workstation help needed

[(RIP) Kaister]

I've got to spec and source - from australia - 6 workstations running xp pro , and Solidworks 2005

Choices are limited - Dell, HP - er thats it so far....
or shall i get a self build?

What should i be looking for in a motherboard ?
Are workstation m/b's that much better.
I'm looking at Nvidia fx1100 graphics cards - money is a problem .

anyone got better ideas or experience ?

 

[DrAlf]

I’ve got a bit of experience with Solidworks – I supported an engineering department for 5 years that ran it from first release. This was a few years ago mind, at the time one very first CPU was recommended over multiple processors so you can save some money there. As you’ve already worked out, the key to good performance on Solidworks is a killer graphics card. Apart from that just make sure you get a fast CPU and loads of RAM. Also make sure that your engineers know how to use Solidworks – if they don’t the assemblies can become absolutely huge in terms of file size and as such SW runs like treacle

I was on a tight budget too at the time and ended up buying reconditioned Dell Precision workstations which ran pretty well. With today’s processing power though, any high end machine should be able to run SW really well. I have a copy running on my machine here which isn’t anything special –AMD XP3200, 1.5GB RAM, ATI 9800 and it runs really well. If you’ve got the time and money is really limited a self build spec similar to my machine but with a more 3D modelling focused GFX card should fly. Otherwise look for Dell factory outlet reconditioned Precisions.

HTH and good luck.