12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

Sign In
Courses   Learning Tracks
Forum   Free Student So ware  Register

HOME› INSTALLATION AND LICENSING› ANSYS FREE STUDENT SOFTWARE

Please recommend the con guration of

the computer workstation

h395523899 Member

May 2018

I need to buy a computer workstation for fluid and static

simulation.

Is there a good configuration recommendation?

Please tell me what factors you need to consider when configuring

your computer workstation. I will answer them one by one. Thank
you
 

Comments « 1 2 » 

peteroznewman Member

May 2018 edited May 2018

What is your budget?  There are di erent recommendations if

you are a poor student versus having some else pay for an
awesome workstation.

Which license are you on: Student (limited size) or a

Research/Corporate (unlimited size) license?  You don't need
as much RAM if you can't run large models.

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 1/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

Does it need to be mobile or can you get a desktop?

The most important thing is to get a graphics card from the list
of tested cards.  That will ensure a good user experience with the
product.

Get at least 8GB of RAM.  Get more if you can a ord it.  Find out
the maximum RAM capability of the motherboard, even if you
don't install the maximum initially.  This allows for a future
RAM upgrade, say when you change from a Student license to
a Research license.

Get the fastest processor with 4 or more cores if you can a ord
it. However, don't trade o clock speed to get more cores.
Some vendors o er well engineered overclocked processors
such as BOXX.

Get SSD storage instead of HDD if you can a ord it.  They are
much faster on large problems when you run out of RAM. I
have an SSD for the C: drive so programs load fast, a much
larger SSD where the projects I am working on are solved. Use
a HDD for archive storage that is really large.

Get a supported GPU if you can a ord it.  But my testing showed
GPUs were not accelerating my Static Structural models. They
do help on FLUENT models.

 
 

h395523899 Member

May 2018 edited May 2018

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 2/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

1. My budget is less than $7,000.

2. How to check the license type? Student (limited size) or a

Research/Corporate (unlimited size). I do not understand this

3. Desktop workstation

4. I am going to use ssd and hdd in combination.

5.The number of cores and the size of RAM made me

entangled. The site suggests e5 2600 v4 cpu, I do not know
how the performance.

The maximum size of the fluent model I have established can

reach 100m*100m*50m, and the model will also include the
0.01mm class. So the dimensions in the model range from
100m to 0.01mm. So my grid should reach millions or even
millions.

The structural mechanics model size is about 100m*5m*5m

This is the current computer configuration

CPU: Core i7-4790

RAM: 4G

HDD: 1T

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 720

When I draw structural grid of more than 100,000, the

computer becomes very slow
 

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 3/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

peteroznewman Member

May 2018 edited May 2018

 1. A respectable amount to get a useful computer.

2. If you downloaded the free ANSYS Student so ware from

the link at the top of this page, you are on a Student license.
But you can't run models the size you mention on this license
type. The Student license will not solve structural models
when nodes and element exceed 32k or FLUENT models when
nodes and cells exceed 512k. You must be on a Research
license.

3. You get more compute power for your money on a desktop.

4. Good choice. One issue is that the SSD will be smaller than
the HDD, but you want to solve on the SSD to pick up the
speed advantage. However, on a really big transient model,
the disk space requirements can be huge and you don't want
to run out of disk space before the solution completes.

5. See my lengthy answers below. I had to break them into

smaller posts because of a 3000 character limit on each post.

 
 

peteroznewman Member

May 2018 edited May 2018

CLOCK SPEED AND CORE COUNT

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 4/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

Your current computer has a Core i7-4790 processor, which has

4 cores at 3.6 GHz.  If you purchase a computer with a 1.8 GHz
clock, your new computer will take twice as long to do most
things than your current computer, which would be
disappointing even if it had 14 cores and solved CFD models
faster.

"The site suggests e5 2600 v4 cpu" Look at this reference.

There are 29 products that are e5-2600-v4, out of the 44

products in the e5-v4 family. Below I plotted all 44 processor
with the Clock frequency (GHz) versus the number of Cores.
The ones in blue are in the 2600 family. I have labeled two
processors. Pretend those two processors cost the same and
you have to choose which one to purchase. One has 6 cores
running at 3.7 GHz while the other has 12 cores running at 1.9
GHz.

