solid computer for architect

the_r_sole

the_r_sole

the_r_sole

Soldato
Joined
25 Aug 2010
Posts
3,030
Hi,
First post from a lurker here!
Was wondering if anyone could help me spec a build for a decent working machine, the thing i have at the moment is a shuttle box with a core2 duo e7200 and 4 gig or ram (but only actually 3.24 on xp pro)

I don't need a total beast for gaming, i have played a couple of games when bored of shooting folk on mw2! But what i do need it for is mainly autocad, photoshop, 3d studio max, sketch up - sometimes all open at once, with outlook/skype/msn running in the background. I also use a dual monitor set up (just running off the on board graphics atm)
need everything to build, although no monitors/keyboard etc and quite fancy an upgrade to win7 - managed to avoid vista!

(considering one of the oci3 bundles but not sure if they really are as good value as they sound...)

total budget inc os is about 600 max but would happily go lower!!

cheers
 
looks like a pretty good one, any reasons to choose the amd over intel, had both in the past wasn't sure what was best value this weather!
might stretch to a decent case, trying to persuade my friend to part with his lian-li beast first!
 
cheers banzai - would love to shell out £1000 but just don't have it to spare and anything will be an improvement on this thing!!

(although rendering is really not a priority, i'm a one man show atm)
 
i think i'll probably keep the current one in tact, it's quite handy for connecting up in the living room for films etc, although i do have some bits and pieces kicking around - would prefer just to get new bits and guaranteed working/quality! just as it's a working pc rather than a fannying about one!
 
oh sorry, I don't play mw2 on the pc, i've only played a couple of games on it when i get bored with the ps3 - so not really needing a meaty gaming rig.

what i would like to do is get something that is good to start with but could be improved when i get some more cash, so gfx can be upgraded later if needed and more ram chucked in - as long as the first stage is still an improvement!!
 
ok, can anyone advise, if i get this bundle - Argon Intel Core i3 2.93GHz @ 4.00GHz Overclocked Bundle and spend the extra on an ssd would it be comparable to the system spec'd above, or would it be better to go with the bundle above and a normal hd?

thanks
 
cool, thanks for the info,
i'd say 80-90% of the time is autocad, sketch up and photoshop - so the other stuff isn't really a priority, but i do need to do it sometimes so has to be capable...
 
well, i'm around the 40g mark for xp pro and programs, so i'd imagine win7 might be a bit more? (although tbh i can't see me getting into much other software than the current installed - money and time constraints!)

suppose i could either get more ram and upgrade to ssd if/when the cash is there or the other way around!
 
Digitalle said:
Im really gonna have to agree with this guy.

SSD is great! I run Win7 64 bit, AutoCAD, Adobe Master Suite, Skectup etc of an 80GB intel and it sits at 50% capacity and hasnt moved for 8 months. The extra speed is just awesome and TBH I wouldn't be without it anymore, HOWEVER I spent all my original budget on maxing out the more important components of the machine for 3D modelling and rendering (Mobo, PSU, Processor and GFX card) and then added other secondary components, like the SSD, as the money became available.

My advice, that i3 bundle your looking at looks the business. Add a 600w+ PSU and then MAX out the bext GFX card you can just now for the budget available. As I said before, I run 4Gb of RAM and its handled easily everything I have thrown at it.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...



seems like sensible advice, i'm in no rush to buy so i will keep getting advice on it....
do you think it'd be better to get the cpu and do an overclock myself, or maybe buy one from here oc'd and reduce it slighty to be (hopefully) entirely stable??
 
autodesk software i use is autocad 2009 mostly, sometimes revit architecture but tbh that's just to keep my hand in with the software...
would love to get 8g ram in it, i'd be happy if i could get that in the budget
 
sorry to keep bumping my own thread (doesn't sound right!)

here is my basket as it stands:

AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £158.61
(£134.99) £158.61

OcUK Value GeForce GTX 460 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £117.49
(£99.99)

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel (KHX8500D2K2/4G) £72.84
(£61.99) £145.68

Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard £69.99
(£59.57) £69.99

Akasa PaxPower 500W Ultra Quiet Power Supply £57.99
(£49.35) £57.99

Akasa Freedom Xone Case - Black £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99

Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3) £32.98
(£28.07) £32.98

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £29.99
(£25.52) £29.99

LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
(£12.76) £14.99

Sub Total : £570.82
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £102.08
Total : £685.40

I've gone a bit over my original budget, but got windows 7 pro
i'm going to build two, so one won't have a case/dvd

any suggestions or things you would change?
 
more ram than 8gb? then i'd have no excuse for working slowly!

the thing with the graphics is that for a quadro its just too expensive and a decent gaming card is still going to be a lot better than the on board - if i get a load of cash then upgrading to a quadro could be done, but just can't do that atm
 
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