Getting a new PC

[tmalinski]

I will be ordering a new PC from Dell and was wondering if anybody can reccommend a particular machine with the best specs for SolidWorks performance. I'm currently running a Dell 670 - Xeon 3.8GHz - 2gb ram - NVIDIA Quadro 3450/4000 SDI - Dual WD800ADFD-75NLR1 hard drives, one for the operating system and one for SolidWorks files. I am using PDMWorks installed on a networked machine, but all normal work is done on my local system.
I'm not overly impressed with my currernt machine. Its performance seems slow especially when I detail 10 or more models with multiple views within 1 drawing, but this is our company standard.

Anyway, any help or links to a reccommended system is appreciated. Processor, Ram, Raid, etc...

thanks,
tom

Tom Malinski
Sr Design Engineer
OKay Industries
New Britain CT

 

[SBaugh]

That sounds like a good system to me... What are you using now? That would make for a better comparison to see if you are really getting anything better.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[tmalinski]

Scott, the specs above are what I'm currently running. This my opportunity to get a new & better system and pass this down to another user.

Tom Malinski
Sr Design Engineer
OKay Industries
New Britain CT

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

If you are finding that one too slow, you are going to have to spend some big bucks to find better performance.

Let me know when you get your new machine and I will forward my mailing address to you so that you can pass your old one down to me.

Sorry, I can't recommend an actual model or configuration, but if you just go to the customise pages and start picking the top-of-the-line options you should end up with a fantastic (and expensive) machine.

Maybe what you need to do is get some performance specs from your existing and ask for comparisons from Dell or whichever vendor you go with.

 

[SBaugh]

I think your problem is in your system and not the system itself. That's a good system.. the only true upgrade from here is 64-bit and the only benefit is no memory limitation. What VC drivers are you using? I think you should first Diagnose your system before wasting money on a new system, when the problem maybe something simple on your machine.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[Theophilus]

Check cadalyst.com for reviews/benchmarks on systems. I'm surprised you've made up your mind to purchase a Dell without knowing the system you need. I think Dell is OK, but they market to the pop-culture crowd (primarily) and pull all sorts of strange stuff in their web site interface regarding rebates and bait-and-switch sort of tactics in my experience. (I can never get a workable system at the advertised price when at the web site--and the advertised price is what draws me to the site in the first place.)

Anyway, benchmarks I've seen typically don't favor Dell-built systems (if they're even among those tested). I've worked on three Xi systems and currently own two. Customer support is real, and normally available on weekends.

Now, back to your question. Do you normally do animation or renderings in PhotoWorks? If not, much of the multiple-core use potential you won't harvest with such a chip (although I imagine that will change very soon). I have a dual-core, super-expensive AMD FX-60 chip and it does great in getting my renderings completed much faster--pegs both processors every time. Otherwise, I only use about half the core power during normal SW use. Depending on what you need, you may be better off going for a super-fast single-core processor (save a little money) to get things done more quickly. If you've lots of applications running at the same time, multiple cores can help ease that load and decrease crunch times.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.

 

[TateJ]

I'm the last person to reccommend hardware... but I do have a bit of advice from when I got my Dell. The PC with the video card I wanted was only available thru the small business side of Dell. I eventually figured out how to purchase from the small business side. Lie... tell them you are a small business & when they ask for a tax ID number... give them your social security number.

Windows XP / Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 5000
SolidWorks 2007 SP1.0 / SpaceBall 5000
Lava Lamp
www.Tate3d.com

FAQ376​

 

[symjim]

A Precision 390 with Core2 Extreme X6800, 4GB RAM, FX3450 graphics, dual 160GB 10k SATA drives and WinXP x64 would provide noticebly faster performance at a reasonable price.

You'd have ~40% faster raw CPU speed, plus the benefits of dual core processing which increase drawing speed by another 10-20%. The 10k hard drives in a RAID0 array would significantly improve disk I/O. 64bit operation would eliminate memory limitations.

If you have HUGE assemblies and need MORE THAN 4GB RAM, get the Precision 490 with Xeon 5160 and 8GB RAM. Still well under $5k.

 

[tmalinski]

Thanks all for your help. I'm not getting a new system because this one is bad, but rather because others in Eng who are still working in 2d are in need of an upgrade. So my system will be passed down to them. This gives me an oportunity to get a better one.
there is one more reason I am leaning towards a dual core processor. thats because I always have autocad and SolidWorks running at the same time. My boss also informed me that we will be getting one seat of ProE, a few of our customers are pushing this real hard. So no doubt it will also reside next to Solidworks on my PC.
Thanks,
Tom

Tom Malinski
Sr Design Engineer
OKay Industries
New Britain CT

 

[dblcrona]

Take a look at this.

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/SystemRequirements.html

Dblcrona

 

[pgp001]

My system is pretty much identical to yours and has been no problem at all, I would be looking for some software settings to alter first, your hardware is OK.

Phil

 

[EEnd]

A lot of the time, when people are having performance problems and out of memory errors, they are trying to detail an assembly and a lot of parts all within the same drawing file.

It will save you a lot of grief if you can spin things so that complying with the company standard does not require having so many models and views within a single drawing file. Changing the standard so that each part / subassembly gets its own drawing number and drawing file would be the easiest to deal with within SolidWorks. If all of the drawings for a given project have to have the same drawing number, you may still break the drawings into separate files and deal with managing the sheet # of # notes manually.

Eric

 

[tmalinski]

EEnd, thanks for your comments. The standard is long lived in our company has been in existence for 50 years. Back in the days of drafting boards right up through 2d AutoCad still current today. The mentality is to provide minimal information just enough to get the job done, and fit whatever you can on D or E prints to minimize the amount of paper. Many of our progressive die designs have 30 sheets or more, with many details on each. Although we do create 11x17 books of reduced D & E prints with our laser printer. I agree with what you are saying for SW performance, but creating a pile of small individual component prints will be a hard sell. The cultural paradigm is two fold out on the floor. 1) We’ve always done it that way!!2) I can't keep track of all that paper!! In all fairness not everybody would be against this, its probably just a few out of many that would cause the most grief. I have suggested this in the past. There answer...Get a Faster computer.
Maybe its time I made a new case to management
tom

Tom Malinski
Sr Design Engineer
OKay Industries
New Britain CT

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

One company I worked for (using AutoCAD) also used D-size sheets with multiple parts detailed on them. I disliked it almost as much as I disliked AutoCAD.

So on the next super-rush project I created a set of prints which had less details on them (still D-size) but shrunk them down to B size and issued them in "book" form. It created a bit of a stir but time was too short to change anything (my plan was working). About halfway through the alloted machining period I asked the shop floor people how they liked the new style prints, and without exception, they were much preferred.

When the next project came along, I detailed all parts on B-size sheets. Nothing was said. This is now that companys standard. Sometimes you just have to force the issue. Of course if the company doesn't like it they could force you to look for another job.

 

[tmalinski]

CBL
Well said...
I will try this on my next project
Is there a way to copy one components detail with all annotations from a multi-detailed drawing to a new single drawing? In case I want to update my current job which is partially done and change to all B size single components per sheet?

Tom Malinski
Sr Design Engineer
OKay Industries
New Britain CT

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Yes ... just use the usual copy and paste method. You should be able to click-select all related views and then Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V to new sheet.