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 5/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

The clock speed determines how fast a given program will run.
If you have a 1.8 GHz computer and a model runs in 2 hours, if
you move it to a 3.6 GHz computer, it would run in 1 hour (they
both have 6 cores). You know the 3.6 GHz computer is more
expensive than the 1.8 GHz computer.  Now you could choose
a third computer that has 12 cores running at 1.8 GHz that
costs the same as the 6-core, 3.6 GHz computer. Do you go for
more cores or a faster clock? Read the next post to learn that
structural models don't scale perfectly with cores, and most of
the programs running on your computer don't know how to
use multiple cores, so I always go for clock speed over core
count.

Some manufacturers, like BOXX, will use high-performance

cooling on the processor and overclock the processor beyond
https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 6/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

what Intel specifies for ordinary cooling. A BOXX Apex S-class

is plotted on the graph and you see how much higher the clock
is set compared with the standard products. The BOXX Apex
will feel 33% faster for any program that you are currently
using on your computer. A pdf file from BOXX of a computer
with an ANSYS-tested graphics card that costs < $7000 is
attached for your reference.
afe23 c-e434-434b-8536…
c-e434-434b-8536…
0B

 

peteroznewman Member

May 2018 edited May 2018

 ANSYS PERFORMANCE SCALES WITH CORES

If you solve a structural model on 2 cores and it takes 19 hours,

it might take only 9 hours on 4 cores, 5 hours on 8 cores and 3
hours on 16 cores. Do you see the diminishing returns of
adding more cores? Doubling the number of cores doesn't
halve the time.

Those numbers are one illustration and di erent models will

have tremendous variation away from the ideal of halving the
https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 7/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

time when doubling the cores. The solver even estimates how
well the model is balanced and warns you if it is not well
balanced. FLUENT models respond closer to the ideal of
halving the solve time when the number of cores is doubled.

Here is a link for how to setup Mechanical to use more cores. I

hope you have done this on your 4-core computer. On Fluent,
you check Parallel and type a number when you start building
the model. 

ANSYS PERFORMANCE IS BEST WHEN SOLVING IN MEMORY

When making a purchase decision, you want the model to run

entirely in RAM if possible. The model that ran for 5 hours on 8
cores may have needed 64 GB of RAM to run entirely in
memory. If that model ran on a computer with only 32 GB of
RAM, it might take 11 hours. ANSYS uses the term "in-core" to
mean running in memory (RAM), but "in-core" has nothing to
do with the number of cores.

RAM IS BETTER THAN CORES

For this model you will be better o with 4 cores and 64 GB of

RAM rather than 8 cores and 32 GB of RAM. Doubling RAM is
much better for the solution time than adding cores, but this
only applies if the solver needs a large amount of RAM.  If the
solver only needs 16 GB of RAM, it won't run any faster on a
computer with 64 GB of RAM. RAM is cheaper than cores so my
advice is to install the maximum amount of RAM that the
motherboard supports.
 

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 8/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

peteroznewman Member

May 2018 edited May 2018

UPGRADE PATH - ADDING A GPU

If you have two open PCI slots in the computer, one of which is
a PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot, you can plug in a GPU at a later date
to reduce the solve time on FLUENT models. The NVIDIA
QUADRO GP100, which supports GPU solver acceleration on
both FLUENT and Mechanical models, costs nearly $7000 just
for the card. That card adds 3,584 Cuda cores, which is why it
is useful on large CFD models. But before you buy a computer
with a plan to add a GPU later, make sure that the power
supply has the capacity to power the GPU. That GP100 card
needs 235 W so you have to know that the power supply in the
computer has that unused capacity. If you purchase a
computer with a 300 W power supply and add up how much is
used by all the components it came with, there may only be
100 W of unused capacity, so this GPU would not work in such
a computer. The BOXX has a 650 W power supply and is
engineered to support multiple GPUs.

