dual core

The dual core or even dual processors aren't going to buy you much if you're pretty much running just SW. They might if you tend to run a bunch of stuff on a single computer, or do a lot of Cosmos or Photoworks.

I opted for a single core (FX57), and it seems to be cranking out some decent benchmark times. Check out some of the threads on this NG, do a search on fx57, benchmark, ship in a bottle, etc. I use my old computer for internet and email, which it's well suited for, so using another machine is my "dual processor".

Depending on what work you do, you might see more benefit from a pair of graphics cards than a pair of CPUs.

matt

Let's put it this way. A dual core 4400 is competitive with the fastest FX chips. Maybe not quite as fast, and not because of the dual core, just because a single core is as fast. The dual core will help tremendously if you do FEA, Photoworks rendering, large drawings or run PDMW locally.

Paul,

I've been advocating dual processors for years for just these reasons, and you've been discouraging them saying setting the CPU priority was just as good (which it isn't)

What changed your tune.

Regards

Mark

This works awesome on a dual core when rendering. It allows SW to render video and pictures on CPU 0 pretty much uninterrupted while you work on other stuff (Word, Photoshop, Outlook, Excel, etc.)

Create a batch file to start SW with this text start /High C:\"Program Files"\"Solidworks"\sldworks.exe

Set affinity of SW to CPU 0 and run renderings or FEA (set Cosmos to CPU

If I leave my desk, I just switch SW affinity back to both CPU's and it uses both while I am away.

Plain and simple cost and speed. A single core on the dual core AMD is nearly as fast as the fast single core AMDs, Matt's FX57 excluded. In the past people were paying big bucks for dual cpu motherboards and having to cut back on the speed of the cpu to do so. With the new dual cores you therefore don't give up much if anything with single tasking SolidWorks, but you gain in the areas I mentioned. Previously the cost differential to have two top of the line Xeons or Pentiums was just plain silly. Now that FEA, PW and Drawings take advantage and the price difference to have a fast single or dual core cpu is much smaller the cost benefit is there.

Finally, in the past people were buying dual cpus primarily to speed up SW. That still doesn't make sense if that is all you do.