Company Spec'd Workstation - Thoughts?

[thickly]

I have been trying to spec my own workstation at my new job but I'm getting push back from my IT dept - they want to give me the same machine the other CAD people get. The other CAD team uses primarily Rhino for designing/modelling/engineering jewelry. I will be doing all of the archviz for the stores - ACAD, 3ds Max and rendering with Mental Ray and/or Maxwell. I was hoping to get a 6-core machine (actually the "High-End" workstation detailed on 3Datstech).

 

Here are the specs of what they are proposing I use. If they are "adequate" for my work then this is what I get. If they are not sufficient I do have some room to push for an upgraded package.

 

HP Z200 MT i7- 870 2.93 2GB/250 DVDRW WIN7 P64

PNY Quadro 2000 PCIe x16 1GB GDDR5 Graphic Card

2 - Crucial 8GB Kit (4Gbx2) 240-pin DIMM DDR3 PC3-10600 (16GB)

HP 3year 4h 9x5 Onsite PROMO WS Only HWSupp

StarTech PEX13943 4 Port PCI Express 1394a FireWire Adapter Card - 3 External 1 Internal 320 Series

160GB Intel SSD

 

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Thanks,

Sean

[Dave Buckley]

If your only doing single stores, that machine should be fine, at least based on ram and processor anyway

[ihabkal]

same reply here, but I add that you should play it cool and not be too demanding in this economy.

[AJLynn]

Well, I don't know what HP provides, but the CPU and video card here are previous generation. If possible you want a newer i7 - the 2600 is much faster than the 870 (which is also no slouch, mind you). I guess they make you take the Quadro because it's a "workstation" and that's what HP tells you to buy, and the 2000 is okay but not the best value for money these days. Aside from that, looks fine.

[loklomedia]

looks decent - would also recommend the 2600 CPU.

If your IT guys will allow you, you can install Max on the other workstations for work overnight for rendering large sequences.

[Slinger]

Does your company have an account with HP already?

I know HP will make a new sku just to have a machine built especially with the spec's you want. This depends on the relationship though between your company and with your HP seller.

[thickly]

thanks for the feedback - was just notified that they are going to spring for a 6-core workstation as the price was not prohibitive. They didn't have the full specs for me at this time, but I imagine they are similar just with the upgraded processor and hopefully graphics card. I would never want to over-spec just for the sake of it - but I do know what our consultant architects charge for renderings, and this machine will pay for itself in very short time. I also know the turn-around times on most of what we do are borderline ridiculous.

 

I'll let you know how it performs once everything is set up.

 

Thanks again,

Sean