Some advices to buy a computer

migmolper · July 10, 2016, 13:55

Hi all,
I'm a recently graduated civil engineer and the next year I'm going to start a master in fluids mechanics, so I want to buy a new computer to use it for CFD. Right now my computer is an Acer laptop (2012) with Ubuntu 16.0 LTS. It has a i5 processor, 8 Gb of RAM, and his fan is broken, so it's really slow, so I'm going to buy a faster computer.

I usually work with ANSYS Fluent, Gerris, Basilisk and MIKE21 for enviromental fluids mechanics. The number of cells I use is about 3 or 4 million.

It would be great if someone can suggest me a reasonable price computer for today use and for the future, or maybe a little guide with some usefull advices. I think that a desktop computer would be better than a laptop and perhaps the processor should be a Xeon for parallel calculation, no?

Cheers

Ps: I'm very sorry for my horrible english, I should practise it frecuently.

mdgowhar · July 11, 2016, 01:14

Could you please say your budget??

migmolper · July 11, 2016, 10:48

Thanks for reply mdgowhar, my budget is about 1500 €

flotus1 · July 11, 2016, 11:32

In this case one of the best options is a PC based on the Intel I7-6800k.

CPU: I7-6800k ~440€
RAM: 4*8GB DDR4-3200 ~160€
Mainboard ~250€
PSU ~90€
CPU Cooler ~80€
Graphics Card: e.g. GTX 960 4GB ~190€
Case ~100€
SSD: 250GB ~80€
HDD: 3TB ~120€

mdgowhar · July 11, 2016, 13:18

I agree with Alex!

migmolper · July 11, 2016, 14:34

Thanks for the advises Alex !!! Some recomendation about the mother board brand ? I have thought in Dell or Asus.

mdgowhar · July 11, 2016, 14:52

it depends on how much memory you gonna install. i7 6800k processor is capable of 128 GB DDR4 RAM.
For a good start I recommend Asus X99 Pro Motherboard.

The maximum capacity of this motherboard is 64GB DDR4 RAM.
Moreover, It support Multi GPU.

migmolper · July 11, 2016, 15:12

Nice advice Mohammed it's really helpful. And It's interesting that in the future, I could expand the computer easily. Finally i would like to ask you or someone else, how do you select some characteristics of the computer knowing the number of cells of the model ? Just curiosity.

Thanks again for all the previous information

flotus1 · July 11, 2016, 16:52

It is not so much about the model size. of course, the amount of RAM has to be enough to fit the model size. 32GB are more than enough for that even for complex physical models.
The point is that the I7-6800k with its 6 cores and 4 memory channels is, as its predecessor, the best bang for the buck in your price range when it comes to CFD.

July 10, 2016, 13:55	Some advices to buy a computer	#1
migmolper New Member Miguel Molinos Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Madrid Posts: 14 Rep Power: 11	Hi all, I'm a recently graduated civil engineer and the next year I'm going to start a master in fluids mechanics, so I want to buy a new computer to use it for CFD. Right now my computer is an Acer laptop (2012) with Ubuntu 16.0 LTS. It has a i5 processor, 8 Gb of RAM, and his fan is broken, so it's really slow, so I'm going to buy a faster computer. I usually work with ANSYS Fluent, Gerris, Basilisk and MIKE21 for enviromental fluids mechanics. The number of cells I use is about 3 or 4 million. It would be great if someone can suggest me a reasonable price computer for today use and for the future, or maybe a little guide with some usefull advices. I think that a desktop computer would be better than a laptop and perhaps the processor should be a Xeon for parallel calculation, no? Cheers Ps: I'm very sorry for my horrible english, I should practise it frecuently.

July 11, 2016, 11:32		#4
flotus1 Super Moderator Alex Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 3,428 Rep Power: 49	In this case one of the best options is a PC based on the Intel I7-6800k. CPU: I7-6800k ~440€ RAM: 4*8GB DDR4-3200 ~160€ Mainboard ~250€ PSU ~90€ CPU Cooler ~80€ Graphics Card: e.g. GTX 960 4GB ~190€ Case ~100€ SSD: 250GB ~80€ HDD: 3TB ~120€ mdgowhar and migmolper like this.

July 11, 2016, 16:52		#9
flotus1 Super Moderator Alex Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 3,428 Rep Power: 49	It is not so much about the model size. of course, the amount of RAM has to be enough to fit the model size. 32GB are more than enough for that even for complex physical models. The point is that the I7-6800k with its 6 cores and 4 memory channels is, as its predecessor, the best bang for the buck in your price range when it comes to CFD. migmolper likes this.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Using Remote Solve Manager for Single Computer	u2berggeist	ANSYS	1	May 21, 2016 22:01
[OpenFOAM] Error with using of pvbatch on Super Computer	shipman	ParaView	5	November 18, 2015 05:56
Computer build for Flow 3d: Did some research, but still in need of advices	BackBone	Hardware	8	May 26, 2015 14:40
Looking for some help to buy hardware	Bazinga	Hardware	1	December 12, 2014 11:28
New computer for CFD simulations using FLUENT	Malik1	Hardware	3	August 11, 2010 02:44

July 11, 2016, 01:14		#2
mdgowhar Member Mohammed Gowhar Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 48 Rep Power: 12	Could you please say your budget??

July 11, 2016, 10:48		#3
migmolper New Member Miguel Molinos Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Madrid Posts: 14 Rep Power: 11	Thanks for reply mdgowhar, my budget is about 1500 €

July 11, 2016, 13:18		#5
mdgowhar Member Mohammed Gowhar Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 48 Rep Power: 12	I agree with Alex!

July 11, 2016, 14:34		#6
migmolper New Member Miguel Molinos Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Madrid Posts: 14 Rep Power: 11	Thanks for the advises Alex !!! Some recomendation about the mother board brand ? I have thought in Dell or Asus.

July 11, 2016, 14:52		#7
mdgowhar Member Mohammed Gowhar Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 48 Rep Power: 12	it depends on how much memory you gonna install. i7 6800k processor is capable of 128 GB DDR4 RAM. For a good start I recommend Asus X99 Pro Motherboard. The maximum capacity of this motherboard is 64GB DDR4 RAM. Moreover, It support Multi GPU.

July 11, 2016, 15:12		#8
migmolper New Member Miguel Molinos Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Madrid Posts: 14 Rep Power: 11	Nice advice Mohammed it's really helpful. And It's interesting that in the future, I could expand the computer easily. Finally i would like to ask you or someone else, how do you select some characteristics of the computer knowing the number of cells of the model ? Just curiosity. Thanks again for all the previous information