Skylake Revit 2016 Build (Autodesk, AutoCAD, 3dsMax, SolidWorks)

IamJustin,

The parts list posted has very good choices, but to have the best performance at the budget level in demanding programs such as Revit and Solidworks, upgrading a used LGA2011 workstation will have many advantages. The LGA1151 platform, while the single-threaded performance of the CPU's is very good, is limited to 4-cores. In Solidworks for example, unless you buy the Visualization package that can render on GPU cores, the renderings will depend on CPU cores. Revit has two demands, one is the calculation intensity of modeling in 3D objects with so many attributes and the other is the analytical and database functions of BIM. ECC RAM is an advantage in too in calculation intensive application such analytical, database, simulation functions- all of which are used by Revit and Solidworks.

Upgrading a used workstation, means a stronger basic platform capable of high core count, with up to 80 PCIe lanes, extremely high stability / reliability and because the expensive Xeons will be depreciated, funds can be diverted to higher performance peripherals. With Solidworks, it's really essential to have a Quadro.

Here's my current project for a system that will be using AutoCad, Revit and Solidworks:

HP z620 (Original) Xeon E5-1620 4-core @ 3.6 /3.8GHz) / 8GB (1X 8GB DDR3-1333) / AMD Firepro V5900 (2GB) / Seagate Barracuda 750GB + Samsung 500Gb + WD 500GB
[ Passmark System Rating= 2408 / CPU= 8361 / 2D= 846 / 3D = 1613 / Mem =1584 / Disk = 574 ] 7.13.16

This system, as it had cosmetic damage in shipping cost $270.

As the E5-1620 and the Firepro V5900 can be sold for about $75 each, the net cost is equivalent to $120. The three hard drives will be used in a home media server.

Purchased:

_2X Xeon E5-2690 &-core @ 2.9 / 3.8GHz: $152 and $154
_2nd CPU riser: $150
_32GB (4X 8GB) DDR3: $165
_Full set replacement case plastic parts: $56- replaces the two damaged parts plus all the other case exerior plastic new
_HP 3.5" caddy to 2.5" adapter: $18 - The z620 has a special tool-less quuick change out drive caddy and the SSD has to be in a perfect position to plug in and remove accuarately.
_GPU: The z620 relaces a Dell Precision T5500 2X Xeon X5680 6-core @ 3.33/3.6Gz) and the Quadro K2200 (4GB will be used in the z620
_Drives: I've bought an HP Z Turbo 256GB M.2 PCIe drive (that will be used in an HP z420. So the Intel 730 480GB in that z420 will go into the z620 used: Value used about $150
_Drives: The WD BLack 1TB from the z420 (replaced by Seagate Constellation ES.3) value used, about $30

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Results so far (disks not changed)

HP z620 (Rev 2) 2X Xeon E5-2690 (8-core @ 2.9 /3.8GHz) / 40GB (4X 8GB +4X 2GB DDR3-1600) / Quadro K2200 (4GB) / Seagate Barracuda 750GB + Samsung 500Gb + WD 500GB / 800W > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit >
[ Passmark System Rating= 2468 / CPU= 20083 / 2D= 731 / 3D = 3535/ Mem =2278 / Disk = 541 ] 8.1.16

Systems to consider for this kind of project might be Dell Precision: T3600 (single CPU) T5600, T7600, HP z420 (single CPU) and z620. There a repiles of inexpensive E5-2600 8-cores: E5-2570, E5-2680, and E5-2690. The best cost perormance version is the E5-2680 which is 2.7 /3.5GHz and on 7.2.16, these cost about $100-120.

Here's an example:

TOTAL Cost: About $1,350 (system cost used is at $270)

This is of course. more than your budget, but consider that this could have been done with a single E5-2690 and the second added later. that substract one CPU -$152 and the Riser -$150 for a total of about $1,050.

You might also consider something like this:

HP Z420 Workstation 2.90GHz 8 Core E5-2690 8GB RAM No HDD No OS > $515 or offer

System: Offer at $500
16GB RAM: $80
Used Quadro K2200: $250
SSD: Samsung 850 Evo 250GB: $90
WD Black 1TB: $70
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TOTAL = $1,070

Buying the right system might mean it can set up almost right away and used as is. The z620 as it arrived could have been used within two hours of opening the box with a change of drives. this saves a lot of time in researching, ordering, assembling, wiring, configuring, and testing a new systems from components. Resale is also a much higher perocentage of cost as well.

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) / Samsung SM951 M.2 256GB AHCI + 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 = 5581 > CPU= 14046 / 2D= 838 / 3D= 4694 / Mem= 2777 / Disk= 11559] [6.12.16]

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 > Logitech z313 > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (27", 1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3844 > CPU = 15047 / 2D= 662 / 3D= 3550 / Mem= 1785 / Disk= 2649] (12.30.15)