(off topic) UG computer

Yahoo Archive
1
As long as you bear in mind that non-dual processor aware apps will stick
with one processor, then I would consider the dual proposition. My
experience has been that on a workstation, it's not worth the extra expense.

For two of our dual-display stations, we use 3Dlabs Oxygen GVX 420 (around
$1600). One is an HPVFX700 (p3-700), while the other is Silicon Graphics
ZX-10. The 420 comes with 128mb (64mb per side) and handles fluid dynamics
studies quite well so far (we've only had it for about a month). Still
stuck on UniGraphics, huh?

At 11:01 AM 4/11/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>I have a choice between 2 different processors for our UG computer. One
>is a DUAL PIII 933 and the other is P4 1.5. I understand that the DUAL
>PIII will run faster. We're not sure how powerful UG is, so would it be a
>better idea to go with the DUAL PIII anyway? Or, because the P4 is newer
>technology would it be a better idea to go with that? Yes, I realize that
>they'll probably come out with a P5 in 2 weeks, but it's the thought.......
>Also, how good is a ATI Radeon 65MB video card? We want our UG computer
>to be the best is can, so I'm looking for the best in everything on this
>computer.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Wendy Bowen
>Network Administrator
>Schmald Tool & Die, Inc.
>(810) 743-1600 ext.323
>wpursche@...
>
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
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2
I have a choice between 2 different processors for our UG computer. One is a DUAL PIII 933 and the other is P4 1.5. I understand that the DUAL PIII will run faster. We're not sure how powerful UG is, so would it be a better idea to go with the DUAL PIII anyway? Or, because the P4 is newer technology would it be a better idea to go with that? Yes, I realize that they'll probably come out with a P5 in 2 weeks, but it's the thought.......
Also, how good is a ATI Radeon 65MB video card? We want our UG computer to be the best is can, so I'm looking for the best in everything on this computer.

Thanks!

Wendy Bowen
Network Administrator
Schmald Tool & Die, Inc.
(810) 743-1600 ext.323
wpursche@...



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
3
Hi Wnedy,

I asked or IT guy here who is also an engineer and does design/animations,
etc. He also runs acompany where he builds PC's and networks. We do not
really use that software here, but he belives it would take advantage of the
dual processors and the dual P3 would therefore be better.

We have recently been working to find the best possible PC for running Pro/E
and Pro/Man software here. What we did was get demo pc's configured to the
max and we are testing them all for speed on some of our most data-crunching
and graphics intensive jobs. We are to be finishing the testing up over the
next couple of weeks. Maybe you would consider trying something similar for
UG, then you would know for certain that you ahve the best config/PC for
your app.

-Sarah
4
Wendy,

The Radeon is a good choice for gaming and general-purpose
PCs, but not for 3D and design. Look at the S3 FireGL2,
3DLabs OxygenGVX series, nVidia Quadra series, or ELSA
Gloria or Synergy series. There are a few others who's
names escape me at the moment. Workstation graphics
solutions generally start at about $400 and quickly move
up, but you can get an excellent card for around $800.
Be sure to check with the software vendor first to
ensure compatibility.

If UG is multi-threading and multi-processor aware you
will probably get very good performance out of the dual-
cpu PIII. To be quite honest we've been disappointed
with our P4 1.5GHz machines. In any case, 256 to 512MB
RAM would also boost performance considerably.

have fun,
John


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wendy Bowen
> Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2001 8:01 AM
> To: Vantage Yahoogroups list
> Subject: [Vantage] (off topic) UG computer
5
Wendy,

As an avid gamer I have never been happy with the speed of any of the ATI
products. I would say the best Video for speed and dollars would be the
Voodoo 5 (Although I have seen several systems catch on fire that were using
the cards) That isn't a problem as long as you have good cooling. I have not
been terribly impressed with the P4 as of yet but if UG supports dual
processing I would go with a dual processor P3 setup with at the minimum 256
meg for ram.

Eric Tolliver
IT\MIS
Continental Industries Inc.
5456 E. Mcdowell Rd.
Mesa, Az 85215
http://ciirelays.com/
mailto:e.tolliver@...

