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Computer for 3D Modeling

BgG286
By BgG286
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Hey guys, my friend is looking for a computer to do 3D work with. He said he'll mostly be doing work using AutoCAD, Solidworks, and Rhino3D. Gaming is not a priority. Needs to be small form factor. His budget is $1200 for the system itself. Any recommendations? 

System specs:  CPU: AMD Phenom II x3 705e unlocked to x4 overclocked to 2.8GHz   |   MB: ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS   |   Cooler: Hyper 212+   |   GPU: MSI GTX 560ti OC to 910Mhz   |   RAM: 8GB PNY DDR3 1333   |   HDDS: WD Caviar Blue 320GB, Hitachi 500GB HDD   |   PSU: Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 500W   |   Peripherals: Microsoft wireless mouse, old mac keyboard, ASUS VS238H, Gateway FPD2275W, some speakers, Logitech Driving Force Pro

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Hey guys, my friend is looking for a computer to do 3D work with. He said he'll mostly be doing work using AutoCAD, Solidworks, and Rhino3D. Gaming is not a priority. Needs to be small form factor. His budget is $1200 for the system itself. Any recommendations? 

 

Is this for work or messing around? How complex (i.e. lots parts of parts & assemblies) will his work involve. If it is relatively basic (i.e. not shit loads of sub assemblies), any PC older than 2009 will work fine. It might be a bit slow but it will do the job. So any PC that is anyway half decent will work well enough. Get something with a relatively decent GPU with 2GB of vram. If this is for commercial work on large scale projects then he may need double precision features that are only gotten from workstation gpu's (nVidia Quadro series of gpu). TBH I am not knowledgeable enough to advise on why someone would need those kind of features.

Rig: i7 2600K @ 4.2GHz, Larkooler Watercooling System, MSI Z68a-gd80-G3, 8GB G.Skill Sniper 1600MHz CL9, Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce 3x 2GB OC, Samsung 840 250GB, 1TB WD Caviar Blue, Auzentech X-FI Forte 7.1, XFX PRO650W, Silverstone RV02 Monitors: Asus PB278Q, LG W2243S-PF (Gaming / overclocked to 74Hz) Peripherals: Logitech G9x Laser, QPad MK-50, AudioTechnica ATH AD700

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What kind of dollars are you using? 

What kind of projects are being worked on?

Is a copy of Windows needed?

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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Is this for work or messing around? How complex (i.e. lots parts of parts & assemblies) will his work involve. If it is relatively basic (i.e. not shit loads of sub assemblies), any PC older than 2009 will work fine. It might be a bit slow but it will do the job. So any PC that is anyway half decent will work well enough. Get something with a relatively decent GPU with 2GB of vram. If this is for commercial work on large scale projects then he may need double precision features that are only gotten from workstation gpu's (nVidia Quadro series of gpu). TBH I am not knowledgeable enough to advise on why someone would need those kind of features.

I think it would have to be in the middle of those two use cases, not lowest end, but not requiring a workstation GPU.

 

What kind of dollars are you using? 

What kind of projects are being worked on?

Is a copy of Windows needed?

USD.

See above.

Yes please.

System specs:  CPU: AMD Phenom II x3 705e unlocked to x4 overclocked to 2.8GHz   |   MB: ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS   |   Cooler: Hyper 212+   |   GPU: MSI GTX 560ti OC to 910Mhz   |   RAM: 8GB PNY DDR3 1333   |   HDDS: WD Caviar Blue 320GB, Hitachi 500GB HDD   |   PSU: Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 500W   |   Peripherals: Microsoft wireless mouse, old mac keyboard, ASUS VS238H, Gateway FPD2275W, some speakers, Logitech Driving Force Pro

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I think it would have to be in the middle of those two use cases, not lowest end, but not requiring a workstation GPU.

 

USD.

See above.

Yes please.

