[fbelga]

I'm evaluating 2 options for a home CFD workstation for similar prices (I've found good deals for about $1,600-$1,700):

CPU: 2x Intel Xeon E5-2680 V3 (2.5-3.3GHz) -12C
RAM: 64GB DDR4 RAM
HDD: 240GB SSD & 1TB SATA HDD (Data Drive)

OR

CPU: 2x Intel Xeon E5-2667 V3 (3.2-3.6GHz) - 8C
RAM: 64GB DDR4 RAM
HDD: 512GB SSD

The first option seems like the obvious choice but my question relates mainly with the balance between having more cores but worst CPU clock speed. How would this affect performance and how to find a balance?

PS: Would you recommend any alternatives to the ones above?

Thanks

[flotus1]

If you have the licenses for running 24 threads, or don't need licenses at all, then the first machine will be faster for solving in parallel. 50% more cores make up for slightly lower clock speeds.
Make sure the 64GB of RAM come in an 8x8GBconfiguration, so all memory channels are populated.
I can't think of any better alternatives in this price range.