When it comes to dual processor workstations, hitting the sweet spot for a pair of Intel Xeon CPUs is a big challenge.
Aim too high and the top-end chips often bring the overall machine cost to over £6,000. Aim too low and the low GHz processors can’t keep up with lower cost overclocked single CPU workstations.
For price sensitive users of design visualisation software, InterPro has got things just about right. The two Intel Xeon E5-2670 processors in this IPW-DX8 workstation boast 16 CPU cores between them, making light work of complex ray trace rendering calculations.
This is demonstrated by topping the charts in our 3ds Max benchmark this month. And with a clock speed of 2.6GHz the GPU isn’t throttled so much that it can’t deliver the frame rates required to smoothly navigate around complex 3D models.
InterPro has made an interesting choice when it comes to graphics. Typically this type of design viz workstation is paired with a high-end GPU, but InterPro has opted for a mid-range card, the AMD FirePro W7000. With a list price of £499 it’s significantly cheaper than an AMD FirePro W8000 or Nvidia Quadro K5000, but ticks all the right boxes in our 3D benchmarks.
The GPU also comes with 4GB of memory, meaning it’s more than capable of handling some hefty scenes.
The same is true of the system memory, which at 64GB should give plenty of headroom for even the largest of datasets – and with eight free RAM slots there’s even room to grow.
To view comparative scores from other workstations please click here
For details of all our specific CAD/CAM/CAE benchmarks click here
Specifications
» I2 x Intel Xeon E5-2670 2.60GHz (8 cores)
» 64GB (8 x 8GB) DDR-3 1600MHz ECC (PC3-12800)
» AMD FirePro W7000 (4GB)
» 240GB Intel 335 Series SSD + 2TB Seagate SATA 3 drive 7,200rpm
» Supermicro X9DAi mainboard
» Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64
» 3 year return to base (RTB) (Inc. parts and labour) or “swap out”
CPU benchmarks
(secs – smaller is better)
CAD (SolidWorks 2010) – N/A
CAM (Delcam PowerMill 2010) – 1) 179 2) 182 3) 207
CAE (SolidWorks 2010 Simulation) – 101
Rendering (3ds Max Design 2011) – 91
Graphics benchmarks
(bigger is better)
CAD (SolidWorks 2010) – N/A
CAD (SolidWorks 2013) – 72
CAD (Creo 2.0 – SPECapc graphics test) – 5.72
2 x Intel Xeon E5-2670 2.60GHz (8 cores)
64GB (8 x 8GB) DDR-3 1600MHz ECC (PC3-12800)
AMD FirePro W7000 (4GB)
Supermicro X9DAi mainboard
240GB Intel 335 Series SSD + 2TB Seagate SATA 3 drive 7,200rpm
3 year return to base (RTB) (Inc. parts and labour) or “swap out”
www.ipworkstations.com
N/A
179
182
207
101
91
N/A
