Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints (FSWPC-13-#5)

(Hardware Testing - Processor Clock Speed)

Processors can be expensive and choosing one speed over another usually means replacing one chip for another unless the vendor allows over-clocking. Most of your major manufactures do not allow for their systems to be over-clocked. For our testing BOXX Technologies, lent us a machine and they offer an option to over-clock their processors giving you the fastest processor possible for the money. BOXX systems are built to handle the heat created by over-clocking and avoiding the typical heat related stability and reliability issues that are see with over-clocking off the shelf systems.

Our processor testing showed the following results:

• 3.24 Ghz – 104 mins :: 3.1% slower
  


• 3.42 Ghz – 101 mins (Typical)
  


• 3.78 Ghz – 93 mins :: 8.2% faster
  


• 4.14 Ghz – 90 mins :: 11.5% faster
  


• 4.5 Ghz – 85 mins :: 15.9% faster
  

Processor speed can be one of the more difficult areas of performance to get your arms around. When choosing a processor remember that the faster the better. Also SolidWorks is limited on the number of cores is uses so the cores it does use should be as fast as possible. So depending on what other tasks your machine may be used for it is sometimes better to spend less money on a 4 core machine with a higher processor speed than a 6 core machine with less processor speed.

When testing we also found that the improvement that you may gain from improved processor speed can be easily lost if the system is short on RAM for the give task.

You can see by looking at our deltas that because we were using our over-clocked BOXX machine that both our Practical and Optimal machines used the 4.5Ghz processor. With an average of 3.5 - 3.7% performance improvement each company will have to determine what will fit their budget when selecting a processor.

Please check back to the CATI blog as we will continue posting our series of articles that goes further into the details of each of our tests. All of these articles will be stored in the category of Free SolidWorks from Performance Constraints and links to each with their release date are listed below:

• FSWPC-13-#1 Introduction (3/19/13)


• FSWPC-13-#2 RAM (3/21/13)


• FSWPC-13-#3 Processor Cores (3/26/13)


• FSWPC-13-#4 Processor Cores for Simulation and PhotoView360 (3/28/13)


• FSWPC-13-#5 Processor Clock Speed (4/2/13)


• FSWPC-13-#6 Hard Drives (4/4/13)


• FSWPC-13-#7a Graphics Cards-SolidWorks Functionality (4/9/13)


• FSWPC-13-#7b Graphics Cards-Hardware Comparison (4/11/13)


• FSWPC-13-#7c Graphics Cards-Model Complexity (4/16/13)


• FSWPC-13-#8 Files stored in an older version (4/18/13)


• FSWPC-13-#9 OS Visual and User Settings (4/23/13)


• FSWPC-13-#10 SolidWorks Options (4/25/13)


• FSWPC-13-#11 SolidWorks Image Quality (4/30/13)


• FSWPC-13-#12 SolidWorks RealView Graphics (5/2/13)


• FSWPC-13-#13 SolidWorks  Level of Detail (5/7/13)


• FSWPC-13-#14 SolidWorks Mates and Flexible Subassemblies (5/9/13)


• FSWPC-13-#15 SolidWorks Defeature (5/14/13)


• FSWPC-13-#16 SolidWorks Envelope (5/16/13)


• FSWPC-13-#17 SolidWorks Large Design Review (5/21/13)


• FSWPC-13-#18 SolidWorks SpeedPak (5/23/13)


• FSWPC-13-#19 SolidWorks Save as Part (5/28/13)


• FSWPC-13-#20 SolidWorks Large Assembly Mode (5/30/13)


• FSWPC-13-#21 Optimal Configuration and Conclusion (6/4/13)

Thanks,

Josh Altergott, CATI Support Manager

Adrian Fanjoy, CATI Technical Services Director