Building a drafting computer for a buddy need advice

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imjouster

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Jun 15, 2013
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He uses Autodesk AutoCAD 2014 primarily, just the 2d stuff. He's looking at also using Cabinet Vision in the future. He needs the computer to run 4 monitors, all 4 will have drafting going on with them (including one big 42" tv he is using as his main). Got a budget of around 1200 with some flexibility. From what I understand Intel is better with Cad type programs than AMD at this point in time, and the xeon processors are better than the i7s for Cad. I have no clue what to think on the graphics cards though. I know 2d cad doesn't take a ton of graphics power, but on 4 monitors, that's a lot going on. On top of that, Cabinet vision sounds like it may be quite a bit more graphics intensive vs Cad programs. Maybe someone here has used it and can let me know. This system also plays as a mini server, there are 4 comps in the office, and all 4 of them send files to this main comp.

My very rough, first build that I'm looking at right now is something like this

Some $100 mid tower case
AsRock Z97 Extreme6/ac $150
Intel Xeon E3-1231V3 Haswell 3.4 ghz $250
2x EVGA 750ti $110 x 2 = $220 (going dual GPU mainly for ease of setting up 4 displays)
16GB G. Skill Ripjaws Z 1600mhz $150
120GB 850 Evo SSD for boot drive $100
Need a HDD he wants something around 2-3 TB but I can't decide between seagate vs WD, Also wondering about getting an NAS hard drive, but really don't know anything about them, but they are supposed to last longer correct???
EVGA SuperNOVA 850 PSU $110
Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Cooler $50 (I know without overclocking water cooling is kinda pointless, but I've grown attached to seeing my CPU even though its overclocked never getting above 35C, Plus the computer is going to be in a place where there isn't a ton of ventilation, so I think Liquid cooled is slightly better, correct me if I'm wrong.

Total Price so far $1130 plus the price of HDD, so we'll call it $1300. Any suggestions? Anything I desperately need to change? Or anywhere I'm spending more than I should?

Thanks for the help
Jeremy
 
Solution
bambiboom
Jeremy,

It's a bit difficult to see the -12%, but it's possible in small increments.

1. OS: Find a a better deal on version of Windows 7 Professional. One has to be careful with Ebay, but I bought a new, unused, full copy of Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit fro $61 a couple of years ago.

2. Cooling: I think you could find a decent CPU heatsink fan in the $35 range, possibly the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, but I think some research into the noise levels before deciding is a good idea.

3. RAM: One approach to RAM would be to use 2X 8GB so the system could eventually have the full 32GB. and thought the latency may be slightly higher on an 8GB module, using fewer modules can be less expensive- there are 1X 8GB for...
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bambiboom

bambiboom

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Apr 7, 2012
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imjouster,

The system listed should be excellent for AutoCad 2D- very good choices therein. The more sophisticated Autodesk 3D software like Maya, Revit, and 3ds Max do require fairly high end hardware such as Quadro / Firepro GPU's. However, Autodesk has, in my view, maintained an admirable policy of ensuring that AutoCad will run relatively well on older and less than SOTA systems and hardware.

Some comments:

Case: If you'd care to have a case suggestion, I like the sober design and well-made Aluminum cases by Lian Li:

LIAN LI PC-K69 Black Aluminum Computer Case > $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112457&cm_re=Lian_Li-_-11-112-457-_-Product

It may be only me, but I like quite plain, non-distracting cases for a work environment- and quiet. This kind of case, is made to have good ventilation but not be crazy with extensive venting all over that adds to the noise. This particular one is a new design and I think a good workstation configuration.

Storage HD: If this is professional, I'm an advocate for the medium level of enterprise drives like Western Digital RE and Seagate Constellation ES.3. These are somewhat more costly, and not the ultimate performers but the $40-50 extra is rewarded by reliability and logevity. I've used WD RE for years and one 500GB drive with 28,000 hours has never had a blip. I 've never used ES.3's but like the idea of 128MB cache. A RAID 1 is advisable too or another tactic is to use a good incremental backup program to an external drive- a 3.5" SATA 3 USB in a ventilated enclosure with a fan- that is only run when backing up- the drive lasts forever and has better isolation from system problems and viruses.

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-3-5in-SuperSpeed-Drive-Enclosure/dp/B003F5NS9W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420558279&sr=8-2&keywords=startech+enclosure+fan

CPU Cooling: I think for this use, in which the quad core CPU is not drawing a lot of W's- only 80W for the E3-1231 v3, and there isn't a lot of extreme slogs like rendering, liquid cooling is not necessary and may be noisy. I'd opt for a good fan / heatsink and one with low noise- check the sound rating.

