Autodesk Inventor Workstation for 1100-1600 USD

OlafCH,

In my view, the best system for your use would be an Xeon E5-16XX > 16GB ECC RAM > Quadro or Firepro 2GB > SSD 240GB > Mechanical HD 1TB. This kind of system would have good performance on 2D and 3D visualization and computing (analysis /simulation), and good disk and storage performance for fairly complex projects on demanding software such as Inventor, 3Ds, Adobe CS, or Solidworks. The E5-26XX series are excellent, but you are paying for the ability to use dual CPU's and they are much more expensive for that reason. The problem is that an E5 system would be at least twice your budget. However, the Xeon E3 is quite good th9ough the memory bandwidth is 25.2 GB/s instead of 68 and there are 28 PCIe lanes instead of 40.

Follows is a system idea that is reasonably close to the budget and I think could be quite good for your use. The prices are the costs in the US (Newegg and Superbiz) the prices in £ are from Scan UK and then converted to $ and Euros. It seemed that UK prices would be closer to those in Poland.

OPTION 1:

BambiBoom Cadamodagrapharific WalletJoyScream TurboSignature 9300 $$©& £℞™_5.22.15

CPU: Xeon Intel E3-1231 v3 3.4 / 3.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache 80W Server Processor BX80646E31231V3 > $242 > £199.21

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120 mm PWM Fan > $40 >£28.00

Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SLM-F-O uATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C224 DDR3 1600 $180 >£161.21

Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Server Memory Model CT2KIT102472BA160B > $156 > £97

GPU: PNY NVIDIA Quadro K620, 2GB, 384 Cores, 0.8 TEFLOPs, PCIe 2.0 (x16), DP/DVI> $170. >£150.74

Drive 1: SAMSUNG 850 EVO MZ-75E250B/AM 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) > $98 > £86.70

Drive 2: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM > $60 > >£39.25

PSU: CORSAIR CXM series CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI CrossFire 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply > $70. >£56.10

Case: LIAN LI PC-9NB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case > $100 >£75.12 (Corsair 300R)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM > $138 >£116.36

______________________________________________________________________

TOTAL = $1269 > £1011 > = $1,584 = EUR 1424

As mentioned, this is above your budget, but I feel that it is better to have a forward-looking performance because projects and software can become demanding and if you need improvements, it is disruptive to the work and costs more as you are buying the same part twice.

OPTION 2:

It's possible to find, good , new systems for a good price. How about:

Z420 E5-1620 8GB 1TB WIN7/8.1 HP (J9B51ES)

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Z420-E5-1620-8GB-1TB-WIN7-8-1-HP-J9B51ES-/171797810498?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_77&hash=item27fff28d42

> a current ebay.de auction - the system is in Italy- for a new HP Z420 (they have 10 of these) with a Xeon E5-1620 v2 (3.7 / 3.9GHz), 8Gb DDR3-1866 ECC, 1TB drive, Windows 8.1, no graphics card for EUR 1.047,73 or best offer.

If this system could be purchased for say EUR 1.000 then add a Quadro K1200 (4GB) or K620 (2GB) and SSD. , it would be a very good Xeon E5 system close to your budget and importantly, ready to use right away- no troubles with ordering and building.

OPTION 3:

Another approach to this system that can have much better cost /performance and save a lot of time is to upgrade an obsolete model workstation system. I've done this three times with Dell Precisions and the first one (T5400) is working perfectly for five years.

The most recent example:

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]

This was purchased for $190 (including shipping) on Ebay US.

I then spent $675- used parts and the system became:

Dell Precision T5500 (2011)(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 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3339 / CPU = 9347 / 2D= 684 / 3D= 2030 / Mem= 1871 / Disk= 2234]

Pending upgrade: PERC H310 PCIe SAS /SATA RAID controller, 2X WD Black 1TB (RAID 1)(Converts disk system from 3GB/s to 6GB/s) (= +$60)

This system could add a 2nd CPU (requires a riser / memory /fan board) for about $350-400.

