Looking to build cheap/cost-effective rig to stream League of Legends and run SolidWorks with i5 4690k.

Namruso,

In some aspects, you're talking about two different systems and need to set a priority. Solidworks is listed last and casually in the uses but in reality the system would need to have it as priority if it's to be useful- that's a very demanding 10-14GB program. For one thing, it needs a hyperthreading CPU which the i5 isn't and it's not happy on overclocking which the i5-4690 is. To run the viewports, the parts/assembly history, and simulations, you need a workstation GPU- Quadro or Firepro and it needs to be quite good if the work is in any way complex. If you look at Solidowrks certified GPU- they are all Quadros. I've listed the systems on which I run Solidworks- which is not my main work- at the bottom of the post.

If however, you're only learning Solidwork a gaming-oriented system can get by, but you may not get the full viewport function which I think is important.

If you confirm the priority of the use and mention a budget for this system, I'm sure there will be a lot of good suggestions.

Cheers,

BamibBoom

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz > 32GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64

[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

Dell Precision T5500 (2011) > Xeon X5680 six -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3490 / CPU = 9178 / 2D= 685 / 3D= 3566 / Mem= 1865 / Disk= 2122] [Cinebench 15 > CPU = 772 OpenGL= 99.72 FPS] 7.8.15

synphul,

CPU: I'm all for doing more research, but in doing so, it's necessary to understand detail and changes to SW in recent versions. Yes, the 3D modeling of Solidworks may have been single-threaded, but as I write, I'm running SW 2015 and looking at Task Manager showing activity on all 12 cores of my system with spikes in every window. Also, the output is rendering which can use all the cores / threads.

GPU: Look at the Solidworks list of certified GPU's and they are all Quadros. Also, in a 2013 review of workstation cards which also included gaming cards for comparison:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-workstation-graphics-card,3493-9.html

"SolidWorks 2013 is limited to workstation-class graphics cards. Unfortunately, the drivers we're using won't install on gaming boards, so we cannot include them. Additionally, if the software is run with non-certified drivers, there's supposed to be a quantifiable performance hit. The only exception is the version used by SPECapc 2013, which supposedly allows full use of SolidWorks 2013 whether the driver you're running is certified or not. We didn't bother testing, but rather used the certified drivers for this story. " There are test/ reviews in which a $120 Firepro V3900 was faster in Solidworks than a $1,000 GTX Titan.

If the OP is running Sw to learn, then a gaming machine may well limp through that process, but as soon as the work has any complexity, it will not be usefully productive.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

Namuso,

The good news about Solidworks as far as hardware is concerned is that the program is well-written to run on merely good quality systems- Autodesk used to do this also. The only point usually stressed with SW is not to use it with a gaming GPU. SW is partnered with NVIDIA so SW is optimized for Quadros /OpenGL /CUDA . I used to use an SW driver written especially for the Quadro FX 4800. I also had quite good results with a Friepro V4900- actually a fairly low end Firepro.

If you're doing very complex assemblies with many complex forms, textures, and parts relationships, and running simulations and rendering, better hardware helps, but I had very good results with SW 2011 on a 2008 Precision T5400 with dual 4-core Xeon X5460's- 4-cores non-hyperthreading and no-turborific @ 3.16GHz and a quadro FX 4800.

If you're on a tight budget, I'd suggest buying a Dell Precision T3500 possibly with a lower end Xeon, upgrading the CPU to a Xeon W3690 6-core @ 3.47 / 3.73GHz , 24GB RAM (DDR3- 1333 ECC), a Quadro K1200 (4GB) or K2200, a good 256GB SSD and 1TB HD. This is not expensive:

Dell Precision T3500 One Intel Xeon W3505 2.53ghz 4gb RAM > sold for $46.00

http://www.ebay.com/sch/PC-Desktops-AllInOnes-/179/i.html?_from=R40&_sop=15&LH_Complete=1&_nkw=Dell+Precision+T3500

These are beautifully built of server quality components and healthy power supplies- ultra-reliable.

