Grad School Flow Simulation PC Build

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on building a PC optimized for running flow simulations in fluid mechanics, particularly for graduate studies in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Key recommendations include investing in a high-performance graphics card and increasing RAM capacity, as well as utilizing remote high-performance clusters for serious computational fluid dynamics (CFD) work. The current desktop specifications include an AMD Ryzen 3 3200G processor, Nvidia GTX 980 graphics card, and 16GB RAM, which may be insufficient for advanced simulations requiring 100+ cores. Participants emphasize the importance of pre and post-processing on local machines while leveraging remote resources for intensive tasks.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
  • Familiarity with high-performance computing clusters
  • Knowledge of PC hardware specifications, particularly CPUs and GPUs
  • Experience with simulation software relevant to fluid mechanics
NEXT STEPS
  • Research high-performance graphics cards suitable for CFD, such as Nvidia RTX series
  • Explore options for building a workstation with at least 32GB of RAM
  • Investigate remote high-performance computing resources available through academic institutions
  • Learn about software tools for pre and post-processing in CFD, such as ANSYS Fluent or OpenFOAM
USEFUL FOR

Mechanical engineering students, aerospace engineering researchers, and professionals involved in computational fluid dynamics who are looking to optimize their PC builds for flow simulations.

AJSayad
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Hey everyone,

I'm coming to the end of my Mechanical Engineering B.S. degree and I've been in the process of applying to mechanical and aerospace PhD programs. I want to do research in fluid mechanics; I have some expereience in hypersonics from a Research Expereince for Undergraduates NSF program so I'm thinkning about sticking to that specific field for now.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience in what types of PC builds would be strong in running flow simulations. My current desktop can run some simulations well and is great for what I need it to be for now, but when I get to grad school I feel as though I may need something a little more powerful (or maybe not, I'm not too sure haha). Any advice on what I should look for, build around, or any insight in general on the topic would be awesome! Below are my current desktop specs.

Thanks for the help!

OS: Windows 10 (64 bit)
Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G
Graphics card: Nividia GTX 980
RAM: 16GB (x2 chips)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M
 
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You should do pre and postprocessing on your local machine, and do the real work on a remote high performance cluster. You should get access to one when you enroll in a program that needs serious CFD work. So I would invest in a good graphics card, and lots of memory. Maybe an hp zbook so it's portable... And two good large monitors.
I have 16 cores locally, but I almost never use it for simulations, mainly for meshing and setup/small runs. For serious CFD work, you will need 100+ cores anyway. But if you do research on 2D geometries, I guess you can get away with 16 cores.
 
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Likes   Reactions: david2, AJSayad, berkeman and 1 other person
That sounds great thanks for the input! I didn't realize it could take up to 100+ cores, I'll defintely look into some options and plan for pre/post processing locally.

Thanks for the help!
 

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