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Version differences between Civil 3D 2009, 2010, etc

Version differences between Civil 3D 2009, 2010, etc

Version differences between Civil 3D 2009, 2010, etc

(OP)
Recent discussions have gotten me thinking about buying Civil 3D, but I don't have any interest in spending seven grand on it.  Recently went to google and did some window shopping:

http://www.google.com/products?q=autocad%20civil%203d&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wf

I'd be interested in a stand-alone copy with no subscription and no reoccurring AutoDesk screw-you fees, but I do need the hydrology package included in it, and I presume I need the full monty instead of an "upgrade."  I've got r14 on a disk someplace but doubt that would count for the "upgrade" criteria.

So what's my most cost effective approach, here?  These guys say they'll sell 2009 for $400:

http://www.fullapp.com/5676.htm

Do I trust them?  And is 2010 worth it over 2009?  How stable/slow is it in an XP environment?

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com

RE: Version differences between Civil 3D 2009, 2010, etc

If it looks to good to be true, it probably is.

RE: Version differences between Civil 3D 2009, 2010, etc

Don't spend $400 from a non-Autodesk certified reseller on 2009. If you're likely to do any SWMM modeling, get 2011. I had an email from a reseller last week where they're offering 50% off 2011 if you get it in the next month. Call up a few resellers and haggle. (Found it: http://www.advancedsolutionsonline.com/promo/get_current.aspx it's an offer on an upgrade from a previous release but guess what, if they can make money on that, they can make money on cutting you a deal.)

- 2009 is the "2007" file format and won't read anything from 2010 or 2011.
- 2009 does not have as good of an interface with the Hydraflow applications (it's not seamless)
- 2011 has a SWMM wrapper (subscription add-on at this point I think)
- 2011 won't run on XP with 2 GB of RAM. However, it's more stable than 2010 and 2009 on XP with 3 GB of RAM if you're working it hard. It would be well worth upgrading to Windows 7 if you plan on doing complex stuff with Civil 3D.

We have a subscription license, meaning we can use any version of the products we have licensed. I use 2009 for a sewer project (client's standards) and with 2 miles of sewer and 28 sheets (client's standards) in one file, it crashes constantly. Given the choice, I now work in 2011. However, there is no backwards compatibility on Civil 3D objects. If you want to share intelligent objects (not blocks/linework, but pipes, alignments, profiles, etc.) with an earlier version you have to use LandXML. If your templates aren't set up well, that's a pain in relabeling, etc.  2010 and up ship with NCS templates with most of your styles and layers created.  

RE: Version differences between Civil 3D 2009, 2010, etc

(OP)
Thanks so much for all the info Francesca.  That's exactly the feedback I needed.

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com

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