Budget build <$1000, design engineering system

D

DaConfusion

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 14, 2005
Messages
212
Hello:

I am helping a fellow coworker build a system to be used to very light home use, and design:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Primary use for this system will be CAD (Pro/Engineer and SolidWorks), FEA/CFD (Ansys, maybe MSC), multi-body dynamics (ADAMS, suspension kinematics software) and vehicle simulation (TruckSim/Adams)

CAD will be used to design/model entire vehicle assemblies (electrical and mechanical components)

The components will be expected to be sent to ANSYS for FEA simulations/improvements.

Possibly dual monitor use.

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

My co-worker prefers to stay between $800-900, but I would like to estimate the significant increase in performance by going with a $1000 build (shipped with tax). (If there is any significant difference)

3) Where do you live?

Texas

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.

Will need everything including the desktop case (cpu, ram, harddrive, video card, cd burner)

Already have keyboard, mouse, and monitor. I am not aware of his monitor's dimensions, but I expect it to be <19". I will recommend that he upgrade the monitor since they are quite inexpensive.

Note: this system may be used with dual monitor in the near future.

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

No internal desktop hardware components will be re-used.

6) Will you be overclocking?

No, but I am open to the suggestion as long as it does not require above average cooling.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

Un-sure at the moment, expect monitor to be <19" for now, possibly will use dual monitors in the future

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

< 2 weeks

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

No special features needed.

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


64 bit Windows 7 purchased under student program.


I have looked at the other 1000$ builds currently being discussed and am unsure if I would like to use them since they quote AMD processors. I am under the impression that the i7 processor still performs better, but I haven’t had much time to research it.

$294.99 - Intel Core i7-930

$109.99 - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

I am sorry about not posting suggested build components because I am very unsure. I do not think I want to go the SSD route, and am probably leaning towards an ATI card.

The main goal is max performance for the said budget. And the performance needs to be for CAD and computational software, not games. I suspect this means max memory, both for computer RAM and video RAM.

The computer will NOT be used for any games.

Thank you for any help or advice.
 
Do you or your friend live near a Microcenter?

Two builds for ya:

$470 - Intel Core i7-930 CPU + Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R X58 ATX Motherboard Combo
$170 - G.Skill F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$160 - XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$56 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$25 - LG GH22NS50 DVD Burner
$115 - Antec Sonata III ATX Case with Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU
---
Total: $1000 shipped

$900 setup:
$470 - Intel Core i7-930 CPU + Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R X58 ATX Motherboard Combo
$110 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$100 - HD 5670
$56 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$25 - LG GH22NS50 DVD Burner
$115 - Antec Sonata III ATX Case with Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU
---
Total: $876 plus tax and shipping

Now to be honest: I'm not 100% sure if there will be a difference in performance with the two GPUs above. I've not seen any reviews showcasing 3D, CAD type programs, and the other programs you've mentioned. As for the RAM, the 2GB difference in RAM might make a difference.

To get the setup below $800 will require you to get the Core i7 930 for $200 from Microcenter and to get the case by 5-3-2010 as that's when the $15 off promo code (it's listed on the page) expires. Didn't factor it in since your original purchase date is two weeks from now.
 
Danny, thank you for your help. I am trying to confirm someone living near a Microcenter because that 930 processor price is really good.


Lets assume I can get the processor from Microcenter. Is there a deadline for that deal to end? I didnt see any hint on their site.

I really like the 1000$ build you have suggested.

If I wanted to overclock the 930 to atleast 3.0 Ghz, will I need an upgraded heatsink? I was thinking about suggesting the ~40 CoGage if necessary.
 
AMD new x6 phenom 2 might also worth the looking at. Plus AMD boards are much cheaper than intel's x58 ones.
 
yeah, in general stay away from those ocz's. Stick with antec, seasonic, corsair etc.

And +1 for both of Danny's builds. The extra RAM should help in the first one. If you want something super snappy, up your budget by a few hundred and put your OS and key apps on a SSD. In fact, you might think of an AMD build as it_shiro suggested: you might be able to save enough to budget in a ssd, though you would forego hyperthreading, among other things.
 
i do this sort of work (consumer products though, not trans) and i can get behind danny's builds with the exception of the video cards. look into workstation cards (i got mine on ebay for <$300), or figure out if soft modding any current gaming cards is a possibility. workstation cards or at least the drivers are a big deal -- especially with large assemblies. solidworks for sure, and i would assume proE have "certified drivers", these are what you want. i would prioritize this over an ssd.
 
It does not look like softmods are very effective/possible on the newer cards. (I think the 8800GT is the newest one that you can partially softmod, Nvidia and ATI seem to be doing a good job hardware locking the cards)

I know we have Quadros at work, but I honestly think my computer in my signature runs better because our network severely kills the performance of our systems.
 
TechArp has a recent softmod article. From the last pages' results, I'd say yah, go with Quadro or FireGL/FirePro card.
 
So it would be better to go with a 512 mb RAM FireGL or Quadro over a 1GB RAM 5770 HD or equivalent card?
 
I have asked around and there are people doing ok with the gaming cards for heavy CAD use.

For the price, I think I will stick with a card that can get the most memory over the processing power improvement offered by the Quadros or FireGL line.

I will post the final build in a day or so, but it looks like I am sold on Danny's first suggestion.

Any suggestions regarding overclocking? I just want to set the processor to 3.0 ghz, will look into upgraded cooling and maybe faster speeds if they are safe on air cooling.

Edit: It looks like free shipping is not longer an option for a few of the parts Danny quoted, does Newegg change this from day to day?
 
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yup, hell, changes hourly sometimes, lol

which parts dont have free shipping? sorry, no time to click on a dozen links.
 
so far it looks like the case, the motherboard, and video card (no longer free shipping).

I am not too worried though, I am sure if I buy everything from newegg in a few days either free shipping should be back, or I may qualify for it depending on the order total.(Edit: Shipping is right now $29.62 if I order everything from newegg, including the higher priced processor)

I do not see a better video card for the price of an HD 577X, so I am sold on it. Also this motherboard leaves the option for crossfire in the future.

I would like to explore the option for mild overclocking and a solid state drive.

I will look into the safest speed the processor can handle on an upgraded cooler.

If I were to add a SSD to this system, would it be worth it?

I understand that if I use the SSD for an apps drive, the OS and any program installed on it will boot up quickly. But when using Pro/Engineer, the assembly files and parts would obviously have to be stored on a separate drive. So it is safe to assume that although the CAD program will boot up quickly, loading parts and assemblies will still take time?

Is it worth going SSD for this workstation application? Or should the cost increase of an SSD be invested in some other area? (Better video card or more RAM?)


Thanks for all the replies!
 
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