$550-600 AutoCad 3D system.

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ecentraloregon

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Feb 15, 2011
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Long time lurker, first time poster.

Hello! I am currently in the process of building a new computer for design work. Unfortunately, we do not currently have much liquidated assets on hand, we are trying to make do with as little as possible. Programs used include AutoCad 3D, inventor, Civil 3D, among others.


Approximate Purchase Date: Within 7 days

Budget Range: around $550-750 before rebates, the lower the better :)


System Usage from Most to Least Important: AUTOcad
3D, AUTOcad inventor, solidworks, revit, Civil 3D, and maybe a little bit of Total War on the side


Parts Not Required: no perpherials needed


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com



Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: None


Overclocking: maybe


SLI or Crossfire: No



My current projected build is as follows but it is a bit more expensive then I'ld like. Is there anyway to get it lower?


quantity of item 1
SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151188
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options27-151-188|hide options27-151-188)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan
The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info27-151-188.0.18)

1 year: $6.99
2 year: $11.99
$20.99
select item 2 quantity of item 2
NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811146061
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$10.00 Instant
$49.99
$39.99
select item 3 quantity of item 3
HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721010CLA332 (0F10383) 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822145304
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options22-145-304|hide options22-145-304)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty
The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info22-145-304.0.120)

1 year: $9.99
2 year: $16.99
-$15.00 Instant
$69.99
$54.99
select item 4 quantity of item 4
ASUS M4N68T-M V2 AM3 NVIDIA Geforce 7025/nForce 630a Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131669
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options13-131-669|hide options13-131-669)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty
The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info13-131-669.0.120)

1 year: $9.99
2 year: $16.99
$54.99
select item 5 quantity of item 5
MSI N460GTX Twin Frozr II SOC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video ...
Item #: N82E16814127519
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options14-127-519|hide options14-127-519)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty
The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info14-127-519.0.120)

1 year: $16.99
2 year: $25.99
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate14-127-519 $149.99
select item 6 quantity of item 6
Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817371030
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options17-371-030|hide options17-371-030)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty
The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info17-371-030.0.120)

1 year: $9.99
2 year: $16.99
-$10.00 Instant
$69.99
$59.99

select item 9 quantity of item 9
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996768
Item #: N82E16820226092
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy $42.99
select item 10 quantity of item 10
AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103871
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options19-103-871|hide options19-103-871)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty
The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge.(more info19-103-871.0.120)

1 year: $16.99
2 year: $25.99
$109.99
select item 11 quantity of item 11
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116754
Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy -$5.00 Instant
$99.99
$94.99

Total Including shipping:$650. Would like to be in the 550-600 range (including OS).
 
Solution
G
For AutoCAD, you should just get an entry level Quadro or FirePro card,
The GTX 460 would be useless if you are not gaming as it's drivers wouldn't allow AutoCAD to use it for graphics rendering.

The GTX 460 would be a waste of money unfortunately; it's a gaming card.

You need a Quadro or workstation card, for AutoCAD, it's the most important thing after your CPU.

In addition, if you work with really HUGE models in 3D programs you would need more RAM, but 4GB is enough.

aznshinobi specializes in gaming builds so I think that he doesn't know much about CAD,

Unlike gaming, in CAD, different hardware is important, for example in gaming you just need mainly a fast GPU and a CPU that won't bottleneck it yet in CAD it's different so I...
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ecentraloregon

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hey man thanks for the suggestion but i got a few questions:

1. Wouldn't going down to an athlon II x3 be a bit..counterintuitive as I currently have in my build an X4? Does the L3 cache of phenom's help much in autocad settings? I mean the next step up would be a 955 BE and the 920's gone up in price like crazy.

2. How useful is nvidia non-business cards for autocad? Does it even use any nvidia proprietary things like physix and cuda?

3. Mobo - is that one worth it? i mean i cant SLI with it so is there a point?

4. Finally - I've already listed a GTX 460 768mb. Does the directcu one help in performance other than lower operating temps?

Thanks
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Oct 19, 2009
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Oh in my edit section for the CPU, it says 925! The Athlon II X3 would be for those who are a bit more... budget prone. You are too, but you just need more cpu power.