Then the CPU:

Intel Xeon W3690 Hex Core 3.46GHz SLBW2 12MB 6.4 GT/s LGA1366 Processor > sold for $184.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-W3690-Hex-Core-3-46GHz-SLBW2-12MB-6-4-GT-s-LGA1366-Processor-/151721924958?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item235354d95e&nma=true&si=s%252B9NFBbMyp%252Fo6wHE6blym%252BsXiXc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I bought 24GB of ECC 1333 RAM for a Precision T5500 for $120 about four months ago.

And because the system is inexpensive, the GPU can be a really good one. The further you move up the workstation cards, the better they will be with games- though they aren't comparable in cost- a Quadro K4200 for $790 has about the same gaming performance as a GTX 760- not a 980ti but not terrible. However, I've been using a K4200 the last three weeks and at my level of SW use, so far it's always waiting for me. Really, the previous K2200 is perfectly good. that may change in a few months though as I'm going to be doing an 8,000 part assembly with a large range of size and materials, involving functional and assembly animations too.

I've often wanted to have a system with both a Quadro and a GTX as more workstation software has moved to OpenCL /DirectX, but it's a fussy and I think would need to reset the primary GPU every time it was switched and the drivers might collide anyway.

That is the extreme care with the cash approach- and It's worked for me very well over the last five years, but you may prefer a modern system with new components and have a reasonable budget. In that case I'd have an i7 - but forget the K on the end and overclocking with SW- or if the budget allows a Xeon E5- Quad or Hex-core since that can be changed to up to an 18-core. If you're in mechanical engineering, I'd steer towards LGa2011 or LGA2011-3 and even dual CPU's systems. I'm going to be starting a project in a few months with an aerospace company that run multi-threaded Matlab flight dynamics problems- custom algorithms and with dual 6 and 8-core Dell Precisions, these problems can run three days to an entire week. And any kind of advanced simulation, such a structural dynamics, thermal, gas flow, particle,and etc, will be run in multi-threaded software where the more cores the merrier.

Again, if you're on the tight budget, I upgraded a Dell Precision T5500 four months ago:

Purchased for $171:

Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Original): Xeon E5620 quad core @ 2.4 / 2.6 GHz > 6GB DDR3 ECC Reg 1333 > Quadro FX 580 (512MB) > Dell PERC 6/i SAS /SATA controller > Seagate Cheetah 15K 146GB > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
[ Passmark system rating = 1479 / CPU = 4067 / 2D= 520 / 3D= 311 / Mem= 1473 / Disk= 1208]

After spending about $800 more:

Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Revised) > Xeon X5680 six -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > 875W PSU> Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3490 / CPU = 9178 / 2D= 685 / 3D= 3566 / Mem= 1865 / Disk= 2122] [Cinebench 15 > CPU = 772 OpenGL= 99.72 FPS] 7.8.15

> In the above form, this is the highest performing, single CPU T5500 of about 200 tested on Passmark.

with Quadro K4200:
[ Passmark system rating = 3585 / CPU = 9346 / 2D= 683 / 3D= 4708 / Mem= 1850 / Disk= 2202]

With Quadro 4000
[ Passmark system rating = 3339 / CPU = 9347 / 2D= 684 / 3D= 2030 / Mem= 1871 / Disk= 2234]

Pending upgrade: PERC H310 PCIe SAS /SATA RAID controller, 2X WD Black 1TB (RAID 1)(Converts disk system from 3GB/s to 6GB/s)

I can add the CPU/ RAM /Fan rise and second CPU for about $350.

The T7500 is more expandable than T5500- 192GB RAM instead of 96GB, 4-drive bays instead of 2, an 1100W PSU and a couple of other things.

Dell Precision T7500 2x Intel Xeon Quad Core X5677 3.47GHz/12GB/1TB SATA M1541 SC, Nvidia Quadro 4000 > Selling for $600 or Best Offer

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-T7500-2x-Intel-Xeon-Quad-Core-X5677-3-47GHz-12GB-1TB-SATA-M1541-/381238169338?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58c390cefa

This was the result of a two minute search,, but a system like this- except for lack of OS, is almost usaible out of the box. The Quadro 4000 is even a good one. Keep in mind the 1333 RAM and 3GB/s disk system. The Disk system may be improved to a 6GB/s by using a PERC H310 or better, an H700 controller.

