Quality Desktop for 3D modelling Priced ~2k

JSick,

As performance oriented as I am for workstations, the process of researching, ordering, assembling, configuring, and trouble-shooting a new system can be difficult and distracting. Every time I've needed a higher capability, I needed it quickly and so I've needed up with a series of Dell Precisions and HP z-series.

It's true that building can provided a better, and more individually optimized system, for less money, but you can sometimes find amazingly good deals on new systems that are at the edge of being replaced and recent, previous generation systems that, with upgrades, are perfectly capable into the future for the most demanding uses. Workstations are designed for long, full-bore use and the five or six I've bought used and upgraded have never failed in any meaningful way.

In some cases, it's possible to buy a system and upgrade gradually while still being productive.

About a month ago I bought:

Dell Precision T5500 (2011) Original: Xeon E5620 quad core @ 2.4 / 2.6 GHz > 6GB DDR3 ECC Reg 1333 > Quadro FX 580 (512MB) > Dell PERC 6/i SAS /SATA controller > Seagate Cheetah 15K 146GB > Linksys WMP600N WiFi > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
[ Passmark system rating = 1479 / CPU = 4067 / 2D= 520 / 3D= 311 / Mem= 1473 / Disk= 1208]

And this with shipping cost $190.

I had a spare Quadro 4000, Samsung 840 250 G SSD, WD RE4 enterprise 1TB, WiFI and M-audio MIDI / recording sound card. As the T5500 has a Win 7 Pro COA, I installed a new OS for $0. By buying a Xeon X5680, the upgraded heatsink, and 24GB ECC reg DDR3 1333, I had for a cash outlay of about $650:

Dell Precision T5500 (Revised) > Xeon X5680 six -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro 4000 (2GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB /WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1440)
[ Passmark system rating = 3339 / CPU = 9347 / 2D= 684 / 3D= 2030 / Mem= 1871 / Disk= 2234]

> which on Passmark is the 7th fastest T5500 of 199 tested. For another $300-350 I can add the 2nd CPU riser and another X5680 for a 12-core / 24 thread system, 30GB RAM system, running the first four cores at 3.6Ghz and a PERC H310 for a fast 6GB/s disk system for about $80 or so. So, yes, a two /three generations obsolete system, but beautifully made and reliable, up to current speeds, and still highly expandable. With 2CPU's, a T7500 can have 4 dives and a total of 192GB of RAM. I think this system will easily be useful fro 4-5 years just as my previous T5400 has been

My other system is a similar story but even more advantageous as it's still a current model. About three weeks ago I bought new in the box, and HP z420 with an E5-1660 v2 six core @ 3.7 /4.0GHz - and the 4.0GHz is he highest speed of any Xeon ever made. This system had a Quadro K600- a low end 1GB Quadro, and a WD Blue 500GB- samll capacity quite fast for a mech'l HD. As I had from my previous HP z420: a Quadro K2200 (4GB), an Intel 730 480Gb SSD, and WD Black 1TB, in one afternoon of swapping parts and a cash outlay of less than $1,000:

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six core @ 3.7 /4.0GHz > 16GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K2200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H 2560 X 1440 > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 4918 > CPU= 13941 / 2D= 823 / 3D=3464 / Mem= 2669 / Disk= 4764]

> and on Passmark, this is the highest rated rated z420- by four points. A I swapped from an HP z420 to another Z420, the Intel 730 ran the new system immediately,- I just plugged it in! I really didn't think it would work. I'm now gradually (over this week) building a new OS /application drive on the WD 500GB and when crafted, I'll migrate to to the Intel 730 SSD. This way, the new z420 will be running on proper the Win7 Pro license and the new owner of the old z420 will have no trouble. The Quadro K600 was moved to a 2006 Dell Precision 390 and the WD 500GB will be in an SATA III USB enclosure as an external backup drive. I found a used HP ( LSI) 9212-4i SAS / SATA RAID controller on Ebay for $60 (HP charges $450 when supplied new with a z420) and will install that eventually - two weeks- along with a RAID 10 of WD Se Enterprise 1TB (128MB cache).

The nice feature of this technique is that my previous z420 (E5-1620 4-core @ 3.6 /3.8Ghz, Firepro V4900, 24GB ECC 1600 RAM) is still worth a high percentage of the cost of the new system anyway.

Consider looking for a new or "new other" Dell Precision T3610 T5610, T5810, T7610, HP z420, z620 or Z820 with a fast 6-core Xeon E5-1600 or 2600 v2, series CPU. If you get a T56XX or T76XX,z620 or z820, you can add a 2nd CPU, but as a single socket LGA 2011 can use up to an 8-core E5 v2. I think it may be enough for most visualization systems. I'd rather have fewer cores at a higher clock speed as I spend far more time modeling than rendering and I can always set the T5500 to render while I model on the z420. The system as purchased may have a low end GPU and not enough RAM, and a small HD, but you can load your software, get to work right away, and over a month, change one or two components at a time.

It's a little complicated, and takes some research, but with patience, you can have a very good system with less effort, over less time, for a price that may be less than building from parts for the performance, and in the case of a system like e the new z420- even a warranty.

Cheers,

BambiBoom