UPGRADE PATH - ADDING A SECOND PROCESSOR

The BOXX computer I show can’t hold more than 64 GB of RAM,

so you wouldn’t be able to go to 128 GB on that motherboard.
A di erent model of motherboard must be chosen if you want
the option to expand the RAM to that level. Some
motherboards support two processors. You can buy a
computer initially with one 6-core processor, and at a later
date, purchase a second 6-core processor, but the cooling
https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 9/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

system has to be able to support two processors. Some

motherboards have the capacity to hold more than 64 GB of
RAM, but only if you have two processors, so you have to read
the fine print.
 

h395523899 Member

May 2018 edited May 2018

Thank you so much for answering my question with such a

length

Through your answer I probably understand the following

points

1. At present, the configuration of my calculation is still

available, but it is only necessary to increase the RAM, which
can increase the speed of calculation.

2. The memory limits the number of grids, the CPU limits the
calculation speed, and at the same time, the memory speed
may a ect the calculation speed.

The workstation I want to buy is two E5 2600 V4 CPUs.

12 or 16 cores.

RAM: 32-64g.

2T HDD, 512G SSD

 
https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 10/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

peteroznewman Member

May 2018 edited May 2018

If you increase RAM on your current computer, the elapsed

time to wait for the solution will be reduced on large models,
but will have no e ect on small models. On a structural model,
under Analysis Settings, Solver Controls, set the Solver Type to
Direct. You can easily tell if the solver is running entirely in
memory by looking at the solution output. Click on the
Solution Information folder in the Outline and the Worksheet
will show the Solver Output. Click on the text and type ctrl-F
to  search for allocated.

You can see that the model above was allocated nearly 14 GB
of available RAM and ran entirely in that memory block.

A much larger model will show this note.

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 11/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

You can see that the model above needed 283 GB to run
entirely in RAM and that was not available, so the solver will
use the storage to hold parts of the matrix while it is
computing the solution.

2. The memory limits the number of grids, the CPU limits

the calculation speed, and at the same time, the memory
speed may a ect the calculation speed.

The example above shows that the memory didn't prevent the
solver from running, it just a ects how it runs. Running out of
disk space will prevent the solver from running.

Your proposed computer configuration shows only one SSD.

You want to configure the solver to use that drive while
solving. The simplest way to do that is to store your model
there. But if that is the C: drive, the installed programs use up
some of that space leaving less available for the solver. You
don't ever want to run out of disk space during a solve.
Another issue with having only one SSD is the Windows OS
needs to write files to the disk at random times, therefore, it is

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 12/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

optimal if Windows is writing to a di erent drive than ANSYS.

That is why I recommended two SSDs. One for the C: drive,
which could be 256 GB, and a second drive, 512 GB, just for
ANSYS models to solve on, while the third HDD is for moving
old models from the SSD to the HDD so you don't run out of
disk space on the SSD during a solve.

MECHANICAL SOLVERS

If you leave Solver Type to Program Controlled, ANSYS may

choose the Iterative solver instead of the direct sparse solver.
The iterative PCG solver might solve the same model in more
or less time. If you are going to be solving almost the same
model many times, say in a parameter study, you may want to
solve the exact same model twice, once with Direct and once
with Iterative. Scroll to the end of the Solution Output and
note the Elapsed Time for each solution, then you can select
the solver that took less time for the rest of your study.
 

peteroznewman Member

May 2018 edited May 2018

When I draw structural grid of more than 100,000, the

computer becomes very slow

Do you mean updating the display during view operations like

pan, zoom and rotate becomes sluggish?
Or do you mean just generally waiting a long time for the mesh
to be computed, or the model to save?

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 13/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

A better graphics card can help the first problem. Your current
GeForce card has only 1 or 2 GB of graphics RAM and only 192
Cuda cores to compute display rotation. A better graphics card
such as the NVIDIA QUADRO P2000 has 5 GB of graphics RAM
and 1024 Cuda cores to compute display rotations.

