altium14 comparison to orcad16.6 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: ant17
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2013, 06:49:19 am
content: hi guys i not sure if i have asked this before but i am thinking of changing to altium14 and it looks pretty attractive at the moment. But i am on orcad16.6 at the moment, I am wondering if i leave orcad i might loose to many functions eda and mixed signal circuit analysis example in orcad pspice you can use voltage and current markers show you the dc voltage all around which is displayed is altium capable of the same thing just diffrently if some culd help i would be greatful

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2013, 01:25:30 pm
content: I'd try Altium first (download a cracked version). Make two simple projects and see if you like it. I have used Altium in the past and I found it very complicated compared to Orcad Capture and Orcad layout. I needed the manual which came with Altium to get anything done. Even something simple like starting a new project wasn't obvious. I find Orcad more suitable for creating a board every now and then than Altium with its gazillion options.IMHO you should really set goals for what you want to achieve by switching from one package to the other and determine whether it is worth the investment of time and money.

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2013, 02:21:25 pm
content: Quote from: ant17 on December 18, 2013, 06:49:19 amComing form altium I looked at orcad (cadence) once and found it very difficult to understand so I imagine going the other way would be just as difficult.I found that some of the systems in place in orcad where much better for high density and high speed design than altium and there's just no comparison when it comes to spice, orcad wins hands down. Also, depending on how many cadence options you have, you may just want to do a high level feature comparison before taking the plunge.It would appear to me that altium isstillheading in theproject managementdirection rather than pcb design

author: ant17
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2013, 09:26:56 pm
content: thanks for your opinons guys in orcad which was what i was thinking the pspice had alot of bugs what are anyone elses pspice in altium vs orcad also from what i have seen of altium seems to have better 3d pcb representation

author: Nerull
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2013, 10:49:52 pm
content: From the little I've used it, Altium's PSPICE support seems spotty. Several models directly from Fairchild datasheets had unsupported keywords.

author: ant17
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2013, 10:22:37 pm
content: what about mentor graphics hyperlynx

author: mrflibble
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2013, 06:10:20 am
content: Quote from: AlfBaz on December 18, 2013, 02:21:25 pmWhile I might have to hand in my engineering club member card for this ... I don't really have an opinion on that one way or the other. What makes you think Altium is heading in the PM direction (more)? Haven't played with altium 14 yet.

author: ant17
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2013, 06:23:21 am
content: i have but found it to difficult to find parts

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2013, 01:53:25 pm
content: Quote from: mrflibble on December 23, 2013, 06:10:20 amNeither have I, so I'm mostly talking out my arseIt just seems that every email they send me about altium never mentions the fact that its a PCB design tool.For example the last one's headings"Improve Design Team Efficiency with Altium Team Configuration Center""Take the Guess Work out of Design Data Management with Altium Vault 1.2""Continuing the Openness Strategy with Altium Developer"and as a foot note"Put Rigid-flex PCB Technology To Use in Your next Design"... yaay