New workstation spec for comment

[GilesPhillips]

Our IT dept occasionally contact me for a specification for new workstations, though we generally don't replace that often, I try to spec high end stuff so it lasts a bit longer..

I thought I'd share our current spec with the community to gather comments and opionions.

The workload is split between architectural style plans, 3d modelling of anything from components to rooms on Autocad and MEP, and pretty visuals in 3ds Max.  We run our current crop of 4 workstations together as a renderfarm out of hours for any big-ish 3ds Max jobs.  All working files, libraries and content are stored on a central fileserver, accessible via gigabit ethernet.

Based on the above this is what I've scraped together.

Processor Spec:

Xeon server/workstation processor family

X or W designation

5000 series family (allows later upgrade to two processors)

Minimum speed: 3Ghz,

Minimum cores: 4

Min QPI/FSB: 6.4 GT/s

Suggest: X5650 as entry point.

Memory Spec:

DDR3 /1300Mhz ECC

8Gb Minimum pref 12Gb (3x4Gb)

Suggest using less sticks as possible for easier upgrades.

Harddisc:

Sata 6, SSD (or 15K rpm SAS) 120Gb min (160+ preferable)

Video card:

OpenGL 4.1

Shader Model 5

DirectX 11

Suggest: Quadro 2000 D or Quadro 4000+ (not Quadro 3800) – if not the D designation then get Displayport -> DVI adaptors as we halve older monitors

Optional extras:
Front mounted USB 2.0 Min (possible USB3.0?)

SD/MMC Card reader

keyboard & mouse:

Multi-button mouse (5button +) pref ambidextrous design

Fullsize keyboard, programmable extra buttons would be nice.

Monitors (if you’re getting any):

1200px vertical resolution minimum. Happy with 4x3 but will go widescreen if the vert is still sthere.

Suggest: Ultrasharp 2007FP (1600x1200) U2410 (1920x1200) or U2412M (1920x1200)

Thoughts and opinions?

G

[Anonymous]

Hi Giles,

A lot depends on how you weigh price versus performance. For AutoCAD, I’d recommend AutoCAD certified Z210 Workstations. But for 3ds Max you’ll want as many cores as possible, so the best bet would be Z800 Workstations with dual processors. You can cluster the workstations in virtual clusters so you can render on unused cores in your network during the day.

You can take a look at HP’s workstation finder to play around with different configurations for your needs:

http://www.hp.com/sbso/buyguides/pg_workstations/workstation-finder.html

Tom Salomone

HP Workstation Representative

[GilesPhillips]

I have in the past set up a render-farm using our 4 workstations out of hours - I've also managed to sneak the software onto the accounts PCs as well, as they work bankers hours, I can get quite a few render-hours in after their departure each afternoon.  Needless to say the CAD workstations chew through frames quicker  than the accounts farm.

Unfortunately the nature of our business means we don't always have the luxury of being able to defer delivery until the next working day - so we need the option of one or two machines that can deliver a lot more parallel processing, it's easier to boot one operator onto the laptop, rather than a whole department.

I understand what you say about the trade-off between parallel peformance and straight-line speed, I'm not that hung-up on price, beyond the rediculous that is, as our IT demands are pretty minimal. We tend to go 3-4 years before any major spending, I feel partly due to the fact that we tend to specify quite highly when we do buy - it lasts longer that way.

Irritatingly I can't find the UK version of your workstation finder, which is a pity as it would be good to compare against Dell which we've traditionally bought.

Thanks for the pointers though.

G