CAD box for around 2000

[superal1394]

My brother needs a computer for professional CAD work. He has stolen my gaming rig but I am now pricing out a machine. Its going to be for small assemblies, rarely over 200 parts. I am looking at a Phenom II X6 based system, built around a microATX board. The idea being it will fit in his small apartment and won't sound like a jet engine.



APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Yesterday? haha the sooner it is the sooner i get back to COD

BUDGET RANGE: 1500~2000 USD

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: The entire Autodesk suite, any related programs.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, monitor.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I like Newegg, but I'm not afraid to purchase elsewhere

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: MicroATX board, no SSD's, or other weird bells and whistles. Nvidia boards and graphics makes me weep in my sleep, so please, avoid Nvidia where possible.

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080~1920x1200, possibly dual 1920x1200, but my brother is handling that.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: THIS IS FOR LIGHT LOAD CAD. There won't be any multi thousand part assemblies.


Is workstation class graphics really necessary? What are good workstation class cards today?

 

[lowriderflow]

Well I can't make a good reccomendation if you do not want anything to do with Nvidia Quadro... but I can offer you some basic information. A workstation class GPU (like a quadro) is very similar hardware as you find in the Geforce gaming cards. However, basically you're buying stability. We've all had games crash at some point or another.... teh Quadro's are a premium price b/c they are very thoroughly tested, and the drivers are much much better and far more stable. You definately want a workstation GPU for this build!

You're basically lookin at a Phenom II x6, 8gb DDR3 RAM, 1tb harddrive (maybe two 500gb in raid?) - whether you go the microATX is up to you, i'd reccomend a mid-sized tower and a standard ATX sized motherbaord

 

[superal1394]

I mean I'm willing to deal if its the best, but I really don't like nvidia. Long history of nvidia cards and drivers blowing up in my face :x