dynamitetalks,
Buying > Of course, researching, ordering, assembling, configuring, loading, and testing a new system can be time consuming, but the hardware is new , tailored to your uses, and building will impart an intimate knowledge if something goes wrong. Somewhat better cost/performance as well, mainly because the hardware continues to improve while costs may actually drop.
If you were to buy, for your use I would suggest a Dell Precision T7500 with a Xeon X5680 6-core /12 thread @ 3.33GHz- 32GB RAM, (Perhaps $1,300 and a Quadro K4000 (3GB) ($750 or $550 used). With monitors (I suggest 24"), this may still be under the $3,400 and you can add a second X5680 later to have 12 cores / 24 threads- rendering dynamite! The X5680 is still a great CPU even by modern performance standards and the ability to have two 6-cores is very useful.
Building > To have the bandwidth for 3D modeling, LGA2011, high clock speed 6- core for rendering, ECC RAM to prevent artifacts and good shadows, reflections and color gradients, CUDA accleration for Adobe CS, and a workstation card is a necessity for Solidworks to run the viewports and anti-aliasing. Amazingly, a $175 ATI V4900 is faster than a GTX Titan in Solidworks. The Quadro K4000 (3GB) is a good one for Solidworks and is made to run three monitors. The performance of a modern Xeon E5 at 3.5GHz+ is extremely good.
BambiBoom PixelDozer Cadaphotomodasolidgrapharific Blazomatic iWorkarama TurboScream 9000 ™$#©™_3.28.14
1. CPU > Intel Xeon E5-1650 v2 Six-Core Processor 3.5 / 3.9GHz 0GT/s 12MB LGA 2011 CPU, OEM $579.99 (Superbiiz)
2. CPU Cooler > CORSAIR Hydro Series H50 Quiet Edition Water / Liquid CPU Cooler. 120mm > $60
3. ASRock X79 Extreme3 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $199.99
3A OPT'L > ASUS P9X79 WS LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 SSI CEB Intel Motherboard with USB BIOS > $374.
4. RAM > Kingston 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 Server Memory >$380. (Check motherboard compatibility list)
5. GPU > NVIDIA Quadro K4000 VCQK4000-PB 3GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card > $759 (The K400 may connect 3 monitos using Displayport hub of the thre direct connections > 2 X DP and 1X DVI)
6. HD 1 > SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA 6Gb/s MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) > $160
7. HD 2> Western Digital Black WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200RPM SATA3/SATA 6.0 GB/s 64MB Hard Drive (3.5 inch) ) > $156
8. PSU> SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3) 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply $120.
9. Case > LIAN LI PC-7HX Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $100.
10. Optical Dr > ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $17.
11. OS > Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM $140
12. Monitors > 3X ViewSonic VG2439M-LED Black 24" 5ms Widescreen LED Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 20,000,000:1 DisplayPort > $720 ($240 ea)
TOTAL = $3392. or with ASUS P9X79 WS = $3,566
Cheers,
BambiBoom
HP z420 (2014) > Xeon E5-1620 quad core @ 3.6 / 3.8GHz > 24GB ECC 1600 RAM > Quadro 4000 (2GB)> Samsung 840 SSD 250GB /Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > AE3000 USB WiFi > HP 2711X, 27" 1920 X 1080 > Windows 7 Ultimate 64 >[Passmark system rating = 3923, 2D= 839 / 3D=2048]
Dell Precision T5400 (2008) > 2X Xeon X5460 quad core @3.16GHz > 16GB ECC 667> Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB) > WD RE4 500GB / Seagate Barracuda 500GB > M-Audio 2496 Sound Card / Linksys 600N WiFi > Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit >[Passmark system rating = 1859, 2D= 512 / 3D=1097]
2D, 3D CAD, Image Processing, Rendering, Text > Architecture, industrial design, graphic design, written projects [AutoCad, Revit, 3ds Max, Vray, Solidworks, Inventor, Sketchup, Adobe CS, WordPerfect, MS Office]
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