XP Pro dual CPU

[Mike Brearley]

I'm putting together a workstation for an engineer where I work. We want a
dual xeon system and I just want to make sure that XP Pro or even Win2k Pro
supports dual processors with a typical license (oem or retail) and doesn't
need anything special.

Also, does anyone have first hand experience on this and know what kind of
system performance increase there is with a dual processor over a single
one. The main application we use is SolidWorks 2003.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

--
Posted 'as is'. If there are any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, they
were a direct result of my fingers and brain not being synchronized or my
lack of caffeine.

Mike Brearley

 

[Julian Devlin]

XP Pro and Win2k Pro both support Dual Xeon Proc, nothing special required.

I am familiar with Solidworks, we have 12 mech engs who use a networked
version of it. They all use Dell Precision workstations. (P4 Xeons, 32GB
SCSI HDD 1024MB RAM)

I never receive any complaints from them in regards to the performance of
their PC's, other than the network slows them down. Solidworks opens some
85+ files over the network.
JD

 

[GSV Three Minds in a Can]

I'm putting together a workstation for an engineer where I work. We want a
dual xeon system and I just want to make sure that XP Pro or even Win2k Pro
supports dual processors with a typical license (oem or retail) and doesn't
need anything special.

Yes, it'll work fine - Win2k Pro or XP Pro either one. It's only XP Home
that is limited to one CPU. Even a retail upgrade will work (as long as
it's Pro). At this point in its life cycle I think the sanest choice is
XP Pro, unless you happen to have Win2k lying around already, in which
case the upgrade cost is hard to justify.

Also, does anyone have first hand experience on this and know what kind of
system performance increase there is with a dual processor over a single
one. The main application we use is SolidWorks 2003.

Sorry, I don't use that application, and the speedup is =very=
application dependent. Best cases I've seen reported are 60-70% faster
with 2 CPUs .. worst case is about 5% (for things that just aren't
written to be multi-threaded, or which are limited by something other
than CPU cycles).

 

[Mike Brearley]

Thanks for the info. We've seen the slow down as a result of the network as
well. I'm hoping solid works will optimize that in future releases. We
never had any problems with ProE.

I'm pricing the diffrence between Dell, HP and Custom Built. I don't know
if I can justify the extra $2000 in cost for a brand name system.

--
Posted 'as is'. If there are any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, they
were a direct result of my fingers and brain not being synchronized or my
lack of caffeine.

Mike Brearley

 

[Mike Brearley]

Thanks for the info.

--
Posted 'as is'. If there are any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, they
were a direct result of my fingers and brain not being synchronized or my
lack of caffeine.

Mike Brearley

 

[Willit]

Ck out tiger direct, great deals on workstations. They
have a HP kit deal thats hard to beat.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/search.
asp?mnf=1549&cat=120

 

[Julian Devlin]

I see your dilemma. I guess if you are quite technically savvy, building
your own will go without a glitch. Fortunately for us we are in a licence
agreement with Dell, hence we can't buy anything but.

The only advice I can offer is the extra $2000 goes in to making sure all
the parts of the system function properly with each other. Dell has a great
support web, our machines are never down for more than day.

I guess if you want to give yourself a challenge, and are going to be around
for a while to support this system.. do it yourself. do all the basic checks
that parts will work together, maybe to cover yourself buy and brand parts,
Intel mobo Intel LAN, Intel vid, Kingston ram specifically tested for the
mobo.. etc..

I'd do it.. I'd probably enjoy it feel proud about it..

 

[Mike Brearley]

I was already planning on an Intel Mobo with built in dual lan, even
kingston memory. The only other component was the video card, went with a
Quadro4 980XGL with 128MB.

We may be going with the Dell though, I just received a quote back from our
Dell rep as we too, or rather our corporate headquarters, has a contract
with them. The price dropped quite a bit, now it's just under $700 more
than a custom built. For that amount of a difference, I don't know if I can
justify a custom built workstation. Not to mention the Dell has a better
video card.

--
Posted 'as is'. If there are any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, they
were a direct result of my fingers and brain not being synchronized or my
lack of caffeine.

Mike Brearley