EssKayKay Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 I’m considering a new desktop PC fro CAD. Can anyone shed light on which is better. First assume moneys not the issue and second - bang for the buck. Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 (2.66GHz, 12M L2, 1333MH FSB) – Dell OptiPlex 755 Intel Quad Cord XEON E5420 (2.50 GHz, 2x6M L2, 1333 MHz FSB) – Dell WorkStation T5400 Thanks, SKK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Well, looking at just the CPU, the Q9300 is slightly better than the Xeon. If you use two Xeons in the T5400, that will be nearly twice as fast when doing something that can actually use the 8 cores, such as rendering. The T5400 with one Xeon might be more powerful anyway depending on what the other components are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slinger Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 If money is no option, get the Xeon-based workstation as the motherboards can support two processors---meaning 8 logical cores for rendering. Bang for the buck, get the Q9300, as the Xeon is the same thing only it has higher binned processors and is for the workstation/server line ie. multiple cpu's on one motherboard/server board. And honestly, if you were going to go the route of bang for the buck, I would build it myself,as it will be way cheaper then ordering a pre-built machine from Dell. The one big thing to remember is that you can not overclock the cpu in Dell's, so if you were thinking of that idea, scrap it now, or just be aware of that limitation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssKayKay Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 I suspect we will not be adding a second processor. So, with that in mind, I assume your recommendation(s) would be the Optiplex (Q9300). I can up the processor speed form 2.66GHz to 2.83 for $190. Does this sound resonable or warranted? What about 2GB RAM vs. 4GB? I'm ordering this with XP not Vista. Thanks, SKK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 4GB is necessary these days. The faster CPU... maybe. Think about how much rendering you do - that's the only place you're going to notice, and the improvement isn't huge, $190 for a 6% improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssKayKay Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 Negligible rendering (at this time) - so spend my $$ on memory... Thanks guys, SKK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooner04 Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Can you be a little more specific about what type of cad software you will be using. If you're in BIM software doing large buildings you would probably benefit from a 64 bit os and 8 gigs of ram instead of 4. If you're just talking about 2d cad than I would just go with a dual core proc and 4 gigs. You might want to also consider video card options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssKayKay Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 Nope mostly municipal mapping - MicroStation and ESRI ArcGIS. SKK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 That's not going to benefit from more than one CPU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssKayKay Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 Nope, so that's why I'm probably going with the Optiplex (Q9300) w'4GB RAM vs. the XEON. Does that make sense? Your thoughts.... SKK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 This is boring now. Just get whatever computer you want, it hardly even matters with your software so long as you don't get some "shared memory"/"HyperMemory"/"TurboCache" video card. If you've got funding from your company make them buy you a video card that's "certified" on all the programs you're using - check the web sites - I figure a Quadro 1700 or a FireGL v5xxx (whatever is current... v5600 maybe?) would do nicely - if you don't, you will get some unneccessary hassle if you ever call tech support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssKayKay Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 What do you mean boring now? I’m so very very sorry if I inconvenienced you. That surely was not my intent. I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I was only looking for some support. I will make certain I never carry on like this again. Please forgive me… SKK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 You've got your answer. What do you want, a theoretical discourse? There's no more information we can give you that's useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssKayKay Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 No theoretical discourse, just a little courtesy. Don’t worry AJ I’m gone and never be back… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Pende Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 If you had 2 Xeon quadcores, meaning 8 cores in total, for wich powersuply you would go for? 1000W? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slinger Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Depends on the rest of the set up John...1kw may be overkill, unless you are overclocking and going tri-SLi etc, but this isn't a gaming site, so I doubt you would be going that route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJLynn Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Would anybody like to volunteer to be very polite and answer all the easy-and-already-answered questions of all the newbs who want to know what sort of PC to buy? I've obviously run out of patience for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antisthenes Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 sure. but it all comes down to experience level with the newest hardware. i think maybe a site to redirect people to where they actively keep track of all that info and are payed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Pende Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I think one simple chart comparing renderings time of intel quad vs. xeon quad would satisfy everyone! Problem solved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slinger Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Would anybody like to volunteer to be very polite and answer all the easy-and-already-answered questions of all the newbs who want to know what sort of PC to buy? I've obviously run out of patience for it.LOL Andrew...I know what you mean sometimes, but bashing new registered members is kinda harsh. sure. but it all comes down to experience level with the newest hardware. i think maybe a site to redirect people to where they actively keep track of all that info and are payed.www.ocforums.com www.xtremesystems.org and the first site to check should be www.google.com followed by this site's SEARCH feature I think one simple chart comparing renderings time of intel quad vs. xeon quad would satisfy everyone! Problem solved!But many people use different programs and then there is budget, personal needs etc...there is not some 'simple' chart that could be created. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelpiper Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 OUCHH! I din't know this forum was just for experienced people! We're all rookies once! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slinger Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 The problem is the question was answered and the OP kept asking. I think it was a bit harsh by Andrew, but I do understand where he is coming from. People come in here and say, hey, build me a computer. We do and then they second guess us over and over and over. either take our advice, do some own research and make a decision, or simply move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt McDonald Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I've gotten pretty tired of all the "what kind of computer should I buy?" questions and "Quadro vs. GeForce" and even more ridiculous "What kind of motherboard should buy?". Don't we have a sticky that answers a lot of this? If not, I'd be willing to help work on one. I'm all for helping out (and I've gotten a lot of help myself) but everyday or two it seems like we get a new "dual core vs. quad core" post. I personally am much more interested in looking at renderings and discussing techniques than going on about front side bus speed on a rendering forum. Sorry, I've ignored this thread for the reasons above. Just today I took a look and saw that other folks were headed down the same path as me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zdravko Barisic Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 I have a single socket Xeon in my PC XEON 3110 (2.13x4) on the Intel 975XBX mobo and from some reason I do not have "gremlins" in my PC anymore, as I had on gaming mobos+CPUs like asus, GB, MSI.... Just one opinion more, nothing more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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