Poll: Which Version of Spice or other Circuit Simulator Do You Use?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on various circuit simulators, highlighting user preferences and experiences with different versions. PSpice Student is praised for being free and user-friendly but has component limitations, while LT Spice IV is also free but less intuitive. MicroCAP is favored for its strong technical support despite being a paid option, and Simetrix is noted for its ease of use but limited in simulating complex circuits. Other mentioned simulators include costly options like Synopsys HSpice and Cadence Spectre, alongside ngspice, which is seen as glitch-prone. The thread also explores the potential for sharing circuit simulator files for collaborative improvements.
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Please indicate which version of circuit simulator you use and why. If it is not free, please give its price.

As for me,

PSpice Student:
Pros
Free
Very easy to use
Good graphics

Cons
Limits the number of components
that can be used

LT Spice IV
Pros
Free
Doesn't restrict size of
circuit.

Cons
Not as easy to use as PSpice
 
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We standardized on MicroCAP several years ago at my work. They are local here in Silicon Valley, and because of some history with them, we get very good technical support (we find bugs occasionally because of the complex nature of some of our simulations).
 
Simetrix
Pros
Free
easy to use
Really easy to add spice models-just drag n drop

Cons
Free version cannot simulate complex ckts.
 
I should mention that the purpose of this poll is to consider the possibility of uploading the circuit simulator files so that others might be able to demonstrate improvements. It's already beginning to look like there are too many different types of simulators to do that. As part of this poll, does anyone have any ideas about how to upload circuits for simulation?
 
I've tried Synopsys HSpice, Cadence Spectre, Cadence Orcad PSpice, ngspice and Linear Technology LTSpice, HiPAC EDT and many more.

Synopsys HSpice - The pinnacle software. Costly. All Pro No con.
Cadence Spectre - Probably second best. Costly. comes with IC design suite.
Cadence Orcad PSpice - My personal favourite. Free demo has limited capability. Totally error and glitch free. Can simulate upto MOSFET model BSIM3 version 3.1. Can be even configured to simulate much more (BSIM4v4.7, BSIMSOI4.4 by editing C++ model codes - Device Equations license required).
ngspice - Many consider it good. But it is not free from glitches and errors. One of my circuit did not simulate due to small time step. I changed its internal timestep tolerance, but it failed again. Once I've even got erroneous data.
LTspice - did not use much. glitchy and errorful.
HiPAC EDT - Very good thing. Can do S parameter and Nyquist plot. Dont have MOSFET or IC library.
 
Microwave office when I was at work.
 
Tina Pro. It's incredibly easy to use and very inexpensive.

I've also got ICAP which costs 10x more and is 10x harder to use. (but it has a much better component library)
 
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