$1000-$1500 3d Editing Workstation

AlexStriz · February 25, 2016

Ok, here's the gist. I work for a 3D printing/architecture/modeling place, and they want me to help them build a new CAD/3D editing workstation. I'd consider myself pretty computer literate (that's what a few years on this forum will do to you). The only problem is, I know almost nothing about computer hardware outside of the consumer/enthusiast side. I've done a bit of research, and so far I feel like I've only grazed the surface of workstation computers, and it's kinda overwhelming to be honest. I'd like some help gathering info on what components I should buy with my budget.

Some applications I use are:

SketchUp/AutoCAD
Meshmixer/Blender/Maya
Photoshop
Illustrator
DAVID - 3D Light Scanner

Here is some stuff I've researched so far. Feel free to ignore this. All this new info is kinda overwhelming though, so any info/help would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to correct me if anything I've learned is wrong.

Spoiler

Clock speed > Core count in CAD programs. I initially thought a high core Xeon or dual Xeon would be the best fit, but apparently CAD programs are almost entirely single threaded, so having the CPU with the highest frequency is much more important than having a higher core count? K-SKU i7 then?

ECC Memory is pretty much mandatory (maybe? I've seen people argue over this). Does this throw i7's out of the equation for not being ECC compatible? Even though they are usually higher clocked and (overclockable) than Xeons?

There are other pros/cons to i7 vs Xeons, and it just leads to more general confusion (L3 cache, on board graphics, etc)

CPU and RAM are more important than GPU's in this application. Graphics cards might not even be necessary? (I still need a bit of info on this. I've seen some people say they're important, others saying no. Should I get a Quadro or some other GPU with my budget? If I do choose to get a GPU, what should I look at? What are the benefits of Firepro over Quadro? Benefits of a workstation card over a radeon/geforce and vice versa? I've been told that gaming cards tend to perform better, but workstation cards have features that are useful. Does higher GPU memory aid in some way? K2200? R9 390? I'm lost here. Help.

TL;DR Help me build a good 3D editing rig for $1k-1.5k. I'm really looking into help with CPU/GPU. And also an explanation of why you chose said parts. Storage, cases, and other stuff I can handle myself.Thanks.

Oishter · February 25, 2016

Definitely a 980. Cuda will help a lot with rendering and such. Amd cards are out of the question. Maybe even a 980ti if you want to stretch your limit. After that just a 4790k or the like. This really is a good balance between power and cost, bringing you about $500 - $700 to finish your build, more than enough. Here's a good suggestion build I threw together: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6Fgsyc

RedWulf · February 25, 2016

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/w6D3K8

actually in cad modeling since it's heavy on graphic rendering you're better off with more cores as long as clock speeds are over 3.0 but there's also a point when performance as a whole out weighs cores and speed. with that budget an i7 sounds good. A good gpu is vital for video editing and cad, but the cpu needs to keep up. with cad ram is important as well (cad is intense) but latency is important unlike in gaming.

I think this build should suite your needs, maybe change the case and storage to your needs since they're somewhat based per person

AlexStriz · February 25, 2016

9 minutes ago, Oishter said:

Definitely a 980. Cuda will help a lot with rendering and such. Amd cards are out of the question. Maybe even a 980ti if you want to stretch your limit. After that just a 4790k or the like. This really is a good balance between power and cost, bringing you about $500 - $700 to finish your build, more than enough. Here's a good suggestion build I threw together: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6Fgsyc

Why is AMD out of the question? Does the higher VRAM not help? Also, why did you chose a gaming card over a workstation one? For the price of a 980 I could get a K2200. Is there any advantages to use a 980 for CAD?

Oishter · February 25, 2016

1 minute ago, AlexStriz said:

Why is AMD out of the question? Does the higher VRAM not help? Also, why did you chose a gaming card over a workstation one? For the price of a 980 I could get a K2200. Is there any advantages to use a 980 for CAD?

When it comes to rendering, there is an option called CUDA. This allows you to render using your graphics card. This runs insanely fast compared to rendering on a cpu alone. Problem? only on nvidia cards. While amd has their solution CUDA is much more used and basically universal. VRAM on a 980 will be fine most likely.

RedWulf · February 25, 2016

2 minutes ago, AlexStriz said:

Why is AMD out of the question? Does the higher VRAM not help? Also, why did you chose a gaming card over a workstation one? For the price of a 980 I could get a K2200. Is there any advantages to use a 980 for CAD?

he's right cuda does help and for amd is great but not the best for cad unless you get a workstation card. Gaming cards often overpower work cards in the price range, unless you're using multi-cpu or 4+ screens gaming will probaly be best. wram is important in many cases which is why I set you up with 8 but 4 should work as well. His psu is overkill but you might want sli later in which case it's a good thing. I imagine you've looked at the firepro series, unless you're running 2 xeons or an autodesk rollercoaster on 6 screens then the firepro is ridiculous.