What spec computer are YOU using with Solidworks?

You can find what SolidWorks recommends here:

It's probably no surprise, but get the most performance you can. RAM, hard drive speed, bus width and speed - they can all make a difference depending on how demanding your files are.

One thing to be careful of is video cards. Gaming cards do not work so well with SW. Using the link above you can also browse to test results with different video cards. The nVidia Quadro FX family works well, and is not outrageous in price.

Cheers.

- Luther

I recommend the dell outlet at

I got a $2900 Precisi> I'm curious what most of you are using to run

Would it be better to go with a 470 even if only one cpu in it? That way you have an upgrade path that you don't have with single cpu 370?

Well, SW says that dual processors don't offer significant performance increase, and that won't change at least thru SW2006. So I guess the answer depends on primarily on how long you intend to keep the machine. When I bought one last week, I went for the 370--I hope to have another new machine before SW gets any real benefit from dual processors

performance

Here's the key statement from Tom's hardware:

"In the past, noticeable performance gains have been achieved through the introduction of incrementally faster processors, but never before has the potential performance gain been as large as it is with dual core CPUs. Yet the potential can only be exploited with thread-optimized software - older, non-optimized programs will be executed only as fast as we are used to with current processors."

My guess is that if Intel is going this way it will force vendors with ties to Intel (I am looking at a nifty Portfolio with Intel and SW stamped on it that was handed out at SWW.) to move in this direction. Due to this, my option for a really fast system now is a Tyan Thunder Mobo with a single Opteron 260. Why? It is fast today, will be faster if SW starts supporting dual processors/multi threading and will leave the option open for 64 bit and 16Gb of RAM. This setup isn't cheap. The mobo alone is a $400-500 item and the processor is $700+. But if and when SW really starts to support multi-tasking/threading the upgrade will only cost another $700+ for a major performance improvement and nothing if 64 bit is supported.

Asus Mobo AMD64 FX53 Nvidia FX3000

420W true power power supply Corsair water cooling system 4Gb Corsair PC2700 ECC Registered memory WD 72Gb Raptor HDD

The only gripe with it is that it is hard to find the special coolant for it. Corsair may be a good company, but they don't sell supplies.

Yeah.....I've been kinda thinking I should just hold off a few more months before buying another PC so as to get dual core machine.

What you think? Just wait?

To me this is a matter of guessing when SW will support multithreading in a major fashion. Right now, SW is largely single threaded, so it will run in only one core. Intel's dual core will run at a lower clock speed than the single core processors. As a result, SW will be slower on the dual core chips than on the single core. The same will be true to some extent on AMD.

So how soon will SW take advantage of dual cores to the point that performance is better than on single sore? My bet is that it won't break even for a while. If I was building a new machine in the next few months, I'd go for the fastest single-core available. That's AMD's AthlonFX. Another processor core will only help rendering and doing other things while waiting for SW.

Thanks for your advice Dale!!

Question tho..... I'm not really into building my own machine so an advice on where to BUY a system with single core AthlonFX as you mentioned above?

Somebody around here will have some advice on that. I hear names like Monarch and Alienware and Xi a lot lately. I'm not up on system vendors though, since the last non-laptop system I bought was a Gateway PII-400.

Even that system wasn't complete, as Gateway didn't offer a TNT2 with enough memory for high resolution CAD work. Back then you could still get a games card that would do acceptable OpenGL with a unified back buffer.

Those were the days.

It's rarely worth the wait to hold off buying a faster computer. The reason is that prices are always highly performance to price correlated.

In addition to the above, you might have to wait YEARS 'till SW is multithreaded in many areas.

As an example, Geomagic, a high-end po> >I'm very much looking to the Pentium D processors in the next few > >months.

I have not done specific reseach as you may have but watch out for those Opterons for CAD systems. In the March 2005 Cadalyst review, they mentioned a couple vendors pulling their Dual Opteron systems from the review because of poor performance. Cadalyst mentioned that the vendors are reseaching the problem but have not yet found a solution.

I got an 'out-of-the-box' Xi AthlonFX system with 22" monitor for less than a comperable Dell *without* a monitor. I've been very pleased, 2Gb ram and FX1100 video card makes work almost fun again.

2¢

So ALL you own is laptops now days?

If yes.... how is that working out for your personal needs and such.... i,e laptop only?

I see

Hey guys just came across this new machine by eMachine. Has the new 64 bit Athlon in it. What you think of this for a low cost machine? see link

The article mentioned dual Athlon processors, not Opterons.

We did receive one system based on dual Athlon processors that was ultimately pulled from the review. This system, like two from the last review in November 2004 produced scores that were markedly lower than others in the review. For more information. Cadalyst, March 2005, Punch Up Your CAD Power-New Athlon, Pentium Systems Pay Off with Performance by Ron LaFon.

I also read the review from November 2004. The only dual processor system tested then was using Intel, not AMD. At the time LaFon made this comment about the "dual Intel 3.4GHz Xeon processor" system, " Not bad scores at all-just not as fast as some of the single-processor systems in this pack of fast systems." Cadalyst, November 2004, Extreme Speed-Six Workstations Push the Limits by Ron LaFon. In one article he calls the scores "not bad" and in another he calls them "markedly lower". There are no specifics on what was actually pulled. Was it dual Athlons or dual Opterons? And I could only find one dual system in November. Did I miss something?

Now if you search the newsgroup and the SW forum you will find specific test data on Opterons that show they are indeed very fast when running SW. The one Opteron I noticed in his article was a 150, not a 160.

This could be anyth> I have not done specific reseach as you may have but watch out for

vendors

I've been building my systems.

"Radeon" is bad news. If you're on a budget, you could chuck a QuadroFX 500 in it. Invest in another 512MB memory for a total of 1GB. You won't be able to do much more than tutorials on a half Gig.