptop.

Jake_Rosenfeld · September 2017

Hi Anthony,

I'm sorry you're having trouble with graphics performance on your laptop. There are a lot of factors in play with these kinds of issues, so your best bet may be contacting our support team from the '?' menu in a part studio.

Which Chromebook is best for Onshape?

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