$2000 build request for blueprint-viewing pc

n00ti

n00b
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Sep 2, 2014
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

This PC will be used exclusively for viewing digital blueprints. The owner of my company needs to be able to view and page through construction blueprints. These blueprints are large display-wise and are large document-wise. The blueprints are sometimes 80-page pdfs or one huge 10MB TIF. He needs a 28-32" high-resolution monitor, UHD/4K preferred. With the high resolution my boss will be able to see the whole blueprint and also be able to zoom into the details of a section of the blueprint. The computer needs to be able to render/display/cache the document or images so fast, that it is comparable to flipping through the pages of a real-life magazine. What happens now is having to wait while scrolling as the image appears raster by raster. I don't know what kind of CPU, front-bus throughput, GPU, etc. I would need to make this a reality.

Microsoft Image Viewer and Adobe PDF Reader will be used for viewing the blueprints.

He will also use this computer for web/email, Microsoft Office documents, and Dropbox. iTunes for backing up his iphone 7, not for listening to music.

He will only be viewing blueprints, not creating or editing them. No AutoCAD or workstation-type applications.

Absolutely NO pc gaming, photoshop, movie viewing/streaming, Spotify, music streaming, or anything else.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$400-800 for a 28-32" monitor, possibly UHD/4K.

$1000-1600 For everything else.

$2000 budget in total, tax and shipping EXCLUDED.

If $2000 is an unrealistic budget for what is required, I might be able to squeeze out another $300-500, but I would have to thoroughly justify why the extra money is needed.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

Need a 28-32" monitor and I suspect that it would have to be UHD/4K. Bigger, not "extra-wider", is needed for the blueprint viewing. No touch-screen needed. No Portrait/Landscape swivel required. No mounting needed. My boss is a simple man and will only use a display horizontally on his desk. Curved display might be a little weird, but if you recommend, then okay. Monitor speakers not needed. USB ports on monitor not needed. Webcam not needed.

I suspect I need 16GB RAM, but if you think that is overkill, then 8GB RAM.

500GB of storage is more than he'll ever need. So 1 500GB solid-state drive would do it.

CPU - Whatever your recommend... Intel/AMD, Ryzen, i5, i7... I defer to you.

Need MOBO with ethernet, intergrated sound, and USB version that is compatible with plugging in an iphone 7 and thumb drives.

Need video card for 4K display rendering.

Need CPU cooling solution, water or fan.

Need decent performance PSU.

Need basic-looking PC case. Prefer function over aesthetics. This is for my boss, so I want deliver something that looks professional and not like a gaming rig.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Will be reusing 2.0 speaker system with the 3.5mm plug or go without speakers/sound.

Will be reusing Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, USB wired.

Will be reusing Logitech Trackman Marble Mouse, USB wired.

Not reusing any other PC part.

6) Will you be overclocking?

No, absolutely no overclocking.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

I need recommendations for large display monitor for viewing blueprints. (see requirements in above parts list).

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

In the next two weeks.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

Other than integrated sound card and ethernet, no other thing. 6 USB jacks should be plenty. Need USB compatability for iphone 7 if that is a thing.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Yes, have brand-new Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM license.
 
Unfortunately this is well outside your budget but damn is it one SEKSY beast.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1037013-REG/sharp_pn_k322b_32_commercial_grade_4k.html

Well 2/3 diagonal's would really give the best setup for something like this but for a single flat 4K...
https://www.amazon.com/AOC-U3277PWQU-32-Inch-3840x2160-HDMI-MHL/dp/B01N8ZIWM3

Video, pretty much a Quadro P400 or 600.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133647

16-32GB for sure. If you go 32GB you can set aside a chunk for ram cache\ram drive to speed up opening large files even more.

R7 1800X\Asus X370 Prime Pro or Crosshair since you have the budget.
Or a I7-7800X\Asus Prime X399

Samsung 960 EVO 500GB

PSU - 500-600 EVGA Supernova G3

Case - Decent workstation looking case.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352048
 
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I recommend that you buy a prebuilt system from a vendor like Dell or HP with a service plan. Because this build is for a business, you may be on the hook for "service" if something goes wrong with the build. Let's say, for argument's sake, that tomorrow you're no longer with the company. Do you want to work on a system that you're no longer using?

