My New CAD Station

[The Buzzard]

Hello Everyone,

Well, Its been about seven years since I last upgraded hardware and I can tell you this: "I should have done it sooner." The reason why I am posting this is in case others have gone through the same issues.

I have been working with a Dell Precision 360 workstation with AutoCAD 2004 and for the most part it seemed I could deal with it. Ever since the upgrade to AutoCAD 2009 I gained nothing but headaches. I was assured that 2009 was compatible for that system, So I was not sure if this was an ACAD bug. I kind of refrained from using 2009 at that point except to test AutoLisp programming in a more up to date version. Seems like a waste of software for the money. The ACAD program would just gobble up all available memory.

Recently I decided to upgrade hardware since I was getting low on hard disk space with the two 200GB hard drives I had and I realized the age of my system.

I thought about going a few steps up just to see if I could get around the problem issues I was having with 2009. I checked out Dell's Precision T5500 and assembled a system I thought would be good enough to get past the problem without going to overboard on price. I talked it over later with a Dell rep to see if they could do better on price and they seemed willing. Below is what I ended up getting and I just recently finished getting it up and running.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

I went with a Dual Quad Core Processor, (2) 500GB drives and a better Graphics Card and a larger Monitor to add to the multi-monitor I now have and this did the trick. For those who use their CAD for a living this was well worth the price. For me this is just a hobby, But I do like to work like a gentleman. To get your company management to invest this is hard to say. Its been some years beyond for me to understand how they do things any more.

Just wondering what your thoughts are on this.

So here it is:

1. Dell Precision T5500 Workstation
2. Dual Quad Core Processor, E5620, 2.40GHz, 12M, 5.86GT/s Dell Precision T5500
3. 4GB DDR3 ECC SDRAM Memory, 1333MHz, 4X1GB Dell Precision TX500
4. Dell, USB Quiet Keyboard, No Hot Keys, PWS, Black
5. Dual 1GB PCIe x 16 NVDIA Quadro FX 3800, Quad Monitor, DVI + 2DP, Dell Precision TX500
6. 500GB SATA 3.0GB/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache, Dell Precision TX500
7. 500GB SATA 3.0GB/s with NCQ and 16MB DataBurst Cache, Dell Precision TX500
8. C2 All SATA or SSD Hard Drives, Non-RAID for 2 Hard Drives, Dell Precision T5500
9. No Flopp Drive, Dell Precision
10. Windows 7 Pofessional Downgrade to XP Professional SP3, No Media, Fixed Precision, English
11. Dell Backup and Recovery Manager for WinXP, MUI, Latitude, Precision, OptiPlex, Vostro
12. Windows 7 Downgrade RLOB
13. Dell USB 2 Button Optical Mouse with Scroll, Black Precision
14. Mini-Tower Chassis Configuration, Dell Precision T3400,T5500
15. 16X DVD+/-RW Data only Dell Precision TX500
16. Cyberlink Power DVD 8.3, No Media, Dell Relationship LOB
17. Roxio Creator Dell Edition 10.3, No Media, Dell RLOB
18. No Speaker Option
19. Precision T5500 Power Supply, C2
20. Documentation, English, Dell Precision
21. Power Cord, 125V, 2M C13, Dell Precision
22. Integrated Intel Chipst SATA 3.0GB/s Controller, Dell Precision T3500,T5500
23. No Resource CD for Dell Optiplex, Precision and Latitude
24. Shipping Material for System Dell Precision T5500
25. Dell Hardware Limited Warranty Plus Onsite Service Initial Year
26. Dell ProSupport
27. ProSupport for End Users 7x24 Technical Support and Assistance for End Users, Initial
28. ProSupport for End Users 7x24 Technical Support and Assistance for End Users, 2 Year Extended
29. Resource DVD contains Diagnotics and Drivers for Dell Precision T5500
30. Quick Reference Guide, Dell Precision T5500
31. Trend Micro Internet Security, English, 30 Day Trial
32. Special Pricing Applied

This system was over $5000.00 before discounts.

Subtotal: $3306.55
S&H $0.00
Tax $293.48
Envior Fee $0.00
Total w/discounts $3600.03

Dell, ST2410 24" Flat Screen Monitor $199.99

Reusing Three (3) Existing Dell ST2010 Flat Screen Monitors

The image below shows the (4) Monitors with the 24" to the Left followed by (3) 20" Monitors.

[ReMark]

Only $3600? Only??

I'm glad someone is making the "big bucks"!

Sweet. I'm jealous. Can I borrow it for a year or two? LOL

[Cad64]

Wow! $3600 to build a system for something that's just a hobby? Must be nice.
I think you could have purchased a really good machine that would have been capable of doing everything you need it to do for about half of what you paid though. The dual video cards account for about $1600 alone. And the dual quad processors are about another $1000.