There are a several high specification Dell Precision T7500's on ebay.de , for example:

Dell Precision T7500, 2xX5690, CPU 24x 3,47 GHz, HDD 2TB, RAM48GB, DVDRW, NVIDIA4000

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Dell-Precision-T7500-2xX5690-CPU24x3-47-GHz-HDD-2TB-RAM48GB-DVDRW-NVIDIA4000-/181674704545?pt=DE_Technik_Computer_Peripherieger%C3%A4te_PC_Systeme&hash=item2a4ca7fea1&nma=true&si=QXhBEHurLMJEummQxcF%252FhsAoEi8%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

> A completed listing for a system with 2X Xeon X5690 6-core @ 3.47 / 3.73GHz, 48GB ECC RAM, and a Quadro 4000 (2GB) that sold for 1050 EUR. I would add a PERC H310 or H710 to change the disk system to 6GB/s and then configure a RAID of new HD's. Eventually, perhaps change the Quadro 4000 to a Quadro K2200 (4GB) or Firepro W5100 i f your work is calculation intensive. This has then 12-cores /24 threads of which the first two cores of each CPU run at 3.73Ghz. this give very high performance for multi-threaded calculation /simulation, and rendering programs. Precisions are ultra-reliable, made to run all the time at full performance. To duplicate a system like this today would cost about $15,000 though of course, the RAM would be 2133 instead of 1333 and faster disk systems and so on.

An important aspect of this approach is that you do not have to research, order, assemble, configure, and test a system. The one in the listing could possibly be used immediately after loading software. The days of work saved are worth as much as the system, so can be considered in net cost terms to be almost free of charge!

So, a couple of options.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

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 > Logitech z2300 > 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]

Pending upgrade: HP /LSI 9212-4i PCIe SAS /SATA HBA RAID controller, 2X Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB (RAID 1)

HP z420 (2013) > Xeon E5-1620 four core @ 3.6 /3.8GHz > 24GB DDR3 ECC 1600 RAM > AMD V4900 (1GB) > Seagate 500GB > Linksys WMP600N WiFi
[Passmark system rating = 2372 / CPU = 9001 / 2D= 712 / 3D= 1353/ Mem= 2261 / Disk= 712]

Dell Precision T5500 (2011) > 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 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3339 / CPU = 9347 / 2D= 684 / 3D= 2030 / Mem= 1871 / Disk= 2234]

Pending upgrade: PERC H310 PCIe SAS /SATA RAID controller, 2X WD Black 1TB (RAID 1)(Converts disk system from 3GB/s to 6GB/s)

Dell Precision T5400 (2008) > 2X Xeon X5460 quad core @3.16GHz > 16GB DDR2 667 ECC> Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB) > WD RE4 500GB / Seagate Barracuda 500GB > M-Audio 2496 Sound Card / Linksys WMP600N WiFi > HP 2711X, 27" 1920 X 1080 and Dell 19" LCD > Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit >
[ Passmark system Rating = 1859, CPU = 8528 / 2D= 512 / 3D=1097]

Dell Precision 390 (2006) (Revised): Xeon X3230 quad-core @ 2.67GHz > 8 GB DDR2 ECC 667 > Firepro V4900 (1GB) > 2X WD 320GB >Linksys WMP600N WiFi > Dell 24" > 1920 X 1200 > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
[ Passmark system rating = 1458, CPU = 3699 / 2D= 431 / 3D=1350 / Mem= 885 / Disk=552]

Pending Upgrade: PERC 6/i SAS/SATA RAID controller, 146GB and 300GB 15K SAS drives from Dell Precision T5500 (Original)

Some of these systems that you've linked aren't even compatible. An E3 1231 V3 on an LGA 1155 board? I assume you run some kind of server PC building company.

Woody

Woody1999, .

No, I'm not in the computer business, my firm is involved in architecture, industrial design, and to some extent graphic design.