The QUADRO series of cards cost more than an equivalently

featured GeForce card, but the di erence is in the drivers. The
GeForce drivers were tested on games and any problems were
fixed so the games ran well. The QUADRO drivers were tested
on CAD and CAE programs like ANSYS and any problems were
fixed so those professional programs ran well.  You can see
several posts on this site about ANSYS not properly displaying
things on graphics cards that are not on the tested list.

The second problem of waiting a long time for the mesh to

build is somewhat unavoidable. But if Windows is running low
on RAM during the meshing process, having more RAM can
improve that problem.

You don't say what the Clock frequency in GHz is for the two
processors you are considering. If you get a Clock less than
your current computer's 3.6 GHz frequency, the mesh will take
longer to build (assuming RAM was not a limiting factor).

You can show your appreciation by clicking Like below the

posts that are helpful.
 

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 14/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

h395523899 Member

June 2018 edited June 2018

Hello, can you recommend a dell or hp desktop workstation?

Or own assembly parts

The boxx workstation you recommend is not available in our

country.

If I am running ansys, I still need to run matlab. Is it possible to

pursue high clock time?

Similar recommended boxx configuration 4.8 Hz, six cores. A

cpu can satisfy it?

I have two plans now

1. A cpu above 4.0 Hz. More than six cores. This may only be
selected Core Series. For example: i7-8700k

2. Both cpu over 3.5 Hz. More than four cores each. This can
choose Xeon series. E.g:

Xeon Gold 5122

Xeon E5-2637 v4

Which is better?
 

peteroznewman Member

June 2018 edited June 2018

Overclocking is not done by Dell or HP, they run with the

specification that Intel provides, which is okay. Smaller
https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 15/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

companies might build overclocked machines for Gamers, but

I worry about the reliability of their solution, I don't want the
CPU to overheat and shutdown and lose tens of hours of
computation. So forget overclocking.

i7-8700k  - 8th Generation (Co ee lake) is limited to 128 GB of

RAM but is much cheaper than the Xeon processors.

Xeon Gold 5122 - 6th Generation (Skylake)  is limited to 768 GB

of RAM

Xeon E5-2637 v4 - 5th Generation (Broadwell) is limited to 1.54

TB of RAM.

My HP research showed I can't stay under your budget on a

Xeon Gold 5122 with 2 processors of 4 cores each.

But on the i7 processor, here is a sweet $6,697 + tax computer

that hits all the right places.

HP Z4 G4 Workstation

Intel Core i7-7820X Processor

(3.6 GHz, up to 4.3 GHz w/Turbo Boost, 11 MB cache, 8 core)

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 16/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

Z4 G4 1000 W Chassis for Core -X Processors

128 GB (8x16 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory

512 GB HP Z Turbo Drive TLC M.2 NVMe SSD

1 TB HP Z Turbo Drive Quad Pro SSD

6 TB 7200 RPM SATA Enterprise 3.5" 1st HDD

NVIDIA Quadro P4000 (8 GB GDDR5, 4 x Displayport 1.4)

Graphics

If including the tax puts you over the top of your budget, you
can scale back the NVIDIA card to a P2000 and save $365. You
can scale back the RAM to 64 GB and save $1850. You can even
buy it with 4 slots open and fill the open RAM slots later when
you have more money. This workstation can also support the
NVIDIA GP100 GPU if you have an extra $7k to spend.
 

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 17/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

h395523899 Member

June 2018 edited June 2018

Thank you, for your configuration, I look at our domestic

prices.

Regarding the issue of hyperband, I really did not consider it.

How does the i7-8700 compare to the i7-7820X?

About Gold 5122

Dell 7920 chassis, two Gold 5122 cpu, 1T SSD, 512G SSD, 64G
RAM, 2T HDD, P2000

  $7652.9019 including tax

How do you think about this configuration

 

peteroznewman Member

June 2018 edited June 2018

Benchmarks vary comparing i7-7820X to the i7-8700K.

One site showed the 7820X faster than the 8700K for Ray Tracing.

showed the same advantage for multicore processing,

Another site

and shows the 7820X with 8 cores vs 6 cores on the 8700K.