You haven't specified what kind of projects are being worked on. Animation? Modeling? Any professional or internship work? Just learning?

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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I think it would have to be in the middle of those two use cases, not lowest end, but not requiring a workstation GPU.

 

USD.

See above.

Yes please.

 

You haven't specified how intense the work is going to be. You could probably model a single part on a mobile phone (if you could install the software on it). Modelling an assembly with a 1000 parts is a different story. You need this info to properly spec it.

Rig: i7 2600K @ 4.2GHz, Larkooler Watercooling System, MSI Z68a-gd80-G3, 8GB G.Skill Sniper 1600MHz CL9, Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce 3x 2GB OC, Samsung 840 250GB, 1TB WD Caviar Blue, Auzentech X-FI Forte 7.1, XFX PRO650W, Silverstone RV02 Monitors: Asus PB278Q, LG W2243S-PF (Gaming / overclocked to 74Hz) Peripherals: Logitech G9x Laser, QPad MK-50, AudioTechnica ATH AD700

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You haven't specified how intense the work is going to be. You could probably model a single part on a mobile phone (if you could install the software on it). Modelling an assembly with a 1000 parts is a different story. You need this info to properly spec it.

 

 

You haven't specified what kind of projects are being worked on. Animation? Modeling? Any professional or internship work? Just learning?

 

I wish I could get a more accurate description, but he doesn't even know how heavy his workload is going to be. Ill tell you what he told me. He told me he is working on his Solidworks certification soon, he is currently a senior in high school, and he plans to go to college and focus mainly on these fields. For simplicity's sake, lets just say on a scale of 1-5, 5 being professional with workstation grade components, lets just say it would be a 3. I'm sorry if I'm making this too complicated, he didn't really help me out much with the information. Here is exactly what is on the paper he gave me when I asked him what his requirements are for it... "Travel to school, home "small" Solidworks, AutoCAD, Rhino3D, Fast. Budget $1200 Lots of storage." Again, I'm really sorry if I'm making this difficult.

System specs:  CPU: AMD Phenom II x3 705e unlocked to x4 overclocked to 2.8GHz   |   MB: ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS   |   Cooler: Hyper 212+   |   GPU: MSI GTX 560ti OC to 910Mhz   |   RAM: 8GB PNY DDR3 1333   |   HDDS: WD Caviar Blue 320GB, Hitachi 500GB HDD   |   PSU: Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 500W   |   Peripherals: Microsoft wireless mouse, old mac keyboard, ASUS VS238H, Gateway FPD2275W, some speakers, Logitech Driving Force Pro

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This could be workable with squeeze of minor parts Prob throw in 750 TI as well as alota ram maybe SSD and more then 1TB of storage. Being your pc is a workload one it will need more ram,ssd,cpu then a gaming rig that would need higher. GPU and storage. (Hyper Threading is your new best friend)

Who needs girls when you can get Blown all day by your after market fans.

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I wish I could get a more accurate description, but he doesn't even know how heavy his workload is going to be. Ill tell you what he told me. He told me he is working on his Solidworks certification soon, he is currently a senior in high school, and he plans to go to college and focus mainly on these fields. For simplicity's sake, lets just say on a scale of 1-5, 5 being professional with workstation grade components, lets just say it would be a 3. I'm sorry if I'm making this too complicated, he didn't really help me out much with the information. Here is exactly what is on the paper he gave me when I asked him what his requirements are for it... "Travel to school, home "small" Solidworks, AutoCAD, Rhino3D, Fast. Budget $1200 Lots of storage." Again, I'm really sorry if I'm making this difficult.

It's alright. I know some people who are doing that kind of stuff. This extra info helps. 

