Ivy Bridge or Xeon?

[Zoltan78]

We'd like to buy some new workstation machine for Inventor 2011. I just don't know which processor's the better? Intel Xeon is quite old. We use Inventor about up to 250 parts / assembly. My current rig is in my signature, so anything would be only better I guess. The main line of the new computer I'm looking for a processor is Quadro 400 / 8GB RAM. The whole config's price (without monitor or any peripherial) should not exceed $1100 without VAT.

Thanks

[mcgyvr · Accepted solution]

anything is better than what you've got 🙂

You want the fastest processor (3.0Ghz+)

You want 8G+ of RAM (or 9G+ if triple channel memory processor based..multiples of 3 for triple channel)

You want solid state hard drives (or anything but 7200RPM drives..10K+ RPM for spinners)

You want a decent Nvidia directx "gaming" card.. Most find quadros not worth the money at all.

Time is money.. $1100 is not enough to buy a proper Inventor workstation IMO.. $2K is about right.

You need to convince the upper management that spending more on a computer now WILL increase productivity. Spending a couple hundred bucks more on a computer now can save thousands (yes thousands) in your time over the life of the computer.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

At $1100 you can get a 3.50Ghz i7 Ivy, 8GB 1866Mhz memory, GTX 650, 180GB Intel SSD.

As someone that uses a 5k workstation, let me assure you that Inventor still runs like crap.

High end hardware will not fix a program in need of a rewrite.

[Zoltan78]

Thanks both of you!

mcgyvr: no, I definitely won't get $2000. I've been convicting our executive director since january, so, I'd be very happy if I got "only" a $1100 machine. I've been using this machine for 5 or 6 years, it really slow now, mainly because of the HDD. I have a 160GB HDD with 4GB free space, so a 192GB or 256GB SSD + a 500GB HDD would be awesome, I could install system and Inventor files on SSD. But, if a Xeon + Quadro config performs nothing more than a general mid-range "gamer" config (I guess, at our level of using Inventor), makes my decision way easier.

Vlad.Marakov: forgeting Quadro series really makes things easier. I thought something similar config that you wrote.

[sam_m · Accepted solution]

Depends on how much rendering, FEA, Moldflow, etc. you're expecting to do...

Inventor is only a single-threaded program so an expensive multi-core processor isn't going to help much.  eg a i5 with 4 cores isn't going to be any slower than an i7 with 8 - as Inventor isn't going to do anything with those 4 cores.  Only need to think about an i7 over an i5 if you're doing LOTS of rendering.

256GB SSD - why?  All you need on the SSD is the OS, Inventor and other applications, so only really need 50GB.  So 128 GB is probably all you need.

Gaming v workstation gpu - been covered to death, so have a dig about, but Inventor uses DirectX (gaming) graphics system instead of OpenGL (more workstation orientated) so gaming cards are fine.  Nvidia seem to work better and just try to keep drivers up to date (all drivers, not just the gpu, inc motherboard/chipset, etc.  plus Windows Update).

So, in all honesty, look for a $1000 gaming system as a good start...  eg:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-overclock-benchmark,3276.html

(but would think about upping the SSD from 60GB to 128)

[Zoltan78]

I do some rendering but none of the rest. Thank you for enlighting me about Inventor using DirectX. I've ended up the config below (there's some hungarian text, but you can ignore them). It is about $890+VAT (27%).

[richiesuk]

:offtopic

szia zoli, merre melozol?

udv:

Ricsi

[Zoltan78]

Let's continue this in PM 🙂

[sam_m]

how long are you planning on using the pc for?  only ask because that PSU is 430W and I dont think it can handle a graphics card more powerful than a GTX650.  So... If you wanted to upgrade the gpu in a year or 2 then you would also need a new PSU, so why not plan ahead?

Speaking of the GTX650 - it's not an amazingly good graphics card, just see how far down the benchmark it is:

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

Personally, if I was to build a pc today, I would go for a GTX670 (660ti or 570 if you can't afford a 670) - plus a 600-700W psu to give me plenty of headroom for upgrading in future.  I know the GTX670 is a lot more than the GTX650 but hopefully you can find a GTX570 for only a little bit more and it is a lot more powerful.

[Zoltan78]

Based on our company's tendency, for 5 years, at least. 430W is more than enough for a 670 GTX, too. 500W+ PSU needed only for CF / SLI configurations. This whole config won't exceed 300W from the outlet, I bet.

I have a i5-2500K / GTX 560 Ti / SSD / 3 HDD config at home with a Corsair VX450W PSU. I've never measured its power consumption... yet. But now I'm curious.

[sam_m]

Where says a 430W will be ok?  I checked both Nvidia's website and a PSU calculator.

Nvidia's GTX670 spec's http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-670/specifications 

"Minimum System Power Requirement (W): 500W"

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine with 30% capacitor aging also suggests a min 499W needed

both say 500W min (for a single 670), so personally would go for a little more (just to be safe, for the future) if I was to build a pc today.  Probably look at 750-800W if I was going to think about SLI GTX670

[Zoltan78]

They suggest 500W because of crappy PSUs that can't provide their nominal value. A 430-450W brand PSU with 80%+ efficiency is enough. I have a GTX 560 Ti based rig at home (with i5-2500K), its suggested PSU 500W, too. I run my system with a Corsair VX450.

VGA manufacturers just wants their arse protected, that's why they suggest way over its real power consumption. That's what a calculator does, too. But they can only confuse those who don't familiar with electricity.

But all you should do is adding CPU's and VGA's TDP. For example: a GTX 670's max TDP is 170W. i7-2600K's max TDP is 95W. It equals 265W (max!). And no, the rest of the system doesn't consume - almost - another 265W.