Can I ask why you need 4 monitors? I would have just gone with the one video card and stayed with my dual monitor setup.

And why the dual quad processors? Are you doing 3D renderings? If you're just doing CAD work and other general computer work, a single quad processor would have been more than enough.

If you take out one of the quad processors and one of the video cards you're down to about $2300. That's much more reasonable, IMO, and just as effective, performance wise. You would have only been able to hook up 2 monitors, but other than that, you would not have seen any performance issues. And your wallet wouldn't have been impacted quite so much either. But if you can afford it, great, go for it. I just can't justify that type of expense for myself.

[alanjt]

Man, I'd cut someone for a machine half as good as that one.

[The Buzzard]

I was under the impression that this machine was nowhere near a pro-workstation. There are CAD stations for $15000.00 to $20000.00 that fall in that class. I thought it would be nice to have something only better than what I have used in the past years. The multi-monitor setup was something I had work on for a while gathering used monitors. I wanted to replace an old 21" Viewsonic CRT for the 24" Dell, But for quite some time I had used (3) monitors. The fourth monitor was planed on for some time. Once you use a multi-monitor setup, It is hard to go back to less. The video card I now have is only considered mid-range. I have tinkered with 3D, But plan to get more involved soon.

Most of the issues I had stemmed around poor performance. The old Precision 360 was a station that was thrown out by a company to be replaced by another. It suited my purpose until I had installed 2009. I would not use 2009 after the install as it became a problem especially when the layer manager was open, The cursor would start jumping around. I stuck with 2004 as my CAD of choice. Now that this issue is resolved, I can start making use of 2009.

CAD seems more enjoyable when you do not have yo do it for a living anymore.

If you are going to do something for yourself, Then try to do it right.

[Cad64]

I was under the impression that this machine was nowhere near a pro-workstation. There are CAD stations for $15000.00 to $20000.00 that fall in that class.

That's true, but those machines are extreme rarities. You will really only find machines like that in high end mechanical engineering firms where they are running really high tech programs that do intense calculations and rendering. Your typical run of the mill CAD drafter is NOT working on a $15,000 machine. He's lucky if he's working on a $1,500 machine. I would guess that your machine is probably better than what most of the guys on this board are using as their daily work station.

[The Buzzard]

That's true, but those machines are extreme rarities. You will really only find machines like that in high end mechanical engineering firms where they are running really high tech programs that do intense calculations and rendering. Your typical run of the mill CAD drafter is NOT working on a $15,000 machine. He's lucky if he's working on a $1,500 machine. I would guess that your machine is probably better than what most of the guys on this board are using as their daily work station.

I do agree with you there. Dells base model for the T5500 was $2442.00 and the T3500 was around $1071.00. Most companies will get a better deal off the asking price, But do not expect much in the way of add-ons. You basically work with whats in front of you like it or not. Since I am not subject to company decisions I was hoping to get a cream-puff. If this is going to be a hobby for me then I want it to be most enjoyable. I think it is fair to say that from working professionally with a low end station and the expectations of the volume of work expected by the company is in contrast. You always get what you pay for. Ok, That might be a bit over the top. Sorry if I interfered with the budget of Managements golf outing.

[ReMark]

I would have gone with one graphics card not two and spent the money I saved on more memory. This I would have bumped up to 8GB or even 12GB but to do so would have required one other change. You should have made the switch to Windows 7 (64-bit) either the Pro or Ultimate addition rather than downgrade to XP. Finally, I would have looked at a 24" (or higher) wide-screen LCD. Four monitors is ridiculous unless you're designing cars, planes or doing a lot of video editing.

[The Buzzard]

I would have gone with one graphics card not two and spent the money I saved on more memory. This I would have bumped up to 8GB or even 12GB but to do so would have required one other change. You should have made the switch to Windows 7 (64-bit) either the Pro or Ultimate addition rather than downgrade to XP. Finally, I would have looked at a 24" (or higher) wide-screen LCD. Four monitors is ridiculous unless you're designing cars, planes or doing a lot of video editing.

I like the fact I do not have to minimize or maximize programs, I can have several programs open all within my view. I have had this setup for years and I can say with confidence you get more done. With the dual processors the memory required that I have is fine and no need for more at this point. The performance is good all around. I can always add more if needed. Windows 7 has not been out that long for me to feel comfortable with so XP is my choice. And finally 64-bit is very nice, But all my apps are 32-bit and it did not make sense to replace all them. What I did here may not be right for some, But as for me this works well.

[ReMark]

You're right. But is it a good idea to be straddling the line?