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Building a CAD PC for School

TheYoungEnthusiast
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Hey guys,

 

A friend of mine is going off to university for architecture and needs to build a pc that can handle some pretty serious CAD workflow, so he has asked me to spec out a build for him. I have built many PC's for friends, mostly gaming oriented though, so I am a little unsure of what components I should recommend to him. I put together a list on PC part picker of some things that I know will work for him, but I could definitely use some other opinions.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1tAF5

 

I definitely need some opinions on graphics cards. I put a 770 on the list for lawlz, I'm not sure if it is a good card for CAD or not, but I'm guessing there are better options.

 

Thanks so much for reading and all responses are appreciated :D

 

p.s Won't be have access to the forum until tmrw evening so I won't be responding to any replies, but thanks ahead of time :P

 

i5 3570k - MSI Z77 GD65 - 16GB Corsair Vengeance - Galaxy GTX 780 - Corsair AX650 - Custom CPU Loop - Corsair 650D - OCZ Agility 4 128GB - WD Black 640GB

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Is this at all for gaming?

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 at all for gaming?

It will be used for CAD mostly, and little gaming at all

i5 3570k - MSI Z77 GD65 - 16GB Corsair Vengeance - Galaxy GTX 780 - Corsair AX650 - Custom CPU Loop - Corsair 650D - OCZ Agility 4 128GB - WD Black 640GB

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It will be used for CAD mostly, and little gaming at all

Here you go: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1tC3H

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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The quadros are optimized for this type of stuff but it doesn't mean that the 770 can't handle it.

FirePros would be better than Quadros for CAD.

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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Awesome! Thank you very much! When it comes to storage as guess that will be up to my friend, but I think your spot on with a SSD and a large storage drive

i5 3570k - MSI Z77 GD65 - 16GB Corsair Vengeance - Galaxy GTX 780 - Corsair AX650 - Custom CPU Loop - Corsair 650D - OCZ Agility 4 128GB - WD Black 640GB

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Have you looked into SSHD (solid state hybrid drive) and is this just 2D CAD ? or is it full 3D CAD / inventor?

 

When i went to college to do CAD in 2007 they had just normal old college type desktop computers and they did fine with 2D and some 3D CAD, a modern machine should be fine, something like a high end i5 haswell would work, or if you can afford it an i7, or even AMD FX is fine. just have good graphics, lots of fast memory and you will be fine. 

 

you could actually make a nice m-atx build with the Asus Gryphon motherboard or the new one from Evga and will be a sweet little workstation and capable of games. 

 

every build is usually restricted to budget, so what budget do you have in mind??

got to love Asus components

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Just got some more info from my friend, he said that he will be doing a lot of large image rendering and will be working the 3d cad for architecture. He hasn't gotten back to me about a budget yet but post as soon as I know

i5 3570k - MSI Z77 GD65 - 16GB Corsair Vengeance - Galaxy GTX 780 - Corsair AX650 - Custom CPU Loop - Corsair 650D - OCZ Agility 4 128GB - WD Black 640GB

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Is this at all for gaming?

He actually said he would like to be able to play games on decent settings but will DEFINITELY be playing some games? so is a 4gb 770 a good choice, because a 780 will take me over budget. I really need you opinion as you seem very knowledgeable. 

i5 3570k - MSI Z77 GD65 - 16GB Corsair Vengeance - Galaxy GTX 780 - Corsair AX650 - Custom CPU Loop - Corsair 650D - OCZ Agility 4 128GB - WD Black 640GB

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He actually said he would like to be able to play games on decent settings but will DEFINITELY be playing some games? so is a 770 a good choice, because a 780 will take me over budget. I really need you opinion as you seem very knowledgeable. 

A 7970 would be better since everything is moving towards OpenCL and it is cheaper. 

It would have less precision than a firepro but if your friend isn't working in a professional setting, it shouldn't be much of a problem. 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1tXCO

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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A 7970 would be better since everything is moving towards OpenCL and it is cheaper. 

It would have less precision than a firepro but if your friend isn't working in a professional setting, it shouldn't be much of a problem. 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1tXCO

Thank you so much for the quick response, and I was debating between the 7970 or the 770, but I thought the 4gb or vram would help. Thanks for your input! :)

i5 3570k - MSI Z77 GD65 - 16GB Corsair Vengeance - Galaxy GTX 780 - Corsair AX650 - Custom CPU Loop - Corsair 650D - OCZ Agility 4 128GB - WD Black 640GB

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Thank you so much for the quick response, and I was debating between the 7970 or the 770, but I thought the 4gb or vram would help. Thanks for your input! :)

The extra vram would help in acceleration in the program itself for large scenes but most of the time, the actual rendering should be done by the cpu and not the gpu. 

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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