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Ok. So the Sandy Bridge Northbridge boondogle is over. Here is my new suggested system. Now is the time to upgrade. My company is putting it's money where my mouth is, I am getting the Dell system listed below.

This homebuilt system should be a screamer!

Solid state primary drive, WD Raptor data drive; this is good stuff. The motherboard got good reviews running 16GB, and is specified up to 32. The motherboard has two PCI x16 slots, and you can run two video cards on those (you know, for all 4 monitors you want to run).

The motherboard is overclockable. If you do overclock, you need faster RAM. If you are overclocking, then you better not need my help in specifying a system; but you can use this as a base-line. People are using the stock air-cooled system and getting 4.5GHz!

If you are like me, and don't like to overclock, don't worry. As-is, this should be one of the fastest computers you can get for Anna Wood's benchmark. Think ~48 without overclocking. Unfortunatly, I cannot build this myself, so please buy one and let me know what your benchmark time is!

Homebuilt

Pricing from Newegg:

You really can't buy a much better computer for general modeling. If you deal with big assemblies, then you need to buy twice as much RAM (16GB).

Also note that you can knock it down to $1,113.93 if you don't get the SSD, and only get the regular Corei7-2600, not the "K" (overclockable) version. This will still get the exact same rebuild times.

From Dell

Dell Precision T1600

Comparable Price $3,054

-         Quad Core Xeon E3-1270, 3.4 GHz

-         8GB, DDR3 Non-ECC, 1333MHz (2x4GB)

-         1GB ATI FirePro v4800

-         256 GB Solid State Drive (smallest they offer)

-         500 GB 7200 RPM Drive

-         320W 85% efficiency Power Supply

-         Everything else that comes standard on a T1600

-         Includes Windows 7 64-bit in the Price

Suggested (?) Build, Price: $3,904

-         Quad Core Xeon E3-1280, 3.5 GHz

-         8GB, DDR3 ECC, 1333MHz (2x4GB)

-         1GB ATI FirePro v4800

-         256 GB Solid State Drive (smallest they offer)

-         500 GB 7200 RPM Drive

-         320W 85% efficiency Power Supply

-         Everything else that comes standard on a T1600

-         Includes Windows 7 64-bit in the Price

This is the computer that my IT will be buying me here soon. I’m excited. It is extra pricy? Yes, but they get a corporate deal. Does it compare with my price? They claim so, but I don't see how that is possible. Not my problem that they insist on Dell, as long as I get a good machine (which I am).

This Xeon E3-1280 screams. It is scoring even better than the top-of-the-line 980x, so I’m pretty pumped about this.

From HP

Well, it is June and I've finally found it available in their online listings.

$3,283

HP Z210

It comes with a Xeon E3-1280

Solid State 160 GB primary disk

10k RPM 300 GB secondary disk

8GB ECC RAM

ATI v3800 graphics card

Note the graphics card. In the HP, the fastest video card they allow is the the ATI v3800. That is a bit slower than either the v4800 or nVidia Quadro 2000. It actually might be plenty fast for most people, graphics cards have taken a turn towards the expensive, premium, and overbuilt. https://forum.solidworks.com/message/216857

From BOXX

$3,911

- Very similar specs to the "homebuilt" system I specified above

- Comes with Windows 7

- Custom BOXX build that runs at liquid-cooled 4.5GHz! (note that my homebuilt system can do that too, with slightly faster RAM)

- It, of course, comes with a good warranty (you lose a warranty if you overclock yourself), a ruggedized case, good tech support.

So, for $3,911 you can get the BOXX, or for $3,904 you can a Dell. I can tell you which of those I would prefer, and it's not the Dell.

Their configurator actually lets you save the specs, so here it is on their webpage.

Link to BOXX Sandy Bridge based system