You might have a look at prices in Europe for computer hardware when recommending systems to a budget as the parts prices are quite a bit more. For example, An E5-2620 v3 in the UK is $509, the MSI X99s Plus M/B costs $255, 32GB of Corsair Vengeance 2400 is $422 and the GTX 960 SC is $252. Those 4 items alone total $1,438. And your list does not include the OS which in the UK is $180. I think you would find that your system as listed would cost in the UK about 1.3X the U.S. prices- about $1,800 and with the OS, about $2,000- and probably more in Poland.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

Firstly, we use sterling here in the UK, that's £ not $. Sorry, just had to clear that up. For pricing, you're a little bit out.

Here a the prices in the UK, in pounds:

Xeon E5-2620 V3: £330
Cooler: £45
Motherboard: £160
RAM: £270
Storage: £195 altogether
Graphics card: £165
Case: £35
Power Supply: £45

Over here an OS is around £70 if you go for the full blown version, about £10 is you get an "N" OS, which doesn't include the media package (which can be downloaded).

The parts I suggested are only ther as a guide. If in Poland, the RAM I suggested was stupidly expensive, I would expect the OP to use their common sense and get some more reasonably priced RAM. It's the same for all the other parts, in fact I used mostly what the OP told us that he could get.

Woody

Woody1999,

Yes, this was a bit complicated as our friend OlafCH is in Poland, but listed his budget in USD- and also had a range that was flexible from about $1,400 to $1,600. For my system and yours, I got prices from Scan UK: similar to those you list: the E5-2620 v3 at Scan is £329.75, which converted to USD is $510, the motherboard is £165 or $255, the RAM £273 or $422 and so on including Windows 7 Professional at £116 for a total -of £1391. If you convert £1391 to USD, that converts to $2,153 which is well out of the budget. In your list the total is £1245 and if the £116 is added for the OS that is £1361 or $2,107- very close. To save $500 to meet the $1,600 upper limit would mean changes to every part.

As mentioned, I think Xeon E5 is the proper basis with many advantages over LGA 1150 for this kind of system, but it's very difficult within the budget specified to have all the components of a balanced performance. I've tried Inventor (I prefer Solidworks ) and especially for simulations, a high clock speed is more important than core count as the positions of all those polygons and particles have to recalculated so many millions of times. Accordingly, I would use a 3.6GHz four-core rather than a 6-core at a 2.4GHz base. Also, if there is gas flow / thermal simulation, ECC RAM and a workstation card are essential. See the Autodesk list of GPU's certified for Inventor 2015:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?siteID=123112&id=18844534&results=1&stype=graphic&product_group=12&release=2015&os=32768&manuf=all&opt=2

> and there are only Quadros and Firepros. If you don't use a certified card, Autodesk can choose not to provide or to limit technical support.

The kind of system I would like to have listed for this use is :

BambiBoom PixelCannon Cadamodarendergrapharific iWork TurboBlast ExtremeSignature SuperModel 8000 ®©$$™®£™©™_ 10.8.14

1. Intel Xeon E5-1630 v3 Quad-Core Processor 3.7 / 3.8GHz 0GT/s 10MB LGA 2011-v3 CPU, OEM > $380 (About £309)
____ http://ark.intel.com/products/82764/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E5-1630-v3-10M-Cache-3_70-GHz?q=e5-1630
____ http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=E5-1630V3

2. Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Fan For Intel LGA1366/1156/1155/1150/775 & AMD FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2 > $31. (£26.05 Scan.UK)

3. Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard > $240 (£188.39 Scan.UK))
____ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157543&cm_re=asrock_x99_extreme_4-_-13-157-543-_-Product

4. Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM ECC DDR4 2133 (PC4-17000) Server Memory Model CT2K8G4RFS4213 > $244 (£152 Scan.UK)

____ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148839&cm_re=Crucial_16GB_%282_x_8GB%29_288-Pin_DDR4_SDRAM_ECC_DDR4_2133_%28PC4-17000%29_Server_Memory-_-20-148-839-_-Product

