If I bought a CRAY super computer will CA be faster?

[Max]

Ozgur,
After much experimenting, etc., etc....I am now in progress of installing Server 2008 to my web machine as well as my CAD machine. I have to tell you my biggest goal has been to try and setup a system as efficiently as possible and gain the very best possible from both of my machines in order to be able to run just about any software I care to without jumping on the upgrade train.

I find one thing interesting when dealing with software vendors during the current economic downturn; that being the unwillingness to keep new releases of software efficient enough to allow users to maintain the status quo on their current hardware! As it is now, most are pushing for their users to upgrade to the latest OS which then pushes users to upgrade their hardware to the latest versions. By the time most folks have done this there isn't enough money left to buy the software! Well Duh!

Anyway...Anything is possible, right?! So..I have experimented with many different combinations of software and have dbl checked that each of my current machines are as updated as they can be based on the motherboards they are built around. As it turns out this Windows Server 2008 may very well be the extra kick I needed! The OS runs every title I own without flaw and runs the latest version of Chief without a hitch. The control over the system is really incredible and seems to completely eliminate the various problems seemingly inherent with the standard Vista releases.

Much to learn about the server OS but right now I am focusing on bare bones in order to give the software the full benefit of my current hardware. One thing that jumps right out is the fact that Windows now has use of ALL 4 gigs of my memory rather than just 3 gigs. Nice. Anyway, still working with it so more will come as I know it....

[portrait]

Ozgur,
I find one thing interesting when dealing with software vendors during the current economic downturn; that being the unwillingness to keep new releases of software efficient enough to allow users to maintain the status quo on their current hardware! As it is now, most are pushing for their users to upgrade to the latest OS which then pushes users to upgrade their hardware to the latest versions. By the time most folks have done this there isn't enough money left to buy the software! Well Duh!

Hi Max,
Great observation! 100% agreed.

On the other hand, i'm surprised that Windows Server 2008 has such a great performance with Chief. Actually it's not surprising that Server 2008 is superior to Vista, but after reading your comments i think that Windows Server could be as good as Windows 7 for Chief X4. Maybe even better?
Please keep posting your further observations about this yet unknown area which are really helpful for everyone.

[Max]

Ozgur,
I am beginning to think you may be right regarding Windows Server 2008 / Windows 7. The thing to remember is that Server 2008 is still current which means it still gets the latest updates and will for some time.

I just finished getting a couple of drivers installed which were the last of those needing adjustment on my second computer. I can say this machine hasn't run this good ever. It's very solid now and I keep a watchful eye over the system events but have yet to see anything of any import

Will soon load Chief X4 Demo and start experimenting. I had posted a query some time back in regard to the reliability of gauging the performance of X4 Full by trying X4 Demo. I got it straight from Chief that their isn't any thing different other than the printing / saving functions being turned off so I should be able to rely completely on my evaluation using the Demo version. Will post as I learn more...

1-7-12
Just finished completely with getting the OS configured along with all the various system apps installed and running such as security and etc. This is on an older machine which I have dedicated to web use and office related apps, keeping my CAD machine completely separated from the web for obvious reasons. The board is an Intel D945GNT with an Intel Pentium D dual core 3.4 processor. Plenty fast on the processor but the memory is a bit slow. The board only supports 4 gigs at 667 MHz. It does have a PCIE video slot which is one of the first available at the time I purchased the board. I bought the only 512 meg card on the market at the time, a ATI X1600 Radeon.
I list the basics because, as you can see, upgrading to Windows 7 would have required new hardware and for what I used the system for that would have been a waste.
With the 2008 server OS I am seeing this system perform far better than before. Even running the defrag utility was much faster than before, go figure. Obviously the networking is a breeze. The system is dated to 2005/6 so, at 6 to 7 years old it's considered an antique and one I will be using for some time yet!
Based on the fact that Windows 7 is considered to be Vista but without the bugs I will have to say I have yielded all the benefits of Windows 7 without the need to upgrade my hardware. Even though I will use Chief on my much newer machine I am going to load the X4 Demo on this one just to see how well it does run on such an old system. I will be posting the results soon.

[Max]

Just finished testing a full demo version of Chief X4 on the system I listed above. I have to say I am very surprised at how ell the software ran on such an old system. Actually, I did a bit of research and found that a decent video card with pcie 2.0x16 rating can be installed in the old 1.0x16 pcie slot allowing the full use of X4 on this machine. Probably would have to purchase a higher rated power supply as well. I saw where I could pick up a choice from several Nvidia cards for under $100.00.

