CAD Build

mish4444

mish4444

mish4444

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27 Nov 2011
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38
I posted earlier this week about a new build for a bulldozer I have sold this now and going for an intel build

The aim is speed of rendering and the ability to run 2 monitors and different CAD packages, I find my self running 2 windows of rhino, 1 of auto cad as well as other engineering programs and the usual Itunes and internet browser

bellow is my proposed spec I am able to get hold of a case and Coolermaster 650W GX PSU.

Any advice?
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £191.99

MSI Z68A-GD55-G3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £124.99

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6850 Cyclone Power Edition 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £124.99

Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B) £39.98

In terms of OS i have lots of old 32bit XP licenses can i then use the upgrade to 64bit windows 7? and is it worth installing the OS to a SSD? for the 80 quid investment
 
OEM chips don't come with heatsinks, this is good for the price or get a retail chip to save money

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-035-AR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

IIRC you can't upgrade from XP to 7, so get a retail or 64bit oem full copy.

Can those programs use cuda? If so change to a nvidia card (probably a 460 but just have a look at what is a good price).

Motherboard is overpriced unless your going for sli/crossfire or heavy overclocking, get a gigabyte z68ap-d3 instead.

Make sure the case has good airflow and will fit everything.

You'll probably get a better reply from people if you specify a budget and what parts you need.
 
cheers NG i will eventually end up using sli/crossfire and over clocking at some point but i need the system work reliably from day one so will have to wait for workload to lighten before i can play around with over clocking.

ideally i would like to spend around the 600 pound mark for everything but a case and psu i have monitors ect so basicaly just everything to go in the box.

The case is a coolmaster storm enforcer case
 
Id say go for something like this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £199.99
1 x MSI Z68A-G45-G3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £114.98
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £109.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £68.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT51264BA160A) £39.98
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
1 x Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £18.98
Total : £590.90 (includes shipping : £10.00).



If you are planning on OCing you'll need a CPU cooler, i have also changed the RAM to avoid the 'vengance' heatsinks clashing with the CPU cooler.

Programs like that can use CUDA so the GTX 460 is a great buy, especially consideing the price. I wouldn't splash out on an SSD just yet. For CAD progrrams, the more RAM the better. :)
 
I run a similar CAD setup to you with two monitors etc.
I run Pro-Engineer, CityEngine, Lightwave and Adobe Design Suite.

If your focus is on rendering speed and using several programs at once, I'd be looking at 16GB ram and a 2600k.
If its a work PC a £100 Nvidia 460 graphic card should be fine.
I use an old NVidia 8800GT and it is fine for manipulating geometry in viewports etc, even good for the odd game of Portal!


This CPU:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-358-IN
£270

This cooler:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-001-GD
£22

This MBoard:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-364-GI
£71

16GB of this ram: (Dont worry about the heatsinks...ways round that ;))
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-309-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517
£84

This GPU:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-247-AS
£162
=======================
TOTAL COST = £609
=======================

or (If its not a games PC and you want to save some money towards an SSD OR 64 BIT WINDOWS 7 FIRST!!)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-160-EA
£110

Thats £52 towards your next buy:)


WHY DO I RECOMMEND THIS LIST?

2600k vs 2500
----------------
hyperthreading which shows as EIGHT threads (virtual cores) in your CAD programs.
* Noticably Faster Rendering, faster if you overclock it. I have mine at 4.7Ghz, 66 degrees @ full load with the Tranquillo cooler.

16GB vs 8GB
--------------
Think 16gb is too much? Think again.
I run Pro Engineer, (and Rhino :)) and very large assemblies can take up over 10GB ram
This can be more, say, if I'm doing texturing in Photoshop and running a complex Lightwave animation with Radiosity calculations etc.

YOU NEED 64 BIT WINDOWS!!!!!
32 bit windows will only use up to 4gb and probably nearer 3.5Gb.
64 Bit will let you use more, I have 16Gb in my work machine and it all gets used.

An SSD is a great investment and gives an overall speed boost to your computer, not just quicker boot up times.

BUT!!

in your case for a CAD machine I'd put more emphasis on getting 64 bit windows 7 on there first, to let you use all that lovely Ram for Rhino.


Hope this helps, I use my work PC for very similar uses to you and researched a long time to get best bang for my buck for running a Cad/3D machine.

G.
 
Last edited:
Hi Gazjam,

Thanks for the reply I am keen to have 16gb of ram and is one of my main aims and i was just trying to cut corners with windows and try to upgrade on the cheap.

Also I dont kinow much about CUDA but i dont think the programmes i use are enabled. but some of the ones i use for time to time are like labview. is this worth it do you use it? is it easy to setup and use?


thanks
 
hiya
I think that for a works machine running Cad software theres some things that are more important than others for best performance.
Its just a case of maximising priorities :)

64bit windows with as much ram as possible.

maga fast cpu for rendering and calculations - theres a lot of number crunching in 3D Cad and a fast cpu is vital.
2600k ticks all the right boxes.

Graphics card....not so important.
Sure, you need SOMETHING thats fast enough to spin geometry etc on the screen etc, but you dont NEED a Quadro or FireGL pro gpu for that!
A GTX460 at just over £100 is plenty.

CUDA?
cant do any harm, but not all software uses it and its WAY down on the list of priorities I'd say compared to more ram, 64bit windows and a 2600k!
Enabling CUDA is just a case of using the latest Nvidia drivers and ticking a box in the settings.
You dont need it mate, but the GTX460 can use CUDA with latest drivers, so its all good. :)

Labview, dont know it but I checked it online.
Having looked at it I'd say (again) you'd get best bang for your buck (and more performance where it matters most...) getting a 2600k, Win64 and 16GB ram.

The graphics card is below this is the list of priorities.

You stated a budget of £600?
Have a look at my list on my previous post, I came from the same place wanting the best CAD machine for my money, looked long and hard into what was important and what wasn't and bought the above list.

Buy with confidence, you wont be dissapointed.
 
Hi Gazjam

thanks again I think ill be going for the spec that you suggested but with the cheaper graphics card as i would only use it for cad or maybe Assassins Creed when i'm mean to be working and only on low res

do you run and SSD?

cheers
 
Hi

Yeah, I use an SSD, an OCZ Vertex2e 60GB, just for installing Win7 x64 and applications.
Have a 2TB storage drive for Project folders and the like.

Its worth getting an SSD for sure.
 
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