New Desktop for Civil3D 2012

[sjg]

Would like some opinions of this desktop setup:

Dell Precision T3500

Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit

Quad Core Intel™ Xeon W3550 3.0GHz, 8M L3, 4.8GT/s, Turbo

6GB, 1333MHz, DDR3 SDRAM, ECC (3 DIMMS)

512MB NVIDIA® Quadro® FX 580, DUAL MON, 2 DP & 1 DVI

[Jason.Hickey]

I got pulled away to answer a customer question on hardware (video) so I couldn't answer, but I don't need to now - Sinc said it all. I completely agree with him.,,it's not just HOW MUCH or HOW FAST, but how it's managed that few people pay attention to - a lot of that management comes into play with your operating system as well. WIndows 7 x64 is the best Windws version operating system out there right now for memory management.

[Sinc]

All intel chips with identifiers in the 2000-range are 2nd Generation, aka "Sandy Bridge".

The "K" suffix indicates "unlocked multiplier".  It's only important if you're into overclocking.  You can overclock the i5-2500 and i7-2600 a bit, but you're limited, and can only acheive maximum overclocking with the i5-2500K or i7-2600K.  The i3 series can't really be overclocked at all (Intel did that on purpose), and there is no i3-2120K.

In my experience, most corporations don't really get into overclocking.  In that case, you can save the $20 or $30 by getting the "non-K" variant.

[jmayo-EE]

🙂

[sjg]

I appreciate all the responses.  To me, this is very frustrating with all the different options and configurations there are for computers.  Not sure on an actual budget, but figured needs to be around $1500, with all the suggestions people have made is it possible to get everything one would want in a desktop for using civil3d within this budget.

[jmayo-EE]

If you follow what Sinc and Jason said, Core i3, DDR3-1333, I would bet you could do it for about $1000.

www.newegg.com

www.tigerdirect.com

www.pricegrabber.com

[OMCUSNR]

Steve,

How handy are you with a screwdriver?  I ordered all the parts for a new box from newegg, including Win7 64 Pro for $1355 w/ shipping.  (I then added a new trackball for $58).  It took me 2hrs to put everything together, and only needed the screw driver for the power supply & video card.

Components were:

MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) Mobo

Intel Core I5-2500k

Corsair Dominator 12g(3x4) DDR3 1600 SDRAM

Western Digital Velcoiraptor 4500LHX 450gb Sata 6.0

ASUS ENGTX460 GeForce GTX 460 (768m Vram) Nvidia Drivers

ASUS 24x Burner, DRW-24B3LT (w/ Lightscribe) DVD

Nippon Labs USB2.o card reader ICR-BB

Coolermaster Hyper 212+ RR-810-G1 Heatpipe CPU cooler

Raidmax Smilodon ATX-612 case

Antec Trupower 650 W pwr supply

The case is a gamer w/ lights I don't need, but it's kinda cool, and it was bundeled with the PS, for a $20 discount, so I get lights.  It comes with a bunch of fans & everything stays cool.

The hardest part of the whole thing was taking everthing outof the boxes.  It's really plug & play, and the OS installs itself w/out having to format the HD.  After you fire it up the first time, you need to check if there are driver missing, but all the stuff comes with CD's to install what's missing.

HTH,

Reid

[sjg]

This is Dell Vostro 460 mini tower, the only thing is that it comes with integrated graphics so I would need to add a graphics card when I receive it.  What is your opinion about Nvidia Quadro FX580, it is both certfiied an approved by Autocad.  It would cost around $1100 for the computer and an extra $150 for the FX580 card.  That seems to be a lot better of a deal than what I listed on my original thread (around $1500).

PROCESSOR	Intel® Core™ i7-2600 w/VT (3.4GHz, 8MB cache)	edit
OPERATING SYSTEM	Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, with Media, 64-bit, English	edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE	Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook	edit
SERVICES & WARRANTY	1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service	edit
	Dell Recommends Upgrade to 1 Year ProSupport for End Users and 1 Year NBD On-site Service. Upgrade to 1 Year ProSupport and 1 Year NBD On-site Service [add $45.00]
MEMORY	8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz - 2DIMMs	edit
HARD DRIVE	1TB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™	edit
OPTICAL DRIVE	Single Drive: 16X DVD-ROM Drive	edit
MONITOR	Dell E Series E2011H 20"W Monitor, 20.0 Inch VIS, Widescreen, VGA/DVI	edit
VIDEO CARD	Intel HD Graphics 2000 (VGA, HDMI)	edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE	Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Services, 15-months - A $39 Value!	edit
WIRELESS	No Wireless	edit
KEYBOARD & MOUSE	Dell USB Entry Keyboard and USB Optical Mouse	edit
SPEAKERS	No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)	edit
SOUND	Integrated 7.1 Channel HD Audio	edit

[Sinc]

That machine will run C3D noticeably better than the machine in your first post.

