Hardware to run CREO

[ptc-1715970]

Need to know what hardware (64 bit) should we purchase to get the best
results from using CREO2. I need specifications
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[StephenW]

I just upgraded computers and feel I got a pretty decent system. With Creo 2, you want to go to a higher end graphics card because PTC made improvements to the software to use the graphics card. (Search for posts from to Bernie Gruman, he's the guy I would buy from if I was able to specify a specific vendor)

HP Z420
Choose Fastest processor available ( I got E5 1620 3.6G - sandybridge processor I think is the "nickname")
-16GB RAM (see thoughts below)
-256GB SSD
-500GB SATA 7200rpm HDD
-QUADRO 2000 GRAPHICS (this is not the high end card but we are not yet on Creo 2) I would suggest going with a quadro 4000 or 5000.

Some thoughts:
* If you run out of RAM, you would do better with the increased RAM but you get no benefit from "extra" RAM. Pull up your biggest assembly and look at the task manager and see how much RAM you are using. In my experience, RAM does not improve drawing speed, if that is a problem for you.
* Faster processor = faster pro/e

I had benchmarks (for WF4 and WF5) on it but I can't find the results right off hand.

[BrentDrysdale]

Hi Bob,
As Steve says faster processor is king. If you look at Olaf's

Creo 2 seem fine on it though.


Regards,

*Brent Drysdale*
*Senior Design Engineer*
Tait Communications

[A.DelNegro]

The one place 'extra ram' would help is multitasking. If you use your
machine for your other day to day tasks, you will probably want 4Gb more
than your largest assembly (for Win7+). This will allow you to switch
programs without swapping data to the hard drive. That is what really
slows down the switch.

T

[StephenW]

Great additions. This brought back memories and some of the decision making process we went through.

I agree, over-clocking is something you would want to make a decision on if you are going with a custom builder. There are pros and cons. The big box computer makers will not over-clock because there are risks. My suggestion of using a custom builder is based on experience from a long time ago and the level of tuning those guys do to make it purr for you is something I found to be a huge asset.

Also, we chose the HPZ420 because we could get the faster processor and RAM dedicated to the single processor. HP offers higher end workstations, but these all start going to multiple processor setups and they also start specifying RAM banks that are dedicated to each processor (or something to that effect- I'm not an IT guy, but I know a good one). The multi-core is great for running other things at the same time as Creo and I only very rarely run FEA and those are so simple they only take a minute or 2 to run so it's not something on my list of priorities.

As far as graphics go, when I originally put out my graphics benchmark findings, I was testing WF4 and WF5 (CE/Pro) but I didn't state that in my email. It didn't take very long before I had an email from PTC asking me specifics about what version I was running. That is how I learned they had made significant strides in performance with CREO 2. Bernie Gruman has tested various graphics cards. You can ask him the performance benefits.

[bgruman]

Hello all,

I wanted to jump in here and firstly say that I totally agree with
everything that has been shared on this subject thus far... Also, I
wanted to expand a little more on Brent's comments about the M6600's and
Overclocking in general.

First, I personally use an M6600 with a Quadro 3000M for my traveling
workstation when a client requests me to come on-site for a period of time,
or, when I'm asked in for a meeting with management to do a little "show
and tell" while hooked up to a projector. That machine is awesome and
can handle anything that I have thrown at it. (within RAM limitations
anyway) Also, (I don't use mine this way, but) I can imagine with this
machine hooked up to a docking station with two external monitors it would
fulfill most design needs. The "Turbo Mode" that is enabled on these
machines is actually Intel's factory overclocking. Which leads me into my
next comments...

Overclocking of the second and third generation Intel i5, and i7 processors
is very different from the old Pentium days. In the old days,
overclocking was scary because you set a clock speed and that is what you
got all the time. However not only did you get the high clock all the
time, but you also got the high heat all the time... (That was the scary
part... Nowadays... the newer processors have a set base clock speed.
They also have an idle clock speed (for less power consumption), and they
have a factory "turbo mode" that is basically what Intel considers its "MAX
Limits" in terms of heat generation and stability. What I do is build the
machine is a way that I can control the heat (there are several things that
go into this) which in turn allows me to crank up the "Turbo Mode" and keep
it stable. The beauty of the latest processors is that they still idle at
the same low speeds as factory set. In the end, the processor still
handles all of its everyday tasks as it always would, and when your
running a few hundred feature regen in Pro, then it cranks up the turbo so
that it can handle that too.

(BTW... OCUS Benchmark 32bit score 1206, and 64bit score 1640 is my
M6600 machine.)

Hope this helps,
Bernie

Bernie Gruman
Owner / Designer / Builder
www.GrumanCreations.com





On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 3:30 PM, Brent Drysdale <-<br/>> wrote:

> Hi Bob,
> As Steve says faster processor is king. If you look at Olaf's
>
> Creo 2 seem fine on it though.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> *Brent Drysdale*
> *Senior Design Engineer*
> Tait Communications