PC for Sentaurus TCAD simulations

[Allse]

Hello everyone,

I need some advice on a very specific PC build. I am working with semiconductor device simulation using technology CAD from Synopsys. I was asked to build a new PC dedicated for these simulations and I have limited budget of 1500$(US)  (not including monitor and peripherals). This system is not meant for graphics rendering but rather doing mathematical computation. It will run the software via VMware using RHEL 6.

Please suggest which components would result in shortest simulation times as I would like to have the best balanced system.

Thanks.

[IconicPCB]

Accost the author of software.

Does the software benefit from multiple cores?
If not which single core processor will give You best performance?
Get an estimate of number of data points in Your simulation and how much memory each data point will require ( minimise need for swap space access ). Get as much RAM as is specified by the author and then some more.
Other option a low latency motherboard that is a motherboard intended to be used in server applications rather than eye candy application.