Dual Core procesors are starting to make their impact in the workstation sector. This month Alienware and Xworks deliver multithreaded performance with the Opteron 275 and Pentium D 840 EE, while HP opts for maximum GHz with the Pentium 4 670.

‘Dual Core’ is a bit of a buzz word in the workstation sector at this moment in time. However, while the majority of CAD applications remain single threaded, the GHz that you lose by not going for a top end single core processor could have a greater impact on productivity than any potential benefits you might get from being able to multi-task more effectively. Still, for users of multi-threaded applications in the areas of visualisation, analysis/simulation and high-end CAD, there is much to be gained from having two CPUs.

Another consideration to take into account if you are thinking of buying into the latest dual core technology, is 'don’t forget about dual processor workstations'. You may be able to find these cheaper and our tests show that there is virtually no difference in performance. If you take this route however, you won’t be able to have four processors within a single workstation, (as you can now with AMD's Opteron and with Intel's dual core Xeon in the future) which could be important for users of multi-threaded applications that scale well.

Workstation	Alienware MJ-12	HP xw4300	Xworks X8i-SLIDC
Processor type and clock speed	2.2GHz AMD Dual Core Opteron 275	3.8GHz Intel Pentium 4 670	3.2GHz Intel Pentium D 840 Extreme Edition
Graphics card	ATI FireGL V5100	ATI FireGL V5100	ATI FireGL V7100
Memory	2GB	4GB	2GB
Hard drive	2 x 160GB S-ATA II (Raid 0)	160GB S-ATA II	2 x 74GB S-ATA (Raid 0)
Price	£2,899	£1,850	£1,949

Alienware MJ-12

Alien fanatics might be a little disappointed not to see the trademark alien head case or metallic colour options, but the solid black Extended ATA case is perfectly suited to the CAD market with nice practical touches and still manages to retain a little of its alien identity. We particularly liked the locking door that folds neatly away to the side, so you can get easy access to the DVD drive when you want to and shut it closed when you don’t.

The MJ-12 is the only workstation on test this month to feature one AMD Opteron processor. Despite having a dual processor capable motherboard, the Tyan Thunder K8WE S2895, Alienware has only opted for a single dual core CPU, the AMD Opteron 275, which runs at 2.2GHz. The machine shipped with 2GB DDR2 RAM, two Hitachi Deskstar 150GB S-ATA II hard drives and an ATI FireGL V5100 graphics card. This takes up one of the two PCI Express slots that are located on the motherboard. However, unlike the Asus P5WD2 Premium motherboard featured in the Xworks X8i-SLIDC, both slots are x16, which means that should you want to add in another graphics card both will run at full speed. This is made possible by the inclusion of two Nvidia nForce chipsets on the motherboard, the Professional 2200 & 2050.

As with all dual core processor workstations, what you gain in performance under multi-threaded applications like 3ds Max, you lose under single threaded applications like SolidWorks, Inventor and Delcam PowerMill. This is due to the slower clock speed of the respective top end CPUs. However, even at 2.2GHz the MJ-12’s Opteron 275 still outperforms both the Intel-based workstations on test this month on all the single threaded CAD applications. Interestingly Xworks’ Pentium Extreme Edition workstation closes the gap under the multithreaded 3ds Max test, which shows just how effective Intel’s Hyper Threading can be.

Dual Core is a bit of a buzz word at the moment, but we were a little puzzled by Alienware’s decision to only put one in its MJ-12. Yes, this gives you the option to upgrade to a quad-processor workstation in the future, but for the present a dual processor MJ-12 would be a much more cost effective solution for virtually the same performance. The same workstation with two single core Opteron 248 (2.2GHz) processors is £200 cheaper, and this is money that could be spent on adding an extra 2GB of RAM. This aside, we were impressed with the machine on the whole, from build quality right up to performance, and Alienware’s MJ-12 is well worth a look if you’re in the market for a dual processor workstation.

HP xw4300

In terms of graphics, ATI’s FireGL V5100 provides a more than adequate amount of 3D performance for mid-range CAD users, with the scores under Inventor and SolidWorks given a little boost by the 3.8GHz processor. Despite producing the lowest 3ds Max graphics scores of all machines on test this month, the xw4300 still impresses here due to ATI’s excellent DirectX drivers. However, if you’re looking for a good all round machine on which to run 3ds Max, the xw4300 is not likely to be top of your list, particularly if rendering is a major part of your day to day work. Under our multi-threaded 3ds Max rendering test, the xw4300 was almost 50% slower than both the multi processor machines on test this month.

Finally, it’s not often CD or DVD drives get a specific mention in Workstation magazine, but HP’s new LightScribe technology, which is included in the xw4300, is something rather special. Aiming to put an end to the age old problem of labeling your discs, LightScribe uses the same laser that burned the data to make the label for the other side of the disc. After completing a data burn, users are prompted to flip the disc over so they can burn a silk-screen-like label on the CD or DVD. This only works on media with a LightScribe dye coating.

Xworks X8i-SLIDC

So where does a machine like the X8iSLIDC fit in the workstation landscape? In Xworks’ workstation range, the X8iSLIDC is more than £100 cheaper than its dual Xeon machine with an equivalent specification. Dual Xeon workstations can of course, go up to 3.6GHz, but you’ll pay a premium for the extra speed.

So now we’ve got the positioning out of the way, what else does Xworks’ latest workstation have to offer? Built around the Asus P5WD2 Premium motherboard, the machine boast two PCI Express slots – a x16 and a x4. Filling the x16 slots is ATI’s top end FireGL V7100 graphics card, which features 256MB RAM, two DVI-I ports and a stereo port. The card also features single Dual Link mode for ultra-high resolution displays. The second PCI Express slot could come into play if CrossFire, ATI’s dual graphics card technology (a competitor to Nvidia’s SLI technology) is brought to market in the workstation sector.

Elsewhere the machine features 2GB of PC4200 (533MHz) DDR2 RAM, which is sufficient for average users of most mid-range CAD applications, but with two spare slots there’s also room for expansion if required. A pair of 74GB Western Digital 10,000RPM Serial ATA Raptor drives (Raid 0) round off the core specification.

In terms of performance the dual core Pentium D 840 Extreme Edition processor gives the X8i-SLIDC plenty of power under our only multi-threaded benchmark, our 3ds Max rendering test, which makes use of both processors and Hyper Threading. However, under single threaded applications such as SolidWorks or PowerMill, which don’t take advantage of dual processors or Hyper Threading, the lower clock speed is evident. Because of this the 3D performance also drops under Inventor, but the impressive power of the FireGL V7100 keeps the 3D figures high under 3ds Max, an application that isn’t bound as much by the speed of the CPU. With this in mind, the combination of dual core processing power and high-end graphics is sure to make the X8i-SLIDC an attractive option for users of multithreaded visualisation applications like 3ds Max.