Computer for SW07, recommendations ?

[gatz]

Been tryin to convince myself to purchase a new Dell(?) computer to run SW07.
I don't spend countless hours at the computer designing stuff but some of what I do work on gets a bit involved with mechanisms that are more than static; so I like to run simulations whenever I can.
I've got a 3yr old Dell now, and it's a little weak....mainly because it wasn't purchased with SW in mind, only (dare I say) AutoCAD.
Read the thread about SW and Vista, so I'll be going with XP-Pro for sure.
Here's a short description of a Dell that I'm looking at.
Tell me what you guys think and any changes or additions.

Dell 490 Workstation
2GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
2GB DDR2 DIMM Memory

either;
128MB nVidia Quadro FX550, or
256MB nVidia Quadro FX3450

Price (Dell website) would be from $2039 to $2468
I dont want to sound cheap,(ok....I am) but would the 390 work for SW?

Gatz

 

[Theophilus]

I'd recommend (as usual) checking out what Xi Computer has to offer in that range. You can check things out on-line and then call a real human to see what you can get away with--I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The FX-550 is probably all you'll need--I design complex parts and do lots of work (lately) with large assemblies--and the FX-1400 is plenty for me. You mention you won't do an extreme degree of work with this system. (I was going to get a more expensive card, too, but the guys at Xi told me I probably really didn't need it--turns out they were right and saved me some dough.)

Check benchmarks where you can find them--I like Cadalyst.com for recent stuff to give you an idea of top performers per dollar.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.

 

[ctopher]

Also, check out the FAQs above.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 2.2/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
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