New PC Desktop Vs. Workstation
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New PC Desktop Vs. Workstation
Hi Guys,
Sorry, if this is the wrong forum or has been posted. Everyone on here seems very knowledgeable of computers and i need some help. I need to buy a new computer to run e-cabinets and AutoCAD. I was looking on the Dell site and you can not buy a desktop pc with Windows XP. Every desktop comes with Windows Vista. From the advice in the past topics. I want to stick with Windows XP. Under dell workstations i could still get windows XP. I just was not sure if a workstation would work the same. Does anybody know what the difference between a Workstation and Desktop are? Just for an example, i did not see a sound card under the workstation options. Where as a desk top it is listed. I did try and contact Dell but they were not very helpful. Any help or suggestions would be great! I am currently using a Dell Dimension
Thanks,
Dave
Sorry, if this is the wrong forum or has been posted. Everyone on here seems very knowledgeable of computers and i need some help. I need to buy a new computer to run e-cabinets and AutoCAD. I was looking on the Dell site and you can not buy a desktop pc with Windows XP. Every desktop comes with Windows Vista. From the advice in the past topics. I want to stick with Windows XP. Under dell workstations i could still get windows XP. I just was not sure if a workstation would work the same. Does anybody know what the difference between a Workstation and Desktop are? Just for an example, i did not see a sound card under the workstation options. Where as a desk top it is listed. I did try and contact Dell but they were not very helpful. Any help or suggestions would be great! I am currently using a Dell Dimension
Thanks,
Dave
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Dave
A workstation IS what you want for eCabinets and AutoCAD. Workstations are better suited for technical programs while desktops are more for general purpose use.
The Dimension is a good general purpose home computer but it lacks the horsepower needed for eCabinets and other technical software.
Gaming systems may have the processing horsepower but their graphics capabilities are geared to games. Games use DirectX graphics and technical programs use OpenGL.
A workstation IS what you want for eCabinets and AutoCAD. Workstations are better suited for technical programs while desktops are more for general purpose use.
The Dimension is a good general purpose home computer but it lacks the horsepower needed for eCabinets and other technical software.
Gaming systems may have the processing horsepower but their graphics capabilities are geared to games. Games use DirectX graphics and technical programs use OpenGL.
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You must of been reading a microsoft book or something. Maybe if you a MS game company you would use directX whatever, but not all games use directX. OpenGL is common in games as well. The HOOPS api that we use can be used with a openGL or directx as the display driver. Believe it or not, eCabinets 3D graphics are closer to a "game", then to a technical program.DanEpps wrote:Gaming systems may have the processing horsepower but their graphics capabilities are geared to games. Games use DirectX graphics and technical programs use OpenGL.
Bottom line, if you spend cheap you get cheap. Bottom price workstation are just as bad as bottom line desktops. Key components to any good eCabinets pc. fast processor( 2ghz or more), 1GB or 2GB of dual channel ram, and a high end gaming or workstation video card (at least 256mb ram, 256-bit memory interface).
Rick Deskins
eCabinet Systems Programmer
Dell Precision / Xeon E3-1240 / 8GB RAM/ AMD FirePro V4900
eCabinet Systems Programmer
Dell Precision / Xeon E3-1240 / 8GB RAM/ AMD FirePro V4900
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Before anyone gets the wrong idea from my last response, I do agree with Rick--low end workstations are just as bad as low end gaming or general puopose systems.
The point I meant to question was HOOPS use of DirectX versus OpenGL. Previous discussions on this subject have all said that eCabinets relies on OpenGL, not DirectX. The HOOPS API can certainly accomodate DirectX but eCabinets primitives were written using OpenGL.
Today, probably 95% of Windows games rely on DirectX for 3D graphics. Why? Because DirectX is a Microsoft \"product\" that is tightly integrated within Windows. Most game developers use DirectX because there are more development tools for games that integrate DirectX than there are for OpenGL.
Similarly, most technical software has historically used OpenGL for 3D graphics. HOOPS has APIs for DirectX as well as OpenGL, as do most technical software programs today.
To my knowledge all video cards support both standards--DirectX and OpenGL. The difference is that gaming cards are optimized for DirectX and technical workstation cards are optimized for OpenGL.
Will eCabinets perform well on a gaming system? Most likely yes--as long as it is a high-end system with a high-end video card.
Will eCabinets perform better on a workstation? Not necessarily. If the workstation is comparable to a similar gaming system you probably won't see any difference in performance.
Where you WILL see a difference is between a general purpose system and EITHER a high-end gaming system or a high-end workstation.
