Cadalyst - November/December 2008 - (Page 22)

cadalystlabsreview OpenGL tests for AutoCAD are not an option on 64-bit Vista systems, so each set of three scores listed under the Cadalyst C2008 benchmark scores are as follows: The first number is the score with the native AutoCAD Direct3D driver, the second is the score with any accelerated AutoCAD driver available, and the final number is the sum of two concurrent sessions of AutoCAD 2009, with each running a separate copy of the C2008 benchmark. Cadalyst Labs uses this procedure to test multicore or multiprocessor systems given that AutoCAD is not optimized for multicore processors. Because this procedure accomplishes approximately twice the amount of work in essentially the same amount of time required to run a single benchmark iteration, this workaround has been an effective means of evaluating multicore performance. Next, I tested each workstation with Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009 with Service Pack 1 installed. I ran into a problem with the new version of the SPECapc benchmark (www.spec.org) that works with 3ds Max Design 2009 under x64 Vista, so while that was being addressed I substituted the old standby MAXBench 4 benchmark, testing first with the native OpenGL drivers, the native Direct3D drivers, and finally with any available accelerated drivers. NVIDIA has released performance drivers for the Quadro line of graphics cards for Windows XP and Vista. These drivers integrate the PowerDraft driver for AutoCAD and the MAXtreme driver for 3ds Max with the base Windows drivers. After installation, you’ll be asked the first time you launch either application whether you want to install and use the associated performance. These drivers offer greatly improved performance for Quadro cards, and I use them whenever possible for testing. For the final benchmark test, I ran the full SPECviewperf 10 benchmark suite and provide the results for each of the individual tests in the workstation details that follow as well as in the online feature table (www.cadalyst.com/ 1108workstation-table). After performing all the benchmark tests, I then evaluated each workstation based benchmark results as well as several other criteria: meeting the minimum system configuration requirements, pricing, features, warranty, and documentation. Each factor is given a score on a scale of 1 to 10, and these scores are figured into the overall grade point average that determines the Cadalyst ratings. With this roundup, we’ve made the Cadalyst “Highly Recommended” rating a little more difficult to attain. For this and future reviews, any product with a final grade point average of 9.25 or higher will receive the Cadalyst “Highly Recommended” rating. Cadalyst would like to thank Art Liddle for his work on the Cadalyst C2008 benchmark and Sean Kilbride of NVIDIA for his help with the SPECapc benchmark and all things pertaining to NVIDIA. All the systems reviewed in this roundup are of consistently high quality, and all offer good expandability. You should be able to find a 64-bit Vista system that’ll do the job without breaking the bank and that will serve you well in the coming years. 22 @Xi Computer 800.432.0486 www.xicomputer.com Price: $2,499 The MTower PCIe garnered an A+ grade for expandability. Xi MTower PCIe For this roundup, @Xi Computer submitted a version of its Xi MTower PCIe system based on an Intel Core 2 E8500 microprocessor. This processor has a native clock speed of 3.16 GHz but had been overclocked on this unit to 4.00 GHz. This clock rate is supported by the system’s EVGA nFORCE 790i motherboard, which uses the NVIDIA 790i chipset and has a front-side bus speed of 1,600 MHz. Overclocking a processor in this way generates at lot of heat, so the MTower PCIe uses a beefy 700-W Cooler Master power supply with a liquid cooling mechanism. As one might expect, this combination produced high performance scores on the benchmark tests. The Xi MTower PCIe system came with 4 GB of 1,333MHz DDR3 RAM installed, out of a possible 8 GB when the board is fully populated, and included a Western Digital VelociRaptor SATA II 500-GB hard drive. A Lite-On 18 x 10 x 40 x 12 combination optical drive rounded out the system drives. Housed in a compact black mid-size tower measuring 17.2” x 8” x 19.2” (H x W x D), the MTower PCIe was relatively quiet, thanks in part to the liquid cooling system. The system offered plenty of room for expansion, with a total of 10 drive bays, 10 USB 2.0 connectors, and 2 FireWire 1394 connectors, which, combined with the 700-W power supply, earned the Xi MTower PCIe an A+ grade for expandability. There are no USB or FireWire connectors on the front or top of the case; instead, two USB and one FireWire connections are rather oddly located at the bottom right of the front panel of the case, along with microphone and headset sockets. Microsoft Vista Home Premium x64 with Service Pack 1 was preinstalled on the system, along with NVIDIA performance drivers v7.15.11.6996 (dated June 26, 2008) for the NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700 graphics card. The FX 3700 is a PCIe 2 graphics card with 512 MB of integrated DDR3 RAM @Xi Computer 800.432.0486 www.xicomputer.com Price: $2,499 www.cadalyst.com cadalyst November/December 2008 http://www.xicomputer.com http://www.spec.org http://www.xicomputer.com http://www.cadalyst.com/1108workstation-table http://www.cadalyst.com/1108workstation-table http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - November 2008

Cadalyst - November 2008 Contents Editor's Window CAD Central Tech Trends: Designed after Our Own Image Budget-Conscious Workstations — 64-Bit CAD Power for Less than $2,500 Cadalyst All-Star Awards 2008 SolidWorks 2009 — 3D MCAD Software IES Virtual Environment 5.9 — Building Performance Analysis Software View Point: A Design with Teeth CAD Manager: CAD Manager’s Survey 2008 MCAD Modeling: Ask for What You Want AEC Insight: AEC Software by the Clock CAD Cartoon Issue Indexes Hot Tip Harry: Hot Tips for Cold Days

Cadalyst - November 2008

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