If the budget is higher, consider buying a bare-bones Precision T7610:

DELL PRECISION T7610 Barebone Workstation ! Build your own System !! > Selling for $430 or best offer

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-PRECISION-T7610-Barebone-Workstation-Build-your-own-System-/321567999837?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4adef2475d

This uses 1866 Ram and has an SATA III 6GB/s controller. Then starting it off with the fastest single six core Xeon E5 2600-series v2 you can afford, 32GB of RAM, Quadro K4200 used (about $550), Samsung 850 EVO (250 or 500GB), 1 or 2TB HD- I like Seagate Constellation ES.3 or WD Black. This might end up in the $2000-2500 range, but would have excellent performance. Later on add the 2nd CPU and 32GB more RAM, and so on = more future looking than the T7500.

There are a lot of choices, and if you set priorities and a budget there are some very good cost / performance options.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

These are accounts from just a couple months ago and take into account solidworks 2015. It is still a program which favors higher clock speeds over heavy threading.
https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/93253

Are you saying cadtek has the wrong information? "SOLIDWORKS is essentially a single threaded application (i.e. it can’t do the next calculation before it calculates the last) and it will struggle to use more than 1.3 processors, so there is little point in paying extra for six/eight core processors."
http://www.cadtek.com/support/hardware-guide/

This is from a blog helping people optimize their machine for solidworks 2015.
"The most important ingredient in your computer that affects the day-to-day working speed of SOLIDWORKS is the clock speed of the processor. It is more important than graphics cards (unless you have a non-certified one) and more important than the amount of RAM (unless you have an amount under the recommended). So, if your choice is between a 2.6 Ghz Xeon or a 3.6 Ghz Core i7, pick the 3.6 Ghz Core i7 every time."
http://blog.alignex.com/optimize-your-hardware-for-solidworks-2015

I'll repost this link again since maybe it was missed that it's specifically talking about solidworks 2015. Not previous versions.
http://www.javelin-tech.com/main/support/solidworks_2015_hardware_faq.htm

https://www.capinc.com/2015/05/21/hyper-threading-and-solidworks

Everyone concurs that fewer faster cores are preferable to more slower cores/threads (and the above link addresses hyperthreading on solidworks) - all in relation to solidworks 2015. I don't find that coincidental.

synphul,

In my view, those comments are in the main quite true- the best SW CPU has the fastest clock speed obtainable (but without the instability risk of overclocking) and if the budget is tight, I would always chose fewer faster cores over more, slower ones. I would however, also look at memory bandwidth and PCIe lanes as important to the equation. The key is finding the best balance of speed to cores according to the priorities of overall use of the system and the necessary cost /performance imposed by the budget.

Keep in mind too that SW is constantly evolving and as mutli-core systems are more prevalent, anyone selling a $7000 program, and Dessault also sells Catia which can cost $30,000 per seat- needs to optimize it to scale to as near as the limits of the hardware as possible.

Comments on Intertubes forums- like mine- can be vague, misunderstood, and quickly obsolete. Amazingly. some people will be very insistent about a program they've never used and occasionally the less they know, the stronger the opinions.

Specifically, the idea that SW is predominantly single- threaded has been true, but there are certain processes that benefit from multiple cores and SW often mentions the "certain processes" that are multi-threaded. When I run Task Manager in "Performance" view, the CPU display confusingly shows different events in every one of the twelve displays. Either SW is spreading some processes over all the threads or Task Manager is complete waste of time.

Solidworks is dramatically scalar and acts differently according to the level of use. One of it's important features- that Rhinoceros and Sketchup lack- is the way SW tracks the history of every object and that object's relationship to other objects. This is not only useful for the precise, individual consideration of the part or assembly, but means that if it is modified, the draughtsman can easily understand and modify all the parts in that relationship and a lot of this can be automated. This takes computing power as the number of parts- and their attached attributes increases. So yes, fast, fast, fast CPU by all means.

