Engineering (mechanical/aerospace) build

[jack.edward]

Hello!  I'm planning on building my first PC.

I'll be using it mostly for specialised windows-only softwares for aerospace simulation, as well as the standard/common university engineering softwares as listed below.

 

Budget (including currency):   $2000 AUD

Country:  Australia

 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 

Primarily will used for local and remote access (via current MacBook) to some of the heavier engineering design and simulation software.  At the moment, this includes openFOAM, ANSYS (mechanical FEA, fluent CFD), SOLIDWORKS (CAD and FEA), python (including TensorFlow and large dataset visualisation).

 

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

I have never owned a windows PC (only ever macbook laptops before).  I was considering changing to a Windows laptop to be able to access the various software I require for my studies (uni computer labs are unreliable, and therefore unusable for any important work).  Decided that building a PC would probably yield much better performance at this price point, and I would learn something as well.  My plan is to use this mostly at home, and remote-desktop into it from my macbook when I need to access simulations, ML, or big CAD assemblies at uni or work (not super common but still necessary).

 

I already own a "Dell P2419HCE 23.8" monitor (USB C), and a keyboard/mouse, so will not be requiring these peripherals.  I also am not interested in RGB LEDs or any other aesthetic features.  This PC will probably live under my desk out of sight.

 

While I am definitely on a bit of a budget now, I want to continue to upgrade this build to further adapt to my specific needs after graduation, so leaving some 'room to grow' in the build would be ideal.

I'm hoping to buy and build ASAP.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[SorryBella]

21 minutes ago, jack.edward said:

I'll be using it mostly for specialised windows-only softwares for aerospace simulation, as well as the standard/common university engineering softwares as listed below.

 

Budget (including currency):   $2000 AUD

Country:  Australia

 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 

Primarily will used for local and remote access (via current MacBook) to some of the heavier engineering design and simulation software.  At the moment, this includes openFOAM, ANSYS (mechanical FEA, fluent CFD), SOLIDWORKS (CAD and FEA), python (including TensorFlow and large dataset visualisation).

Will this be an enterprise build for your corporate job or is this for student/enthusiast personal build? Mission-critical features are paramount in your industry as far as i know so its worth it to know.

[jack.edward]

1 hour ago, SorryClaire said:

Will this be an enterprise build for your corporate job or is this for student/enthusiast personal build? Mission-critical features are paramount in your industry as far as i know so its worth it to know.

I'm a student   The softwares listed are ones I am currently using in internships/student teams/university subjects, so running these are still my top priority regardless.

[Penpilot]

5 hours ago, jack.edward said:

I'm a student   The softwares listed are ones I am currently using in internships/student teams/university subjects, so running these are still my top priority regardless.

could u tell me how much storage u will need and are these software use bursts (use CPU intensively for a short period of time) in work? how much ram do u need? and would u value silent operation?

 

edit:

here is the build i could do with the info u gave..... i really tried to get everything under budget but this is the best i could do-

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/sMYhH2

 

the high wattage power supply is for upgradability, same reason for the overkill motherboard and cooler, hope this helps

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by shreshta

[brob]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 4.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($389.00 @ PCByte) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK400 66.47 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.00 @ MSY Technology) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($319.00 @ MSY Technology) 
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL36 Memory  ($239.00 @ PLE Computers) 
Storage: Solidigm P41 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($199.00 @ JW Computers) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming X12G GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card  ($549.00 @ PCByte) 
Case: Fractal Design Focus 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($129.00 @ PCCaseGear) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM650 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.00 @ PLE Computers) 
Total: $1992.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-02-26 03:45 AEDT+1100

[SorryBella]

13 hours ago, jack.edward said:

I'm a student   The softwares listed are ones I am currently using in internships/student teams/university subjects, so running these are still my top priority regardless.

Noted. With those in mind:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($434.00 @ Amazon Australia) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Soul 135 82 CFM CPU Cooler  ($75.22 @ Amazon Australia) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660M-A DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($179.00 @ MSY Technology) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($151.00 @ I-Tech) 
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($187.30 @ Amazon Australia) 
Video Card: Asus DUAL OC V2 GeForce RTX 3070 LHR 8 GB Video Card  ($819.00 @ JW Computers) 
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 55 MESH ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.00 @ MSY Technology) 
Power Supply: MSI MPG A850GF 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($169.00 @ PCByte) 
Total: $2083.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-02-26 11:22 AEDT+1100

 

A bit sad that i cant get a 13700F instead, because that would be my pick. The 12700KF is cheaper than the 12700F right now in AU, so thats my pick on it.

[jack.edward]

12 hours ago, shreshta said:

could u tell me how much storage u will need and are these software use bursts (use CPU intensively for a short period of time) in work? how much ram do u need? and would u value silent operation?

 

edit:

here is the build i could do with the info u gave..... i really tried to get everything under budget but this is the best i could do-

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/sMYhH2

 

the high wattage power supply is for upgradability, same reason for the overkill motherboard and cooler, hope this helps

 

Sorry yes these are important details I forgot!

 

I think for storage I'd want around 2TB.  Software would be longer-use cases such as running simulations.  These can take anywhere from a few minutes to quite a few hours.  I am really not sure how much RAM to go for, but I think maybe 16-32G would be about right for my use case?  Silent operation would be nice, but not an enormous priority for me.

 

Thank you everyone for suggestions / pcpartpicker lists, very much appreciated :)))

 

edit:  I should note that I already have access to Windows OS through uni.

[Penpilot]

2 hours ago, jack.edward said:

Thank you everyone for suggestions / pcpartpicker lists, very much appreciated :)))

 

if all the lists confused u, my list had upgradability and flexibility at a priority(with large storage and overkill cooling and components)

 

@SorryClaire focused on sheer performance(and the performance is indeed notably better)

 

 @brob has a very good build in terms of upgradability and performance but the power supply would have to be changed in the future for upgrades which i have heard are a headache (his build with a better power supply is the best over here)