If you still want to go the DIY route, here's one build you can pursue:

$130 - AMD RYZEN 3 1300X quad-core processor
$60 - ASRock AB350M AM4 micro ATX Motherboard
$160 - Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8GB DDR4 3200 RAM
$150 - Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti GV-N105TD5-4GD 4GB video card
$150 - WD Blue 500GB M.2 SSD
$42 - EVGA 450 B1 100-B1-0450-K1 450 watt power supply
$38 - Fractal Design Core 1000 micro ATX mini-tower case
$140 - Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM license

$870 - Total for desktop (before taxes and shipping)

As for why I chose what I chose:
  • If Adobe Acrobat (Reader) and Microsoft anything are the programs you'll use most often, then you don't need much in terms of CPU horsepower. With that in mind, I chose the AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, which gives you a quad-core processor for under $150. I paired that with an ASRock motherboard that met your requirements for this build.
  • That said, a 4K/UHD resolution requires some graphics horsepower, so I went with the GTX 1050 Ti as an insurance measure. Given your light system requirements, a (more expensive) workstation card wasn't necessary.
  • I didn't select a third-party CPU cooler; the Ryzen 3 1300X has a cooler included as part of the package.
  • I chose the specific model of Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM due to its known compatibility with Ryzen.
  • I went with an M.2 SSD instead of a SATA SSD for a "cleaner" build. With the M.2 SSD, you don't need to mount the SSD to the case -- the motherboard's M.2 slot is placed above the PCI-E x16 slot -- or connect it via a SATA cable. (That said, due to the specific SSD that I chose, the price was the same regardless of whether you chose M.2 or SATA for your connection.)
  • The case and PSU selections were cheap choices from good brands.
  • The Windows 10 license is more of an "optional but highly recommended." You can install Windows 7 onto Ryzen, but you may believe that it's more trouble than it's worth.
As for the monitor, I believe that you go with 32 inches instead of 28. Then again, the monitors that I would recommend are the Asus PA328Q and the BenQ PD3200U, both of which are advertised as "professional" monitors. Though the Asus PA328Q is around $1000, it has a better quality IPS panel (the BenQ PD3200U, I believe, uses a VA panel).
 
Good list tiraides but looks like an ultra budget build and not a workstation quality system.
An $870 machine and a $1000 monitor puts way to much focus on an area where the guy using it likely couldn't tell the difference between an 8-bit and 10-bit screen.
Its not being used for professional video and photo editing. Looking at blueprints you just need good detail.
For opening these kinds of files you need ram. Every post I looked at said throw as much as you can at it.
Your going to want fast read access and cores help with PDF opening speed.

Definitely nothing wrong with going pre-built if you can customize it enough to get what you need and get all the bloatware off it.
 
prebuilt is probably the easiest solution. There's nothing wrong with tiraides list, other than possibly going with an Intel 5/6 series as Ryzen is still new enough that I wouldn't want to get it for someone that isn't technically inclined (that's just me though).

I doubt his boss is going to load up a ram disk, and copy over the PDFs/images just to view them (likely he's just opening them straight from outlook). A Quadro for viewing PDFs?
No need for 32 gigs, 16 is still probably overkill, but it's cheap so
 
You build with the budget they give you. If its $2000 you give them a $2000 system. Not try and save them a few hundred otherwise they should have just said it was a $1700 system. I'm going to suggest what I would build with that budget if I was using it for what the OP asks for. That means I'm not going to want some budget cpu getting bogged down when I got Itunes hog running and I open a 60 MB pdf.

If I was going Intel and had $2K to spend:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fJTPr7

Overkill? Of course, but its better to build overkill now and have something that will be fast for a long time if you got the budget for it.
 
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Get an box from dell or HP with a warranty. You don’t want to be on the hook for something so critical.
 
n00ti, what are you currently using to review the digital blueprints? (Please list the full specs, if possible.)

Would you (or your boss) prefer a 28-inch monitor or a 32-inch monitor?
 
