2019/2020 Workstation & Gaming build - best performance for price ?

[Alt and F4]

Hello all,

I'm going a bit crazy trying to figure out what I would need to build a good workstation that would also be able to run the latest games at high settings.
Currently have the opportunity to work from home - and then at the weekends use the PC for a bit of fun.


I'm looking to end up with a PC that will easily carry out the following work tasks:
3D CAD - (so suitable size and speed of RAM I guess is what is required here?)
3D model rendering - (I presume VRAM is important here?)
Video editing and rendering - (again VRAM important?)

I'm also looking to have a PC that will do the following types of games with ease:
Flight Sims (such as DCS World) - (all about the graphics card I guess?)
Car racing sims - (again important to have a good graphics card?)
First person shooter sims (such as Call of Duty) - (apart from internet lag I guess again its the graphics card that will be most important here?)


So, the internet is full of builds for either a workstation OR a gaming PC, but not one that would be comfortable with both.

I've heard that anything branded as "workstation" can be high price just because it is expected that such things would be paid for out of a company budget, but I am hoping you guys can help me out with a component list that will work really well.

My budget is around £800-£1200 (GBP) / $1000-$1500 (USD)

Many thanks for any help on this - looking to treat myself for christmas !

 

[Alt and F4]

Thanks for the reply.

Works station use will be the likes of AutoCAD 3D and Revit - for doing civil engineering drawings and models.

Video rendering will be for both work and personal use - editing and compiling videos that engineers take on work sites. And then for personal use such as putting together videos taken whilst on holidays.


So a Ryzen 12 core would be a good starting point?
And I'm guessing more core will be better for work software?

Cheers.

 

[Alt and F4]

Thanks again for the replies. Much appreciated!

For Revit, I'll just be doing basic site specific designs - its more the AutoCAD 3D that will do the bulk of the design work. As I'll be loading in mapping, images, reference files, 3D survey data etc. etc. Which will then have 3D design models placed in to the drawing which I'll then have to render out from time to time to produce nice looking PDFs showing how things are progressing and what they'll look like once built.
Some AutoCAD dwg files can easily become 500Mb - but I don't know how that translates to actual RAM usage. When checking my work PC (At work) which is an Intel Xeon E5-1650 v2 @ 3.5Ghz, NVIDIA Quadro K4000 graphics card and with 16Gb RAM, it is more or less always fully utilized in terms of RAM and it does struggle often when processing tasks such as rendering.


So as I start to compile a component list for my home PC - so far I've got ....

Processor = Ryzen 12 core 1920X
Graphics card = AMD RX 5700 XT performance

 

[Alt and F4]

Many thanks for the advice. Cheers !

 

[Alt and F4]

Unfortunately not.
Although having said that, my wife runs her own business and works from home full-time.
If she were to also use the new PC for her work then it could be something she buys through her business and could claim back the VAT I suppose.

 

[Alt and F4]

Apologies - can I just ask one follow up question ..... would the two options that are listed above be suitable for gaming with Virtual Reality headsets?
I am hoping to be able play flight and racing car sims in VR in a manner that is very smooth with a good level of resolution and detail - hoping by doing that it will not give me motion sickness .

 

[Alt and F4]

Thanks for that reply Jason.

Totally understand what you are saying regarding having a dedicated PC build for the purpose it is to be used for.
However, I find myself in a good position whereby I can work from home a few days during the week and then be free at weekends to do a bit of gaming - I was hoping that in the latest vast range of PC build options that there may be a good compromise of components that could be thrown together that would offer a good level of performance for both work and game activities.

I guess I'm not looking for "top level" performance on the work activities , as I recognise workstation builds can reach eye watering prices, similarly I just want a game build that will allow me to comfortably run flight sims, car racing sims, 1st person shooters etc. with high level of graphics and smoothness - and just as an add on I am also looking to start using virtual reality for gaming and also possibly for some work activities.

Excluding monitors, VR headset and other devices, I was hoping there would be a good compromise value for money build that would be suitable for the above - and also hoping this would arrive at around the £1200 price point.

Cheers.

 

[Alt and F4]

Thanks. Yes, I guess like anything that is designed for purpose, PC builds are designed for their particular use.

So taking in all the replies so far, would the spec list that was mentioned earlier be a decent compromise to be able to do CAD work, video editing, model rendering and gaming sims with VR - to a level that would be good for gaming and workable for the work activities?

Totally relying on expert advice as my previous experience with a PC build was way back in the year 2008 !
(Things have moved on so far that I barely recognise components any more - also compatibility is something I am lost on, so your help is much appreciated on this thread).