new desktop or workstation
new desktop or workstation
(OP)
Hello,
I am buying a new machine at work and want to know your recommendation.
I have 2 quotations and was wondering if i will need to go for the high performance one or the other will do the job?
1- Desktop, Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, 2.83Ghz Dual core 12MB
cache memory
-8 GB ram
-Windows XP 640
-Quadro FX 1700 , 512 MB
or
2- Intel Xeon E5420 , 2.5 Ghz Quad 12 MB cache(2 processors)
-all the rest are the same
knowing that the 2nd machine is double the price of the first.
Do you think that i will need it , knowing that i mainly use it for very large assemblies (in size and not number of parts included)
I am buying a new machine at work and want to know your recommendation.
I have 2 quotations and was wondering if i will need to go for the high performance one or the other will do the job?
1- Desktop, Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, 2.83Ghz Dual core 12MB
cache memory
-8 GB ram
-Windows XP 640
-Quadro FX 1700 , 512 MB
or
2- Intel Xeon E5420 , 2.5 Ghz Quad 12 MB cache(2 processors)
-all the rest are the same
knowing that the 2nd machine is double the price of the first.
Do you think that i will need it , knowing that i mainly use it for very large assemblies (in size and not number of parts included)






RE: new desktop or workstation
You might also want to check what other CAD systems tend to use and how much they cost. Great new article for a more pricey system here:
http
Xi makes great CAD stuff for very reasonable prices, with great service.
One other thing about the dual-core offerings. They're often FASTER than the quad-core stuff in SolidWorks. SolidWorks rarely makes use of more than one core of a chip, so most of the time the extra cores idle. Also, with four cores, the clock speed is slower. So you'll make better use of two cores with higher clock speeds, typically with faster results, always for less money. If you do lots of renderings, you'll see all your cores at full tilt--if not, there's not any point.
Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.
RE: new desktop or workstation
Get Windows Vista x64, general concensus on the SW forums it is much better then Windows XP x64.
I would stay away from Xeons for a SW workstation.
SW is CPU bound, the higher the clockspeed the better the SW experience.
Cheers,
Anna Wood
SW2008 SP4.0, Windows Vista SP1
IBM ThinkPad T61p, T7800, FX570M, 4 gigs of RAM
http://designsmarter.typepad.com/solidmuse
http://www.phxswug.com
RE: new desktop or workstation
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RE: new desktop or workstation
Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 08
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