Recommendations for a computer to run SolidWorks 2

[difficultone]

Would like to run Solidworks on a 64 bit OS. We don't work with large assemblies. We don't do any rendering. The computer will also need to run the CAM program we use to program our cnc machines. We would prefer to order the computer from Dell as they currently supply most of our computers. What processor, video card, RAM, monitor, hard drive, etc. should we get that will get the job done, not be overkill, but allow us room to grow?

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

What is your budget limit?

 

[JMirisola]

Dell's website does a decent job of guiding you through the order process. Do a search for workstations and go from there. At the very least, you'll develop a good idea of what you're looking at price-wise.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
Design Manager/Senior Designer
M9 Defense
My Blog

 

[difficultone]

Budget limit hasn't been provided.

 

[difficultone]

Jeff, don't really know what processor I should get... core i7, core i5 or core i3. Have no idea if the Quadro 600 is good enough. Don't know how much RAM I should get for Windows 7.

 

[JMirisola]

Rule of thumb is get the most/best/fastest you can get.
First, go to

http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/videocardtesting.html

so you'll have an idea of what video cards are supported. Next, check those against what your CAM software needs. After that, I'd go for the core i7 and as much RAM as you can afford. Having a budget would be most beneficial as well.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
Design Manager/Senior Designer
M9 Defense
My Blog

 

[SnowCrash]

If it comes down to economics, I would spend money on video card and RAM rather that corei7 processors.

--
Hardie "Crashj" Johnson
SW 2010 SP 4.0
HP Pavillion Elite HPE
W7 Pro, Nvidia Quaddro FX580

 

[ArtL]

Mr. Tone I just bought from HP The "Z200" small form Factor Workstation W/ Win 7 Pro 64 bit, Nvidia FX380 Card, a 21.5" monitor, and 4 gig of memory. I also don't have large assys or do rendering. I am running SW 11. So far everything is running OK. I have another machine I use for the "office" stuff. As far as your Cam software, it should run as long as it's compatable with Win 7-64. $1600.00. Good deal for the money.PN/fm006ut-pr2. ArtL

 

[difficultone]

Thank you, Art!

 

[JMarv]

If it comes down to economics, I would spend money on video card and RAM rather that corei7 processors.

I agree about the video card, but I would make the processor a bigger priority than the RAM. RAM can easily be upgraded/added at a later date if you need more.

Joe
SW Office 2008 SP5.0
P4 3.0Ghz 3GB
ATI FireGL X1

 

[AnnaWood]

SolidWorks is CPU bound.... It is the most important piece of the computer for SW performance. The video card is a bit player in SW performance. CPU, then ram and video card, after that hard drive.

Anna Wood
Core i7 EE965, Nvidia Quadro 5000, 12 Gb RAM, OCZ Vertex 120 Gb SSD, Dell 3008WFP 30" Monitor
SW2011 SP0, Windows 7 x64

http://www.solidmuse.com

http://www.phxswug.com

 

[difficultone]

Anna, this really helped me. Thank you!

 

[EEnd]

Along Anna's recommendation, I would go with CPU first, RAM second, and then the video card.

I would stick with an approved card, probably a Quadro 600 or 2000 from the current crop. We have used both Quadro FX 550s and 1400s and I have not noticed a difference between the two or suspected that I was being limited by the graphics card. I recommend against wasting time with a non approved / gaming card.

If you get a modest amount of RAM (less than 6 or 8 GB) make sure it is in a configuration that leaves you with empty slots to put more RAM in if you want it later.

If you get Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate you will have XP mode available. It is a 32-bit version of Windows XP which you could use to run older programs that do not work in Windows 7.

Eric

 

[Scheffers]

I needed to order a new workstation @ work..

My first choiche was to go for a Dell T3500, with a One Intel® Xeon® W3530 , 6gigs of ram, FX1800..

But our reseller advised me a T1500, with a One Intel® Core™ I7-880, 8 gigs and a Quadro 600, because of the rendering/FEA work we do, these processes will use the I7 to the max.

The upgraded T1500 was a few 100 Euro's cheaper also!

 

[hititfaster]

Rather than start another thread of a very similar nature, may I jump on this one?

