CAD Desktop Build

[anemos101]

I'm building a 'portable' (being dragged home every few months) desktop for my brother studying engineering at uni. His course requires him to use various CAD programs thus will need a computer capable of rendering quickly.

One of the basic questions I have is does CAD rely on the CPU or the GPU?

I'm not sure what kind of build to go for whether Atx, M-itx ect. If anyone has a build in mind I'd be greatfull.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Hi there,

May I ask what CAD programs he will mainly be using on his course? (eg. Pro Engineer/Creo Elements, Autocad, Ansys, sketchup, solidworks)

Generally CAD is CPU-heavy, but it also tends to gobble up a lot of RAM and benefits from an SSD. As for the graphics, these days a half-decent card is recommended, but it depends on the application on how good.

Also, will he want the system for any other uses (like PC gaming)?

If you can give us an approximate budget and what parts will be needed (tower, OS, monitor, keyboard etc.) then we would be happy to come up with some specs for you.

 

[stulid]

Just knocked this up,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked *** 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (01G-P3-1363-KR) £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MicroATX Motherboard £104.98
1 x Thermaltake Armor A30 LAN Gaming Case - Black £79.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) £77.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT064M4SSD2) £69.98
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £46.98
2 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £31.19 (£62.38)
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-7280S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
Total : £833.26 (includes shipping : £12.50).



• Lan case can be dragged around.
• i7 CPU so Hyperthrereading and it can be overclocked with the Z68 board to around 4Ghz on the stock cooler.
• Nvidia GFX gives CUDA support if needed/available in a program.
• 16Gb RAM (do you have a suitable OS or need one?)

 

[jamesfreddie]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £175.99
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked *** 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (01G-P3-1363-KR) £119.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-M PRO Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £119.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £61.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £46.98
1 x Fractal Design Core 1000 Midi Tower Case - Black £32.99
2 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £31.19 (£62.38)
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-7280S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.98
1 x Asus Royal Knight CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/AM2/AM2+) £12.98
Total : £665.77 (includes shipping : £13.75).