How would you outfit a Photoworks rendering workstation?

I'm curious what hardware people would choose if you were purposely
building a workstation for rendering in Photoworks.

We typically buy HP or Dell workstations outfitted to our
specifications for Operating System, video cards, RAM and hard drives
and processors.

Does anyone have any great advice on these components as specifically
meant for maximum Photoworks productivity?

Keeping in mind the new functionality in SolidWorks 2008, what would
you recommend for the above mentioned components, including OS.

Thanks for the input!

--Matt Schroeder

My current system is configured as follows:

Processor
Model : 2x Intel(R) Xeon(TM) CPU 3.20GHz
Speed : 3.19GHz
Cores per Processor : 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 2 Unit(s)
Internal Data Cache : 8kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 4-way set, 64 byte
line size, 2 lines per sector
L2 On-board Cache : 512kB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 64 byte
line size, 2 lines per sector
L3 On-board Cache : 2MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 64 byte
line size, 2 lines per sector

System
System : Dell Computer Corporation Precision WorkStation 450
Mainboard : Dell Computer Corp. 0F1263
Bus(es) : X-Bus AGP PCI IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : 2 Processor(s)
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
System BIOS : Dell Computer Corporation A04
Total Memory : 2GB ECC DDR-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Dell Computer Corp E7505 Host Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 133MHz (532MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 2GB ECC DDR-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 133MHz (266MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : 3Dlabs Wildcat4 7110
Adapter : 3Dlabs Wildcat4 7110

Physical Storage Devices
PERC Array (SCSI) : 102GB (C
SONY DVD RW DW-Q120A (ATAPI) : N/A (D

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C : 102GB (86GB, 85% Free Space) (NTFS) @ PERC Array
(SCSI)
CD-ROM/DVD (D : N/A @ SONY DVD RW DW-Q120A (ATAPI)
3.5" 1.44MB (A : N/A

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP (2002) Professional 5.01.2600
(Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : Win32 x86

Network Services
Adapter : Intel(R) PRO/1000 MTW Network Connection

 

I'd go with as many cores as possible (a quad core is nice), plenty of
RAM (4 gigs for a 32 bit machine, more for a 64 bit) and an approved
video card for SW 2008 since Realview and PW are now integrated.

You can read about my new system and how it pertains to rendering
here http://www.robrodriguezblog.com/2007/08/more-power-fast.html

 

Reasonable cost:

Dell 390 or HP xw4400
Core2 Extreme QX6700 2.66GHz Quad Core
4GB RAM
Dual SATA Drives
Quadro FX1500
WinXP 64bit

Cost Not So Impt

Dell 490 or HP xw8400
1-2 Xeon x5355 or 5365 2.6 or 3GHz Quad Core
8GB RAM (4x2GB)
2-3 10k RAM SATA Drives
Quadro FX3500
WinXP 64bit

If you are in a hurry, check out Dell's Outlet. There are some great
deals there right now. If you must get new, negotiate on price.

If not in a hurry, wait a month. HP has announced new systems based
on faster Core2 Duo CPUs (6x50 Series) that are much less expensive
than current line. Dell can't be far behind. (You can get the new
CPUs from XI and other "second tier" suppliers now.) Should be
shipping soon.

Even faster systems will be shipping after 1st of year, but you can't
wait forever.