Hello,

Thank you for the build suggestions. This is the kind of advice I was hoping for.



Get an box from dell or HP with a warranty. You don’t want to be on the hook for something so critical.

...you may be on the hook for "service" if something goes wrong with the build. Let's say, for argument's sake, that tomorrow you're no longer with the company.



There is no worry about being on the hook. Just want to give him a rig that can do the job. No warranty from 3rd party needed.


n00ti, what are you currently using to review the digital blueprints? (Please list the full specs, if possible.)

Would you (or your boss) prefer a 28-inch monitor or a 32-inch monitor?



He will continue to use his current setup at work, but this new setup will be for another location.

This is his current set up:

Dell Optiplex 755
8GB RAM
Intel Core E440 2.00 GHZ 64-bit (two core)
A solid-state drive.
HP ZR30w 30' monitor

He is happy with that monitor.

The BenQ PD3200U 32" looks good for $799.

But honestly he probably could make do with a 28" monitor.

This monitor looks good for $399:

ASUS PB287Q 28" 4K/UHD

Any opinion on that one?

For the computer, just looking for the right blend of CPU power, RAM and GPU to render those blueprints fast. I don't need overkill. Just the best performance value. His last CPU was a 2GHZ 2-core so anything is going to be an improvement really.

For consumer privacy reasons, my boss refused to migrate to Windows 10. So I am stuck with Windows 7, which I already have a copy of.

Looking to spend up to $1600 on the box. Don't want to reach the overkill point. If $1200 will give him an awesome box, then I want to do that.

Does he need a powerful video card for all of this? In one of the builds I saw a $150 card. I assumed he would need at least a $350 card. But if he doesn't that is fine. He won't be doing any gaming.

Please do let me know if you have any other comments.

Thanks again.
 
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Any particular reason you don't want to go Dell again?

I still stick with this build:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fJTPr7

It's a beast. No you don't need a $350 video card when your not doing any 3D. Just really good 2D. Back in the day a Matrox would have been the choice for top notch 2D. These days onboard video can handle 4K desktops but you don't get onboard with Skylake-X. You could knock about $300 off with a 7700k\Z270 combo and another $150 going down to 16GB and still have a plenty fast enough machine.
 
For consumer privacy reasons, my boss refused to migrate to Windows 10. So I am stuck with Windows 7, which I already have a copy of.

If you must stick with Windows 7, then you need to "downgrade" to Intel's 6th-generation Skylake chipset. Windows 7 isn't supported on the 7th-generation Intel Kaby Lake processors and, as I mentioned earlier, AMD Ryzen doesn't officially support Windows 7.

Here's an "updated" build with Skylake as the processor/motherboard platform:

$205 - Intel Core i5-6500 quad-core processor
$60 - Gigabyte GA-B250M-DS3H micro ATX motherboard
$130 - Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 2x8GB DDR4 2400 RAM
$150 - Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti GV-N105TD5-4GD 4GB video card
$160 - Crucial MX300 525GB M.2 SSD
$42 - EVGA 450 B1 100-B1-0450-K1 450 watt power supply
$40 - Fractal Design Core 1000 micro ATX mini-tower case

$787 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

The WD SSD in my first build was out of stock, so I went with the next-cheapest SSD I could find.

I didn't go the "overkill" route that Dracowolf prefers because, simply, I didn't believe that it was necessary. I had to research for required specifications for handling PDFs with large file sizes, but I couldn't find any (recent) articles (within the last 2-5 years) that suggested that I needed a better system than what I built for you.

This monitor looks good for $399:

ASUS PB287Q 28" 4K/UHD

Any opinion on that one?

Specs-wise, the monitor looks good. Price-wise, it looks very good.

However, the 1ms response time that the PB287Q advertises makes me believe that it uses a TN panel, so the colors may not look as good on the PB287Q compared to the S-IPS panel of your boss's old HP ZR30w.

I say "may" because I've had no hand-on experience with the PB287Q, and the majority of the reviews that I've read on the monitor were positive. I can't make a recommendation for or against the monitor.
 
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It's not his money though heh. I'd use tiraides build and throw an extra 1080 Ti for yourself as a build tax.
 
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