 

How's this look? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2X2ek

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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I wish I could get a more accurate description, but he doesn't even know how heavy his workload is going to be. Ill tell you what he told me. He told me he is working on his Solidworks certification soon, he is currently a senior in high school, and he plans to go to college and focus mainly on these fields. For simplicity's sake, lets just say on a scale of 1-5, 5 being professional with workstation grade components, lets just say it would be a 3. I'm sorry if I'm making this too complicated, he didn't really help me out much with the information. Here is exactly what is on the paper he gave me when I asked him what his requirements are for it... "Travel to school, home "small" Solidworks, AutoCAD, Rhino3D, Fast. Budget $1200 Lots of storage." Again, I'm really sorry if I'm making this difficult.

 

Right so he is only heading for college he isn't going to be modelling huge assemblies. Basically any relatively new (even crap PC) would be capable. With that said I think you know what to do. Build him a nice PC that will be enjoyable to work on. I am not up to date on current US prices so try build something with a quad core (intel k series if you can fit the budget, AMD 4 or 6 core otherwise), 250GB ssd, around a 500W psu, 8GB ram and 2TB drive. IPS 24" monitor and a good mouse.

 

 

This could be workable with squeeze of minor parts Prob throw in 750 TI as well as alota ram maybe SSD and more then 1TB of storage. Being your pc is a workload one it will need more ram,ssd,cpu then a gaming rig that would need higher. GPU and storage. (Hyper Threading is your new best friend)

 

With regards to hyper threading, for his work it isn't going to be crucial so I wouldn't blow the budget in order to get HT if he has to sacrifice the things that will make the PC enjoyable. SSD, space and IPS monitor. If you can fit it in the budget yes but he may just squeeze in the i5 into his budget. I am not sure if he will fit the i7. 

Rig: i7 2600K @ 4.2GHz, Larkooler Watercooling System, MSI Z68a-gd80-G3, 8GB G.Skill Sniper 1600MHz CL9, Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce 3x 2GB OC, Samsung 840 250GB, 1TB WD Caviar Blue, Auzentech X-FI Forte 7.1, XFX PRO650W, Silverstone RV02 Monitors: Asus PB278Q, LG W2243S-PF (Gaming / overclocked to 74Hz) Peripherals: Logitech G9x Laser, QPad MK-50, AudioTechnica ATH AD700

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It's alright. I know some people who are doing that kind of stuff. This extra info helps. 

 

How's this look? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2X2ek

 

That's a really good setup. You even got HT in there. The only issue is if he needs peripherals. But that's such a nice fit that he should use a crap screen and peripherals for a while and upgrade later.

Rig: i7 2600K @ 4.2GHz, Larkooler Watercooling System, MSI Z68a-gd80-G3, 8GB G.Skill Sniper 1600MHz CL9, Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce 3x 2GB OC, Samsung 840 250GB, 1TB WD Caviar Blue, Auzentech X-FI Forte 7.1, XFX PRO650W, Silverstone RV02 Monitors: Asus PB278Q, LG W2243S-PF (Gaming / overclocked to 74Hz) Peripherals: Logitech G9x Laser, QPad MK-50, AudioTechnica ATH AD700

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That's a really good setup. You even got HT in there. The only issue is if he needs peripherals. But that's such a nice fit that he should use a crap screen and peripherals for a while and upgrade later.

That's not a good experience >.> 

What's the situation with the peripherals?

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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That's not a good experience >.> 

What's the situation with the peripherals?

He told me he has all of that. I'm pretty sure they're worse than mine, but still, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't budge no matter how hard I insist he get a new monitor.

System specs:  CPU: AMD Phenom II x3 705e unlocked to x4 overclocked to 2.8GHz   |   MB: ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS   |   Cooler: Hyper 212+   |   GPU: MSI GTX 560ti OC to 910Mhz   |   RAM: 8GB PNY DDR3 1333   |   HDDS: WD Caviar Blue 320GB, Hitachi 500GB HDD   |   PSU: Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 500W   |   Peripherals: Microsoft wireless mouse, old mac keyboard, ASUS VS238H, Gateway FPD2275W, some speakers, Logitech Driving Force Pro

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