However, this aspect is not the complete picture, because it's not practical in ordinary use to have a system that is completely optimized and runs only one part (modeling) of one program. And SW is comprised of several programs as well. Therefore, every system has to be an equation bases on being able to accommodate all the programs used on the system according to priorities. Anyone using SW is likely to be doing rendering and also somewhat likely to be running something like Malab that runs highly mutli-threaded custom algorithms. Unless the user has a separate rendering system, the SW system needs to be able to run renderings at a reasonable pace which = a lot of cores at say 2.5GHz or better. Unless a person has a large budget- say $10,000 as starting point, there will be compromises. My approach to this situation has been to use a fast four-core / fast GPU system for 3D modeling and then have a separate dual CPU system - an upgraded obsolete Dell Precision -with many- well mores cores but at a lower clock speed and a moderate level GPU for rendering. As time went on, I've found that rendering uses less of the system time than I thought, so I'm trying out having a single system that tries to do everything well:

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz > 32GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

Pending upgrade: HP /LSI 9212-4i PCIe SAS /SATA HBA RAID controller, 2X Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB (RAID

And this is proving to be useful and actually in some ways exceeds my needs as I'm a designer and poor, slow, draughtsman. However, I hope to grow into the system and as I have an 8,000 part SW project soon I'll need to.

Good discussion!

Cheers,

BambiBoom

Just going by the op's original request for a 'fairly cheap' build to game and do 'some' solidworks work I wasn't really considering pcie lanes. A 'fairly' cheap build isn't going to need x99 and 3-4 $800 workstation cards with a 12 core xeon. That's why I was keeping it simple. Currently (and in the past) despite being 'workstation' oriented programs, both solidworks and autocad have and continue to be heavily single threaded programs with only a few aspects being multithreaded.

I enjoy issues like this, and no I don't run solidworks myself. Though I enjoy learning about things even if I won't use them personally. I'm also considering what the company itself has to say about its' own product along with cad related sites which specialize and deal with these programs (solidworks, autocad etc) extensively and forums with other users coming to a general consensus. I think it gives a bit of a well rounded overall view of the requirements for what most people commonly face. Both from the pro's, the developers and the laymen/users.

For instance, if this were a gaming question regarding gpu's - I don't own a $350 gtx 970, but I don't have to. After reading various benchmarks by professional reviewers, listening to the comments of various users who do own the card both along the lines of single player and online multiplayer scenarios, it's easy enough to tell that the gtx 970 is far better than say an r9 270 or 280. Everyone, users and reviewers alike come to the same conclusions. It would be highly unlikely that I would compare the two cards and come up with an entirely reverse experience.

The op doesn't sound as though they have the budget for a proper workstation gpu or for a multiple pc configuration to split the workload up. I could rec a $12k build all day long but won't do them any good if it's not within the budget. Any limited budget will have compromises. When I worked automotive, I used a lot of pro tools. However if a home mechanic asked me for a recommendation on what tools to get on a $300 budget, I would suggest a cheaper store brand tool set over pro tools which cost $50-60 per wrench.

synphul,

Many good points.

I was also struck by the original post in that it talked about gaming with Solidworks added at the end and using an i5-4690K CPU- as far as I know excellent for gaming- some of which apparently skip the hyperthreading for performance, but not in my view a good choice for SW.

The casual mention of SW in combinaton with the modest budget idea was intriguing because SW is so expensive and demanding. This is why I earlier suggested that out friend Namruso consider upgrading a high quality obsolete workstation as the result with a Precision T7500 could be a dual CPU 12-core /24 thread 3.47 /3.73GH, 48GB, 512GB SSD and 2TB HD, with a Quadro K4200 for perhaps $1500-1900- a system that in my view would be an appropriate, balanced approach- fast and many cored CPU- highly competent GPU, a lot of RAM etc.. This could allow a goof level of performance form a large, complex expensive and resource demanding program, all the other demanding programs that need to be run, plus something in reserve for the future. To achieve the same level of resources and performance in a new, proprietary system might cost $10,000 or more- the great cost /benefit aspect about shopping in the mysterious realm of the fully depreciated.

And with user and forum comments, the motivations are never completely transparent: users can be angry and frustrated because they missed learning some setting or technique, the maker deflects blame and will shift to: "ya shoulda known" and touting the good points of the upcoming expensive upgrade, and so on. It would be a good project to compare the proportion of negative comments on / Newegg and Amazon with the makers' proportionally as I think someone having a bad experience is many times as likely to rant and complain than a person who finds it works as expected is to jump out and praise it. and often enough to be noticeable the complaints are backed up with dubious technical information. This is where competent unbiased reviews are better as there is technical depth to that experience but personal experience is the best. But, the reviewer may have been given the product or sold for small fraction of the cost to the then grateful reviewer. This happens quite a bit in high-end audio- which has sells products that make computer components seem nearly free: $40,000 preamplifier, $,9000 cartridge, $75,000 turntable, $140,000 speakers, a single NOS vacuum tube for $2,500- that kind of thing.

