Learning Forum

[CM1986]

I apologize if this is this is the wrong area to be posting this, however I have a performance question on the new ThinkPad P53's.

I am having a hard time deciding on two laptop's for a workflow predominately consisting of FDE (ANSYS), and CAD (SolidWorks). With my current experience level I may not utilize all of the resources in either of the two configurations I have listed below, however I wanted something I could keep for a while and grow into since usually ThinkPad's have very good longevity.

The decision making obstacle I am running into is prioritizing either the graphics card or the processor since I can not have both in the same machine. Unfortunately Lenovo did not pair the top i9 8-core with the RTX 5000, I am assuming due to thermal constraints. In order to have the RTX 5000 you are limited to the latest 6-core Xeon or the 6-core i7. To get the i9 8-core, you are limited to the RTX 4000 Max-Q or lower card.

Here are my two options I have it refined down to, and any insight based on my workflow would be appreciated:

Option 1

- 2.3 GHz Intel Core i9-9880H Eight-Core

- 64GB DDR4 & 1TB SSD

- NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 Max-Q (8GB)

Option 2

- 2.8GHz Intel Core Xeon E-2276M Six-Core

- 64GB DDR4 & 1TB SSD

- NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q (16GB)

 

So I have the second option right now, however I am within my return period if option one is the better value. Should I keep the Xeon or swap it out for the RTX 4000 and i9? Lets also assume we are leaving my experience and skill out of the equation to make it easier. Lets just base this purley on the capability of each workstation and not my capability.

Which one would you go with? Did I mess up grabbing the Xeon? Or was prioritizing the RTX 5000 with a 6-core processor the better choice?

Thank you in advance.

 

 

[peteroznewman]

Option 2 is slightly faster than Option 1 according to some benchmark programs such as PassMark. The performance difference is so small that I don't think you would notice it without a benchmark program that can measure small differences.  I think you made the right choice.

[CM1986]

Thank you for the feedback. Either laptop is more than I need at the moment but I know you can usually hang onto these things for a while. So I wanted something I could grow into and I guess I will use the word "future proof".

I was anticipating the Xeon would be the way to go due to it's single core performance. 

[Rob]

There's the supported platform list here too:

https://www.ansys.com/solutions/solutions-by-role/it-professionals/platform-support

If a card is listed it means it's been tested. If it's not listed we've not tested it; that doesn't mean it won't work, just that we've not tried it.