Need help with a CAD PC.

Jonnybmac · 25 Jun 2013 at 18:30

Hey all, can someone point me in the right direction as to what I should be looking for in terms of a cad pc? My friend has come into some money.. he was looking at spending around £600 on a full tower minus cd drive. I've gone over a few things and stretched his budged a little (he said he'd be happy to go abit more but more im unsure of.. possibly 800?
Anyways, here is what I have come up with. I could be totally wrong here, but his main useage would be general home pc use and autodesk inventor

For complex models, complex mold assemblies, and large assemblies (typically more than 1,000 Parts):

64-bit Windows 7 or Windows 8[1]
Xeon E3 or Core i7 or equivalent, 3.3 GHz or greater
16 GB RAM or greater[2]
15 GB free disk space for installation
1,280 x 1,024 or higher screen resolution
Direct3D 9 or compatible graphics card (Direct3D 11 or higher recommended)
Internet Explorer 6 or later (.NET Framework Version 4.5 web browser)
Excel 2003 or later for iFeatures, iParts, iAssemblies, thread customization, and spreadsheet-driven designs
Flash Player 10
Internet connection for web downloads and Subscription Aware access
Microsoft-compliant mouse or pointing device
DVD-ROM drive[3]

£55 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-116-CS psu

£239 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-390-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1859 cpu

£33 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-010-BX&groupid=2362&catid=2277 case

77 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-555-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261 board

"101 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-059-PA&tool=3 ram

£179 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-289-AS&groupid=701&catid=56 card

£154 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-010-CR ssd

help very much appreciated

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i7-2700K 3.50GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £239.99
(£199.99) £239.99
(£199.99)
Asus HD 7850 DirectCU II V2 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £179.99
(£149.99) £179.99
(£149.99)
Crucial RealSSD M4 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT256M4SSD2) £164.99
(£137.49) £164.99
(£137.49)
Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel kit (PV316G160C9K) £101.99
(£84.99) £101.99
(£84.99)
Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £77.99
(£64.99) £77.99
(£64.99)
Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)

RJC · 25 Jun 2013 at 18:38

A little over:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail with FREE Grid 2 PC Game £263.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-HD3 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £99.95
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 128GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH128GCST) £89.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £83.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £49.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £11.99
Total : £836.92 (includes shipping : £11.75).

Jonnybmac · 25 Jun 2013 at 18:44

Thanks for the speedy reply and time to help. Can i ask why the 2 ssd and not just a 256?

RJC · 25 Jun 2013 at 18:53

Jonnybmac said:
Thanks for the speedy reply and time to help. Can i ask why the 2 ssd and not just a 256?

The SSD will be used for Windows and frequent used programs and use the 1tb hard drive for storage and other non critical programs.

Jonnybmac · 25 Jun 2013 at 18:57

Oh right i was reading cache i thought it was 128 and 64 both ssd

ZXSpectrum · 26 Jun 2013 at 12:12

RJC said:
The SSD will be used for Windows and frequent used programs and use the 1tb hard drive for storage and other non critical programs.

That's actually not great advice for use with a CAD system. If it is used for work purposes you want the most reliable OS/Programs drive as possible because if it did go down then most CAD users have several different programs/processes/plugins/fixes that would take a day+ to install. There would only be a couple of instances I would use 2 SSDs on a CAD system. That would be if they are in a RAID1 setup or If it was RAID0 and the user setup a daily backup and vigilantly checked it every day.

Also AutoCAD Inventor likes Quadro or at the very least Geforce

RJC · 26 Jun 2013 at 13:15

ZXSpectrum said:
That's actually not great advice for use with a CAD system. If it is used for work purposes you want the most reliable OS/Programs drive as possible because if it did go down then most CAD users have several different programs/processes/plugins/fixes that would take a day+ to install. There would only be a couple of instances I would use 2 SSDs on a CAD system. That would be if they are in a RAID1 setup or If it was RAID0 and the user setup a daily backup and vigilantly checked it every day.

Also AutoCAD Inventor likes Quadro or at the very least Geforce

The op budget is only small so only can work to that, also the op only had one larger SSD drive. The op should have a proper backup system in place to ensure if there are any issues then a re-image on a new drive can easily be done.

