Processors
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Selecting the right processor for a workstation

idata
Employee
2,005 Views

Hi guys,

I'm planning to purchase a workstation that will run Autodesk Autocad, Inventor, 3Ds Max, DS Solidworks, Adobe Programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator etc, but i'm quite confuse on which is the best choice of processors to select from.

From intel's website i see different types of processors ranging from the newest Sandy Bridge - E3 Xeon / i7/i7 Extreme/ Westmere range/ QPI/DMI etc....

Somehow i see that Sandy bridge processors are much cheaper compared to Westmere while for E3 Xeon and i7 range of Sandy Bridge is there a vast difference in terms of performance, it looks pretty close from what i see in the datasheet.

Looking at processors with atleast 4 Cores / better suggestions.

I'm looking for a performance based workstation that could really make a difference for my workflow.

The graphic card that i'm currently looking at is either Nvidia 2000/ Nvidia 4000 with GPU based.

Please do advice,

Thank you for helping

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Adolfo_S_Intel2
Employee
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Since you are looking for a workstation, I would suggest an Intel® Xeon® processor, if budget is not an issue for you, then I would suggest the Intel® Xeon® processor E3 or E7 since it has 10 cores and a big cache RAM, making the processor has better performance, and since I see that you will be running many heavy applications that is my best recommendation.

If you need more buying recommendations you can contact any of the Authorized Intel® Distributors located at:

http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/227304.htm http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/227304.htm

If you are not in North America, then please check this link:

http://premierlocator.intel.com/Default.aspx http://premierlocator.intel.com/Default.aspx

idata
Employee
355 Views

Hi Adolfo,

Thanks for the recomendations, is it true that QPI processors is better than DMI ?

Have a nice day.

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idata
Employee
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DSilv11
Valued Contributor III
355 Views

Are you thinking a single CPU package or duel CPU package workstation?

http://www.intel.com/products/workstation/motherboards/s5520sc/s5520sc-overview.htm http://www.intel.com/products/workstation/motherboards/s5520sc/s5520sc-overview.htm

Xeons will support duel CPU (2 - QPI links)

i5/i7 support 1 cpu package (1 QPI link)

Also look at the number of memory channels.

Xeon has 3 memory channels giving you more memory bandwidth than 2 channels in the i5 /i7 (assuming you have DIMMs in each channel)

Xeon also support memory ECC error detection and correction for greater system reliability and stability.

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idata
Employee
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Thanks for all the info Doc_SilverCreek,

I'm actually looking at a single CPU package workstation.

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DSilv11
Valued Contributor III
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In the Xeon corner:

OK. 2 memory channels vs 3 (if you buying 3 DIMMS) 1/3 better memory bandwidth.

ECC error correction for improved dada reliability.

In the I5 /I7 corner:

one of many boards on the newest processor technology. E3 1200 or 2500k processors

http://www.intel.com/products/server/motherboards/S1200BT/S1200BT-overview.htm http://www.intel.com/products/server/motherboards/S1200BT/S1200BT-overview.htm

( Glad i don't have to pick between them )

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idata
Employee
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Have decided to go for Xeon Processors.

These are the latest processors that i'm looking at:

http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=47917,47918,48768,47923,47925, http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=47917,47918,48768,47923,47925,

(Not an easy task at all )

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