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Engineer Workstation

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Hi Community,

So I'm looking to build my first ever Workstation PC for engineering purposes. I plan to use Solidworks/Creo 2.0/NX Nastran and CS6. As this is my first ever build I'm not even sure where to start.

I was recommended this link by a professional and was wondering if I could get any input on what someone would build given these options on a $2400 budget excluding monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. Money is to be used for hardware only.

I'd like to have this computer somewhere in between 3-5 years before I absolutely have to upgrade.

Any feedback would be great!

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Power_Mega_II_2000

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build it yourself and save some money. do you need an os? also if you want a quadro card or this one they are more money but thats up to you. you could also get rid of the water cooler and add a cheaper air cooler but i saw you had it in the other build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($569.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H60 74.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($192.00 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($359.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 550D ATX Mid Tower Case ($123.32 @ Mac Connection)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($88.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DVDE818A7T/BLK/B/GEN CD Reader, DVD Writer ($19.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1762.22
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-11 15:13 EST-0500)

That is what I planned on doing. Just wasn't sure how to mix up the hardware. I do plan on getting the quadro 4000 for this work. Essentially the software is to be used for skill building/hobby nothing professional. Thank you for the help.

With the quadro the price would jump to $2000. I have an additional $400 I could use for hardware.

Any recommendations where else I could improve?

I'm going to disagree with the above build - for Solidworks and those types of programs you won't come out ahead by going X79, and you certainly don't need a $400 gaming GPU if you're not going to be gaming.

I'd suggest this for a build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($192.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ATI FirePro V5800 1GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1492.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-11 15:21 EST-0500)
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H60 74.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($58.27 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme6/GB ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($279.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($195.86 @ Adorama)
Video Card: PNY Quadro 5000 2.5GB Video Card ($1649.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 600T White Graphite ATX Mid Tower Case ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $3293.30
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-11 15:20 EST-0500)

Yeah its a little over budget. But you can always get a Quadro 4000, or just a GTX 670. Jonjonjon's build is probably better, but im just throwing in some ideas.

blake1243 said:
Very true, but i guess the drivers are what you pay for lol. Also, the Quadro 5000 seems stupid now that i look at it. It seems like if you wanna get a good Quadro card your gonna need to $4000 Quadro 6000 xD.


Yeah but the thing about the Quaddros - they're old. Like several years old now. The only advancement in NVIDIA's professional lineup in the last couple of years is the K5000 but a single card there will cost you $2500 easily.

HOw well does FEA analysis perform on a ATI FirePro vs a GTX 670? I heard that FEA can not be used on a GTX and I haven't read anywhere where the Firepro should be used above the Quadro series. Again, this is just what I've read from personal experience.

lagomb88 said:
That is what I planned on doing. Just wasn't sure how to mix up the hardware. I do plan on getting the quadro 4000 for this work. Essentially the software is to be used for skill building/hobby nothing professional. Thank you for the help.

With the quadro the price would jump to $2000. I have an additional $400 I could use for hardware.

Any recommendations where else I could improve?


I too am building a workstation for engineering and planning. I'll primarily use Arc GIS and Arc Scene. I also use raw LIDAR (.las) files quite a lot which is always slow because it's 3d. I was wondering if you made a decision yet. I was looking at the Amd W5000 or W7000 for my graphics cards.
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