Scan is back with another of its trademark overclocked Intel Core i7 3930K workstations.
The build quality and acoustics are superb, performance excellent and there’s a good balance of memory and storage, making it a good fit for most high-end CAD users.
The standout component is the FirePro W8000 GPU, second only to the FirePro W9000 in AMD’s new generation professional graphics family.
It’s possibly overkill for most mainstream CAD users, with the excellent W7000 demonstrating similar levels of performance in SolidWorks and Creo for almost half the price.
However, Scan has also set its sights on low cost design review, for which the W8000 is ideal.
To help users really get inside their designs, Scan shipped the GW-HT15 with four 23-inch HD Dell UltraSharp displays.
Arrange in a 2 x 2 array and you’ve made yourself a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution 46-inch powerwall for digital mockup or client presentations. It’s low-cost too – a mere £596 for the displays plus an extra £300 for a stand, such as the Ergotron DS100.
The experience is good – it’s possible to see detailed parts in the context of an assembly. However, the bezel that surrounds each of the screens can be distracting, though compensation in the AMD driver helps remove the stepping effect.
One would think that driving this many pixels would mean 3D performance takes a big hit, but we only experienced a 20% drop in frame rates when running SolidWorks 2013.
With a hardware bundle price of £2,888 Scan’s offering gives small firms an affordable entry into powerwalls. Forget the iPad, this is a sure way to wow clients.
To view comparative scores from other workstations please click here
For details of all our specific CAD/CAM/CAE benchmarks click here
Specifications
» Intel Core i7 3930K (clocked to 4.4GHz) (6 cores)
» 16GB (4 x 4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance 1,600MHz
» AMD FirePro W8000 (4GB)
» 240GB Corsair Neutron + 2TB Seagate Barracuda, SATA 6Gb/sec, 7,200RPM
» Asus P9X79 (Intel X79 chipset)
» Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Edition (64-bit)
» 3 year – 1st year onsite, 2nd and 3rd year return to base (parts and labour)
CPU benchmarks
(secs – smaller is better)
CAD (SolidWorks 2010) – N/A
CAM (Delcam PowerMill 2010) – 1) 130 2) 168 3) 218
CAE (SolidWorks 2010 Simulation) – 71
Rendering (3ds Max Design 2011) – 147
Graphics benchmarks
(bigger is better)
CAD (SolidWorks 2010) – N/A
CAD (SolidWorks 2013) – 90
CAD (Creo 2.0 – SPECapc graphics test) – 6.15
Intel Core i7 3930K (clocked to 4.4GHz) (6 cores)
16GB (4 x 4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance 1,600MHz
AMD FirePro W8000 (4GB)
Asus P9X79 (Intel X79 chipset)
240GB Corsair Neutron + 2TB Seagate Barracuda, SATA 6Gb/sec, 7,200RPM
3 year – 1st year onsite, 2nd and 3rd year return to base (parts and labour)
N/A
130
168
218
71
147
N/A