I also like to learn about technical aspects that I haven't experienced, but have heard a lot about. I've never played or seen a game being played but have seen a lot of statistical results- benchmarks and FPS readings- related to various hardware, understand stuttering / freezing and so, but that kind of knowledge has a cut-off point that may only be surpassed by direct experience. At some point it's important to understand systems for gaming to understand something in greater depth about the relationship of hardware to software. this is especially true as system become more specialized at the top performance level and so many people are shifting to mobile devices.

Your automotive tools analogy is very good since the computer for an engineering student is an important professional tool- and should be the best. My idea is that by upgrading the old workstation he can- and should- have Snap-On but at Harbor Freight prices.

So much to learn- I need to study!

Cheers,

BambiBoom

So I'm in the OP's boat. I'm in school for Precision Manufacturing Tech...we only have some CAD, but we are being offered the SW 2015 free from the school to use at home. Everything I'm going to be doing in my current CAD class is basic, nothing overly complex...once I'm in the CAD program a year or more from now, I will probably need more of a workstation, but at that point, I can turn this computer into a browsing/gaming computer.

I'm on a budget of about $800 or so. This is pretty strict because I'm unemployed. I quit my job to go back to school...I also moved 100 miles from where I was living. So unless I find a part-time job soon, I don't plan on having more for the budget right now. I could always put the money towards the processor for now and buy the GPU later or find some other way to save money right now if need be...but I'd still prefer to stick to my $800 or so budget overall.

I've got a case and 2 monitors I'd like to use together (Samsung 943BT) if I can use them as a dual monitor setup (this is something I'm not familiar with at all). If I could get some insight into how to get 2 monitors that have DVI/VGA connections to work in an extended desktop scenario, that would be great (even if one is hooked to onboard graphics and the other to the Quadro)...my 2nd monitor I only want to use for D2L and other school stuff so I don't have to switch windows while practicing the SolidWorks stuff.

Anyway, the setup I'm looking to do is as follows:

Processor is my only dilemma...not sure what I need to go with. See below...

MB - MSI Z97M-G43
PSU - Corsair CX500
Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws X DDR3 1600 16GB
SSD - Samsung Evo 850 250GB
OS - Windows 7 Pro
GPU - Quadro K620

My dilemma is what I need for a processor...I was looking at the Intel G3258, i5-4690k, and i7-4790k...the latter 2 are outside of my budget with the rest of the build, but is there any compromise in there (other units that you suggest)? I'd like to keep it to $250 or less for the CPU. Under $150 is ideal but probably unlikely to happen.

I'm looking to order this weekend and answers sooner than later would be great.

I'm only a couple weeks into classes, but I am loving my 3D CAD class...I plan on taking the CAD program after I'm done with the PMT program.

Macmyazka,

Learning Solidworks is, in my view, of incredible value professionally, and the best, high precision machine drafting / modeling / simulation program. I wish I'd learnt it years earlier.

But, Solidworks it is very demanding of the computer system.

It's logical learning it precedes income, so my solution is to buy a used, high quality workstation and upgrade it. Here's a example from an exhaustive three-minute search:

Dell Precision T3500 - Xeon Quad Core W5590 3.33GHz / 18GB / FX1800 / Win 7 Pro > $320

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-T3500-Xeon-Quad-Core-W5590-3-33GHz-18GB-FX1800-Win-7-Pro-/191680015472?hash=item2ca104ec70

And the good feature of this particular system is that it's more or less usable as is. The LGA1366 Xeons was a particularly good series and the Xeon W5590 was a high end dual-capable CPU: 4-cores at 3.33 / 3.6GHz, which are modern clock speeds. The W5590 That CPU new cost $1,660 and I've never seen one in a T3500- most would have the W3580 3.33 /3.6 (made for single CPU use) which only cost $1,050. The W5590 scores an average of 6314 and is No. 259 on Passmark. the W3580 scores 6543 and No. 243. Dual CPU series do seem to sacrifice something to the ability to run in parallel. The Quadro FX 1800 would be marginal, but get through the first month. The 3D for an FX1800 on a T3500 would be about 600 on Passmark and in the Passmark world, I'd look for a score 2000+.