We're now looking to upgrade as well: I'm doing lots of modelling (circa 1000 part assemblies) with quite a bit of detail, very occasional renderings, and of equal importance is being able to run Inventor and AutoCAD as well (we're a bureau, so we're client driven).

Budget seems reasonably open: I dropped a £1200 quote for the spec below on my boss' desk yesterday, and although he wasn't jumping for joy, he understands the need for this to be done right as it's what makes us money. Any input is appreciated as a large portion of the spec below could be written in a foreign language as far as I know... I just want a good machine that meets my requirements!

The boss has expressed a concern re. going with these guys for fault finding reasons - example: we're having issues right now and because he had custom machines built previously then subsequently changed IT support company, we're struggling to diagnose the root of the problem. Our current IT guy says a Dell/HP type setup would come with a diagnostics program to make this lots easier. My concern is that SW (and Inventor/AutoCAD?) are not going to make use of the multiple processors offerered by the big co's.

What would you guys go for?

Tech Specs: Expansion Slots/Bays:
Intel® Core i3/i5/i7 LGA1156 Dual/Quad-Core CPUs 4x 3.5" Hard Drive Bays
Intel® P55 Express / ICH10R 3x 5.25" Drive Bays
2 Channel DDR3 Memory (4x DIMM Slots) 1x PCI Express x16 Gen 2.0
6x SATA Ports (Support for RAID 0, 1, & JBOD) 1x PCI-Express x8 (bifurcated from x16 Slot)
1x Gigabit Network/Ethernet Ports 2x PCI-Express x1
High Quality 7.1Channel Workstation Audio 2x PCI 33MHz 32Bit
2x IEEE1394a FireWire 400 Ports (1x Front + 1x Rear)
Up to 10x USB 2.0 Ports (2x Front + 8x Rear) Dimensions
Highly Efficient (80%+) Quality Power Supply with PFC (DxWxH) 533x198x425mm
Microsoft® Windows® XP/Vista/7 Certified
WS1400 Recommended Configuration
Intel® Core™ i7 870 2.93GHz 64Bit Quad-Core Processor
? 8MB Intel® Smart Cache
? 2.5GT/s DMI Bus Speed
? Intel® EM64T Memory Architecture & Execute Disable Bit
? Intel® Virtualization Technology
? Intel® Turbo Boost Technology @ up to 3.60GHz
? Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology
? Integrated Memory Controller
? Intel® Advanced Digital Media Boost with Speedstep Technology
8GB (16GB Max) PC3-1333 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 Memory
? 4x 2GB High Speed Memory Modules
? 0x Free Slots for Future Workstation Upgrade
ATI™ FirePro™ V5800 1GB Mid Range Workstation Graphics Card
? 1GB High Performance Graphics DDR5 Memory
? 64.0GB/Sec Memory Bandwidth
? 800x Shader Processing Units
? 8, 10 & 16-Bit Per Pixel Color Component Output
? Next-Generation Vertex and Pixel Programmability with Shader Model 5.0
? Multi-Display Solution (2x Display Port + DL DVI) with EyeFinity Support
? Fully OpenGL 3.2 & Microsoft DirectX 11 Support!
High Performance 500GB Main System Hard Disk Drive (SATA2)
? 7,200RPM Platter Rotation Speed – 16MB Advanced Data Burst Cache
? Configured as a High Performance OS/Applications Drive
NO ADDITIONAL Data Storage Hard Disk Drive(s) Required (SATA2)
22x Dual Layer +/- DVD/RW Optical Drive (SATA)
NO KEYBOARD OR MOUSE REQUESTED
WS-ATX WS Black Workstation Chassis
? Fitted with High Quality 430W 80%+ Efficient Power Supply Unit
Phase V Low Noise Workstation Cooling System
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64Bit
36 Months Full Parts & Labour System Warranty Price £1,120.00 each

 

[hititfaster]

Apologies, 'these guys' are Workstation Specialists. This is the quote they provided after a chat about my situation.

 

[SnowCrash]

My understanding is that even though SW will not use the other cores, you can get other software running on them, like SW on one and Excel on another.
"May be a rumor only"

--
Hardie "Crashj" Johnson
SW 2010 SP 4.0
HP Pavillion Elite HPE
W7 Pro, Nvidia Quaddro FX580

 

[Scheffers]

Photoview & Simulation will use multiple cores.