Solid works PC - Experienced answers only - Engineers types :)

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subbytna

subbytna

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I'm looking for someone, who actually has an idea of what they are talking about, to give me a bit of advice here with regards to the types of spec needed for a new PC to run Solid Works. Engineers / CAD people this is a request for help from you!

Budget is 800-1000? Not really got a clue just how much he is willing o spend but starting at this point, possibly can go higher.

6 core CPU? i7??
Needing lots of RAM - 32gig would be ideal
Would a Quadro card be the better type of GPU to get? Willing to be educated on this one if another type of card would work too. This won't be for any gaming or the like, purely for work.

240gig SSD? Or would a larger SSD be better?
2TB for storage - mechanical drive
Case - nothing fancy but good for silence
PSU
Cheap DVD drive to store more info on DVD
CPU cooler - thinking liquid to keep noise to a minimum - Big air is too cumbersome.

Ok Engineers, what do you recommend?
 
The majority of CAD/Engineering machines in our office barely meet minimum specs.

But i7-6700, 16GB ram and NV Quadro or AMD FirePro would be the sort of base system, A 480GB SSD can be had for <£100, and a 2TB+ HDD for Data.

Alternatively a 5820k based system
 
Yeah I was thinking 5820 as a basis to build on

With that in mind, anyone feeling like they would spec me up a setup WITHOUT the graphics card, based on the 5820 cpu and mobo platform.
 
Sorry if this is a bit long, but I've tried to lay everything out in a logical manner.

I've been using SolidWorks at work for the last 2 and a half years. Before that I used it as a student.

CPU

CPU-wise, SW isn't really that well optimised for multi-threading. I think Photoview Rendering and FEA Simulations are pretty much the only things that benefit from lots of cores/threads. Unless they've massively changed things in SW 2016 but I don't think they have.

Our workstations are now all Xeon-based. I'm using a hex-core E5-1650-v2, my two colleagues have the quad-core E5-1620. Strangely, the hex-core feels 'snappier' despite running at a lower clock speed. That said, I'm sure an i7 would work just as well.

RAM

I've only seen my RAM usage above 16GB when running a full-on FEA study, so 16GB should be enough.

GRAPHICS

Graphics-wise, if you're going to be running multiple monitors, the Quadro/FirePro cards are worth looking at. If you want to use the 'Realview Graphics' options, you have to have a Quadro/FirePro although this is only an onscreen effect - for image rendering you have to use Photoview. At the 2016 launch event I attended, we were told that SW 2016 would be able to take advantage of GPU rendering for the first time. That makes it more worthwhile having a workstation-class card. Be aware that for a semi-decent Quadro/FirePro, you're looking at costs around and above the £400 mark. Also make sure to check the SW-certified list of cards.

SSD

We have 240GB SSDs at work and have all our drawings on them. They're fine for what we need but be aware that if you have a lot of models/drawings, it can fill up. If you can afford it, a bigger SSD would be good.

HDD

We only use our HDDs for backups, but it's very useful to have a large area of free space sometimes - FEA data files easily reach several GB. In this case, I'd go with a 1TB model as it'll be slightly cheaper.

PSU

I'd go with any decent unit in the 550W category - EVGA, Seasonic, XFX etc. You don't need any more power than 550W and a decent unit with good internals will be reliable.

DVD drive

We only use ours for loading software, but the option of doing a hard-copy backup is always useful.

Cooling

You don't really need a massive air cooler and I would consider any AIO/custom loop risky for a works PC that may have critical data. A good low-profile air-cooler would be my choice - Noctua NH-C14S or NH-C12P spring to mind.

Case

Cases really are down to personal preference. 'Quiet' cases tend to be hotter than standard cases - My dad has the Carbide 100R silent edition and it does get warm as it's sound-dampened.
 
That's brilliant info. Cheers squire!

The fella I'm building for is a university lecturer who runs the T&D department. 32 gig is a requirement for him. He asked for it.

He wants me to build it so he gets more bang for buck. I@ve never build a CAD machine before, only gaming PC's. This is a learning curve for me too.
 
There's not really much difference, barring the graphics card and possibly using a Xeon/ECC RAM. I wouldn't advise using ECC RAM in this build, as an i7 can't make use of it and the Xeons are pricey.

Personally I would go with the 5820K and a 32GB quad-channel setup. I'll try and spec something up for you in the next hour.
 
OK, so this doesn't include Windows or any peripherals. As you can see, the FirePro adds quite a cost to the build. If you don't have a workstation-class card, you won't be able to use the in-program real-view graphics and if they have introduced GPU rendering, it's well worth having it. The Nvidia Quadro equivalent is about £80 more.

I've gone with the 5820K because if you do try to do some high quality rendering or simulation, you're going to be able to take advantage of the multi-threading. Believe me, 12 threads is a lot better than 4 (when I started, I was rendering/simulating on an i5 2400:eek:). A Skylake i7 and board will set you back around the same money if you get a decent board.