Even the best general purpose system will not give the performance of a low-end workstation or gaming system.
Confused still? Sorry.
As Rick said, the bottom line is to not skimp when it comes to buying a computer. Would you buy the cheapest woodworking tools for your shop? You can buy a table saw for $99 but will it stand up to the needs of a production cabinet shop? Not likely and the same holds true for computers.
The point I meant to question was HOOPS use of DirectX versus OpenGL. Previous discussions on this subject have all said that eCabinets relies on OpenGL, not DirectX. The HOOPS API can certainly accomodate DirectX but eCabinets primitives were written using OpenGL.
Today, probably 95% of Windows games rely on DirectX for 3D graphics. Why? Because DirectX is a Microsoft \"product\" that is tightly integrated within Windows. Most game developers use DirectX because there are more development tools for games that integrate DirectX than there are for OpenGL.
Similarly, most technical software has historically used OpenGL for 3D graphics. HOOPS has APIs for DirectX as well as OpenGL, as do most technical software programs today.
To my knowledge all video cards support both standards--DirectX and OpenGL. The difference is that gaming cards are optimized for DirectX and technical workstation cards are optimized for OpenGL.
Will eCabinets perform well on a gaming system? Most likely yes--as long as it is a high-end system with a high-end video card.
Will eCabinets perform better on a workstation? Not necessarily. If the workstation is comparable to a similar gaming system you probably won't see any difference in performance.
Where you WILL see a difference is between a general purpose system and EITHER a high-end gaming system or a high-end workstation.
Even the best general purpose system will not give the performance of a low-end workstation or gaming system.
Confused still? Sorry.
As Rick said, the bottom line is to not skimp when it comes to buying a computer. Would you buy the cheapest woodworking tools for your shop? You can buy a table saw for $99 but will it stand up to the needs of a production cabinet shop? Not likely and the same holds true for computers.
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Definitely not Mike!!! Workstations are intended for software like eCabinets or CAD programs, not games. Gaming systems are intended for games, not technical software.Michael Yeargain wrote:So after spending nearly 5 grand for this Dell I am now reading that I bought the wrong one?
This is not to say that games won't work on a workstation and technical software won't run on gaming systems--just that you won't get the BEST performance that way.
A high-end gaming system will have a similar cost to a high-end workstation, so price isn't the issue here.
The systems to stay away from are the consumer-type computers. If you can buy it in Wal-Mart, Best Buy or Office Depot, it is a general-purpose HOME computer, intended for internet browsing, word processing and storing your family photos.
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I highly doubt you got anything to worry about....but I gotta know, which workstation did you get? Got any specs or a link to it? Congratulations on your purchase I look forward to seeing some renderings from ya!Michael Yeargain wrote:So after spending nearly 5 grand for this Dell I am now reading that I bought the wrong one?
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Jody,
I have still run into the problem with memory. Here is a spec for my comp.
Dell Precision PWS490 Intel(R) Xeon(TM) CPU 3.2 Ghz 3.19 Ghz, 3.0GB RAM XP Pro Service pack 2.
I also have a NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 video bios 5.70.02.41.03 PCI xpress x16 512 MB with the downloaded tweak applied
The Page file is set to 4605 MB initial and 9210 MB Max.
I don't know if this Page file affects this system or not I only have 1 drive installed.
I have still run into the problem with memory. Here is a spec for my comp.
Dell Precision PWS490 Intel(R) Xeon(TM) CPU 3.2 Ghz 3.19 Ghz, 3.0GB RAM XP Pro Service pack 2.
I also have a NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 video bios 5.70.02.41.03 PCI xpress x16 512 MB with the downloaded tweak applied
The Page file is set to 4605 MB initial and 9210 MB Max.
I don't know if this Page file affects this system or not I only have 1 drive installed.
Intel Core i7-5820K (6-Cores, 3.3GHz, 15MB Cache)
32Gigs DDR4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB
SSD 840 256Gig, 2TB, 3TB, Samsung (2TB)
Corsair RM650
32Gigs DDR4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB
SSD 840 256Gig, 2TB, 3TB, Samsung (2TB)
Corsair RM650
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Who? What thread?Jody Wilmes wrote:Found the thread where you were talking about memory problems. It looks like you stated you had a job or something we could look at but had no way of attaching it to the thread. Could you e-mail it to me or support? Thanks.
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Yeah, I realize that now....it's Monday. I see Dean has gotten to it or is looking into something. We have been looking into this.DanEpps wrote:Jody
I think it is probably the same issues EVERYONE is having...rendering is extremely slow and a "Out of Memory" error occurs often.