You could consider adding a 120GB SSD for $70 for the OS / applications, a WD Blue 1TB for $55 for files, and a used Quadro K620 (2GB) for $120 for shifting pixels. That total is about $600. There were no K620's in the 303, T3500's tested, but it's a great value and should score perhaps 2100 in 3D.

There are a lot of the Precision T3500 series around and within your budget you could look for one with the Xeon W3690- which is 6-core @ 3.47/ 3.73GHz.

Dell Precision T3500 Xeon Hex Core 3.47GHz W3690 14GB 300GB HDD Nvidia Quadro FX > $427

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-T3500-3-46GHz-Hex-Core-W3690-6GB-RAM-80GB-HDD-No-OS-/381289865218?hash=item58c6a5a002

More expensive, but there's that fast 6-core Xeon and this one looks quite clean cosmetically too. The FX3500 is a step back from the FX 1800- 3D of about 300 on Passmark and would need to be replaced immediately. The 1800, 3800, 4800 and 5800 were the high line of Quadros of the day.

A T3500 with a fast 4 or 6-core, Quadro K620 SSD and good mech'l drive should perform very well. This approach saves the fuss of researching, ordering, assembling, and configuring every part. A T3500 like the one mentioned could be running SW in a couple of hours. I've had 4 used Precisions since 2008 and none of them has ever had a significant failure- they're ultra-reliable.

There are also sometimes good buys in Xeon E5 workstations:

HP Z420 Workstation w/ E5-1620 Quad-Core Xeon, 16GB RAM, & 2.0TB HDD > Buy It Now $446 (ends 6 Sept.15)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Z420-Workstation-w-E5-1620-Quad-Core-Xeon-16GB-RAM-2-0TB-HDD-/261996271672?hash=item3d0031d838

The E5-1600 series was one of the best ever and the AMD Firepro V4900 is very good for the cost. I have a z420 just like this one and it would run SW fairly well up to a moderate level of complication.

With shipping this would be nearly $500, but the good news is that I think you could use it several months as is and shop for a good price on a used K620- they've sold for as little as $80-120 and also an SSD in the $80-100 range. This would put it at a total of about $720. It's still possible that the V4900 will run Solidworks as far as you need. Besides the excellent 3.6 / 3.8GHz 4-core E5, there's 1600 ECC speed RAM and and a SATA III 6GB/s disk system. The cost doesn't leave much for the SSD and Quadro, but this one or this kind of system would be a more forward-looking system and there's some possibility it could be satisfactory for quite awhile.

I have an HP z420 very similar to the above that can demonstrate the performance:

HP z420 (2013) > Xeon E5-1620 four core @ 3.6 /3.8GHz > 24GB DDR3 ECC 1600 RAM > AMD V4900 (1GB) > Seagate 500GB > Linksys WMP600N WiFi
[Passmark system rating = 2372 / CPU = 9001 / 2D= 712 / 3D= 1353/ Mem= 2261 / Disk= 712]

And this system worked really well as received. After a month or so in use it responded well to upgrades. I eventually used it with 24GB RAM, a Quadro 4000 (2GB), Samsung 840 250GB, and WD Black 1TB:
[Passmark system rating = 3815 / CPU = 8985 / 2D= 767 / 3D= 2044/ Mem= 2523 / Disk= 2986]

I mention this history as the Quadro K620 should produce a somewhat higher 3D score than the Quadro 4000 and also the addition of an an SSD rally perks up the disk system:712 to 2986.

Diversion: [ It was useful to have the original 500GB HD when upgrading to the SSD as I could run the system and work, and then get the configuration of the OS and programs perfect and optimize the disk before migrating to the SSD, saving wear on the SSD and only having the system down an hour. The original HD went into a USB 3 ventilated enclosure with fan (StarTech) and became the backup drive with a partition for the system image. ]

So, there are a couple of alternatives. If the HP z420 would work financially, that would be my choice, and would be more versatile over a longer time- even a decent gamer with a GTX 750ti or similar, but the Precision T3500 should work very well and be reliable.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz > 32GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

Pending upgrade: HP /LSI 9212-4i PCIe SAS /SATA HBA RAID controller, 2X Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB (RAID

Thanks for your response and all the detail, I appreciate the time you took. Yeah, I'm 32 and just finally found what I want to do in life unfortunately...but fortunately, I have the ability to go get it.

