Proteus vs Diptrace

[jpb]

I know there have been various (useful) threads on pcb layout tools in the semi-professional range (i.e. cheaper than Altium but not free), but I still find it hard to get a succinct over view of what, spending a bit more on say Proteus would buy me over Diptrace.

One difference is the simulation facilities, but are there features such as matching track lengths, calculating line impedances that one or other has. (I guess Eagle is another contender but it's slightly quirky approach means I'd prefer to use a more standard product.) How about libraries?

I've down loaded the demo version but I don't have sufficient experience yet to know if I'm missing something. (I have a background in laying out high frequency GaAs MMICs many years ago but have no experience with pcbs - I'm wanting to get into this for both hobby and educational purposes so Diptraces non-profit licence looks very attractive.)

Are there any Proteus users who also use Diptrace and can tell me why it may be worth paying (a lot more) for it? Being UK based I'm quite keen to use a UK product but I find their lack of hobbyist support a bit annoying.

[Wilksey]

but are there features such as matching track lengths, calculating line impedances that one or other has. (I guess Eagle is another contender but it's slightly quirky approach means I'd prefer to use a more standard product.) How about libraries?

No length matching or impedance calcs on either.
Proteus, as you have already said, has the VSM / Simulation stuff, which is quite useful sometimes.
EAGLE is a standard product, all packages have their quirks.

Proteus has the edge by using tabs for schematic and PCB capture as of v8, Diptrace runs as two separate programs, I prefer the library management and creation of Proteus personally, but the DT one is fine, people are frustrated by lack of development with Diptrace from what I understand, Proteus support is good, not sure about DT, their sales team are quick to respond!

If you, like most others do, are asking about library content, i.e. how many parts are in the standard library then they both carry an ample amount, but you will no doubt find one missing that you need, so in any package, expect to have to create your own.

I have used several packages over the years, I used to use EAGLE, I use Altium in work, and we have a Proteus license, as well as a few others (CADStar etc) for legacy projects, I wanted to move away from EAGLE to something that had 3D visualisation, so I was drawn to DT, naturally, but I never got on with it personally, so went back to EAGLE, I tried DT a few times since, did a few projects in the freeware version, but didn't find it that fun to use.

I now use KiCAD for home stuff and I also use it in work, the latest stable 4.0 RC2, for free, I cannot fault, development is active and it works like a charm!

What you will probably have to do is play with both packages and choose the one that is right for you.

[jpb]

but are there features such as matching track lengths, calculating line impedances that one or other has. (I guess Eagle is another contender but it's slightly quirky approach means I'd prefer to use a more standard product.) How about libraries?

No length matching or impedance calcs on either.
Proteus, as you have already said, has the VSM / Simulation stuff, which is quite useful sometimes.
EAGLE is a standard product, all packages have their quirks.

Proteus has the edge by using tabs for schematic and PCB capture as of v8, Diptrace runs as two separate programs, I prefer the library management and creation of Proteus personally, but the DT one is fine, people are frustrated by lack of development with Diptrace from what I understand, Proteus support is good, not sure about DT, their sales team are quick to respond!

If you, like most others do, are asking about library content, i.e. how many parts are in the standard library then they both carry an ample amount, but you will no doubt find one missing that you need, so in any package, expect to have to create your own.

I have used several packages over the years, I used to use EAGLE, I use Altium in work, and we have a Proteus license, as well as a few others (CADStar etc) for legacy projects, I wanted to move away from EAGLE to something that had 3D visualisation, so I was drawn to DT, naturally, but I never got on with it personally, so went back to EAGLE, I tried DT a few times since, did a few projects in the freeware version, but didn't find it that fun to use.

I now use KiCAD for home stuff and I also use it in work, the latest stable 4.0 RC2, for free, I cannot fault, development is active and it works like a charm!

What you will probably have to do is play with both packages and choose the one that is right for you.

Thanks for your detailed response.

I guess you're right about trying different packages - though this is difficult to do as to get into a package presumably takes some time and once I've done so I probably will feel tempted to stick to the one I know. Given that KiCAD is free this seems an obvious place to start.

[digsys]

Used a few packages over 30 yrs, mostly Smartwork, Protel (short while) then Proteus. If you do a LOT of PCBs, IMO Proteus wins hands down.
Ease of use, Intuitive etc If you're only doing a few non-complex designs a year, well it likely doesn't matter much. Also like Proteus upgrade paths,
start small - keep upgrading with no penalty.

[jpb]

Used a few packages over 30 yrs, mostly Smartwork, Protel (short while) then Proteus. If you do a LOT of PCBs, IMO Proteus wins hands down.
Ease of use, Intuitive etc If you're only doing a few non-complex designs a year, well it likely doesn't matter much. Also like Proteus upgrade paths,
start small - keep upgrading with no penalty.

Thanks for your response.

I won't be doing many pcbs. Though I'm an electronic engineer by training, I switched to Computer Science 10 years ago but like to keep up my electronics so its a hobby but also self-training. Costs are important but so is time - I don't have much to spare - so I didn't want to invest a lot into learning one tool and then finding it can't do what I want a few months down the road. The general advice, which is sensible, is to try the various packages, but my feeling is that I could get used to any of them as I don't yet have a particular way of working.

My background is in high-frequency analogue (I used to work on GaAs MMICs) so I might want to do some fairly high frequency stuff.
With Proteus I don't even understand the implications of the main restriction on the cheaper versions - namely no cut-outs in power planes. Does this mean that you can't have an earth plane on the same layer as the tracks (for high frequency designs)? If so, it is rather a sever restriction - no way of doing coplaner waveguide for example?