Capable CAD desktop for £400-£500

NoNameNoNumber

NoNameNoNumber

NoNameNoNumber

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I've got a friend who's been told he'll need a strong desktop for the coming year of uni. My only experience is of low end gaming rigs so I though I'd ask for help..

No ancillaries are required but cpu/gpu/psu etc all are. I guess an SSD is out of the question but I need windows too...

What can you do for me? I'm thinking along these sort of lines...

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3470 3.20GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £155.99
1 x Asus P8H77-V LE Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
2 x OcUK Value 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel Kit £49.99 (£99.98)
1 x Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £49.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £41.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) HDD £39.95
Total : £564.98 (includes shipping : £11.75).






Much appreciated:)
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x AMD A8-5600K Black Edition 3.60GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor **FREE SIMCITY PC GAME** (AD560KWOHJBOX) £71.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2666HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x ASRock FM2A75M-DGS AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £52.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £493.91 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
If he's going to do CAD work... he WILL need a dedicated GPU.

I'm seeing people where I work struggling with GoCAD on an i5, 4Gb RAM and a low-end Nvidia Quadro card...

I don't have time right now to do up a spec, but I would vote for the AMD chip route, and I'd recommend putting the ~£90 worth of the SSD cost into a decent CUDA capable nvidia GPU.

A modern 7200RPM HDD is still pretty fast, SSD's are really only sensible when you can spare the budget on them.
 
puma luke said:
I've got a friend who's been told he'll need a strong desktop for the coming year of uni. My only experience is of low end gaming rigs so I though I'd ask for help..

No ancillaries are required but cpu/gpu/psu etc all are. I guess an SSD is out of the question but I need windows too...

What can you do for me? I'm thinking along these sort of lines...

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3470 3.20GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £155.99
1 x Asus P8H77-V LE Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £82.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
2 x OcUK Value 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Dual Channel Kit £49.99 (£99.98)
1 x Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black £49.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £41.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) HDD £39.95
Total : £564.98 (includes shipping : £11.75).






Much appreciated:)
Click to expand...

Will your friend not be able to get a copy of Windows via the Uni?

And swap the ram out for these, as well as being faster, it will allow him to add more if he needs it.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Blue 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX16C9K2/16X) £101.99
Total : £110.69 (includes shipping : £7.25).

 
1. i'd be a bit sceptical about windows 8, unless you're sure all the software is definitely 100% compatible

2. dedicated gpu, it was the mistake I made. expensive they may be but for the professional graphics it's an absolute must have, otherwise you'll be forced to use the specialist rendering tools and that takes ages.


cpu wise an i5 will be good, only when doing renders and the like would cpu horsepower really be a worry. I believe though there's one of the xeon line that's low priced but comes with hyperthreading, something to think about if overclocking isn't nessecary.

can't say hard drive wise what would be best, but i'd say the price of an ssd would be better invested in the graphics. ram wise 16gb will be fine, going with 2 8gb modules is a good way, leaves room for upgrading.
 
Potty27 said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x AMD A8-5600K Black Edition 3.60GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor **FREE SIMCITY PC GAME** (AD560KWOHJBOX) £71.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2666HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x ASRock FM2A75M-DGS AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £52.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £493.91 (includes shipping : FREE).

Click to expand...

That is just shameful..



@OP: A GPU that would be great for just CAD work is the FX 4600, they are pretty cheap now (as they are old) and can be picked up for around £60 on auction sites..

If the person wants to game though, i suggest a GTX 460, secondhand would be around £50-£60 again.. Not perfect for CAD work but got me through my CAD degree. :)
 
Doomedspeed said:
That is just shameful..
Click to expand...

I hardly think there is any shame in coming up with a suggestion that includes an SSD, as the OP seemed quite keen on having one. Even if after re-reading the first post it's a poor suggestion for his needs.

That's why it's an open discussion, so the OP ends up knowing the best suggestions through peoples input.
 
Needs a used GPU (assuming a FX 4600 would be fine on this PSU?), so would make the total cost about £30 over the £500 budget.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Samsung Green (MV-3V4G3D/US) 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz 30nm Dual Channel Kit £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3 AMD 970A (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £59.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £49.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £469.92 (includes shipping : FREE).



AMD would be my choice for that budget anyway.
 
CAD specific cards are absolutely worth having over gaming ones, but you won't get a new one with a £500 budget.

I wouldn't go anywhere near AMD for this. Better a dual core i3 from Intel than an 8 core AMD chip - it'll be faster for pretty much anything he chooses to do.

Is he willing to go second hand for at least some parts?
 
Hawkesbury said:
Can you find out which programs he will be using?
Click to expand...

Solid works

JonJ678 said:
CAD specific cards are absolutely worth having over gaming ones, but you won't get a new one with a £500 budget.

I wouldn't go anywhere near AMD for this. Better a dual core i3 from Intel than an 8 core AMD chip - it'll be faster for pretty much anything he chooses to do.

Is he willing to go second hand for at least some parts?
Click to expand...

Hmmm i5 3470 on a H77 chipset a good shout then?

I guess if the parts are easily obtainable 2nd hand he wouldn't have any issues. No doubt I'll get the procurement job anyway :rolleyes:
 
 
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