Robert Jamieson. Robs Techie PP Everything in this presentation is at your own risk!

Transcription

1 Robert Jamieson Robs Techie PP Everything in this presentation is at your own risk!

2 PC s Today Basic Setup Hardware pointers PCI Express How will it effect you

3 Basic Machine Setup Set the swap space Min as Max to same Swap space to 2x the RAM up to 3GB This is how to change it in XP pro

4 Basic Machine Setup Inventor needs Excel. Make sure it has latest service patch and authorised before you run Inventor Use except for video drivers! Defrag using System tools on 2000 or XP, always restart afterwards Norton Speed disk is what I use, Diskkeeper can defrag the Swap space!

5 Get the Right Graphics Driver Even a new PC may not have the correct or latest driver installed Graphics cards and drivers change monthly Go to the manufacturers site and get a driver tested against your application Download reg hack to update settings in Inventor Link

6 So what s the current CPU choice? Xeon (Dual) P4..4c,4e 4 Extreme Edition AMD Athlon XP Athlon MP (Dual) Athlon 64, 64FX Opteron (Dual)

7 What s the best CPU today? Xeons have more cache but only have FSB of 533Mhz (core is same as P4) Opteron, Athlon 64 are fast, OK on 32 bit OS but no 64 bit Windows yet (CPU Socket upgrade is a mess) Athlon XP OK but not as quick as highest P4 Today P4c 3.2 GHz, 800 FSB best value for your money P4e 3.4 even with bigger cache is not as fast as 3.2c with Inventor.

8 Tomorrows CPU? Full speed Xeons ship within 2 months. 800FSB but with bigger cache AMD 64 Socket 939 faster clock speeds. 64 bit Windows ships at end of the year 4GB memory address space! Dual core P5? End of this year with 64 bit instruction set 2x CPU on one die but following AMD 64 instruction set!

9 Disks for intensive applications SCSI is dying IDE RAIDED SATA 10,000 RPM or big 250GB for 66! Single IDE SATA OK now for entry level workstation.

10 RAM (Random Access Memory) 800 FSB i.e. the DDR RAM runs at 200Mhz gives the boost P4s Get enough slots If possible get spare slots Get as much RAM as you can afford (it s cheap!) Not changed except for Graphics Cards

11 Chipset driver includes AGP interface Chipset is a collection of control chips on the motherboard which has the interfaces built into them To enable them you need to install an INF file (for Intel) Even 865, 875 needs the driver installed

12 Graphics Tips Set low Aperture size in BIOS, e.g. 64,128,256,512 This saves physical RAM in PC being used. Do not reduce for render apps, i.e. Far Cry etc. Trionics only to set

13 VIA and SIS chipsets As native drivers aren t installed with the OS driver problems are more applicable on these chipsets Don t trust the drivers you get on the CD that ships with the PC. They will at least be a few months out of date These chipsets and latest drivers cause crashing in intensive apps i.e. Inventor

14 Were to get chipset drivers Go to your manufacture first Dell or HP etc for drivers For Intel look for support and then chipsets, INF and Application accelerator For ATI Chipsets For AMD look for support and downloads, AMD chipset drivers, AGP patch for Windows 2000 For SIS click on support and downloads then download centre and wait For VIA click on Integrated Graphics Controller/Display Drivers and IDE drivers

15 Why do you need a Professional Graphics Card Performance Model without waiting Full OpenGL support Not limited OpenGL for games that can cause errors in CAD displays Real-time rendering and editing Reliability Tested using professional applications over long periods and quiet while heavy processing Support Tested and certified with your application No on screen errors Provided directly from ATI All FireGL cards fit into a single AGP slot

16 Range of FireGL AGP cards for different needs X2-256t, Large assembly modelling and rendering Z1, Part and Medium assembly modelling T2, Part modelling basic assemblies

17 Example rollout of PCI Express

18 So It s coming! By the end of the year you will be buying PC s based on PCI Express New CPU s, New 64Bit OS and most importantly New Graphics ATI has the best PCI Express (FireGL) implementation that s why I m there..

19 What is PCI Express? PCI Express is a new Personal Computer Interconnect Specification MB/s Inflection Points PCI Express x16 lane PCI Express will offer Performance Scalability for the Next Decade ISA AGP 1/2X PCI AGP 4X AGP 8X

20 Design for Cost Design for Flexibility Power Management Quality of Service Deadline sensitive traffic PCI Express DTV, Video-on-demand, Video conferencing High Performance Capability Video Editing Photo Realism Digital Home Next Generation GUIs

21 Enabling New Form Factors Source: Ajay Bhatt,Intel Corp., PCI Express Architecture Overview and Industry Update, June 2003.

22 PCI Express Highlights High Performance Scalable Width, Frequency Higher Bandwidth Two Times AGP 8x I/O Simplification Consolidate the I/O Works in existing PCI Environment Advanced Architecture Switched serial, point-to-point bus allows each device to have a dedicated connection without bus sharing Advanced Power Management Ease of Use New Form Factors/Innovative Designs Hot Plug / Hot Swap

23 Native PCI Express Advantage ATI Native Implementation A Native Implementation for PCI Express: VPU PCI Express Alternative Bridge VPU AGP AGP Forward Bridge Chip PCI Express Delivers full performance benefit to end-user Less risk time-to-market advantage More economical A bridge chip for PCI Express could: Add extra point of failure Increase power-on delay Add additional latency Add additional cost Key PCI Express features lost with a bridge: Power management Use of the full 4GB bandwidth (ie: video editing)

24 PCI Express Graphics Card PCI-Express mechanical specs not a radical change from AGP Same PCB dimensions Same component height AGP and PCI-Express board designs can be very similar PCI-Express is more flexible on the placement of the GFX ASIC Graphics cards will use PCI-Express x16 link

25 Bright Future PCI Express Complete family of PCI Express-based workstation Call me for further information or below