Dell Workstation Configuration help!

[iori105]

We are going to buy a Dell workstation for Agisoft projects.
I did some research in the forum and get these:

Dell T7610

Dual E5-2687 v2  8 cores
128GB DDR3-1866Mhz
512GB SSD
Dual Inno3D GeForce GTX 780 3G GDDR5

the Above configuration in our place about 8,000 USD
or the

Dell T7910
Dual E5-2687 v3  10 cores
128GB DDR4-2133Mhz
512GB SSD
Dual Inno3D GeForce GTX TITAN 6G GDDR5

the Above configuration in our place about 14,000 USD.

Any suggestions? I think I prefer the first Configuration the price is more resonable?

[stihl]

I definitely don't think you need a Titan to gain any noticable speed differences. The CPU is the main bottleneck so to say.
I also would not use a SSD with Photoscan as it writes a lot of small files. Look up any longer term tests with SSD and you'll find that they áll break down after 2-3 months if you use them 24/7 which I think you will with a setup like that...
Of course you can use a SSD to install windows and the software on etc but you'll definitely need a seperate data disk to write the data to.

I also don't see the use of a dual GPU with Photoscan as it barely uses just one.

[iori105]

I definitely don't think you need a Titan to gain any noticable speed differences. The CPU is the main bottleneck so to say.
I also would not use a SSD with Photoscan as it writes a lot of small files. Look up any longer term tests with SSD and you'll find that they áll break down after 2-3 months if you use them 24/7 which I think you will with a setup like that...
Of course you can use a SSD to install windows and the software on etc but you'll definitely need a seperate data disk to write the data to.

I also don't see the use of a dual GPU with Photoscan as it barely uses just one.

Thank you so much.
I'll take them all!

[mitchfx]

Be sure to price out a refurb Dell on the outlet store before buying.  Usually the same specs can be found for about 60% of t he new price and with same warranty.  Also, check out a place called shopezit.com.  They sell refurb HP and Dell workstations and offer great support.  I bought my Dell T7610 from them a few months ago and have been super happy.

[Alexey Pasumansky]

Hello iori105,

I also "vote" for the first option as the CPU frequency is higher, although the number of cores is less. And GPU benefit from using TITANs would not correspond to the price difference.

[Kms1]

i use a dell workstation with a samsung evo ssd and a mac pro with a 'hybrid' (ssd) drive and have never had issues with the drives in photoscan?! pls elaborate on t this issue as i will be buying more licenses and workstations in due course...

[stihl]

Kms1,

SSD's tend to get much less reliable after continuous heavy use. For me reliability and data loss preventage is much more important than any performance gain by a SSD. Unless you don't have enough ram, the SSD is barely used during processing. If you run out of ram it uses it as a scratch-disk which can be harmful to the device in the long run.

So unless you're running projects that run out of RAM regulary and you're unable to get more, a SSD should be fine. Kind of depends on what you're working with.