The only reason I was asking about the specs that I mentioned is that the systems we have at school are 1 or 2 years old and will be upgraded next year, but they run SW 2015 just fine and they run 16 gigs RAM, Quadro 2000D, and Intel i5-35xx (I believe it's the 3570). It's quite capable for what we are doing (at least for right now). I know that the CAD program uses the newer systems in the room next to us and like I said, next year, my classroom gets newer systems, so I'm sure the ones in the room next to us are quite a bit more powerful.

I was looking at Refurb Z400/Z420 systems on Newegg and the pricing is right in line with where I am for a build...just a matter of buying an SSD for the ones I was looking at.

I'll let you know what I decide. Thanks again.

Extra note:

I really love that you can pick up workstations for 1/5 of their original price and they're still quite capable. That's a huge plus for people such as myself. Obviously as you mentioned...a GPU and SSD upgrade are pretty reasonably priced upgrades as well.

Macmyazka,

I'm going through a career shift also later than usual from architecture to industrial design- doing an aerospace project, but when a subject is interesting the energy will be there and it doesn't seem like work.

The fast depreciation of high quality workstation is symptomatic of has been made more dramatic by the specialization and intensification of the demands of applications by the minute, and especially 3D modeling. I was sketching out something I wanted to try in Maya (assembly animation) and because I have only three months to finish this phase of a large project, I think this portion will have to be Sketchup scenes, and have more of a high school project quality.

Yes, I'd be very interested to me know how you get on.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

Well I decided on the following build (we'll see how it goes once it's built):

MOBO: MSI Z97M-G43
CPU: i5-4590
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3-1600
GPU: PNY Quadro K620
SSD: Samsung Evo 850 250GB
PSU: Corsair CX500
CASE: Cooler Master N200
OS: Windows 7 Pro

I'm not sure honestly how this system will work out, but we will see. I may convert it to a gaming machine down the road and pick up a workstation later specifically for this. The only real difference for gaming will be a GeForce card instead of the Quadro.

Also, after I ordered everything (bought some on Amazon and most on Newegg), I found that Micro Center has the i5-4690k for the same price I paid and we have one where I moved from so Friday I'll head up after school and try to pick one up and return the one from Amazon (I forgot that Amazon charges tax now so I didn't get quite as good of a deal as I was thinking I would)...and completely forgot to check Micro Center for better deals on some of these parts.

I picked up a new Asus DVD burner, and I've got a Toshiba Q Pro 128GB SSD that I had planned on putting into my laptop to try to speed it up, but I think I'll toss it into the desktop for extra storage.

Macmyazka,

The Z97 should give quite good performance from the i5-4590 and the Quadro K620 I think is a very good value- the perormance is somewhat better than a Quadro 4000 which was a $750 GPU new.

The i5-4590 is not hyperthreading, but has a decent clock speed and of course is known as a good gaming CPU.

I had a quick look on Passmark for i5-4590 / Z97 systems and the results from the 302 systems tested are quite good. The ASUS Z97-A seems to provide a very good CPU score- 8056 and a number of these systems have serious gaming GPU's- GTX 970 /980's - with 3D scores up to 10573, and fast disk = 5085 from a Samsung 850 EVO on a Gigabyte Z97-D3H.

There is one system using the MSI Z97M-G43, but unfortunately with the integrated graphics- 3D= 60. Still, the CPU is 7230, Mem = 1977 (4GB) , and Disk = 4336 (Crucial MX200) The good CPU and disk scores mean the motherboard is quite good.

There are even three i5-4590 systems with Quadros, two with Quadro K600's and one with an FX 580. The Quadro K600 has 3D scores of about 850 but the K620 will score over 2200. The FX 580 is an interesting choice as that's a 512MB card from 2003- and 3D = 310, but they're good in 2D- 887- which is a good or better than the Quadro K4200 (4GB). The FX 580 is still listed as certified for AutoCad 2015!

Excellent, you're on you way. I'd enjoy knowing how it works.

Cheers,

BambiBoom