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Thread: Personal Computer For FEA

  1. #21
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    Hey guys, still working on picking out items for my build. Trying to decide on a hard drive now ( keep in mind that I'm trying to stick to <$1000 budget total.) Two hard drive options that I have come across are very similar, and not much $$ difference. The main difference is the cache. Didn't know if it was worth it to throw down $20 extra bucks. I'm not too picky on hard drive size, and rarely have I used more than 150gigs of memory on a computer.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/...Item=N82E16822136795

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/...Item=N82E16822136770



    My other big question is about the video cards. I found two, and its kind of a toss-up between them. Realview graphics aren't a big deal to me, but I do like being able to duel-screen. That said, still looking for a little guidance.


    http://www.newegg.com/Product/...Item=N82E16814127510

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/...Item=N82E16814133354


    Hoping you guys can help me make up my mind!

  2. #22
    Originally posted by Dash:
    Hey guys, still working on picking out items for my build. Trying to decide on a hard drive now ( keep in mind that I'm trying to stick to <$1000 budget total.) Two hard drive options that I have come across are very similar, and not much $$ difference. The main difference is the cache. Didn't know if it was worth it to throw down $20 extra bucks. I'm not too picky on hard drive size, and rarely have I used more than 150gigs of memory on a computer.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/...Item=N82E16822136795

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/...Item=N82E16822136770



    My other big question is about the video cards. I found two, and its kind of a toss-up between them. Realview graphics aren't a big deal to me, but I do like being able to duel-screen. That said, still looking for a little guidance.


    http://www.newegg.com/Product/...Item=N82E16814127510

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/...Item=N82E16814133354


    Hoping you guys can help me make up my mind!
    I'd go with the WD Caviar Black out of those two hard drives. I've got 3 of the 1TB versions in my personal computer and they are fast and work great.

    And out of those two video cards I'd go with the Quadro 600. Both support dual monitors but that 460GTX will be of no help in SolidWorks or any other similar software. The Quadro 600 uses a display port to DVI adapter for the second monitor. When using a consumer grade graphics card SolidWorks does all the open gl acceleration using software emulation with the processor as apposed to hardware acceleration with a professional card. And the gpu is way better at it than the processor.
    ______________________
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  3. #23
    Originally posted by RollingCamel:
    It was proven that a softmodded graphics card is not as fast as a low cost Quadro.
    Have any link to that? I've seen that, for example, a GeForce 7900GS, soft-modded to a Quadro 3550 was like 20% slower than a real Quadro 3550, although I haven't seen any comparison between, for example, a GeForce 7900GS and a Quadro card that costs the same price as a GeForce 7900GS. I do know that my soft-modded 7900GS absolutely blows the doors off the Quadro NVS 285 in the Precision 390 in my lab, which back when you could still buy either of those cards still cost a good bit more, like over twice as much. So for 2-3 times the price you get 20-30% more performance GPU to GPU...naturally much less dollar to dollar.

    Although, after doing some more research, it looks like video card producers have wised up a bit since I last looked at this very seriously a couple years ago. It does look like bottom-end workstation cards have become more competitive in price and performance to what you can soft-mod.

    Currently you can't even buy an Nvidia card worth soft-modding, and the best ATI card that is known (at least by the forums I'm looking at) to take a soft-mod that you can buy new is a Radeon 4650, which is a $50 card these days. The cheapest workstation card on Newegg is a FirePro 3700 at $80, which raw hardware-wise looks like a small step down from the Radeon 4650, but realistically probably would still be like 10-20% faster, being a true FirePro. Plus you don't have to mess around with a soft-mod.

    t21jj, you sure on hardware acceleration not being part of the soft-mod? From what I've heard that is what is primarily responsible for the 150-300% increase in performance in Solidworks.

    So in a nutshell, it now appears that unless somebody figures out how to soft-mod more recent cards, it's really only good (or even available for that matter) for up to about a $50 card, at which point the market transitions quite nicely to low-end workstation cards.
    Dr. Adam Witthauer
    Iowa State University 2002-2013 alum

    Mad Scientist, Gonzo Racewerks Unincorporated, Intl.

