Need help with a CAD station/gaming PC

crazymotionride

crazymotionride

crazymotionride

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7 Aug 2012
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11
Hi all,

My old 32 bit system (an old overclockers buy) is chugging like a tractor so im looking to do a new build to a proper 64 bit system. Thing is ive not really looked at pc hardware and im getting so confused by everything haha!

Basically im looking to spend around £800-£1200,

I doing a masters in automotive design so this machine has to able to run photoshop/autodesk and rendering programs with quite large file sizes. I also run a dual screen with one of them being a Wacom Cintiq so id like to still be able to do that. The wacom has a standard DVI connector on it.

Im thinking more than 8GB of ram would be useful in this case as it seems to improve performance of programs like autodesk, i was thinking 12GB with slots spare to upgrade to 16GB if it needs it.

Cpu wise i have no idea whats best, same with graphics cards

Don't need a sound card ( im assuming motherboard has mic in and headphone jack etc) and i think i can skip a wireless card if i use one of those USB thingys sold on here.

Gamewise i play things like DayZ so i want it to be at least good enough to run games like that well.

Ill also need Windows 7 edition that lets me use over 8GB ram and i don't know how to qualify for this but it would be handy http://www.overclockers.co.uk/LP/windows8_upgrade.php

Im don't want/need anything fancy like SSD drives etc. Id also like to stay clear of overclocking anything from new as i can use that to extend the machines lifetime in the future. Also a standard CD-dvd drive is good i won't use blue ray etc. Case can also be as cheap as possible without overheating, im not really into all the fins and lights etc haha.

I have screens keyboard etc so don't need any of that stuff, mainly ive just been confused by the difference between i5 and i7's etc etc.
 
As for Cad, what software and version will be using ?

Any other uses such as FEA or CFD ? perhaps rendering of parts ?

These may affect the choices of hardware :)

also welcome !

EDIT : ah just read the Autodesk part! but what rendering programmes do you use :P
 
are you using full autoCAD or AutoCAD lite?

also what year CAD as after 2010 you need more memory?

I use 2011 at work atm and minemum is about 8GB reccommended
 
As its main purpose is a CAD Station then your best bet is to go for the AMD Bulldozer FX8150, It has 8 physical cores at 3.6ghz which is amazing for 3D modelling. Intel fanboys will try to tell you otherwise. When rendering and using things like FEA (which we do a lot at work) a slightly slower 8 core (Be it 2 quad core Intel CPU's in our HPC) is 5X faster then a quad core that is Hyperthreading (running more than one calculation thread on each core). As the FX8150 is 8 cores on one chip (rather than our Dual Quad Core CPU's) it will achieve amazing results.

As for gaming anyone will tell you that Intel Chips blow the Bulldozer Range out of the water. This is completely true. Im not an Intel Fan Boy, I built my AMD Bulldozer FX4170 Gaming build on monday, even though I have been advised to go Intel.

I went Bulldozer mainly as I am hoping to upgrade to the next Generation AM3+ 8 Core CPU when it comes out, based on Piledriver. Hopefully filling in where Bulldozer lost to Intel.

But as you are building it for CAD Use, i would heavily recommend AMD Bulldozer FX8150 as your CPU and a high VRAM Nvidia/AMD(ATI) Graphics card.

Hopefully someone will take this on board and spec you a build.

(they may have already done as it took me time to type this)
 
I use mainly showcase or keyshot nothing really fancy for rendering. Ill probably be using the 2013 autodesk suite on any new machine.

I don't do anything like fluid dynamics etc its just modelling the exterior for design proposals no FEA or anything at that kind of level. The main problem i have atm is the old pc im using can't even raytrace its so underpowered.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (02G-P4-2670-KR) £319.99
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £245.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Noctua NH-D14-2011 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler with PWM Fans (Socket LGA2011) £72.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £61.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £49.99
2 x G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ) £41.99 (£83.98)
1 x OcUK Flamingo FM-12A Midi Tower Case - Black/Red £21.98
1 x OcUK 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £968.99 (includes shipping : £11.75).




