Some questions about display resolution and a configuration for a new workstation

Hi,
Some questions about display resolution and a configuration for a new workstation.
I'm going to configure a new workstation, consisting of a DELL Workstation "T5810" and 4 Dell UltraSharp displays.
I mainly work with MicroStation V8i SS3, much in 2D and some 3D graphics.
Additional to this, I also use EPLAN for electrical schematics, usual Office programs and databases.
OS is 64bit Windows7.
I would not risk a bad buy, so I would like to have a few opinions…..
 
CONFIGURATION FOR NEW WORKSTATION:
- Processor: Intel Xeon E5-1630 v3 (4 cores, 3.7 GHz, 10 MB)
- RAM: 32 GB 2133 MHz DDR4 (4x8 GB) RDIMM ECC
- Graphic Card: AMD FirePro W5100, 4 GB, 4 DP
- Power Supply 825W
- Hard disk: SATA 3.5 "500GB 7200
 
Is this configuration ok?
Enough memory?
Graphics card recommended? Enough memory and enough power for my 4 monitors in a suitable resolution?
Would maybe the installation of a SSD hard drive be recommended?
 
DISPLAYS:
Currently I am working on following displays:
2x DELL U2311H, 23 ", 16: 9, pixel pitch of 0,265mm, resolution 1920x1080 at 60 Hz,
1x DELL 2007FP, 20 ", 4: 3, pixel pitch of 0.255mm, resolution 1600x1200 at 60 Hz,

The 23 " 16: 9 has not made me really happy because of the lack of height compared to my old 21" 4: 3 displays.
 
Therefore actually I only want to buy 16:10 displays…….
Since with increasing size this problem seems to disappear and I also have found interesting 16:9 devices, I am not sure what the best is
and need your experience and decision support.
I am also very uncertain about the display resolution. What is good or perhaps a no-go ...?
Maximum working distance to the screens is approximately 90cm!
 
MY SELECTION FOR NEW DISPLAYS:
DELL U2415, IPS panel, 24 ", 16:10, pixel pitch of 0.27mm, resolution 1920x1200 at 60 Hz
DELL U2515H, IPS panel, 25 ", 16: 9, pixel pitch of 0.216mm, resolution 2560x1440 at 60 Hz
DELL U2717D, ​​IPS panel, 27 ", 16: 9, pixel pitch of 0.2331mm, resolution 2560x1440 at 60 Hz
 
Since 27” perhaps could be a little too much, or is this just a matter of habit ... :)), I actually like 25" quite well. Unfortunately, this is again a 16: 9 format!
Unusually for the 25" is the high resolution of 2560x1440, which usually found only on 27" displays!!
How does this relate in Microstation?
Is this high resolution rather better for displaying and working on the screen?
How does Microstation run on a 25” display with that higher resolution?
 
In summary:
- What screen size, by using 4 displays and 90cm working distance, would be good / the best ? 24 ", 25", 27 "...?
- What format should be the best for CAD, 16:9 or 16:10, or depending on the display size ...?
- What is the best resolution, what is advantageous and what an absolute no-go?
 
Thanks for reading to the end .... :))  and for any help.
 
On the picture attached an overview of the different sizes and formats, with my current 23” 16:9 display shown in red.
 
Regards
Raphael
  • Unknown said:
    Would maybe the installation of a SSD hard drive be recommended?

    Using an SSD as the Windows system disk makes a big difference to start-up and some apps.  Go for 240GByte.

     
    Regards, Jon Summers
    LA Solutions

  • For a quick list of suggested hardware you can see the following:

    http://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/w/microstation__wiki/4175.microstation-v8i-system-requirements-and-hardware-recommendations-tn

    As far as the displays go resolution of the monitor can have an impact. If you go to a very high resolution monitor there is an issue with icons and certain gui elements being small for V8i.

    http://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/f/273/t/97324

    http://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/f/273/p/111346/339569#339569

    Unknown said:
    - What screen size, by using 4 displays and 90cm working distance, would be good / the best ? 24 ", 25", 27 "...?
    - What format should be the best for CAD, 16:9 or 16:10, or depending on the display size ...?
    - What is the best resolution, what is advantageous and what an absolute no-go?

    1. This is really dependent on what works for you. Some people like bigger screens

    2. Again this is up to your preferences.

    3. Very high resolution screens, such as 4K may be an issue if the monitor is on the smaller side, less than 24".

  • Hard drive - I've been using a system with and SSD drive for 5 years. I will never buy another computer that doesn't use a SSD as the main drive for the OS. If you have money to spend on a XEON processor for 2D work then a SSD is a no brainer.

    Screen - Resolution is all dependent on your working distance. My only experience on high resolution displays is with Apple products which are designed from the ground up to run in a high resolution environment. For MicroStation have a 27" 2560x1440 (old non-retina) and work about 50 cm away. It is decent to work on but with MicroStation I still need to use anti aliasing which cause additional overhead and some graphic anomalies. Getting a 4K should eliminate the need for antialiasing but I would really question the value of a 4K monitor less that 27" especially if your working 90 cm away. Additionally Windows 7 isn't really set up to run 4K monitors. I would have to see how well the MicroStation and the Windows 7 interface functioned on a 4K monitor (at 90 cm distance) before I pulled the trigger on one.
  • Hello everyone,

    Ok for the SSD, was be added to the configuration :)

    Until now, I understand that there are possible / known problems at very high resolutions such as 4K.
    However, the chosen monitors do not have such high 4K resolution of 3840x2160, but only 2560x1440.
    In the linked post here the problem relates also to higher resolution of 3200x1800.

    Now the question is whether 2560x1440 still is a "normal" resolution and Microstation can be displayed on it clean and without any problems .....

    I have also recognized that some of my questions are really very user specific.
    Concerning the resolution I think the most important is that it works error free.
    In the linked post that seems not to be the case with the highest resolutions.
    Unfortunately, I have no way to try it somewhere, which certainly would be the best.

    Now I am even more confused :(
    Perhaps someone has tried it ....

    Thanks
    Regards
    Raphael
  • Hi Kei-Koo
    first of all as David said SSD is really necessary as primary disk for agile work
    monitor is very individual, I am working with MS 22 years on from 14" to 27" without any problems,
    now i've got iMac 27" as monitor with 2560x1440 and I am absolutely satisfied with it
    some 4K or 5K is not supported win7 OS, I prefer one, but big monitor 27", bigger is more as radiator as monitor :-)
    and GPU of videocard is not so important for Microstation in 2D or easy 3D, Microstation is CPU oriented,
    for your type of work , I allow to say you dont need highend solution
    regards
    Karol