Calculate the Simulation Speed-up and ROI of a New Workstation

We all know that the type and number of cores in a workstation will affect its simulation performance. However, you may not know the return on investment (ROI) of a new workstation or how it will speed up simulation workflows.

• The Ansys application
• The solver
• The size of the model
• The age and performance of your current workstation

As a result, predicting the simulation performance and ROI of a new workstation is complex. This can make it difficult for you to convince management to sign off on new hardware.

That is why Ansys and Intel have developed an online Workstation Refresh ROI Estimator. The tool estimates the performance and ROI of a new workstation running Ansys Fluent or Ansys Mechanical.

How to Calculate a Workstation’s ROI and its Simulation Speed-up

To use the Workstation Refresh ROI Estimator, you simply have to answer six quick questions:

1. What engineering simulation solution do you use?
2. What solver do you typically use?
3. What is the size of the typical simulation that you run?
4. How many sockets are in your current workstation?
5. What percent of time do you spend running simulations?
6. What is your average annual salary?

The estimator updates the ROI in real-time based on the answers you provide.

The tool then compares recommended workstations to approximations of your current workstation. The comparisons of these workstations are based on their computational times and estimated ROI.

When the ROI analysis is complete, you can download it as a PowerPoint or PDF report. The report can then be shared with management to show how a new workstation can increase productivity and pay for itself. This will make it much easier to get the new workstation you need.

How to Benefit from HPC

Usually, our customers embark on an HPC trajectory, commencing their journey by employing Ansys on a personal laptop or desktop, or by already operating it in a cloud environment. As the Ansys user group expands, they typically scale up their computing capabilities by employing multiple servers or even clusters within a datacenter. This augmented computational capacity facilitates the execution of multiple concurrent simulation tasks and often involves more intricate simulations. We've collaborated with partners to devise suggested specifications for laptops, desktops, and HPC systems tailored for Ansys applications. Visit our on premises hardware page for more info.

Last, we offer a free, 30-day HPC trial, which allows you to run simulations on more (CPU and GPU) processors, either on premises or in the cloud, so you can see how HPC can help reduce simulation time while enabling you to perform larger and more detailed simulations.