5. GPU: PNY VCQK2200-PB Quadro K2200 4GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Workstation Video Card > $459 (£378.26 Scan.UK)

____ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133559&cm_re=quadro_k2200-_-14-133-559-_-Product

6. Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) ) > $113 (OS, applications, working files) > $113. (£78.30 Scan.UK)

____ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148820&cm_re=crucial_mx110-_-20-148-820-_-Product

7. Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200RPM SATA3/SATA 6.0 GB/s 64MB Hard Drive > $82 (£57.18 Scan UK) (Files, Backup, System Image)

8. CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI CrossFire 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready> $130 £119.70 (Scan.UK)

9. Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE 24X SATA DVD±RW Internal Drive w/o Software (Black) SH-224DB $17.99

10. LIAN LI PC-A75X No Power Supply ATX Full Tower Case (Black) CA-A75 >$170

10A . Corsair Obsidian 750D Large Tower Case Black with Side Window No PSU > £124.50 Scan UK)
____ http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsair-obsidian-750d-black-full-tower-case-aluminium-steel-with-side-window-3x140mm-fans-usb-30-e-a

11. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit w/ SP1 (1-Pack, DVD), OEM MSFQC04649 > $138.99 (£119.70 Scan U.K)

________________________________________________________

TOTAL = $ 2,008 (about £1570 UK) (about 2.172 EUR)

> But the UK price is equivalent to $2,430. This is why I mentioned alternatives to try for a proper specification but closer to the budget.

In future, it would be easier if the request is always accompanied by the www. of a site where the person will be able to buy the full range of parts

Still, it's educational.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

But, that's not what the OP is looking for. He's not looking for English prices converted into dollars. He's just looking for dollars. The original build I listed was in dollars, and it was $1422, perfectly in the budget.

I don't know quite what you're trying to convince the OP here.

Woody

Woody1999,

I ‘ll try to clarify:

1. The OP in this thread wants to build a system in Poland for Autodesk Inventor that in US $ terms cost a maximum of $1,600. This means that the system has to built in Poland for no more than the equivalent of $1,600 or £1,033 or EUR 1.450.

2. As the OP mentioned, “ I was told 4000-5000 PLN max (I'm from Poland), which equals roughly 1100-1400 USD and the Polish prices may differ. “

3. The prices in Poland do differ. Starting with the costs in the U.S., the prices in the UK and Germany equal about 1-1/3X more. That is, a system built in the US will cost about one third more in the UK or Germany.

4. The system I specified cost at U.S. prices (Newegg, Amazon, and Superbiz) $1,269 and the system you specified cost $1,422 or with Windows 7 Pro to make the values equal, your specification would cost in the US about $1,560.

> Both of these systems are within the budget if built in the US.

5. However, the prices in Poland do differ, and when I shop at Scan UK and Geizhaus Deutschland ( I can shop in English and German, but not Polish), my specification costs $1,584 or EUR 1,424 and (again with the OS added), your specification costs $2,153.

6. In summary, the OP can build my specification in Poland at Polish prices within the specified budget, but not your system. To build you system in Poland, all the major components would have to be changed- and it would not be that specification.

In any event, the specification you listed is not optimized for the use in any way except generous RAM:

1. Inventor does not use multi-threading, so base clock speed is more important than core count. A Xeon E3-1231 v3 4-core at 3.4GHz would be faster in Inventor than a Xeon E5-2620 v3 6-core @ 2.4GHz.

2. Inventor and especially Inventor simulation requires a workstation card that is image quality oriented and not image quantity (FPS) oriented and Autodesk only certifies Quadros and Firepros for Inventor for this reason. Many Inventor users end up using 3ds Design or Max, for visualizations, and even Maya for animations, so a workstation card is desirable also for use viewport support software and image quality.

I assume you don’t run some kind of workstation PC building company.

Cheers,

BambiBoom