Recommendations for hardware
Recommendations for hardware
(OP)
I know you guys can shorten my learning curve and hunt. I need to buy two new desktop boxes and one laptop for SWX.
Money is a big issue here so the limit is far below the sky.
For all of the systems I expect to have the following:
1. Windows 7-64 bit (any particular version?)
2. Intel Core i7 processor (need more specifics)
3. As much RAM as I can get/afford, probably 12-16 GB (any particulars?)
4. Med-low end NVidia (we only do SWX models and no photo rendering). Someone on this forum suggested Tom's Hardware for comparing the performance/price of video cards when I bought my last one three years ago and it was a great solution, but I don't see such a straightforward appraisal there now.
It was suggested to look for a mirror drive or Raid 0 setup, and to consider solid state drives or the new hybrid drive that employs both disk and solid state.
For the desktop machines we are just looking to replace the boxes as the monitors and mouse/keyboard are okay to keep using. For the laptop we are looking toward Asus brand. The model G74SX-DH71 looks pretty good except it does not have the mirrored drives and its NVidia GeForce GTX 560M I don't find on SWX's website.
I've been to the SWX website and will double check everything there anyway. It is just that a lot of you guys are more in tune with the hardware and I know you can help me find a good, affordable solution quickly.
Thanks in advance!!
- - -Updraft
Money is a big issue here so the limit is far below the sky.
For all of the systems I expect to have the following:
1. Windows 7-64 bit (any particular version?)
2. Intel Core i7 processor (need more specifics)
3. As much RAM as I can get/afford, probably 12-16 GB (any particulars?)
4. Med-low end NVidia (we only do SWX models and no photo rendering). Someone on this forum suggested Tom's Hardware for comparing the performance/price of video cards when I bought my last one three years ago and it was a great solution, but I don't see such a straightforward appraisal there now.
It was suggested to look for a mirror drive or Raid 0 setup, and to consider solid state drives or the new hybrid drive that employs both disk and solid state.
For the desktop machines we are just looking to replace the boxes as the monitors and mouse/keyboard are okay to keep using. For the laptop we are looking toward Asus brand. The model G74SX-DH71 looks pretty good except it does not have the mirrored drives and its NVidia GeForce GTX 560M I don't find on SWX's website.
I've been to the SWX website and will double check everything there anyway. It is just that a lot of you guys are more in tune with the hardware and I know you can help me find a good, affordable solution quickly.
Thanks in advance!!
- - -Updraft






RE: Recommendations for hardware
SW Premium 2011
64 bit SP4.0
Intel Xenon X5650 @2.67GHz
2.66 GHz 11.9 GB of RAM
RE: Recommendations for hardware
Dan
www.eltronresearch.com
Dan's Blog
RE: Recommendations for hardware
You really should check out Charles Culp's post in the SolidWorks forums. He's continually updating specs and provides a wealth of information.
Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
Director of Engineering
M9 Defense
My Blog
RE: Recommendations for hardware
Thanks for the link. I had class or two with his dad, Archie Culp, at UMR (now called the Missouri University of Science and Technology). He was a great guy and great prof! I'll look over his Charles' blog.
I currently have a Dell Precision M6400. It is a replacement for the M6300 I originally had that puked under warranty. This M6400 has XP-64 bit and I think 6 GB RAM. I have been having a lot of crashes in large assemblies and my other guys with the desktops have had refusals from SWX to open some large assemblies. They are on XP-32 bit. We are currently running SWX2011. (Yes, we open in lightweight mode.)
The laptops typically do not have the full range of choices for video cards available to desktops. When you do have the "same" card its model number has an "M" at the end of it designating it as a "Mobile" version. Otherwise they are identical to the desktop version.
Thanks for the info, guys and gals. Please keep it coming.
- - -Updraft
RE: Recommendations for hardware
Good news, 18 months ago, paid three times more for the 6G RAM than now for the 16G pack ( http://ncix.com/products/?sku=65762 ).
If I had the money then, I would also go for Intel. Couldn't afford it, the CPU was alone more expensive than my MB, PC case and PS. Do not forget to take care about the quality of the PSU.
Just my two cents if you're not going to buy a brand workstation.
http://www.storyofstuff.org/
RE: Recommendations for hardware
Dan
www.eltronresearch.com
Dan's Blog
RE: Recommendations for hardware
TOP
CSWP, BSSE
www.engtran.com www.niswug.org
www.linkedin.com/in/engineeringtransport
Phenom IIx6 1100T = 8GB = FX1400 = XP64SP2 = SW2009SP3
"Node news is good news."
RE: Recommendations for hardware
http://www.storyofstuff.org/
RE: Recommendations for hardware
TOP
CSWP, BSSE
www.engtran.com www.niswug.org
www.linkedin.com/in/engineeringtransport
Phenom IIx6 1100T = 8GB = FX1400 = XP64SP2 = SW2009SP3
"Node news is good news."
RE: Recommendations for hardware
To make it more interesting, For a while, waiting for the FX580 to arrive, I used the integrated GPU with shared 1G of RAM. Even that was performing better than the FX3400... (no RealView, though)
http://www.storyofstuff.org/
RE: Recommendations for hardware
TOP
CSWP, BSSE
www.engtran.com www.niswug.org
www.linkedin.com/in/engineeringtransport
Phenom IIx6 1100T = 8GB = FX1400 = XP64SP2 = SW2009SP3
"Node news is good news."
RE: Recommendations for hardware
#1. OS: Win7 x64 + FX1400
For SW2010 there is a driver passed.
For SW2011 there is a driver passed.
For SW2010 there is a driver passed with limitations. Added a note: "RealView quality has been dropped to improve both performance and stability."
Funny.
FX3400 with twice as much memory didn't pass the test for SW2010 on Win7 x64 and passed with SW 2011, and for SW 2012 a note: "Limited video memory may cause instabilities with Windows 7"
Really funny.
http://www.storyofstuff.org/