Overall- excellent choices. Well done.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z420 (2014) > Xeon E5-1620 quad core @ 3.6 / 3.8GHz > 24GB DDR3 ECC 1600 RAM > Quadro K2200 (4GB)> Intel 730 480GB > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H 2560 X 1440 > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 4402 > CPU= 9280 / 2D= 7971 / 3D=3480 / Mem= 2558 / Disk= 4498]





 
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imjouster

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Jun 15, 2013
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Well that's good to hear that I didn't completely screw it up haha. I do like the case, and I had been looking into some Lian Li cases, just was one of the last things I was worried about.

As far as hard drives go, would the somewhat slower speed of an enterprise drive have any noticeable effect on the way his CAD program works?

And I'll probably drop the CPU cooling to a good fan like you said. I just realized I didn't include Windows 7 pro with this list, so I need to cut about 150 bucks off my build. Any suggestions on other places to do that? Maybe a cheaper SSD? I want to keep the PSU at gold or above because they have the computers running pretty much 24/7 so the extra energy savings should pay for itself.

Thanks again

Jeremy
 
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bambiboom

bambiboom

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Apr 7, 2012
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21,965
Jeremy,

It's a bit difficult to see the -12%, but it's possible in small increments.

1. OS: Find a a better deal on version of Windows 7 Professional. One has to be careful with Ebay, but I bought a new, unused, full copy of Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit fro $61 a couple of years ago.

2. Cooling: I think you could find a decent CPU heatsink fan in the $35 range, possibly the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, but I think some research into the noise levels before deciding is a good idea.

3. RAM: One approach to RAM would be to use 2X 8GB so the system could eventually have the full 32GB. and thought the latency may be slightly higher on an 8GB module, using fewer modules can be less expensive- there are 1X 8GB for $66-70. Not a big savings but allows the full capacity later.

4. SSD: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5 inch SATA3 Internal Solid State Drive > $65
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=128GMXSSD1

5. HD: As for the main storage HD, I think it will have to a good cost/ performance 1TB drive rather than a big enterprise drive. The one I like at the moment in this department is:

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200RPM SATA 3 / SATA 6.0 GB/s 64MB Hard Drive (3.5 inch) > $55
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=HD-W10EZEX

6. PSU: For this kind of system where the CPU and GPU's are energy efficient, I think you don't need nearly an 850W PSU. How about:

Seasonic SSR-550RM 550W 80 PLUS Gold ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply > $79

7. GPU: If the budget is still tight, you might look into buying the pair of 750ti's used. I've purchased almost all the Graphics cards I've ever had used or "new other" off Ebay and never had a dud. I put a 2007 Quadro FX 1700 that cost $20 that works perfectly in a 2004 P4 system (Dimension 8400) that I gave to a friend. That system by the way runs Windows 7 Pro 64, AutoCad 2007 and Archicad 14- a high end 3D architectural CAD program just fine.

For better work performance, you might consider a 256GB Crucial SSD ($104) and make a working files partition -the active projects and use the mech'l HD to backup. This is what I did with a Samsung 840 250GB with a 180Gb OS partition and 60GB files partition and it worked really well. I recently replaced the 840 with an Intel 730 480GB ($440) so I can have my entire file set on the main drive- and which is much faster.


One other tactic: I don't mean to throw a wrench into the whole works, but another approach to this kind of system could be along the lines of my current project (second. rendering system) since last weekend:

Dell Precision T5500 > Xeon E5620 quad-core 2.4 / 2.6, 6GB DDR3 ECC 1066, Quadro FX 580, Perc 6/i SAS RAID controller >Seagate Cheetah 146GB 15K SAS drive > 875W PSU> no OS > $178

to:

Dell Precision T5500 > Xeon X5680 six-core 3.33 / 3.6. 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333, Quadro 4000 (2GB), Perc 6/i SAS RAID controller > Samsung 840 250GB, Seagate 300GB 15K SAS drive > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Pro 64-bit > $492. Still waiting for SAS to SATA interposer cable ($15) and 12GB of the RAM to arrive. This is economical as I have the Quadro 4000 and Samsung 840 already and the Win Pro COA on the case allows me to reinstall Win 7 Pro downloaded from a MS ISO. If I had to buy the Quadro and Samsung SSD the total would be about $900.

There are piles of Precision T5500 and T7500's--1100W PSU's! and 192GB RAM possible- around for little money. There's also the T3500 - single CPU- and I saw an excellent T3500 with a W3690 six core 3.47 /3.73, Quadro 4000, and 12GB RAM, Win 7 Pro sold for only $452 last weekend. these are beautifully made. I bought a T5400 in 2010 fro $500 and as the HD has 22,000 hours and never a failure

This approach saves researching, ordering assembling, configuring, and trouble-shooting an all-new system. Plus, I can add a second six core X5680 later for about +$300.

Cheers,

BambiBoom
 
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I

imjouster

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Jun 15, 2013
39
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10,540
Wow, ya got me thinking about that T5500. I'll have to do some more research on it. Greatly appreciate all the help, definitely learning a lot in this build. Gaming systems are easy hah. Non gaming systems have so many variables that greatly change what is needed. its just ridiculous.

Jeremy
 
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