I've chosen the Noctua NH-D9DX i4 3U as it's a decent low-ish profile cooler. It's specifically designed for the Xeons and socket 2011-v3, but if you're not OCing the system you'll be fine. The Noctua fans are decent and quiet as well.

A 500GB SSD gives you plenty of high-speed storage and the 1TB HDD gives you ample bulk storage.

The Antec PSU is a Seasonic design and is a decent, reliable unit. As you're not trying to show the system off, a non-modular design is fine here.

The Carbide 100R Silent Edition is a quiet case. My dad's got one and the sound insulation does work. Just be aware that if you don't keep the vents clean it can get a tad warm.

This is just my take on a potential build, what I'd possibly do. As a teaching system though, it could be overkill.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,255.83
(includes shipping: £0.00)
​
 
As I've only been using SW a few years I can't say I'm an expert by a long shot. It's worth looking at some of the well-known computer brands as you may be able to get a reasonably good workstation-class PC for less than you think. With a pre-built you'll also get a warranty and for some systems, next day on-site support.
 
Borealis said:
There's not really much difference, barring the graphics card and possibly using a Xeon/ECC RAM. I wouldn't advise using ECC RAM in this build, as an i7 can't make use of it and the Xeons are pricey.
Click to expand...

ECC is a must if any of the work is going to have a real world impact.

32 GB of regular RAM has a single-bit-flip error rate of about 4-20 errors per hour (according to one of the answers here). That's an unacceptable rate if the machine is being used to design anything critical.
 
Our systems at work all use ECC RAM and I agree with you it's a must if you're dealing with critical data that affects a product you're developing and producing. For a teaching system I'd generally consider it to be less important, though that's just my personal opinion.

If the OP can afford to upgrade to an equivalent hex-core Xeon, 32GB of ECC RAM and a compatible motherboard, then fair enough and it will be a very good sytem (certainly superior to what I'm using). For that money though, you could probably get a decent pre-built system with warranty.

The instability issues we've experienced with SolidWorks have been confirmed by our re-seller as known issues that Dassault haven't/are unable to/won't fix. So far we haven't suffered any data losses but that's because we use an enterprise vault and everything is regularly checked in/out.
 
From the perspective of cfd/fea, ecc isn't a great idea. The solvers are iterative and floating point based, so are inherently noise tolerant. The odd bit flip doesn't matter unless you're also unlucky enough to have it hit an important part of the read-only executable code.

What does really matter is memory bandwidth. Quad channel, as fast as you can get stable. Otherwise the cpu spends all its time waiting on main memory.

I'm yet to have performance problems modelling, so I assume that anything that can handle gentle numerics will be fine there. You said lecturer though - if he's not actually doing numerical analysis, the above doesn't apply.
 
Thanks Jon, I knew that the solvers are iterative but I didn't realise that ECC didn't matter as much in those situations.

Like we've both said, unless it's being use for something more than just teaching students CAD/CAM, the OP doesn't need to bother with an expensive workstation-class Xeon/ECC setup and can save a few £££s with a decent X99 5820K setup.
 
I don't know about that software, however basic rules for workstation machine.

Silence, this is really important as your going to spend many thousands of hours working next to the machine.

High end PSU, Seasonic X series just very high quality and robust desktop PSU's.

HDD's, you want Western Digital Black, or Western Digital RE. The Blue's are office / regular desktop HDD's there not the same speed or quality.

SSD's, you want the Pro versions of Samsung SSDs, the EVO's have the cheaper memory that's less durable.

Memory, any make that's associated with gaming only forget it. I use kingston memory it's boring but it has some of the least returns of memory at OCUK.

Case, Silverstone make a great workstation case called the Fortress FT02, it rotates the boards giving great cooling and has 3x180 bottom fans you can run at low RPM.

Worksation graphics card is a must. I know nothing about AMD workstation cards, but use Quadro cards. Nview and multi-screen support is great on these.

Good thermal paste, something that won't break down in a couple of years. I use IC diamond 24 it's solid as a rock. I have some servers in use 24/7 and I never once have to re-apply IC diamond paste. Its not the cost of buying more paste, but cost of any downtime, the best workstation machines are the ones most reliable.
 
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Ok back again.

This last build was put on hold, until now.

Can I get another spec done. On a pretty tight budget too.

I5 cpu - old gen acceptable too
16gig (or 32gig if possible) RAM- cheapest ram going
240gig SSD
1TB storage mechanical drive
black case - cheap is fine - not for show but needs to have room for a case fan for airflow
PSU - 550W should suffice
DVD burner
Wired keyboard and mouse
**OS Not needed** Would prefer to use win 7 so any cpu/mobo needs to not be tied to just win 10

I'm sourcing a firepro GPU elsewhere so no need for a GPU. This is not a gaming pc but a home pc for a lecturer in T&D. He wants a pc build to do a bit of work at home if needed.
 
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Throwing an idea out here - ebay will put up a couple of e5-2670 for £60 a piece. 128gb ram for £200. A reasonable guess at total cost, if the rest of it is bought new, is around a £1000. Hard to get better performance at that budget right now.
 
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