UG/NX processor, graphics card, performance

[DonMgt]

I'm evaluating the cost of upgrading our various UG/NX work stations. I'd like to get in the mode where I buy a pretty decent workstation about every 6 months. Currently we have several running 4-5 year old machines running Windows XP with 3 to 4 GB ram. Historically we've always tried to get by "on the cheap" and I'd like to consider spending a little bit more if we get some return for this. I've found lot's of advice saying, "buy all the processor/memory/graphics" you can afford. My team is designing relatively complex tools and their models have several thousand components to them. They tell me they are both processor and memory bound right now.

Currently it looks to me that I can buy some pretty high end "gaming computers" relatively economically. I've seen references that while not bad, a gaming computer really isn't optimized for UG/NX work. Likewise, I've found a lot of threads on this topic but they seem to end in 2007 and I think there are quite few new processors and graphics cards available now.

So, after all that intro. If you have $2,500, $3,500 or $4,500 to spend. What would you get today? For example, HP has a pretty nice looking package to me using a i7-975 processor, with 24 GB ram and the 4850 Radeon graphics card that prices out to a little over $4,000. Cut the memory down to 12 GB, the processor down to a i7-950 and the graphics card to a 4650 you can get this for around $2,500. Both are way better than my guys are currently using. We know we always use machines for 4-5 years. What differences in productivity would I expect to see if I spend the $2,200 more?
We also do some relatively intense FEA that is very memory intensive.

 

[hudson888]

If you have $4500 to spend you'll get a large bill and if you have less than $2500 you'll probably struggle to meet your requirements. There are plenty of good certified graphics cards that fall within a more reasonable price range and offer excellent bang for your back for most applications. The most expensive models always seem to make you top of the heap for a day and possibly not that much longer. The equation that I apply has more to do with how much I have to spend as against how frequently I need to replace my hardware.

You're right to avoid gaming cards. Siemens website has detail of what graphics cards are supported for NX and Tom's Hardware website features some useful benchmarks that may help. For the prices in question as shown there I'd be happy enough with the Nvidia Quadro FX 1800. But if you're buying systems from name manufacturers you may not have the same freedom to configure precisely to your price profile and in those cases or when buying laptops things do get a little more difficult.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/workstation-graphics-charts/SPECopc-Viewperf-10.0-UGS-NX,135.html

Best Regards

Hudson

www.jamb.com.au

Nil Desperandum illegitimi non carborundum

 

[cowski]

If the processor decision comes down to speed vs. # of cores, I would choose the faster processor. NX by itself (as of version 6) is still mostly a single threaded application. There are certain commands that take advantage of multi-cores, but a faster dual core will probably benchmark better than a slower quad core (for instance). That said, it also depends on what else you have running at the same time. If you have many programs running concurrently, then more cores may be the way to go.

 

[DonMgt]

I'd be interested to get some confirmation from anyone in the UGS team. When I look back at our hardware purchases it seems to me that we consistantly buy hardwdare for last year's software and we are amazed that when it's 2 years old that it is performing poorly.

I basically injected myself into this process because I was unhappy with the specs of the system my team was coming up with. (32 bit, 4 GB ram, and the fastest single processor they could get.) From what I can tell, that is probably a pretty good investment for our NX 6 software we are using. But, we are going to be using 7 or 8 during most of this hardware's life and much of our current FEA constraints are simply memory. So, the 64 bit question as far as I'm concerned is a given. It appears to me that the dual and quad processsors are getting to be very economical and that UG would be making a signficant investment to take advantage of those multi processor machines.

 

[petulf]

If I was building a workstation today i would get,
* CPU with at least 4 cores even thought NX is single threaded at the moment the other 3 cores come in handy, since it makes the OS/other applications more responsive.

* I/O I find that a lot of the waiting when using NX and other applications is due to the hard drive not keeping up. Thus get a Intel solid state hard drive or two (Intel X25-M G2). Keep in mind if you are loading components over a network upgrading that network and servers could be a worth while investment to cut down on loading times (Get at least gigabit ethernet).

* Screen, get at least a 24" S-IPS with 1920x1200 resolution, (Dell U2410 is a good choice). You can never have to much screen real estate.

* Graphics card, get something in the midrange and upgrade at a later time if needed.

 

[ewh]

As for screen real estate, go with double monitors.

"Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor." - [small]Robert Hunter[/small]

 

[DonMgt]

We use two monitors and I agree it's an easy decision. Can you have UG use both monitors at the same time? From what I can tell, we can do this only if we open up a second UG session which we don't have the horsepower to do. What I would like is to be able to have UG models on two large monitors and a 3rd screen (smaller/cheaper screen) for Outlook/Word/Adobe etc.

 

[looslib]

Don't forget that more cores does not equal the same performance as more CPUs!

This is from memory by another CAD ssytem a few years back.
Core percentage of a CPU. John Baker, either here or the BBS, has listed this same data for NX.

Single core 100%
Dual core 75% per core for a 150% total
Dual CPU's 100% each for 200%
Quad core 60% per core for a 240% total

You can figure out what happens when you add multiple dual or quad core cpus to your system.

Rendering and Parasolid operations are multi-threaded as are analysis functions. What is you work load balance?


"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

 

[cowski]

Can you have UG use both monitors at the same time?

Yes. How you set it up will depend on your video card, usually the manufacturer (or vendor) will include a small program to set up your display preferences (including what to do with multiple monitors). I have a large main monitor and a small secondary monitor; my setup of choice is to maximize NX on the main monitor and use the 2nd monitor for my part and assembly navigation tools. There should be an option to use multiple monitors as one large monitor, you will have to experiment a bit to see exactly what options you have and what will work for you.