-----Original Message-----
From: Wendy Bowen [mailto:wpursche@...]

I have a choice between 2 different processors for our UG computer. One is
a DUAL PIII 933 and the other is P4 1.5. I understand that the DUAL PIII
will run faster. We're not sure how powerful UG is, so would it be a better
idea to go with the DUAL PIII anyway? Or, because the P4 is newer
technology would it be a better idea to go with that? Yes, I realize that
they'll probably come out with a P5 in 2 weeks, but it's the thought.......
Also, how good is a ATI Radeon 65MB video card? We want our UG computer to
be the best is can, so I'm looking for the best in everything on this
computer.

Thanks!

Wendy Bowen
Network Administrator
Schmald Tool & Die, Inc.
(810) 743-1600 ext.323
wpursche@...
6
At 11:01 AM 4/11/2001 , you wrote:
>I have a choice between 2 different processors for our UG computer. One
>is a DUAL PIII 933 and the other is P4 1.5. I understand that the DUAL
>PIII will run

All the P4 benchmarks I've seen have been disappointing. In many cases, at
1.5GHz, they're barely faster than a 1GHz P-3, and an Athlon 1200 spanks
'em both. Plus the P4 needs expensive rambus memory - the same Rambus that
Intel is in litigation with to get out of their agreement. Plus the
current P4 socket and system boards will be replaced any week now with a
new design, possibly making 1st gen P4s the most quick to become obsolete
Intels of all time.

I'd go with the P3, unless you have some real benchmark that says
otherwise. Or an Athlon.

>Also, how good is a ATI Radeon 65MB video card? We want our UG computer
>to be the best is can, so I'm looking for the best in everything on this
>computer.

Video cards for 3D CAM are rare and expensive beasts. It can make a muck
larger performance difference than the rest of the components
combined. That ATI is more of a general purpose card than what you
probably need. Let the software vendor's recommended / approved list be
your guide.

We run Pro/E here, and have some 3D-Labs GMX & GVX boards. The cooling
fans love to die every couple months, possibly melting down your $1000
board, and requiring your workstation to sit idle for a week while you
hassle getting a replacement from them. I haven't been overly impressed
with the 3D-Labs' performance, either. Their newest "Wildcat II 5110" may
be the badest of them all at the moment; but it's over $2k and not that
much faster than the GL2.

ELSA's customer service is even worse, I intend to avoid their products all
together.

I just bought a Fire GL2 for a new machine (no cooling fans!) Dell sells
their OEM version for $780. Cards with the NVIdia Quadro2 Pro are a little
slower for around $400 - 500.

Here's an interesting review at Tom's Hardware:
http://www4.tomshardware.com/graphic/00q4/001213/index.html

-Wayne Cox
7
I agree 100%. Withoug hurting anybody's feelings the Voodoo cards probably
won't work well for 3D design either. The best thing to do is consult the
manufacturer or your local distributor for what video card they recommend
for your application ... and hardware for that matter. Our distributor
recommended removing the Elsa Synergy card that came in our workstation and
replacing it with the 3D Labs Oxygen for our Solidworks installation. There
was some kind of a conflict that hurt performance with the Elsa and the
Oxygen works great. CAD magazines are a great place for reviews on systems
and hardware as well. They usually perform benchmark tests with many of the
leading packages.

Rick


> The Radeon is a good choice for gaming and general-purpose
> PCs, but not for 3D and design. Look at the S3 FireGL2,
> 3DLabs OxygenGVX series, nVidia Quadra series, or ELSA
> Gloria or Synergy series.
8
Wendy,

We bought Compaq SP-700 workstations over a year ago with:
9.1 Gig 10,000 RPM Wide Ultra2 SCSI
512Meg of RAM (spare slots left to double this)
Oxygen GVX1 AGP Video
PIII XEON 550 (Dual slots but only using one)
NT4.0 SP6a

The Programmers have not complained yet about speed and we are running:
UG-II ver. 17
We use solids in our CAD and 5 axis contour milling in our CAM. (they even
model the machine into the program to check for clearance problems)

Just give them 1 CPU initially and then when they get used to the speed you
can add the second one and be the hero.

