New PC advice - Urgent opinions needed!

[turnbullp]

Hi,

My work PC is due for replacement and I may have a choice between a laptop or desktop. I'll be using the system for Sketchup Pro 8 , Vray, Photoshop CS3 and Revit Architecture 2012. They're pestering me for an answer ASAP.

Desktop:
Precision T5550 Westmere
Two Xeon E5603 (1.60GHz, 4.8GT.800MHz)
12gb(6x2GB) 1333mhz DDR3
300GB (10000Rpm) SATA II Hard Drive
Graphics Dual 1GB Nivdia Quadro 2000

Laptop:
Precision M6600
i7-2720QM(2.20GHz 6MB cache, Quad Core)
16GB DDR3 (4x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
500 GB Serial ATA (7200rpm)
Nvidia Quadro 3000M with 2GB GDDR3

Is the laptop a clear winner here?

[cadtag]

so, do you want to delete this post, edit it, or report it to the moderators??



presuming it's a legitimate question, how important is portability to you?

[cad1.154422]

Xeons are no better than mainstream CPUs for CAD. And much, much more expensive, even if you buy the obsolete versions you have quoted (with triple-channel RAM). The latest 6-core i7 CPUs can run a single core at up to 3.9Ghz. Most of them overclock to almost 5Ghz. 1.6Ghz? Look at this:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=[Dual+CPU]+Intel+Xeon+E5603+%40+1.60GHz

Even the AMDs are faster!

Dual Xeons would be twice as pointless.

Dual Quadros is a waste of time. SLI/crossfire doesn't work for Quadros.

The rest of your PC spec looks about 5 years out of date. 300GB Velociraptor? 2Gb memory modules?

You could get a way better machine and get your whole office drunk on the money left over.

Don't buy a laptop either. The spec looks a bit more up to date, so why can't you get a proper computer with the same spec?

[jmeyer.186809]

Xeons are no better than mainstream CPUs for CAD. And much, much more expensive, even if you buy the obsolete versions you have quoted (with triple-channel RAM). The latest 6-core i7 CPUs can run a single core at up to 3.9Ghz. Most of them overclock to almost 5Ghz. 1.6Ghz? Look at this:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=[Dual+CPU]+Intel+Xeon+E5603+%40+1.60GHz

Even the AMDs are faster!

Dual Xeons would be twice as pointless.

Dual Quadros is a waste of time. SLI/crossfire doesn't work for Quadros.

The rest of your PC spec looks about 5 years out of date. 300GB Velociraptor? 2Gb memory modules?

You could get a way better machine and get your whole office drunk on the money left over.

Don't buy a laptop either. The spec looks a bit more up to date, so why can't you get a proper computer with the same spec?

Most programs only use a single thread anyway so dual processors is out of the question for 95% of applications. My advice is get the CPU with the highest Clock Speed. It's a balancing act but that is the best advice i could give. I personally build all of the workstations at work because I can build them better, faster and generally 50% cheaper then their retail counter parts.

I run a:

(This complete runing system costs me about $1900 to build. Most Dell Workstations that this build will actually outperform by a large margin run around $3700-$4800. Here are the highlights of the system)

i7 2600k (Overclocked to 4.7ghz)
16gb of 1600mhz DDR3 Ram
AMD Firepro V7900
Crucial M4 SSD
Win 7 x64 Pro

For things like Civil 3D, LDT, ArcView and 3D Laser Scaning Software like Realworks. Most Autodesk software doesn't utilize todays hardward so having a very fast clock speed on you're CPU is the best upgrade you can do.

[SoCal CAD Guru]

I've used both of these computers in a slightly older, but very similar configuration.

The laptop is slower in all operations, but happily portable. If you go for the laptop, and you are using Windows 7, ask for a 240GB SSD with a Sandforce controller. It helps a lot.

Otherwise, it really is up to you...do you want a slight performance boost? or Portability?

I like JMeyer's post. His input is pretty solid.

[j_follett_88]

Why does the Desktop have less ram,that's just silly.
remember life time of desktop is higher you can always upgrade
and if the portability is an issue are you really going to use solidworks on the run or at home? (if not get a desktop and buy a used laptop wipe it and use it for the other stuff).
Plus if you are thinking of using it not plugged in alot then your battery wont last long running high powered apps. Also battery only last so long give it a year and you will have to have it plugged in.