pytheas22
November 14th, 2008, 08:05 PM
I need to build a machine for someone that has the following requirements:
1. run Abaqus
2. run Matlab
3. have up to a dozen users logged into graphical desktops at once, and serve VNC sessions from those desktops (up to 2 or 3 sessions at a time) to remote machines
The client is looking to spend around $5000 on this hardware. I'm sure I can get a machine for that kind of money that will do all of this adequately, but since I have so much to spend, I want to make sure its efficiency for the necessary tasks is maximized. So I have a few questions:
1. is more memory or more processing power going to be most important for running this software? I've never used Matlab or Abaqus myself so I'm not really familiar with what kind of operations they involve, but I'm sure there are other users here who have used those applications
2. is it worth getting two quad-core processors, or just one? Will Ubuntu be able to make efficient use of two processors and a total of eight cores?
3. should I worry much about the GPU? If there are multiple VNC sessions running at once, that would obviously put a greater load on the GPU because it would need to be supporting several desktops--but I only have integrated Intel graphics on my desktop at home and I can have three or four users logged into Gnome at once without a problem...so is serious GPU power necessary for this? If not, I'll just stick with Intel, since it has open-source drivers.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
1. run Abaqus
2. run Matlab
3. have up to a dozen users logged into graphical desktops at once, and serve VNC sessions from those desktops (up to 2 or 3 sessions at a time) to remote machines
The client is looking to spend around $5000 on this hardware. I'm sure I can get a machine for that kind of money that will do all of this adequately, but since I have so much to spend, I want to make sure its efficiency for the necessary tasks is maximized. So I have a few questions:
1. is more memory or more processing power going to be most important for running this software? I've never used Matlab or Abaqus myself so I'm not really familiar with what kind of operations they involve, but I'm sure there are other users here who have used those applications
2. is it worth getting two quad-core processors, or just one? Will Ubuntu be able to make efficient use of two processors and a total of eight cores?
3. should I worry much about the GPU? If there are multiple VNC sessions running at once, that would obviously put a greater load on the GPU because it would need to be supporting several desktops--but I only have integrated Intel graphics on my desktop at home and I can have three or four users logged into Gnome at once without a problem...so is serious GPU power necessary for this? If not, I'll just stick with Intel, since it has open-source drivers.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.