The Dell 7920 is a good choice, and a good price. I can't

navigate the Dell website to configure the hard drives, it keeps
flagging problems with the configuration. The HP website is
much easier to configure a custom system.
https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 18/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

 

h395523899 Member

June 2018 edited June 2018

Xeon w-2125 w-2145 w-2155 i9-7900x i9-7940x

How about these cpu? I see the w series is also very cheap
 

peteroznewman Member

June 2018 edited June 2018

These are all good processors, don't worry too much about
that now. You are in the right "ballpark". Fast clock, 8 cores,
plenty of RAM, SSD storage and the right graphic card, with
room for expansion to a GPU when you have more cash. Focus
now on the quality of the support. How easy is it to find
updated drivers on the vendor's website? How long is the
warranty? How loud are the cooling fans?

If you get a computer with 8 slots for RAM but you only
purchase 64 GB, do you leave 4 slots empty for a later upgrade
or fill all 8 slots? Memory access is faster when all the slots are
filled, but that means you throw out your 8 x 8 GB SIMS and
purchase 8 x 16 GB SIMS if you upgrade from 64 GB to 128 GB.

Is the power stable and reliable in your area?  Should you

purchase a UPS to keep your computer going when the power
goes out?  How long do you want that to keep it running, 10
minutes or 10 hours?
 

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 19/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

gopinath1983 Member

August 2019 edited August 2019

Hello sir,

I have seen your discussion about workstation and it is very

helpful. Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs. I am planning
to buy workstation with 32GB RAM, 8 core processor (i7 9700K)
with windows 10, 512 GB NVME SSD, 4 TB HD. My requirements
would be Ansys mechanical and fluent (Expected to be
medium level problem).I have two queries

1) Could you please comment about the above mentioned

configuration and any suggestion ?

2) Regarding graphics card; Many of the graphics cards are

tested in either windows 7 or Linux. Now, as we know windows
7 will not be supported in many of the processors.My question
here is, can we have any graphics card which is listed in Ansys
page or we SHOULD go with graphics which windows 10
tested.    

I am looking for entry level graphics card now, may be 2GB. I

will upgrade it later (This is my personal workstation and They
are very costly,,going above my budget..
)

Could you please help me here ?

 

peteroznewman Member

August 2019 edited August 2019

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 20/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

1) That is a fine configuration. It would be good to know the

maximum capacity of the computer for RAM, even if you don't
configure it that way initially. RAM is very easy to upgrade later
once you find your models no longer run in memory (in-core).

2) Those who choose gamer cards instead of cards from the

Tested list run a significant risk of a problem with ANSYS
so ware. I expect that you will have a very small risk of a
problem choosing a Graphics Card Tested that supported Windows 7
and have a good outcome with Windows 10. The risk is smaller
when you choose one that was tested on Windows 10, but you
have a budget to respect.

 
 

gopinath1983 Member

August 2019 edited August 2019

Thank you sir , for your response.

I have option to upgrade the RAM up to 64GB and I have the

power unit capable for future expansion such as graphics card,
etc.

For the graphics card, I understand that choosing the one

which had tested for windows 7 or 10 is better. Could you also
please also let me know, can I choose the one which shows
Linux tested ? 
 

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 21/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum

peteroznewman Member

August 2019 edited August 2019

Any of the cards on the list have a good chance of working with
Windows 10, even the Linux ones.  The cards that were tested
with Windows 10 are guaranteed to work.
 

gopinath1983 Member

August 2019 edited August 2019

Thank you sir

 

« 1 2 » 

Sign In or Register to comment.

Commercial Support
Ansys customers with active commercial so ware
licenses can access the customer portal and submit
support questions. You will need your active account
number to register.

Visit Customer Portal

2020 ANSYS, Inc. All rights reserved.

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 22/23
12/25/2020 Please recommend the configuration of the computer workstation — Ansys Learning Forum
g

Legal Privacy Cookie Data Subject Rights Export Terms And

Notices Notice Policy Policy Compliance Conditions

https://forum.ansys.com/discussion/1515/please-recommend-the-configuration-of-the-computer-workstation 23/23