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dual or quad core for sw2009?

dual or quad core for sw2009?

dual or quad core for sw2009?

(OP)
Working on configuring a new workstation & wondering if I'll regret
not going to a quad core when sw2009 is released.  I work on pretty
large assemblies & was planning on:

Core2 duo E8500 3.16 ghz
8 gb DDR2 800 mhz
quadro FX 3700
2X 300GB 10,000 rpm WD VelociRaptor RAID 0
1X 320GB 7,200 rpm (for backups / archiving)
Vista Business 64


I don't use photoworks or cosmos but the imported customer data &
complex machines that I am designing make for some very large file
sizes.  With an eye on the future, would it be worth a few hundred
extra to get the quad core Q9450 overclocked to 3.0 ghz?  (I've been
quoting Xi & Polywell)
Any suggestions are appreciated!


 

RE: dual or quad core for sw2009?

SW09 hasn't even reached the Beta stage yet so insufficient information exists about its ability to use multi-cores.

If you plan on keeping the machine for several years, a quad will probably become more useful in future SW versions. At the very least, you will be able to improve multi-tasking by setting core affinity to other processes. Only you can decide whether that is worth the extra cost.

cheers

RE: dual or quad core for sw2009?

CBL answered the processor question, but skipped over the Vista spec. With Microsoft pushing up the release of their next OS, as well as there still being residual issues with Vista, I'd recommend getting XP Pro. If there weren't still problems with Vista, I don't think Microsoft would have continued to offer XP.

Just my $.02...

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE
http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog
Dell M90, Core2 Duo, 4GB RAM, Nvidia 3500M

RE: dual or quad core for sw2009?

The last thing that I have read on the subject indicates that Microsoft plans to discontinue sales of Windows XP June 30th of this year.  I point this out not to steer you away from XP, but to let you know that option may soon become unavailable.

Eric

RE: dual or quad core for sw2009?

The only applications that I have experienced so far that a 'quad core' made a noticeable difference was CosmosWorks & FloWorks.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Apr 30, 2008)

RE: dual or quad core for sw2009?

Quad core is the wrong way to go unless you really get multi-threaded functionality with SW 2009 (which I doubt).  Since most of SW modeling is single-threaded, the fastest single core will push SW the fastest in most cases.  The new E8x00 series you mentioned is great--I use an E8400 at 3.0GHz and this system screams (cheap, too).  I'll overclock up to 4.0GHz when I need the extra juice, and this will still be faster than any quad cores I see on the horizon by a decent amount.

Vista?  Why even go there?  It's ME all over again.  Keep XP Pro, or be willing to take on some extra headaches.  I crashed Vista with a simple slide show (not kidding), simply selected a folder of photos and told Vista to flip through them (like you can in XP).  The computer had plenty of RAM and processor power, but for some reason Vista couldn't handle it.  Had to force a hard reboot.  Also, in PowerPoint, I selected about 15 text-only slides with CTRL-A--this locked the system for ~30 seconds.  No way I could ask my clients to pay for this sort of ridiculous inefficient delay each day.

Get an XP Pro original CD, and who cares if Microsoft ever sells it again?  You won't need them to do so unless you're adding more systems to your arsenal.  If you might need them, buy some more discs.

 

Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
What did you dream?  It's all right--we told you what to dream.
    --Pink Floyd, Welcome to the Machine

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