[OMCUSNR]

Can you swap stuff?

Who makes the HD - do you really need a terrabyte?  Look for a WD Caviar or Velociraptor.  Stay away from Seagate. (That advice come from my brother who makes HD testing equipment - says Seagates forget to be HD's on a regular basis).

Do you need the new monitor?  Can you swap monitor for ram?  12gig.

How about a card reader?  (you could add an external one later).

With the mini tower, that means a mini ATX board.  Will it have room for a video card?  Some of them can get pretty big (mine takes 2 slots & requires 2 pwr plugs).  What's the max ram capicity of the board?

Reid

[Jason.Hickey]

You bring up an excellent point with the video card issue, Reid. Space is going to be one issue. Power hookups might be another one. Is the power supply in that Dell going to power a bigger video card? Also, once you put the video card in (provided it fits) will the reduced space (thus volume of airflow) be able to cool the rig properly? Video cards put out a LOT of heat, and the cooler a machine runs, the more efficient it runs. 

Personally, I tend to stay away from the mini cases, but only because I want to think of upgrading in the future. You're limiting yourself with that one. 

Also - go for the extra 4GB of RAM. You won't be sorry. Configure your RAM so you can add more and buy from Crucial - a 4GB upgrade (2-2GB chips) runs $47 with free shipping. If you do *any* work with imagery, you'll thank me later.

[AllenJessup]

First. Let me say I own no Apple devices nor do I plan to purchase any. BUT...

That's why a lot of people like Mac's. They don't have to deal with all these options and all the components are matched.

Allen

[OMCUSNR]

And, they cost more for the same performance, and you have to run C3d in windows emulation, so why bother?

Reid

[Jason.Hickey]

I'll make your same disclaimer - wait, I do have an iPod Classic and my daughter has an iPod touch...

That's also why a lot of people DON'T like Macs...I like to be able to decide what's best for me 🙂

[AllenJessup]

---

@jason.hickey wrote:

That's also why a lot of people DON'T like Macs...I like to be able to decide what's best for me 🙂

---

So do I. That's why no Apple. Not even an iPod. I use other brands of MP3 players.

I'm not a MacFan. I'm just saying that this is one of the attractions people find in them.

Tri-Star used to produce systems specifically built for CAD with matched components. Sager Notebooks does similar systems for gaming that can easily be configured for Civil 3D. My Sager has run better, over the last 3 years, than any desktop I've ever worked on.

Allen

[jmayo-EE]

I feel like that clueless, shirtless schmuck in the commercial. iphone4 bricked this morn after I select yes to update itunes....

error 1611 IPhone cannot be restored.

It's a lovely little error message...

[jmayo-EE]

"you'll thank me later"

We can all be polite and thank you and Sinc right now. This is a very informative post even with the apple bashing. 🙂

Thanks!

[AllenJessup]

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1275

[igi_pop]

Finaly. Finaly i stumble uppon an informative thread about civil3d.

I don't know how many forums or googling have you all done, but i've been doing it for ages and have rarely found anything concrete.

The specs in product description and requirements are soooo....scarse and uninformative. With all due respect to the creators, and i mean it, why is it such a myth and so many people have to struggle with hardware specs for CAD apps?

I know that maybe they wanna avoid promoting some manufacturers or something..anyways, after i've described my thrill with the thread (yaaay)...

I work with basic cad and with civil3d. some models get pretty big and heavy...are you saying, or is it me just reading it wrong, that 4 cores actualy are worth the while now with newer versions? and what gain, if any, would i get with a low level xeon compared to some i-7?

the HDD thing is a clean story, spindle disks have been a bottleneck for a while..

also, since i see you actualy have some first hand know-how, are quadro (or it's ati counterpart) cads worth it?

thanks in advance for any bit of my post that you answer 🙂

cheers!