[oj.bulmer]

I need a bit of help in deciding the configuration and correct pricing for the PC I am buying.

Quote 1: This one is with processor “Intel i7 4930K Unlocked (6 x 3.4 GHZ)”
Computer Case: Black ATX Tower Case
CPU: Intel i7 4930K Unlocked (6 x 3.4 GHZ)
CPU Cooling: Intel Heatsink & Fan - Low Noise
CPU Compound: Standard CPU Compound Supplied With Heatsink
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB 1866 MHz (4x8GB) - Lifetime Warranty (DDR3)
Graphics Card: 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 - 2GB - (EVGA) - Superclocked - (PCI-E)
Power Supply: Corsair 450W PSU - Low Noise
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 (Intel X79)
Hard Drive #1: 1 TB Seagate (1000 GB) SATA-III HDD 7200 RPM 64MB
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 BIT (Genuine DVD & COA Included)
Monitors: 1 x 24" HD LED Widescreen Monitor - Black - 2ms - 1920x1080 - DVI/VGA
PRICE: £1453

Quote 2: This one is with "Intel i7 4930K Unlocked (6 x 3.4 GHZ) OVERCLOCKED UPTO 4.4 GHZ" and as a result of this overclocking, the first three components (highlighted in red) need to be changed due to compatibility issues.
Computer Case: Aerocool X-Predator X1 Devil Red
CPU: Intel i7 4930K Unlocked (6 x 3.4 GHZ) OVERCLOCKED UPTO 4.4 GHZ
CPU Cooling: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo - Low Noise
CPU Compound: Standard CPU Compound Supplied With Heatsink
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB 1866 MHz (4x8GB) - Lifetime Warranty (DDR3)
Graphics Card: 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 - 2GB - (EVGA) - Superclocked - (PCI-E)
Power Supply: Corsair 450W PSU - Low Noise
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 (Intel X79)
Hard Drive #1: 1 TB Seagate (1000 GB) SATA-III HDD 7200 RPM 64MB
Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 BIT (Genuine DVD & COA Included)
Monitors: 1 x 24" HD LED Widescreen Monitor - Black - 2ms - 1920x1080 - DVI/VGA
PRICE: £1558

I have two questions:
1) Is the configuration (6 cores, 32 GB RAM etc) alright to comfortably run CFX/FLUENT? It would be mostly used for porous regions, vortex shedding analysis and a multiphase simulations, covering both steady and transient simulations.
2) Is the £100 increase in configuration due to overclocking reasonable?

Thanks a lot!

OJ

[flotus1]

A few comments:
The build is quite reasonable if you want to get the maximum computational performance with a limited number of licenses. I guess thats what you were trying to achieve.

No matter if you want to overclock the CPU or not, throw away the heatsink and fan that come with it and get a decent air cooling like for example the ETS-T40-TB from Enermax.
If you are sitting next to the PC while it is running at full load you wont stand the noise from the stock cooler and the CPU might even overheat at standard clock speed.
For the overclocked version, you are at the limit of the performance of air cooling but it should work with the ETS-T40-TB or something comparable.

For the case I would go with something more "professionally"-looking like the Corsair Carbide 200R.
Since it has less open areas and less plastic parts the noise level will be lower. Make sure to get at least two Silent case fans, they will lower the CPU temperature and the overall noise level aswell.

For the Memory, I know that the I7s officially only support 1866 Mhz but apparently, you can operate it with faster memory aswell: http://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/har...tml#post482976
And as we all learned by now: Memory bandwith counts in CFD.
You should do some further reading on that, but I dont see a reason against 2400 Mhz Memory right now.

The Power Supply might be too weak for the overclocked System. To be on the safe side, I would take something around 600W from be quiet.

Edit: Running lots of transient simulations, you will soon run out of disk space. 3TB Hard drives are really worth the money.

[bryancook]

its a good configuration system and but it might be costlier..

[oj.bulmer]

Thanks folks.

I was wrestling with the choice for the processor. I have read that opting for overclocked CPU versus normal unlocked CPU doesn't really add much benefit when it comes to solution times, is it true?

Also, my current configuration is 6 core processor. Would going for a standard 4 core processor (with a bit high frequency) be better? Is the performance boost going from 4 to 6 core significant?

Thanks

[flotus1]

I have read that opting for overclocked CPU versus normal unlocked CPU doesn't really add much benefit when it comes to solution times, is it true?

evelica uploaded some nice charts on this topic in a recent thread:
http://www.cfd-online.com/Forums/att....benchmark.jpg

As it turns out, as long as the memory doesnt cap the performance, solution times scale quite well with the CPU frequency.
But still, from a 37% increase in CPU frequency comes a 16% increase in application performance. You will have to decide if this is worth the effort.

Would going for a standard 4 core processor (with a bit high frequency) be better? Is the performance boost going from 4 to 6 core significant?

Keeping i mind that we want those 4 memory channels of the 2011 socket, the only alternative would be the I7-4820k.
Just guessing here, but I would expect the 2 additional cores of the 4930k to to outweigh the slightly lower frequency by far.