Could you do the honours of posting a spec for the op

Jonnybmac · 26 Jun 2013 at 16:31

Intresting point made. I put down the 256 ssd as to when he fills the 256 he was planning on getting another ssd drive rather than go with hdd. But then i agreed the 1tb might be a good route as he may fill 256 in no time. I know nothing of ssd realky. Are they more reliable or less in comparison to hdd?

Bear in mind his use is more for study/practice than serious work he just wants a pc that is decent and will last, with room to improve

Thanks again for the help

cypto · 26 Jun 2013 at 16:53

Nvidia gpu is a must really, its all about those CUDA cores that pretty much all intensive programs make use of. Can't tell you how useful it is working in solidworks with GPU acceleration for the viewport. Budget is rather tight but a gtx card is a must.

No clue but do does gpu acceleration even work with AMD cards?

Jonnybmac · 26 Jun 2013 at 17:26

So would something like this be okay? would this be sufficient for home use CAD or would he need another £100 on the graphics card? I dont think he can go any higher though the next one os £300 more expensive but would bump him from an entry level to mid range. also the 600 doesnt come sli enabed which would mean a re-evaluation of mobo and so forth.

PNY Nvidia Quadro 600 Graphics Card - 1GB - GDDR3 SDRAM £163.99 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-029-PN&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2410

or would this be better due to having sli? although a gaming card

KFA2 GeForce GTX 560Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-285-AS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2379

cypto · 26 Jun 2013 at 17:35

Might be a little out of the scope of the OP, but if he is comfortable maybe check out how you can softmod a older geforce card to run the Quadro drivers as they where identical hardware just different drivers.

From the article "he noted no difference in performance in 3ds Max after soft-modding his NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS to an NVIDIA Quadro FX 4600."

Article on softmodding a geforce card to run Quadro Drivers

*Edit, on further reading seems that it was only for the older cards and Nvidia closed the loop hole

RJC · 26 Jun 2013 at 17:40

Would you use the system for Gaming as well or would it be purely office and home CAD work?

I am not sure on the Quadro range of GPU'S but you could look at the 660 range which have been reduced and offer CUDA and the option to game if the need ever rises.

I admit I overlooked the CUDA part when speccing as I went with your system and made minor changes.

On the SSD side you could opt for larger mechanical drives or one SSD and mechanical drives for storage, I have several SSD's in my systems and not had any issues.

Belongs you have a good backup system - I take a image of the drive, so if anything does fail I just do a re-image and I am back were I left off.

Jonnybmac · 26 Jun 2013 at 17:54

Yeah, I've just been reading how its all software based qand you can convert a geforce to quadro..

ew years ago I was able (with help of RivaTuner) to force my Geforce2GTS Pro being recognized as Quadro2Pro and it was working. With newer models it is harder an harder to trick drivers to recognize Geforce as its Quadro counterpart. Quadros have some subtle differences in hardware just for purpose of distinguishing them from Geforces even if Geforce's BIOS is changed (physically or by means of emulation at boot-time) to mimic Quadro. Even then it was sometimes still possible to use some Geforces as its Quadro cousins by altering (disabling Quadro/Geforce check) drivers.
SoftQuadro (later incorporated as part of RivaTuner) is no longer actively developed. Its purpose was to prove that Quadro and Geforce are basically the same chips. Unlike Intel "economical" chips Geforces does not have some functional blocks disabled.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3961/nvidia-launches-quadro-2000-600

I've just noticed nvidia have released a new card on kepler gen called the k600 which would probably worth getting on this budget.
I dunno if i would be to trust converting a geforce into a quadro.. maybe worthwhile if you already have a card but to buy one specifically to change? granted gaming cards are cheaper, but would i get more benefit doing it that way?

Friend doesnt game so cad card would be the best as he doesnt need anything universal.

cypto · 26 Jun 2013 at 21:09

Not much point really as it only works with the really old cards. The newer cards they have made it so you can't softmod a gtx into a quadro. Even the newest card you could do it with, a GTX 600 a hell of a lot faster.