I have no clue about autocad things. I only know that Nvidia's CUDA cores benefit in Encoding (However with the sacrifice of quality) and in Adobe Premiere for the Mercury engine.

Well it's good for SATA 6 and USB 3, it's really the cheapest USB 3 SATA 6 AM3 socket board. But if you feel you won't use either things, you could downgrade to this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128451
or if you don't think you'll need the extra PCI slots
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128455

Well the DirectCu is rather a good overclocker but also keeps it cool as you mentioned. Also it is the TOP series so I would assume it has been factory OC'd a bit. So yes it'd offer a minor up in performance from a stock one. However since your SOC is a bit more OC'd just go with that instead. After rebate both are the same price though. Personal preference really.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390&cm_re=460_768mb-_-14-121-390-_-Product
 
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Guest

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For AutoCAD, you should just get an entry level Quadro or FirePro card,
The GTX 460 would be useless if you are not gaming as it's drivers wouldn't allow AutoCAD to use it for graphics rendering.

The GTX 460 would be a waste of money unfortunately; it's a gaming card.

You need a Quadro or workstation card, for AutoCAD, it's the most important thing after your CPU.

In addition, if you work with really HUGE models in 3D programs you would need more RAM, but 4GB is enough.

aznshinobi specializes in gaming builds so I think that he doesn't know much about CAD,

Unlike gaming, in CAD, different hardware is important, for example in gaming you just need mainly a fast GPU and a CPU that won't bottleneck it yet in CAD it's different so I wouldn't recommend you go for the budget builds he recommended because those are for gaming,

You have to start planning on a different build from scratch again, this time sacrificing everything for a power CPU and a Quadro or FirePro whom's price ranges from $80 to $4000.

forget everything that aznshinobi said.




 
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Solution
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ecentraloregon

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Feb 15, 2011
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Ok then...my new build is as follows:


AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
($139.99)

PNY VCQFX380LP-PCIE-PB Quadro FX 380 512MB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Low Profile Workstation Video Card
($119.99)

Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996768
($42.99)

HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721010CLA332 (0F10383) 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
($54.99)

ASUS M4N68T-M V2 AM3 NVIDIA Geforce 7025/nForce 630a Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
($54.99)

NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
($39.99)

SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM
($20.99)

Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
($59.99)

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
($94.99)

Total w/ Shipping: 677.42


Now I have a few questions:
1) Should I got for a X6 instead of the X4 955?

2) Is that card sufficient for medium sized models? I also so a few FirePro's with 256MB of ram for a smiliar price, and NVIDIA Quadro 600 96-core CUDA 1GB Dual-Link DVI, Dual DisplayPort Graphics Card for $160. Any suggestions on the FX or NVS series?

3) Is this build alright? and is there anything else that I might be able to shave a few bucks off on? Almost at my target range :)

Thanks again
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Oct 19, 2009
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Oo well I learned something.

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=926&type=expert&pid=8
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195096

Possibly look towards the V4800. The 925 is defiantly not a CPU that slacks. But if you think that it isn't enough to run CAD then. I suppose it isn't enough. As for the motherboard, since you only will need one card. You can tone down from the 870 Extreme3 and get this motherboard instead.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138283

Not the best motherboard. But defiantly will save you some money.

With that said, you could also dedicate the money saved from the motherboard and get 8 gigs of ram. Should it be needed.
64$ AR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220466

If it's any compensation, I believe CAD uses more core clock is that correct? If that is correct, I think this would be a nice fit.
The AMD 955.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=955-_-19-103-808-_-Product
 
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ecentraloregon

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Alright, thanks for the suggestions dude. but I've already looked into the 925, and it turned out to be more expensive than the 955...surprisingly. The V4800 is a great card that I would like to incorporate into my system, and with 8 GB of RAM.

Oh, and also I've already have the 955 in my items list :)


Thanks again everybody
 
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Go for a Quadro FX 580 instead of the 380, it costs $40 more, but, it's worth
it.
4GB ram should be enough,
Go for a cheaper motherboard to compensate for the extra 40 bucks and also you could get a 500GB or 750GB hard drive, although people today all have 1TB, it's too much, I have a 160GB with vista 3Ds max, Maya, a couple of games, games are 5-12GB each and I still have sufficient hard disk space.
 
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