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Building a PC for student to run CAD/Design software
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armenix
Junior Member
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13. March 2011 @ 17:52 |
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Hey AD!
So, I need some help in building a PC for someone. I have a good general knowledge and have built my own computers before, but since this is for someone else, I would like to make double sure that it turns out good.
This PC would be for a student on a budget learning how to use a jewelry design program. The suggested specs for it are listed on the site, as described below:
http://gemvision.com/html/support_training/matrix_countersketch_system_requirements.html
- Intel Quad Core i5 or i7 or faster
- 4 GB or better of DDR RAM.
- Nvidia GeForce Video Card with 1GB VRAM (ATI and nVidia Quadro cards NOT recommended or supported)
- Matrix and CounterSketch perform best on nVidia GeForce video cards and Gemvision only supports the GeForce models of nVidia video cards. While certain models of ATI or nVidia Quadro video cards may indeed work with Rhino/Matrix/CounterSketch, we have experienced various problems and therefore do not recommend ATI or Quadro cards.
- 250 GB free space hard drive or larger
I need one that fulfills these requirements. Note that this is for a student, and so it needs to be something that's really worth their money. I was looking at something around $1000 or so, as that seems to be the only reasonable price that also brings the necessary performance and future upgrade ability, namely
Core i7 unlocked sandy bridge
4GB 1600 DDR3 RAM
Nvidia GTX 570 w/1280MB 320BIT DDR5 VRAM
Mobo w/2 PCI-E 2.0 slots for additional video card later
600-700W PSU
A few questions (while keeping in mind that this is with respect to THIS program):
1. Will faster RAM or more RAM make a big difference for this program?
2. Will 2 video cards total down the road be better than 1 more expensive one now? (i.e. go bigger than a GTX 570 now, or get GTX 570 now and upgrade with another via SLI down the road)
3. In either case for question 2, how much wattage will I need from a PSU?
Just looking for the best value for the money. I can provide specific parts, but I felt a general approach seemed enough for the time being. THANKS!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. March 2011 @ 17:56
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AfterDawn Addict
1 product review
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15. March 2011 @ 04:54 |
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1.) More ram would probably help, faster ram would be almost unnoticed.
2.) From what I see, that program has no SLI support, so a second video card would not help at all unless there is more than one screen...even then, the benefits would be minimal.
3.) 600W should be plenty...less would work actually, but it is hard to find a high quality power supply with low watts; even Corsair makes crummy products when you get down to 400W or so.
A couple things...
First, you should not need an unlocked I7...Something as simple as an AMD Hex Core at 3.2GHZ would be plenty. If you go with an I7, stick with a regular one...the unlocked ones are just for overclocking anyway. This is one of the few cases where an I7 offers a real advantage over an I5, so avoid the I5...if you don't have I7 money, get a hex core AMD.
Second, make sure you get quality ram from a company like Corsair...this program is going to be using the ram hard.
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armenix
Junior Member
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15. March 2011 @ 12:11 |
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Originally posted by KillerBug:
1.) More ram would probably help, faster ram would be almost unnoticed.
2.) From what I see, that program has no SLI support, so a second video card would not help at all unless there is more than one screen...even then, the benefits would be minimal.
3.) 600W should be plenty...less would work actually, but it is hard to find a high quality power supply with low watts; even Corsair makes crummy products when you get down to 400W or so.
A couple things...
First, you should not need an unlocked I7...Something as simple as an AMD Hex Core at 3.2GHZ would be plenty. If you go with an I7, stick with a regular one...the unlocked ones are just for overclocking anyway. This is one of the few cases where an I7 offers a real advantage over an I5, so avoid the I5...if you don't have I7 money, get a hex core AMD.
Second, make sure you get quality ram from a company like Corsair...this program is going to be using the ram hard.
Thank you SO much for the VERY VERY helpful reply.
I was primarily going for the unlocked i7 to help future-proof the computer via an overclock if necc...are you saying that the investment is not worth the return in such a case? I don't know much on the CAD front, mostly just gaming, where overclocking is standard. It seems these days overclocking is pretty safe and overall fairly beneficial in all cases, but this is just what I've perceived.