  4. #24
    Originally posted by Adambomb:
    <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RollingCamel:
    It was proven that a softmodded graphics card is not as fast as a low cost Quadro.


    Have any link to that? I've seen that, for example, a GeForce 7900GS, soft-modded to a Quadro 3550 was like 20% slower than a real Quadro 3550, although I haven't seen any comparison between, for example, a GeForce 7900GS and a Quadro card that costs the same price as a GeForce 7900GS. I do know that my soft-modded 7900GS absolutely blows the doors off the Quadro NVS 285 in the Precision 390 in my lab, which back when you could still buy either of those cards still cost a good bit more, like over twice as much. So for 2-3 times the price you get 20-30% more performance GPU to GPU...naturally much less dollar to dollar. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
    I'd post the link but that would take a week. So check your email. The real current generation Quadro was like 50% faster.


    Originally posted by Adambomb:
    t21jj, you sure on hardware acceleration not being part of the soft-mod? From what I've heard that is what is primarily responsible for the 150-300% increase in performance in Solidworks.

    So in a nutshell, it now appears that unless somebody figures out how to soft-mod more recent cards, it's really only good (or even available for that matter) for up to about a $50 card, at which point the market transitions quite nicely to low-end workstation cards.
    Adam, I didn't say that it didn't just that a real workstation card will be faster and a stock gaming card will do you zero good in SolidWorks or any other CAD program. Especially when you take into consideration that no current cards can be soft-moded. And prices for entry level workstation cards have come down to a price point that makes the hassle of soft-moding not worth it. You also won't have to worry about some idiot messing with your settings and bricking the computer because they think they know computers. Last I checked that type of thing was still a problem at ISU (cough...baja...cough).

    And if you're going to go with an ATI card I'd go with the Firepro V3800 (newer version of the Firepro V3700) as it has more memory and supports the latest graphics standards. It's also not that much more expensive. That said I'd still spend a little more and go with the NVidia card.

    P.S. My 1065 feature SolidWorks Camaro model that I've been working on is kicking my computers butt. I really wish I had a faster processor. Every time I go to edit a feature or rebuild my computer comes to a stop. Also SolidWorks 2011 has a built in benchmarking application now to test hardware.
    ______________________
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  5. #25
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    Alright. Seems as though I've been convinced to pick the quadro 600 now. Next thing I was going to ask may just be an opinion based idea. Would you go for the new Sandy Bridge chipset for a processor, or pick an AMD? Reason I'm asking is because I'm looking at the AMD models ( 3.4-3.7 Ghz Phenom II ) and its Intel counterparts seem to be more expensive across the board. The Core i-5 seem to be a viable option as an alternative since they boast Turbo-boost technology ( power when you need it if possible). Just trying to gauge what yall might think about the difference companies, and if I should pick one over the other.
    --Dash Robinson
    --Mississippi State University

  6. #26
    Originally posted by Dash:
    Alright. Seems as though I've been convinced to pick the quadro 600 now. Next thing I was going to ask may just be an opinion based idea. Would you go for the new Sandy Bridge chipset for a processor, or pick an AMD? Reason I'm asking is because I'm looking at the AMD models ( 3.4-3.7 Ghz Phenom II ) and its Intel counterparts seem to be more expensive across the board. The Core i-5 seem to be a viable option as an alternative since they boast Turbo-boost technology ( power when you need it if possible). Just trying to gauge what yall might think about the difference companies, and if I should pick one over the other.
    Both will work fine, I'd pick the fastest processor you can get that fits in your budget. I'd go with AMD for a budget SAE build.
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  7. #27
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    The new sandy bridge stuff looks hard to go past.

    Just before they were released we built up 5 watercooled, overclocked i7-930s, and even one 990x. The 990X wasnt appreciable faster in our benchmarks than the 930s, specially considering the massive price difference. I should note that these computers weren't for FSAE, but rather PhD students working on CFD stuff. If we are lucky we get to use them occasionally!

    With ANSYS CFX massive ram is crucial to enable big mesh sizes, so we have been running 24GB kits from Corsair.

    We have an 128GB PCI SSD in the 990X and is speeds up booting but not much difference otherwise.

