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Tips to maximize performance on Dell Precision 690 Workstation

Question asked by 1-CKLISI on Jul 17, 2008
Latest reply on Jul 18, 2008 by Wil Lambert

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Computer specs:

Dell Precision 690 1kW power supply
Dual Xeon 5160 3.00GHz Dual Core Processors - 1333MHz Front Side Bus
8GB DDR2 ECC SDRAM Memory 667 MHz
nVidia Quadro FX4600 768MB video card with latest drivers
4 SATA 3.0Gb/s 7200 RPM 8MB cache hard drives
Integrated SATA/SAS controller [not used]

BIOS options:

SpeedStep - ON
Virtualization - ON*
Limit CPUID Value - OFF
Snoop Filter - ON
ACL Prefetch - ON*
HW Prefetch - ON
Front Side Bus Optimization - ON*
(*) Denotes a non-default setting.
These processors do not have hyperthreading.

Configuration:

Hard Drive #0: 80GB - Windows XP 64bit & Solid Works 2008 sp3.0 (85% free space) [no page file]
Hard Drive #1: 250GB - All SW parts/assemblies files stored here (92% free space) [5GB Windows page file in a dedicated partition]
Hard Drive #2: 80GB - Red Hat Linux [5GB Windows page file in dedicated partition]
Hard Drive #3: 250GB - No files [5GB Windows page file in dedicated partition]

Notes/Questions:

Is there anything that I can do to better optimize this thing? Where is the bottleneck? It takes 2 minutes for Solid Works to open. How about the hard drive configuration - should I reconfigure the hard drives for RAID? Anything I can do with SolidWorks for improvements? The majority of my day has become a waiting game and I'm trying to get my efficiency back up. I don't have an anti-virus program installed

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Matt McKendrick Jul 17, 2008 3:28 PM

That system should scream (relatively speaking). First thing that comes to mind is bloatware and uneccessary background processes. Open your task manager and see where your resource hogs are. Not saying this is the problem, but its one of the first things I check.

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1-CKLISI @ Matt McKendrick on Jul 17, 2008 4:17 PM

Not really any bloatware running. Its a fresh XP 64bit install with SolidWorks 64bit edition installed. The only other programs installed are MatLab, Rhino, and Roxio.

Is there a SolidWorks benchmark program that can be run and the results compared with others? My MatLab benchmark rates very low comparted to lesser equipped systems.

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Harold Brunt @ 1-CKLISI on Jul 17, 2008 4:20 PM

Check out this thread:

https://forum.solidworks.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=134&threadid=11950&enterthread=y

I'm sure a search will find many others.

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Steven Dinsdale @ Harold Brunt on Jul 17, 2008 4:28 PM

Just so you know, I think I read somewhere in the forums that Roxio can have an ill-effect on SolidWorks.

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Rodney Hall @ Steven Dinsdale on Jul 17, 2008 4:38 PM

I never load the IN-CD part of Roxio, it seems to monitor all file data movement while it slows windows to a crawl. This is the program function that allows using your CD-Burner as a disk storage device.

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Wil Lambert Jul 18, 2008 5:18 PM

Roxio is notorious for dragging down a pc. Any of the music services (Rhapsody, Musicmatch ect.) seem to do the same.

Wil

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6 Replies

Matt McKendrick Jul 17, 2008 3:28 PM
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That system should scream (relatively speaking). First thing that comes to mind is bloatware and uneccessary background processes. Open your task manager and see where your resource hogs are. Not saying this is the problem, but its one of the first things I check.
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- 1-CKLISI @ Matt McKendrick on Jul 17, 2008 4:17 PM
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  Not really any bloatware running. Its a fresh XP 64bit install with SolidWorks 64bit edition installed. The only other programs installed are MatLab, Rhino, and Roxio.
  
  Is there a SolidWorks benchmark program that can be run and the results compared with others? My MatLab benchmark rates very low comparted to lesser equipped systems.
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  - Harold Brunt @ 1-CKLISI on Jul 17, 2008 4:20 PM
    Mark Correct
    Correct Answer
    Check out this thread:
    
    https://forum.solidworks.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=134&threadid=11950&enterthread=y
    
    I'm sure a search will find many others.
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    - Steven Dinsdale @ Harold Brunt on Jul 17, 2008 4:28 PM
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      Just so you know, I think I read somewhere in the forums that Roxio can have an ill-effect on SolidWorks.
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      - Rodney Hall @ Steven Dinsdale on Jul 17, 2008 4:38 PM
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        I never load the IN-CD part of Roxio, it seems to monitor all file data movement while it slows windows to a crawl. This is the program function that allows using your CD-Burner as a disk storage device.
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Wil Lambert Jul 18, 2008 5:18 PM
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Roxio is notorious for dragging down a pc. Any of the music services (Rhapsody, Musicmatch ect.) seem to do the same.

Wil
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Tips to maximize performance on Dell Precision 690 Workstation

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