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P3 / P3e / P3ec

11 replies [Last post]
Thu, 2003-01-16 04:09
Anita Hunter
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Hi

We are currently using P3 and are looking into moving on to P3e or P3ec, reading all that has been said it seems quite favourable, though I am curious to know what the differences between P3e and P3ec are. Is one as good as the other.

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Replies

Tue, 2006-10-24 20:03
#1
Alex Wong
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Wow

We are in 2006 not 2000, even laptop standard have 1G memory these days.

My recommendation is at lease 4G RAM

Good Luck

Alex
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Tue, 2006-10-24 05:34
#2
Tu Huynh Van
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Groups: Petro-Chem / Oil & Gas
Hi,

- You can find everything what you want in CD 03 PRIMAVERA P3 E&C.
- I List here for you quit view:

1. For clients running the Project Management, Portfolio
Analysis, and Methodology Management modules
■ 128 MB of RAM, 256 MB free recommended
■ 40 MB of hard-disk space (per module)
■ Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP1 or SP2)
■ TCP/IP network protocol

2. For the server running Group Server and providing the
Timesheets files
■ Microsoft Windows 2000 Server (SP4) or Windows 2003 Server
■ Web server software installed and running
■ 512 MB of memory
■ 200 MB of hard-disk space
■ Microsoft TCP/IP networking protocol
For the collaboration server
■ Microsoft Windows 2000 Server/Advanced Server (SP4) or Windows
2003 Server
■ Solaris 2.9 (SPARC)
■ 1 GB of RAM recommended
■ 1 GB (minimum) available hard-disk space

Regards,

Huynh Van Tu
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Fri, 2004-05-21 23:40
#3
Forum Guest
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There are other area in a computer that needs memory too.
1. The latest operating system uses 64M-128M Ram.
2. Some computer needs to share 32M memory for display purpose.
3. The database engine (Interbase or MSDE) also needs a lot of memory.
4. Virus detection software...etc

Hence you need at least 512 M Ram in your PC. :)
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Fri, 2004-05-21 00:44
#4
Luca Basile
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It look like require a pretty huge quantity of memory.
Is also true that now the ram is not any more expensive like few times ago.
The performance of the other application with the database installed is normal or slower?

Sorry if I am keeping asking, but I prefer user impression than other ones.
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Thu, 2004-05-20 13:32
#5
Ronald Winter
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I am not an expert on P3e hardware requirements. You would do better to ask at the Primavera web site. In my experience, probably your harddisk and processor are fine. It is the RAM that you want to look out for.

When I installed P3e with the supplied Interbase database manager, I permanently lost 125 Mb of RAM. This is because the Interbase data base server runs all of the time, even when you are not using P3e. You can manually turn it off when not using it, but start-up is much slower. I had a computer with 375 Mb of RAM that used to crash on me after installing P3e. I now use 1 Gb (1,000 Mb) of memory and have no complaints.
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Thu, 2004-05-20 12:01
#6
Luca Basile
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Ronald,
As I am looking to move in P3e can please advice on the real PC requirement?
I mean the minimum RAM I need, the hard disk capacity as well as the processor?
So if the company is dealing to move on the new platform, we will be oblige to change also all the PC for the planner?

Thanks
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Wed, 2003-09-10 03:00
#7
Nicholas Sero
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P3 e/c is completely different product. I have found it more complex to operate than P3 3.1.

Whilst P3 e/c has some great advantages over P3 3.1, the following are some of the problems or issues that P3 e/c can not handle:

discontinuous(interuptible)scheduling (MAJOR PROBLEM)
Wild cards characters in WBS filtering and selections
WBS layout can not be saved (page set up)
Very limited filtering and bar formatting with WBS layout

Tabular reports, although great in numbers, are not customised as well as in P3 3.1 nor they are as convinient to use as in P3 3.1.

Page set up is nowhere near as flexible as in P3 e/c.
Temporary variables
Global notebook formating

Physical % complete will not compute the resource usage. I found it hard to believe that having introduced the activity steps and physical % computation from the steps (great feature), they stoped there. Thus, physical % derived from the steps is not processed any further, unless you create global change and remember to run it each time the changes are made.

