We Configured a Powerhouse Workstation from BOXX for Multi-CAD and Rendering

The APEXX 4 Model 7901 from BOXX Technologies is built f0r power users in the main-stream design and engineering market who need a machine that is optimized for a few different CAD programs. It can also rip through rendering operations.

There are always many ways to configure your CAD station, and the APEXX Model 7901 is no exception. In this post we'll first check out the specs of the APEXX 4.

Then we'll come up with the best configuration if you are designing with programs comparable to Autodesk Inventor, Solid Works or CATIA and are using programs similar to Mental Ray Standalone, or Keyshot for rendering.

If you need more than one powerful CPU and have the room and budget for up to 4 GPU's this could be the right machine for you. The APEXX 4 Model 7901 is extremely versatile, meaning you can optimize your Multi-CAD power station for multiple uses.

Let's look at the highlights.

Overclocked Processor:

When you are configuring a workstation that will have design as the primary function, you need an overclocked CPU. Currently, the highest frequency overclocked system is the APEXX 2 Model 2401. It's a four-core, 4.5GHz system. There are eight cores at 3.7 GHz in both the APEXX 2 model 3401 and APEXX 4 Model 7401.

The APEXX 4 Model 7901 however, is a dual Xeon platform that cannot be overclocked. In this post we are optimizing a Multi-CAD station with a workflow that includes design as well as a significant amount of rendering on the same system. As we will see, the APEXX 4 Model 7901 with dual Xeon E5-2687W v3 processors is the best mix of frequency and core count.

Workstation: APEXX Model 7901

Optimizing the CPU and GPU for Multi-CAD and Rendering: Autodesk Inventor, Solidworks, CATIA, Octane Render and Keyshot:

With this mix of applications, if the primary activities are CAD design, they are single threaded and therefore perform best with higher frequency processors. When rendering is the primary activity on your CAD workstation, the one thing to remember is: performance scales well with more cores.

Recommendations: I f you need the best of both worlds in the same machine, then the best CPU is probably the Xeon E5-2687W v3, which delivers 3.1GHz frequency across 10 cores. It's the best mix of speed and cores in the Xeon E5 family. You can get two of these processors for 20 total cores and 40 threads total processing power in the APEXX 4 Model 7901.

One of the most balanced GPU selections for design is the Quadro K2200. It handles almost all requirements of CAD software. That being said, some of your models may be large enough that you need more CUDA cores or memory, in which case it's best to consult Boxxtech on a case by case basis. Send them your models if you aren't quite sure what configuration would be appropriate.

Luckily, if you're using GPUs for rendering, the answer is simple: the more CUDA cores the better, so whatever the budget, get the most powerful and as many as you can. Let's break down this recommendation for CPU, GPU and get into some RAM configurations.

Optimizing CPU:

Part Modeling: The Intel Xeon Processor E5-2687W v3 will cover single core tasks like part modeling without a problem. The processor base frequency of 3.1 GHz is pushed by Intel's Turbo Boost to Maximum single core frequency of 3.5 GHz.

8 GB of RAM would normally be fine, but since this is a Multi-CAD station you'd be better off with as much of the 512GB available as possible.

Assemblies:  Assemblies tax the CPU load in a similar fashion, but remember that your PC has to have enough RAM to load all of the parts into memory without taxing the Virtual Memory of your machine.  Normally the SSD 800 GB would be enough, but this is a more powerful configuration than usual.

Drawings: Drawing programs are beginning to use multi-threaded loads.  Each drawing view in your active drawing sheet is assigned a core, and because most drawing sheets have 4 views or more, a quad core CPU would be enough. That said, the Intel Xeon Processor E5-2687W v3 has 10, so you shouldn't have any issues. Here Intel's Turbo Boost Technology dramatically increases the CPU frequency as needed for bursts of speed when your workflow requires it, and maximum energy efficiency when it doesn't.

Rendering: The performance of these two uses goes up or down depending on how many cores and GPUs you have. The 10 core 2687W v3 CPU is definitely fast enough, but you will need more Cache as your computer gets faster and faster. The Cache stores operational code specific to the CPU, so you aren't using RAM for these instructional sets. Out of the available options, if you are using programs primarily for simulation and rendering, the dual Intel Xeon Processor 2687W v3 , which has 25MB Cache and a base frequency of 3.1 GHz (up to 3.5 GHz) is the best option.

Optimizing RAM: Most CAD files load directly onto your RAM when you open them. The more complex and larger a model is, the more RAM that is required. Another good thing to keep in mind is how many other applications you are using at the same time (should be as few as possible), plus the size and complexity of your parts, assemblies and drawings.

The average recommended RAM for most mid-range CAD files falls between 6GB and 16GB. I would recommend at least 16-32 GB of RAM, even though the APEXX Model 7901 has a maximum memory support of up to 512 GB.

Optimizing GPU: When considering your options, figuring out how much on-board memory your GPUs have is step #1. The memory bandwidth and raw computing power of the graphics cards determine the amount of data transfers between the graphics card and the workstation memory. This is especially true for rendering.

The APEXX 7901 supports up to 4 NVIDIA GeForce, NVIDIA Quadro, NVIDIA Tesla and AMD FirePro Graphics cards . The NVidia k2200 has 4GB memory which is twice the memory of the k2000 from the last Quadro series. Add as many as you can, depending on your workload and percentage of rendering vs CAD design. Again, more CUDA cores is just better here, so it really depends on your budget.

In the following table I've created what I think is the optimal configuration for our Multi-CAD/Rendering APEXX 7901.

Who this APEXX 7901 configuration is for: This configuration is an optimized workstation for a Multi-CAD environment or user with heavy rendering duties. If your workflow includes heavy simulating and rendering in SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor and CATIA, the multiple CPUs and powerful GPUs (up to 4) will help to carry the extra workload.

Who won't benefit by using the APEXX 7901: Straight up CAD Modelers. There are faster models like the APEXX 2 Model 2401, with a 4-core, 4.5GHz system that would be much faster . If you are simulating and rendering in SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Autodesk Inventor and 3DS Max, you may want the advantage of having multiple CPUs to carry the extra workload.