One other thought, you pay quite a premium for name brand equipment and
onsite same day service. I see the price of the "clones" coming down and
the quality going up (Motherboards and Chassis). The savings could actually
get you extra machines and you could leave one sitting on the sidelines
fully configured. When you have a failure just switch and fire up the spare
and then you can repair the other machine at your leisure.

Best regards,

Jerry Solobay

IS/IT Manager



-----Original Message-----
From: Wendy Bowen [mailto:wpursche@...]
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2001 8:01 AM
To: Vantage Yahoogroups list
Subject: [Vantage] (off topic) UG computer

I have a choice between 2 different processors for our UG computer. One is
a DUAL PIII 933 and the other is P4 1.5. I understand that the DUAL PIII
will run faster. We're not sure how powerful UG is, so would it be a better
idea to go with the DUAL PIII anyway? Or, because the P4 is newer
technology would it be a better idea to go with that? Yes, I realize that
they'll probably come out with a P5 in 2 weeks, but it's the thought.......
Also, how good is a ATI Radeon 65MB video card? We want our UG computer to
be the best is can, so I'm looking for the best in everything on this
computer.

Thanks!

Wendy Bowen
Network Administrator
Schmald Tool & Die, Inc.
(810) 743-1600 ext.323
wpursche@...



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please go to:
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9
I'm a Gamer also Eric, unfortunately I have it on good authority that the
VooDoo product line has been bought by of all companies ATI.

Shirley Graver
(End User)
Sys Admin
Rubber associates Inc.
Cleveland/Akron



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
10
We use UG extensively here with 40 workstations using. We benchmarked
UG 17 as follows:

1 dual PIII 933mhz w/1gb ram W2K
1 single PIV 1.4ghz w/1gb ram W2K

The PIV was significantly faster even w/ a single processor. We
bought 15 of the PIV 1.4ghz and have been pleased with the decision.

Upon contacting UG GTAC we discovered the the UG code is not
optimized for dual processors in NT4.0 or W2K. We have also found
that UG17 on NT is not very stable. The users will have crashes
almost once per shift. UGS is working the problem, and we do expect
UG18 to be better.

Note: we were told that UG18 will not be supported on NT4.0 only
supported on W2K and UNIX.


Ric Mellon
Ultra Tool Group



--- In vantage@y..., "Wendy Bowen" <wpursche@s...> wrote:
> I have a choice between 2 different processors for our UG
computer. One is a DUAL PIII 933 and the other is P4 1.5. I
understand that the DUAL PIII will run faster. We're not sure how
powerful UG is, so would it be a better idea to go with the DUAL PIII
anyway? Or, because the P4 is newer technology would it be a better
idea to go with that? Yes, I realize that they'll probably come out
with a P5 in 2 weeks, but it's the thought.......
> Also, how good is a ATI Radeon 65MB video card? We want our UG
computer to be the best is can, so I'm looking for the best in
everything on this computer.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Wendy Bowen
> Network Administrator
> Schmald Tool & Die, Inc.
> (810) 743-1600 ext.323
> wpursche@s...
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
11
We have found that the ELSA Gloria II is the best card for Mechanical
Desktop... an Autodesk product. We had problems with several cards and
found that the ELSA works great with Pro/E and Mechanical Desktop. They
seem to be worth the $610

Paul


I agree 100%. Withoug hurting anybody's feelings the Voodoo cards probably
won't work well for 3D design either. The best thing to do is consult the
manufacturer or your local distributor for what video card they recommend
for your application ... and hardware for that matter. Our distributor
recommended removing the Elsa Synergy card that came in our workstation and
replacing it with the 3D Labs Oxygen for our Solidworks installation. There
was some kind of a conflict that hurt performance with the Elsa and the
Oxygen works great. CAD magazines are a great place for reviews on systems
and hardware as well. They usually perform benchmark tests with many of the
leading packages.

Rick


> The Radeon is a good choice for gaming and general-purpose
> PCs, but not for 3D and design. Look at the S3 FireGL2,
> 3DLabs OxygenGVX series, nVidia Quadra series, or ELSA
> Gloria or Synergy series.


To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/. Note: You must have already
linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/