Similarly concerning, I know that the iX family is better for games vs AMD's lines (overall), but how does it compare to the tasks required here? Does AMD's six core possibly fair better and/or is more worthwhile for the money?
Would you recommend sticking to MORE ram rather than necessarily FAST ram? i.e. would a bump to 8 GB @ 1066 or 1333 be more beneficial than 4GB @ 1600 (again, just looking at cost efficiency here)? It seemed like that was the case based on a re-read of their description and your recommendation.
Finally, for the PSU, how would 500-600W fair? Or is 500W considered pretty low for a system like such?
Again, your reply has been great, thanks for the help so far!
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. March 2011 @ 12:12
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AfterDawn Addict
1 product review
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16. March 2011 @ 00:08 |
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I figure that this is for a student with little money, and they probably won't have much money to drop on upgrades for at least 4 years...that is why I recommend against overclocking. Also, this app seems to be very processor intensive, so stability issues that would not affect games could easily cause big problems for this app. It is also why I don't put much consideration into future upgrades; by the time this person can afford an upgrade, all of the sockets in use today will be old junk.
In 3D Studio Max 9, the Hex Core 3.2GHZ AMD is faster than an intel i5 750, and it cost $40 less. That said, the i7 870 is only $90 more than that AMD, and it will give a significant performance boost vs any AMD. The board prices are almost the same now too, so if you can afford to use an i7, it is better.
I would go with 8GB at 1333 instead of 4GB at 1600.
650 will be plenty as long as you are using a decent brand. normally I would point you at Corsair, but their low-end has really turned to junk. Antec makes a nice "EarthWatts" power supply line, it is a good combination of reliability and price...and they run quiet too. If you are just running an I7 without overclocking, and with the video card listed, then the EA650 would suit you fine. If you have any other big drains, like a hardware RAID adapter or a second card or something, then you might need more.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 16. March 2011 @ 00:09
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armenix
Junior Member
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16. March 2011 @ 00:28 |
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Originally posted by KillerBug:
I figure that this is for a student with little money, and they probably won't have much money to drop on upgrades for at least 4 years...that is why I recommend against overclocking. Also, this app seems to be very processor intensive, so stability issues that would not affect games could easily cause big problems for this app. It is also why I don't put much consideration into future upgrades; by the time this person can afford an upgrade, all of the sockets in use today will be old junk.
In 3D Studio Max 9, the Hex Core 3.2GHZ AMD is faster than an intel i5 750, and it cost $40 less. That said, the i7 870 is only $90 more than that AMD, and it will give a significant performance boost vs any AMD. The board prices are almost the same now too, so if you can afford to use an i7, it is better.
I would go with 8GB at 1333 instead of 4GB at 1600.
650 will be plenty as long as you are using a decent brand. normally I would point you at Corsair, but their low-end has really turned to junk. Antec makes a nice "EarthWatts" power supply line, it is a good combination of reliability and price...and they run quiet too. If you are just running an I7 without overclocking, and with the video card listed, then the EA650 would suit you fine. If you have any other big drains, like a hardware RAID adapter or a second card or something, then you might need more.
Sounds great! One last question: Would you see much of a performance boost using this program with getting a HDD faster than 7200RPM? Obviously SSD's are an option, but too costly at the moment.
Thanks so much!
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ddp
Moderator
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17. March 2011 @ 00:26 |
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use sata 3 drives that have plenty of ram cache onboard.
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AfterDawn Addict
1 product review
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20. March 2011 @ 00:19 |
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Based on the amount of ram used, I imagine that a faster hard disk would only provide a slight improvement in initial startup times, not much actual performance boost while using the program. 7200RPM should be enough...if you have extra money that could be put towards a 10K drive, put it towards a faster processor or video card. Oh, and no need for SATA 3 on a 7200RPM drive.
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banzaigtv
Newbie
1 product review
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26. March 2011 @ 13:02 |
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Intel Core i7-950 3.06 GHz, 12 GB DDR3 RAM, ATI Radeon HD 6770, 1.5 TB 7200 RPM HDD, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit SP1
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armenix
Junior Member
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26. March 2011 @ 13:08 |
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Thanks everyone for the help! I think I've got it now ^_^
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