Budget Workstation Upgrade

[ericsims]

Hi guys, I am hoping someone can help me out. I am looking to do an upgrade on my workstation. I built it back in 2010(?) I think. It was somewhat sorta decent then, not so much anymore.

 

I want to keep running my 4 monitors; I really like the setup. I really only use the computer for productivity, not gaming (maybe the occasional few hours a month on Skyrim). I am primarily using the computer for CAD, schematic design, programming, some CFD Simulation, and starting to get back into 3ds max. I am mostly looking to upgrade my processor. Preferably to an 8-core (or more. the pcb layout software and large code compilation can take advantage of a few extra cores. Although cfd can only use n^2 cores. i.e 2, 4, 8, 16, 32) I have two old GPUs, but I really don't mind, they are not really bottle necking the majority of my performance, sure it would help with 3ds max, but i dont care enough to spend the extra money.

 

Current Hardware:

- ASrock M3A770DE

- AMD Phenom II x4 840 (3.2GHz quad)

- 2 120gb Sandisk Extreme SSDs in RAID 0 (yeah i know not the safest, but I do nightly differential backups to my server, so I am not worried)

- 1 TB WD Black

- Radeon HD 6850

- GTX 550ti

- EVGA 550W Bronze

- NZXT Phantom black and green case

 

I am looking to spend under $800 on the upgrades, any ideas?

 

Thanks so much!

-Eric

[DrM]

id say get a 5820k. the performance b/t that and the 6800k doesnt really justify the price difference.
 you will need to get a cooler and a new mobo, but thats still under $800

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/cHYWqs

[Bananasplit_00]

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/rdkTbv

 

this would help a load with CPU intensive stuff, IMO a pretty good deal, not sure if the NH-D15 will be able to keep it all cool but i dont know about radiator space in that case so i just picked the best air cooler i could think off

 

*edit forgot RAM, will update with some nice DDR4

 

*edit 2

ok updated it with 16GB of 3000MHz DDR4

[Aereldor]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($369.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.99 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($189.75 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: PNY Quadro K620 2GB Video Card  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $798.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-06 10:08 EDT-0400

The Quadro will definitely help out with CAD.

[SLAYR]

2 hours ago, Aereldor said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($369.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.99 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($189.75 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: PNY Quadro K620 2GB Video Card  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $798.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-06 10:08 EDT-0400

The Quadro will definitely help out with CAD.

Depending on what software is used that k620 might not be too good of a choice only if the programs use opengl or cuda would the quadro really have an advantage, since some software uses directx as well.

[ericsims]

I am liking the idea of the i7-5820k, and the msi x99 plus. I am not sure I would notice a difference with the k620. My CAD software runs fine, and the CFD doesn't take advantage of GPU acceleration.

 

-Eric

[tim81517lh]

On 6/7/2016 at 4:17 AM, ericsims said:

I am liking the idea of the i7-5820k, and the msi x99 plus. I am not sure I would notice a difference with the k620. My CAD software runs fine, and the CFD doesn't take advantage of GPU acceleration.

 

-Eric

I'm a bit late but hopefully this will still be useful to you.

 

i7 5960x (since you're looking for an 8-core) is probably the best bet in terms of 8-core CPU's. It has far better individual core performance than typical Xeons and are not priced like Xeons (yes it's nearly a thousand dollars, but Xeons go for much more). I personally have a 5960x and use it for CD Adapco Star-CCM+ and I can tell you that it is an absolute monster in parallel performance.