jireland90 :
I want to build a PC that I can do mild CAD, 3d modeling, and graphic design and also keep the size small. I work in Marine Salvage so much of my work I have to travel for and many times on short notice. I want a PC that I can fit in a backpack. All the accessories (monitor, keyboard, mouse etc.) I usually have access to where I go but I would like to have my own PC with me. I would also like to try and keep it under $1000. I do some 3d modeling but most of it is fairly basic. I frequently use 2D Autocad as well as Adobe (photoshop, illustrator, indesign). I've seen a lot of 3D rendering builds but not much where being compact was a major detail. Let me know what you guys think, any ideas suggestions or advice are very much appreciated.
-Johnny
jireland90,
My recommendation is to consider a Dell Precision M-series laptop or as Dell calls it- "mobile workstation." The are two series at any given time, one with a 15.6" screen, but I would prefer the 17.3" screen series. For $1,000, it would have to be a used one and for example the M6800 with an i7 4-core, 8 or 16GB RAM, and 2GB workstation GPU seems a good direction:
DELL Precision M6800 17.3" Intel i7 4th Gen 1080P 500GB, 8GB, Firepro M6100 > sold for $760
I've not used these myself, but have seen them and while they are not light and compact, the 17.3"- some are backlit DellUltrasharp- and rugged construction is good for use on sites - and site offices, and planes, and of course, there's no real setup or separate parts to carry and assemble and run off a battery or the mains. Today, you an pop in a mPCIE SSD and with the current mobile CPU's, high powered 4 and even 8GB Quadros and Firpros, up to 32GB RAM, the performance doesn't give up much to desktops.
Theses were made with a variety of mobile Quadros and Firepro GPU's and the i7-4800MQ is 4-core @ 2.7 /3.7GHz - a useful speed.
if you need serious, desktop performance and have access to the mains and can carry a monitor, there are a variety of M-ATX LGA1151 motherboards for Xeon E3-is a new Supermciro Micro-ATX Xeon LGA2011-3 which will support the new Xeon E5-1600 and 2600 v3 and v4 series motherboard, I think the budget though means M-ATX LGA1151 or a used laptop however. From your description of the use and need for mobility, I'd say a mobile workstation is the thing- it's made for exactly this kind of use.
What is your preference?
Are you by chance in Ireland? The prices vary quite a bit by country.
Marine Salvage always seems logistically interesting- the Kursk, Monitor, Costa Concordia, MV Tricolor, Mary Rose- all interesting.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
Modeling:
1. HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) > 32GB DDR3 1866 ECC RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)>
[ 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 1)
Rendering:
2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Revised) > 2X Xeon X5680 (6 -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz), 48GB DDR3 1333 ECC Reg. > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > PERC H310 / Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (27", 1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3844 / CPU = 15047 / 2D= 662 / 3D= 3500 / Mem= 1785 / Disk= 2649] (12.30.15)