best use of computer resources

[tstanley]

Using visual Nastran for Windows, what is the best way to speed up the analysis, that is, is it better to spend money getting more ram, or bigger hard drive or faster clock speed or?

 

[ThomasH]

That very much depends on type of analysis or (obviously)size of model.

However:

Memory: Enough to have operating system, N4W and model in memory simultaniously, 1 GB or more

Harddrive: SCSI 320, big enough but no need to overdo it. Obviously: very much depending on model size.

Clock speed: The old "the higher the better" applies.

If you are looking for "cost effective" I think memory gives more value than clockspeed. Higher clockspeed often means "new computer" while adding memory is simpler and cheaper.

A tip: Use Windows Performance-monitor in the "administrative tools" menu to find the bottle-neck in the system.

Good Luck