So, for maybe $150.00 invested into better graphics this machine, not only can run X4 but run it well and with great graphics. Depending on the card the resolution used might have to be scaled down slightly when installing a 2.0x16 card into a 1.0x16 slot but other wise there isn't a problem at all.

Point is my newer machine is far better than this one and even though it is a few years old it spins Chief X4 as fast as I could possible want it. You should see the older versions of Chief perform! So far so good! I guess time will tell if I find any hick ups. I will post more as I know it...

[Gary Doski]

This is on an older machine which I have dedicated to web use and office related apps, keeping my CAD machine completely separated from the web for obvious reasons.

Max, Why do you need a separate machines for web use vs. Cad?

[Max]

Max, Why do you need a separate machines for web use vs. Cad?

Gary, the key word here is "need" as opposed to prefer. I simply got very tired of the usual Anti-virus, spam, male-ware, Trojans, subscriptions, and everything else the industry has insisted we need in order to be "safe" from hackers and their ilk. All of this security nonsense can degrade a system's performance as you very well know.

So...My Chief machine has nothing. Literally. Just runs my apps and, never has a problem. It never needs updates either (turned off).

My Web machine handles the murky world of the bug and virus infested web! I don't care what happens and, interestingly enough nothing really ever has of any consequence. I did recently start using Microsoft's Anti virus software as it's free and really has no effect on performance.

Anyway, that's my preference.

Edited for added content:
One thing to watch for soon if it isn't already happening. That's the tendency for software companies to "require" a web connection while using their software. I am seeing the tendency of the industry to move towards the so-called cloud computing platform where everything we run is located on the web rather than loaded on our personal machines. We will then no longer "own" anything we use and will be completely dependent on the web. Should be interesting to see how this trend will affect internet provider rates...

[Max]

Windows Server Software testing:

Ozgur, I pretty much stopped any further testing on the server software. I cannot exactly describe what the problem was that started surfacing once I got everything installed. It seemed to be related to the drive reading / writing but still unclear. Maybe when I have more time to really get into more of the system settings I can clear this up. Really don't know at this time.

Will close this for now.

[Gary Doski]

Gary, the key word here is "need" as opposed to prefer. I simply got very tired of the usual Anti-virus, spam, male-ware, Trojans, subscriptions, and everything else the industry has insisted we need in order to be "safe" from hackers and their ilk. All of this security nonsense can degrade a system's performance as you very well know.

So...My Chief machine has nothing. Literally. Just runs my apps and, never has a problem. It never needs updates either (turned off).

My Web machine handles the murky world of the bug and virus infested web! I don't care what happens and, interestingly enough nothing really ever has of any consequence. I did recently start using Microsoft's Anti virus software as it's free and really has no effect on performance.

Anyway, that's my preference.

Max, Many small businesses are using AVG free (recommended by IT guys). It does the job and it doesn't bother you unless you tell it to. They do ask you to upgrade to the paid version, just say no. Give it a shot!

[Max]

Gary, I appreciate your input. But no, I will always maintain two separate computers, one for the web and one for my applications. It works really well for me.

[portrait]

That's the tendency for software companies to "require" a web connection while using their software. I am seeing the tendency of the industry to move towards the so-called cloud computing platform where everything we run is located on the web rather than loaded on our personal machines. We will then no longer "own" anything we use and will be completely dependent on the web. Should be interesting to see how this trend will affect internet provider rates...

I believe this trend started for preventing the the illegal usage/pirated versions of the programs. This should have been succesfull, because most software companies have the ability to disable the illegally activated programs via web connection.
Today software piracy is not a major problem when compared to the last decade. And it's obvious that software companies broadened the mission of web connection. It's much easier to analyze the user behaviour and requirements this way. It's good for selling some extra program options,modules,etc. for example. (A lot of companies do that.) But the problem is you can't control every bytes of the data sent to the software's information center. So you may be right worrying about your privacy.
Several times it was proven that some big companies gathered and stored personal information of the users. Also hackers can attack your computer by using your software's internet connection gate. So it may be a good idea to use the primary programs on a seperate computer which has no internet access. It's just a choice.
By the way, i don't think this web traffic will severely affect your internet provider rates.