Help me build a CAD computer

[Rumi]

So I've been planning to build a new PC for awhile now but have but am having trouble picking the cpu, and what form factor to go with in general. My biggest problem is I am an engineer that does 3D CAD and computing intensive programs like MATLAB. I've had trouble figuring out exactly where to throw my money in this build mostly because I'm not sure which parts these programs will stress I.e. do I ball out on a 6 core cpu or will a quad be just fine? Is it worth the money for hyperthreading? Each of these choices are the difference in a few hundred dollars so I wanna make sure I'm not overspending. Lastly, if it is worth balling out on a cpu where else could I save money without sacrificing quality (psus, ssds, etc.)? 

 

Thanks! 

 

[comicsansms]

What is your budget?

[skyfire945]

First, check what kind of acceleration your CAD software uses, basically you need to see if the software is GPU or CPU dependent and then i would spend more on that part. I have done work on CAD systems before and the software that you use will determine the choice.

[Daveeede]

If you are looking for a professional type system that isn't for gaming, then something like this could work:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V5 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($252.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X150M-PRO ECC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($133.30 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($46.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($46.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($63.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($46.98 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: PNY Quadro K1200 4GB Video Card  ($257.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1047.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-11 00:19 EDT-0400

[Weak1ings]

6 minutes ago, Daveeede said:

If you are looking for a professional type system that isn't for gaming, then something like this could work:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V5 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($252.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X150M-PRO ECC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($133.30 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($46.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($46.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($63.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($46.98 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: PNY Quadro K1200 4GB Video Card  ($257.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1047.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-11 00:19 EDT-0400

Something to note:  Find out if you actually NEED that quadro, AutoCAD is not super demanding in the viewport and cards like a 750 ti, while lacking what a Quadro might  be able to do, will usually give you the same, if not better experience.  Not to mention money as well...

[Rumi]

7 minutes ago, Weak1ings said:

Something to note:  Find out if you actually NEED that quadro, AutoCAD is not super demanding in the viewport and cards like a 750 ti, while lacking what a Quadro might  be able to do, will usually give you the same, if not better experience.  Not to mention money as well...

So after doing a little more research I found out that Autodesk Inventor will not utilize hyperthreading, and neither will MATLAB without a paid toolbox update. Also, like you said, a standard graphics card with over 2gb vram is recommended for any assembly less than 5,000 unique parts so the quadro will probably get swapped out for a more conventional graphics card. My final question then would be wether I should go with the older 4790, the new skylake 6700, or another quad core cpu? 

[diapersarefullofshit]

CAD

- More cores benefits mostly tasks like rendering.

- More memory benefits 3Dcad software that uses a swap-file or a swap-partition. When the "memory-need" exceeds the psychical memory present in the system, alot of software will switch to swap-file instead of your memory. When that happens your systems performance will be throttled by the performance of your storage-setup. Therefore larger assemblies will benefit alot from more physical memory.

 

MATLAB

- To speed up computation, Parallel Computing Toolbox leverages NVIDIA GPUs with compute capability 2.0 or higher. MATLAB does not support computation acceleration using AMD or Intel GPUs at this time.

 

General

In the end your budget decides which components you buy, highend is always better.

 

- Quad core cpu (with hyperthreading) or better;

- 2x16GB or more ram to start with, if you notice drops in performance, simply add more memory (this depens on how large your assemblies are and which software you use);

- Mobo with atleast 4 or 8 memoryslots, depending on the socket you want to use;

- SSD's and harddisk configuration, you probably need ssd-storage for an OS and one for the swap-partition or swap-file. You can also choose to use a raid 0 configuration if your assemblies are humongous;

- Get a cardreader and a dvd writer, some cases alrdy have a cardreader pre-installed;

- A mobo with usb type C could be handy for future purposes.

- If you want a software certified nvidia gpu or a standard nividia 950/960/970 or better home gpu, is up to you.

 

Edit 1/add: I bought my rig a year ago which I use for 3Dcad solid works and gaming. After a small upgrade I will have a xeon quadcore+hyperthreading, 24GB memory, ssd's and harddisks+nvidia 960mini. But i use the 3Dcad software for small to mediocre sized assemblies (like designing pc cases and other sheetmetal assemblies). This rig would probably not perform well when used for bigger assemblies, but is fine for the stuff i want to use it for at home.

 

 

 

Edit 2/add: If I would partpick a system for a similar purpose today and on the same tight budget, i'd probably buy something like this :

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V5 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($252.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($79.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($85.85 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($46.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card  ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $811.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-11 02:16 EDT-0400