EDIT: - add Windows 7 Prof 64bit as well
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SW-129-MS&groupid=33&catid=1555&subcat=

£120
 
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Oh thanks passey89, that list is not a million miles away from what i was putting together in the configurator oh and yeah i forgot to mention id want a 1TB drive in my first post, can't believe how cheap 1TB is now
 
do not consider a bulldozer, they can compare favouribly to an i5 in rendering power and are behind i7's, but most 3d software is a mix of single and multithreaded coding, autocad, was, and as far as i'm aware is still not fully multithreaded. see here.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=15224826&linkID=9240617#

this is typical of this kind of software, render engines are typically fully multithreaded, so if the machine is exclusivly for that the bulldozer isnt bad, but as a machine for all round use then forget it, the single threaded performance can be around 50% worse than the equivelant intel processor, this has an obvious impact on workflow in an application which uses a mix of single and multithreaded code, the intel will give a better experience for the hands on parts of the program.

An i7 ivybridge is in your budget, thats the only processor to look at imo, unless you can squeeze a 3930k in.
 
See this is what ive not been sure about with CPUs.

The machine will definitely be used as an 'all round' machine. I would prefer to sacrifice render power if it means the hands on parts of the program will run smoother. Im not overly bothered if i have to leave it rendering a bit longer because i usually just leave it running overnight anyway.

Id be able to up the budget a bit for a better CPU as to me its a worthwhile buy if it does give a genuine performance gain im just not sure which processors do.
 
you dont need to sacrifice rendering power a i7 is quicker than bulldozer under pretty much all circumstances, you can either look at the ivybridge i7 (socket 1155) or a sandybridge-e i7 (socket 2011), there is quite a difference in price, and both need different motherboards. If i was you i'd look at three options, firstly the ivybridge i7 (1155), secondly a 3930k i7 (2011), and lastly the 3820 i7 (2011).

The socket 2011 cpu's/boards are quad channel for memory, so you can load up on cheaper ram, many boards have 8 dimm slots and support more memory than the socket 1155 boards. 3930k's are expensive but the 3820 is a bit cheaper than the ivybridge i7, similar performance, only slightly slower, but would allow for more ram. The 3930k is the 6 core, so wouldnt offer much benefit over the other two options for the most part, but the two extra cores will help come rendertime, a 3930k will offer roughly double the rendering performance of a bulldozer cpu, and an extra 40-45% extra over the other two i7's.
 
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you deffinatly want an I7 over any bulldozer chip.

the 8150 is worse than an I5 in nearly every case appart from the odd application that uses 8 cores. So an I7 wipes the floor with a bulldozer chip.

Im no intel fanboy AMD phenom in my current machine but intel is better in nearly every case unless you strapped for cash AMD can be cheaper option.
 
From the reviews I've read, there doesn't seem to be much difference between the 3770k and the 3820.

For me, i'd go 3820, as it's a 2011 socket giving more upgrade potential. I think the 3820 is actually cheaper than the 3770k at the moment. The 3820 still overclocks well too.
 
3820 i7 would be a good shout, its slightly cheaper than the 3770k i7, but the motherboards are more expensive, but will mean you have option for more memory ( choose a board with 8 dimm slots), and also a potential upgrade path next year with ivybridge-e cpu's should you fancy more cpu power.

For the kind of work you are doing it would seem the logical choice and give plenty of scope for upgrades.
 
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Yeah im definitely going to stick with the 3820 i7 especially with the upgrade potential of the 2011 socket stuff.

At the moment im very tempted with this bundle ( http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-094-OE&groupid=43&catid=2053&subcat= )

Pricing all the components separately seems like a pretty good deal and has the 16GB of ram i was looking for. One question i have is what would be the advantages of upgrading the motherboard? That bundle comes with the Gigabyte X79-UD3 and the only advantage i can see of upgrading to the UD5 are the extra ddr3 slots and a wireless card is that really worth £100 extra?
 
i would spend a little more to get a board with 8 dimm slots one of the great things about socket 2011 is the memory support, handy being able to chuck another 4 dimms in further down the line without losing the benefit of your existing memory..
 
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