Orcad 17.4-2019 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Eternauta
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2019, 07:46:12 am
content: Is on the way the new version Orcad 17.4-2019.This release seems to have many change. One of the main is the look and feel of the schematic Capture, now with a dark theme, tabbed windows and support for multiple screen (very useful).More info onwww.orcad.com/products/sneak-peekCuriosly the new version could be downloaded since october but until now Cadence didn't realease the new licenses and has keept a very low advertising profile. Seems really Orcad is not a core business for Cadence.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2019, 08:56:56 am
content: I have already downloaded it a couple of weeks ago but didn't install it yet. I'll probably wait until the first service pack is released.Edit: I've watched the videos and it seems that large parts of the GUI have been re-done. I think I'll clone my Orcad VM first and have both versions available in parallel.

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2019, 08:55:58 pm
content: Got it forced on me due to license server incompatibilities with 17.2. Will see how it works compared to the previous version.

author: CadenceAE
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2019, 03:04:13 pm
content: thanks for taking a look at 17.4 OrCAD is very important to Cadence. That's one of the reasons for the numerous new features added to OrCAD in 17.4. Their are many variables in online marketing which dictate the timing of product announcements.

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2019, 01:26:16 pm
content: At first use, capture seemed to be a bit slow when editing an existing design. After some edits, everything came back to normal speed. This is probably due to some online DRC being active. I like the dark theme, it is easier on the eyes. Multi monitor support is also quite nice.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2019, 01:31:29 pm
content: I'm currently using 16.6 which, just like my calculator, hammer and other tools of my trade, continues to do the job I bought it for perfectly well.Can anyone please suggest any reasons why I might want to spend money to upgrade to 17.4?

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2019, 01:36:17 pm
content: What is so special about multi monitor support? Or can you take a window out of the main screen and drag it to anywhere on the desktop? The latter would be useful indeed.@AndyC_772: if your setup works fine then I wouldn't change it. I'm currently using 17.2 (and are entitled to upgrade to 17.4) and I can't say I like all the changes to Capture. The symbol editor for example works differently and seems to be a javascript/browser based application which is rather slow (it can't keep up with me typing pin names for example). I had to upgrade from an older version because I needed the high speed design features for a project.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2019, 01:44:01 pm
content: I'm contemplating a new laptop, or at least a complete wipe/reinstall, when Windows 7 goes EoL next year. If 16.6 won't run on W10 then that would constitute a reason to upgrade.Otherwise I'm inclined to agree that the "if it's not broken..." approach is probably the right one.

author: Eternauta
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2019, 02:50:32 pm
content: You can take a window out of the main screen and drag it to anywhere on the desktop (on both monitor, I have two). Also the pages TAB could be reordered.In the project manager now you could see also the layout file. There is a new window in the Capture toolbar called PCB for the sync with PCB Designer. Highlight/Dehighlight beetween part and footprint is automatic.It's also included a version of Pspice in every licence but I don't undestand if a node or part limitation.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 27, 2019, 03:21:45 pm
content: Thanks. It doesn't sound like there's anything I can't live without, but I appreciate the info nonetheless.

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 28, 2019, 05:45:12 pm
content: OrCad is getting closer to Altium, in terms of usability. Lets hope they improve their property editor.

author: mstevens
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2019, 02:07:18 pm
content: As a log time owner of Altium Designer, this is a funny statement, Orcad WAS the leader.Quote from: Gribo on November 28, 2019, 05:45:12 pm

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2019, 07:02:54 pm
content: Quote from: mstevens on November 30, 2019, 02:07:18 pmIn the higher end market Orcad still is the leader. Recently I made some designs based on schematics/PCB designs (evaluation boards) from NXP and NVidia and both where in Orcad / Allegro format. The same goes for TI if you look at their ARM Sitara development kits.

author: Gribo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2019, 04:19:29 am
content: I use both, almost daily. It is easier for me to get a design from start to finish with Altium designer than with Orcad. I admit that my parts database is not as well integrated with Orcad as it is with AD, Still, in terms of user interface and workflow, AD is better.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2019, 02:19:11 pm
content: I'm still wondering if it is worth extending the service contract (which costs a fair chunk of money) to get more updates for version 17.4. Looking at how radical the changes are there are likely some bugs lingering.

author: Mattjd
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2019, 06:39:24 pm
content: The mixed analog/digital simulation capabilities of Orcad with Simulink is what I think is the true winning factor. Being able to design a model of a plant/controller in simulink and instantiate spice models directly using Orcad is insane. Add to that code gen capabilities for fpga,TI C2000, stm32, etc. in simulink, you can get some very high fidelity models that you can get pushed out to a target platform extremely fast.

author: PKTKS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2019, 12:53:58 pm
content: Quote from: Mattjd on December 12, 2019, 06:39:24 pmTRUE - As a matter of fact their tool chain is and wasthe bleeding edge since mid 80'sWhat some folks like in Altium is taken for grantedand mostly a very *VERY* recent "fancy" U.I. mostlyrevisited from that tragedy legacy Protel-99 (MS Access based..)Since Autotrax.. PROTEL improved thankfully via Accel incorporationwhich brought *TRAX tools to another level.. (PROTEL level)OrCAD on the other hand incorporated FPGA features in late 80'sputting their interface on a standard everybody at that timehad a real hard time to follow... new FPGA paradigmsNOSTALGIA of my 80's .. my photo album collection...1) Draft 1988 a break paradigm on PC-XT platforms2) SDT-III probably the most enhanced product at time3) However COMPANION PCB was a total DISASTER..4) Nevertheless their SPICE (PSPICE) was the absolute leading (aside mainframes)5) The early Autotrax brought PCB functionality missing in OrCAD SDT-IIITogether the PC-XT was an EDA functional environThe bleeding thing was the new FPGA paradigm in the OrCAD ESP 4.xNobody not even close to that at 1990'sRegardsPaul