    If I was mainly doing FEA, which can be a mix of single thread and multithread applications usage I would go for the i7-2600K, watercool it and overclock it. I hear people are getting around 4.5GH out of them easily.

    Nothing will beat that in single thread applications, even the 990X at 3 tmies the price. Only downside is you are limited to around 16GB of RAM at the moment, until the new dual channel 32GB kits come out, but that shouldnt be a problem for FEA.

    Others are better qualified to discuss the graphics cards options, but we have been running GTX460s which no serious issues, CAD seems to be less graphics intensive than the current crop of games.
    Regards,

    Scott Wordley


    Scoring in every event for the last 12 comps running!
    http://www.monashmotorsport.com/

  8. #28
    The new Sandy Bridge stuff is very nice, I'm a Intel fan myself. I've got a i7 920 in my personal computer. The i7-2600K would be my choice if I was building a computer right now as they can be overclocked to 4.5-5Ghz (even with good air cooling). However when sticking to a budget the AMD chips would not be a bad option. I wouldn't go with any other Sandy Bridge chip but the i7-2600K.
    ______________________
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    http://www.sae.stuorg.iastate.edu/?page_id=144


  9. #29
    Originally posted by Adambomb:
    <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RollingCamel:
    It was proven that a softmodded graphics card is not as fast as a low cost Quadro.
    Have any link to that? I've seen that, for example, a GeForce 7900GS, soft-modded to a Quadro 3550 was like 20% slower than a real Quadro 3550, although I haven't seen any comparison between, for example, a GeForce 7900GS and a Quadro card that costs the same price as a GeForce 7900GS. I do know that my soft-modded 7900GS absolutely blows the doors off the Quadro NVS 285 in the Precision 390 in my lab, which back when you could still buy either of those cards still cost a good bit more, like over twice as much. So for 2-3 times the price you get 20-30% more performance GPU to GPU...naturally much less dollar to dollar.

    Although, after doing some more research, it looks like video card producers have wised up a bit since I last looked at this very seriously a couple years ago. It does look like bottom-end workstation cards have become more competitive in price and performance to what you can soft-mod.

    Currently you can't even buy an Nvidia card worth soft-modding, and the best ATI card that is known (at least by the forums I'm looking at) to take a soft-mod that you can buy new is a Radeon 4650, which is a $50 card these days. The cheapest workstation card on Newegg is a FirePro 3700 at $80, which raw hardware-wise looks like a small step down from the Radeon 4650, but realistically probably would still be like 10-20% faster, being a true FirePro. Plus you don't have to mess around with a soft-mod.

    t21jj, you sure on hardware acceleration not being part of the soft-mod? From what I've heard that is what is primarily responsible for the 150-300% increase in performance in Solidworks.

    So in a nutshell, it now appears that unless somebody figures out how to soft-mod more recent cards, it's really only good (or even available for that matter) for up to about a $50 card, at which point the market transitions quite nicely to low-end workstation cards. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

    According to Tech ARP softmodding guide and performance comparison, the FX1700, which is quite low midrange card, was roughly 2x faster than a softmodded FX4600.

    The Quadro 2000 is quite good for the money. As for the ATI/AMD the problem with them was and still is the drivers. Last time I checked they seriously need to do something about it.
    Conveyor Systems Design Engineer - EgyRoll
    AUMotorsports Team Leader 09-10
    Alexandria University, Egypt.

  10. #30
    I have configured a system for $1067 (excluding shipping) without an optical drive nor input devices or monitors. All prices from Newegg....

    CPU: Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge -- $210
    Motherboard: Gigabyte GIGABYTE GA-P67A-D3-B3 -- $110
    RAM: 8GB Patriot Viper Xtreme -- $88 ($20 Mail-in Rebate)
    GPU: Quadro 2000 -- $450 ($50 Mail-in Rebate)
    HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3R HE103SJ 1TB -- $80
    PSU: Antec EarthWatts 500W -- $59.99
    Case: Antec 300 -- $70
    Conveyor Systems Design Engineer - EgyRoll
    AUMotorsports Team Leader 09-10
    Alexandria University, Egypt.

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