New Build for CAD Applications

[makdak]

Hello everyone! I need to build a new system that will be used mostly for CAD Applications (Autocad (2-D) mostly) and Office applications. So in general what i want is:

-Not much 3-D stuff going on
-No gaming at all
-No need for much multitasking power
+Very large files being open and processed at the same time.
+The whole rig (without the screen and peripherals) shouldn't go over 400$
+Looking for an Intel CPU, not AMD
+Looking for a standard graphics card that could work decently on my needs, not a workstation one
+I have a 19" CRT but planning to buy a 24" TFT (1920x1080) in the next months
+Will be running under WinXP, perhaps switch to 7 sometime later

So, can you recommend me a decent CPU/GPU/Motherboard combo?

Thank you all in advance!

 

[gkay09]

[strike]$30[/strike](Wuld be very good if it was possible...) $300 for CPU/ Mobo/ RAM/ GPU right ?

 

[makdak]

Well, the world is a funnier place to live in since you made that comment!

Anyway, my mistake, i was thinking in Euros so it would be about 400$ for CPU/ Mobo/ RAM/ GPU..
If you still think that's unrealistic just recommend something as cheap as possible, i dont want a high-end system, just something to do my job with

 

[gkay09]

^ Lolz dint notice that amount
Well it is enough money to get you a good Quad with 4 GB of RAM...
Here are the parts name...

CPU - AMD Athlon II X4 620/ 630
Mobo - ASUS/ Gigabyte 770 Chipset mobo - ASUS M4A77TD, GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P
RAM - 2x2GB DDR3 1333MHz and above
Graphics card - I dont think you would need anything powerful here for 2D
Maybe a ATI HD 4650/ HD 4670/ if you are able to get the HD 5570 would be good...Nvidia GT 220/ GT 240...

You should be able to get the above setup for less than $400...

 

[makdak]

Thanks! Though i would like to avoid using an AMD Cpu since all my other computers run on Intel (s775) so do you have a processor to recommend on that direction? For example for roughly 200$ i can get

-INTEL CORE 2 DUO E8400 3.00 GHZ LGA775 - 1333 FSB
-INTEL CORE 2 QUAD CORE Q8400 2.66 GHZ LGA775 - 1333 FSB

Which is the way to go? Should i go for a Quad with less frequency or Dual with higher frequency? Keep in mind that i'm not going to do multitasking

 

[gkay09]

^ I wouldnt suggest you the LGA 775 socket CPUs as they are near their EOL...
How about the Intel i5 CPUs ? Are they available ?

 

[saran008]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=31&post=277913&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

Check my thread! Same needs as yours!

 

[saran008]

I am having 7 yrs old Athlon XP 2000+ & Gigabyte K7 Triton mobo with Zero Problems!
For our usage AMD X4 630 is best choice!

 

[cadder]

$400????!!!!
It is tough to build much of a computer yourself for very low budgets. You might look around for a discounted Dell or HP desktop machine, just make sure it has a multi-core processor and 4GB of ram.

If you really want to build your own computer then you can look at the past system builder marathons that Toms has done, pick the lowest machine they built, and substitute a standard basic video card instead of the fancy gamer cards. This will do a pretty good job for you.

AutoCAD 2D on a 32 bit OS machine doesn't put much demand on the video card, so any video card will work for you. If you step up to something like a FireGL V3600, it isn't too expensive and you can get drivers for it that are AutoCAD-certified. If you were running a 64bit OS then I would advise this video card because we had problems with cheaper video cards getting drivers that worked.

The machine that I run AutoCAD on right now is an E8500, 4GB of ram, FireGL V3600 video card, Velociraptor hard drive, Windows XP. The processor is overclocked to 3.8GHz, and runs with a good aftermarket cooler. This machine runs autocad real well.

Other guys in our office are running large models in Revit, so I just built them a couple of new computers to test- i5-750 processors, 8GB ram, Velociraptor hard drive, FireGL V3600 video card, Win7 64bit. These machines are overclocked to 3.5GHz and they are a touch faster than my E8500.

 

[hella-d]

My AMD Will Do Anything An i7 Can And Will Likely Smoke A Dual-Core i3 Its AMD Best Bang For Your Buck!!

Ill Prolly Get Reamed For This Comment