Processing speed via remote VPN access to SQL server and 1.5 Mbps line is shocking. It took 27 seconds to schedule 1000 activity network. I have used Pentium IV PC as SQL server and Pentium III notebook for remote access.

It is two times slower than P3 3.1 when used in stand alone configuration. It takes 4 seconds to schedule the same network as oposed to P3 3.1 2 seconds.

Having said all of this, P3 e/c is the way to go. However, I will wait for the new release before I contemplate changing over at corporate level.They have to fix up some of the foregoing problems that I consider major flaws.

I have passed on my proposed implementations to P3.

Regards
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Fri, 2003-08-01 11:37
#8
Michael Fielder
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Anita,

We recently moved from P3 to P3e. Before doing so, I contacted Primavera and asked that same question. I was told the P3e/c version is more user friendly and would be easier for a construction scheduler to learn in a short period. The "BIG" difference is in the views and hot keys, rather than in the program itself.

We went with the P3e version running in Oracle. The program was installed January 8th. From there I imported a 23,000 activity P3 schedule. It was far from flawless, but it did come in OK. Two months later, we had 6 schedulers running P3e using my original P3 import, (1st try), and executed a 350,000 man-hour refinery TA. Not one scheduler of the 6 had ever worked in P3e before this project.

For a fast paced change over you will need a pretty sharp DBA for setup and DB maintenance and some 8 year P3 operators. If you run into major problems, it usually not the plane, but the pilot.

Mike
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Wed, 2003-05-28 02:54
#9
Tim Readman
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We should add Suretrack to this list. I am a user of P3 from 1987!! dos to windows and now do I step to p3e/c? . We have many Suretrcak users in our orgaisation as well and the cost to take them to P3e/c (primavsion an resued word form the dos days) is prohibitive but what is the alternative for the basic user in the P3e environment?

Tim Readman
Built Environs South Australia
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Fri, 2003-01-31 17:45
#10
Ed van der Tak
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Hello,

Like ron stated there are many different things to be found in P3e, but a lot of things are still missing. This still means that if youre a rather good user of P3 you will find the (graphical) reporting of resources quite limited. Version P3e 3.5 is already iomproving. They are working hard to improve and with just a (few) years everything is probably solved/added. Off-course P3e looks great, but remind that the concept (full resource based = names) was/is different from the way P3 has been used in the past (planning activities and mainly resource groups e.g. welders, fitters etc.). P3e/c is not yet available in the netherlands, but looking at all the reviews i think it just a marketing strategy to add some reports and construction lay-outs to P3e and call it P3e/c. Nevertheless if youre in construction or engineering and thinking about P3e take P3e/c. But still review youre "needs" for stepping over to P3e(/c). It always hard to get back!

Good luck,

Ed van der Tak
Manager Operations
Aram Planning Consultants
The Netherlands
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Fri, 2003-01-17 23:48
#11
Ronald Winter
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Anita,

Everything that I about to say is just one person’s opinion. I am a looooog time user of P3 and have just begun to use P3e. If you are already using a Database Server (Oracle or SQL) then P3e is a natural. If not, then Primavera will install an Interbase database server on your machine for free.

What does installing a database server on your computer mean to you? Well, for starters, I lost 120 MB of RAM. Not just when P3e is running, but all of the time. (The database server runs whenever you run your computer.) After a short wile of crashing, I junked my computer (limited to 375 MB of RAM) and bought a server-sized one.

On the other hand, there are over 100 different improvements included in P3e that will never be found in P3. The price is the same for P3 and P3e. Most people really like all of the new shinny buttons in P3e but you will need go back to school. A normally proficient user of P3 is just barely out of the ‘dangerous’ category with P3e. I am a P3 expert and am afraid to say that I don’t know ½ of everything that P3e can do.

Someday someone will hand you a P3e schedule and as a Scheduler, expect you to be up to it. That is a given. The question is just how long do you think you have?

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