Trying to build gaming and CAD workstation

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kristianbob

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hey guys,

I'm trying to build a computer that will handle gaming and some CAD work as well. I'm currently a first year engineering student and i'm not relying on it for cad work right now but i want to be able to do some light work at home for now and maybe in the future upgrading. I've done some research on components and i know that if i want to do heavy CAD stuff i need a workstation grade parts but as i really don't need to do heavy CAD work i think ill do fine with "consumer" grade parts. My budget for the build is $1000 give or take a few. I think i want to go for an AMD build because i think ill get a little more bang for my buck. the CPU i've decided on is the AMD fx-8350 but im open to suggestions. Other than that i'm pretty lost in terms of where to go from there.

Parts i have right now:
- dell monitor 2407WFP
- Generic dell keyboard and mouse
- Antec Kuhler h20 920 CPU watercooler

Thanks guys.
 
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With so many of the mainstream CAD engineering applications still being predominantly single threaded, the FX-8350 would be a bit of a step in the wrong direction. A $60 haswell pentium will out-perform the FX-8350 in AutoCAD and SolidWorks in most conditions.

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The following for ~$1200 would be well worth busting your budget a bit for....

CPU: E3-1231V3 ~$240
MOBO: ASRock Rack C226M WS ~$170
RAM: 2 X KVR16LE11L/4 ~$90
GPU: W5100 or K2200 depending on specific software ~$350-400
SSD: MX100 256GB: ~$100
Storage: WD1002F9YZ ~$90
PSU: SeaSonic SSR-450RM ~$80
Case: CM N200, Corsair 350D, or Fractal Arc Mini R2 ~$50 or ~$90

Your HSF is compatible with the 1150 socket, as long as you have all the hardware it came with.
Otherwise...
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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Have you considered the Xeon processor? It's only a tiny bit more money than the i5 and has 4 physical cores and hyperthreads for a total of 8 virtual cores, in addition to better single core performance than the FX-8350. I think you should get a better processor for CAD work and if you ask me the Xeon is a bang for the buck also. Just a recommendation though ;)
 
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kristianbob

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I never even considered it because i thought it would be more expensive but ill definitely check them out. but where do i go from there?
 
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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Well if you go with Intel Xeon you would need a different motherboard that supports it. The Xeon 1230v3 is great http://www.amazon.com/Intel-E3-1230V3-Quad-Core-Processor-BX80646E31230V3/dp/B00D697PEG
 
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kristianbob

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The other thing is that i already have a water cooler that fits the FX-8350 so if i went with the xeon i would need another cooling setup whereas i can pretty much overclock the FX right away.
 
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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In that case get the 8350 for sure.
 
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mdocod

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With so many of the mainstream CAD engineering applications still being predominantly single threaded, the FX-8350 would be a bit of a step in the wrong direction. A $60 haswell pentium will out-perform the FX-8350 in AutoCAD and SolidWorks in most conditions.

-------

The following for ~$1200 would be well worth busting your budget a bit for....

CPU: E3-1231V3 ~$240
MOBO: ASRock Rack C226M WS ~$170
RAM: 2 X KVR16LE11L/4 ~$90
GPU: W5100 or K2200 depending on specific software ~$350-400
SSD: MX100 256GB: ~$100
Storage: WD1002F9YZ ~$90
PSU: SeaSonic SSR-450RM ~$80
Case: CM N200, Corsair 350D, or Fractal Arc Mini R2 ~$50 or ~$90

Your HSF is compatible with the 1150 socket, as long as you have all the hardware it came with.
Otherwise, a $23 Arctic i11 or <$20 CNPS5X or similar would be more than adequate, there's really no reason to compromise the reliability of this system with a pumped liquid cooler anyway.

The GPU's listed there will run games at the same visual quality settings you would run with an R7 260 or GTX750Ti. Nothing "special" but perfectly functional for gaming.

Thing of it is, the FirePro/Quadro drivers include the same functionality that come with Radeon/GeForce drivers for gaming, but include on top of that, a very robust software layer optimization/support... Have a look at the profound difference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeHei6qmzM0

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Edit: Canada??? oh well nevermind...
 
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kristianbob

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i read somewhere it was possible to install a workstation gpu and a consumer gpu and run 2 hdmi cables to the same monitor and just switch inputs when you need gaming or CAD. is this possible?
 
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mdocod

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It would be an unsupported configuration with hit and miss functionality, likely requiring modification of configuration files and likely coming with a large number of conflicts and trade-offs that would not be worth it.

Pick either a Gaming GPU, and deal with the mediocre performance and visual quality in CAD, or pick a workstation GPU and deal with the mediocre visual quality in gaming (the performance will be fine there).
 
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