Budget CAD workstation

[MechaMagnus]

 

Hi everyone.
First time poster here hoping for some help building a CAD workstation.

My motivation for this build is not gaming, but building a workstation for learning and working with CAD software (Solidworks, Autodesk, NX. Etc). I'm a student currently on my last year of an MSc in mechanical engineering, so I'm trying to make this the best budget build possible while allowing room for upgrades in the future.

The parts I need to upgrade are: Motherboard, RAM, processor and GPU.
The parts I've selected are:

Processor: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz. 73$

GPU: AMD FirePro W4100 2GB GDDR5. 271$

RAM: Kingston ValueRam DDR4 2133MHz 8GB ECC. 143$

Motherboard: MSI Z170-A Pro, Socket-1151. 148$

Total cost is 635$ with tax (Norway), which is just within my budget this semester. Next semester I might add on a new screen (my current one is 11 years old) and an M.2 SSD.

The rest of the computer is ok, with a 250gb Samsung evo 850 for windows and software and some western digital storage hard drives, a Mist 1000w PSU, and a tower that'll do for now.

 

 

My reasoning behind the parts (if you're at all interested):

CPU: The cheap Pentium processor is a compromise since what I really want is an i7 6700k, which of course is way beyond my budget. The G4400 has a skylake architecture with socket LGA-1151 so upgrading a hyperthreaded i7 later should be easy. The processor also supports ECC, and comes with a cooler

GPU: This is where I've spent the most money. In the past I've had some horrible bugs while trying to work in Solidworks, and I think it's because of lack of driver support. So I've prioritized getting the best supported card within my budget. I know I could get a gaming card with much more impressive stats for the same price, but as mentioned my priority is driver support.

RAM: I'd love to have HyperX, but they don't support ECC. I really don’t know if ECC is even needed, but in the comparisons I've found the performance difference between ECC and non-ECC RAM is between 1-2%, so the extra crash protection seems worth it. I'm going for 2x8gb, so I can expand with two additional chips if needed.

Motherboard: Went for a gaming motherboard because of OC-tools and on-board sound card. The choice fell on this board since it supports ECC and has a M.2 slot.

 

 

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Does this look like a Solid (pun) build ? I guess the parts I'm most unsure about are the motherboard and the RAM.
I've spent the better part of a week trying to figure out what to prioritize in a workstation compared to a gaming pc.
The Linus Tech Tips and Tech Quicky youtube videos has been a great help, given that most articles review hardware for gaming applications and not for CAD.
 

[Guest]

Looks fine so far. 

[Daveeede]

You can save money by going with a h110/b150/h170 chipset motherboard. You can't overclock that CPU anyways. Also ask yourself if you really need that firepro card. Most people will not see a difference over the intergrated graphics. 

 

I'd try to get the i3 over the pentium. The higher clock speed will help with CAD. Ideally i5/i7 but I understand the budget constraints.

 

EDIT: Also that motherboard and CPU do not support ECC memory. You need a Xeon processor for that.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Daveeede said:

You can save money by going with a h110/b150/h170 chipset motherboard. You can't overclock that CPU anyways. Also ask yourself if you really need that firepro card. Most people will not see a difference over the intergrated graphics. 

 

I'd try to get the i3 over the pentium. The higher clock speed will help with CAD. Ideally i5/i7 but I understand the budget constraints.

 

EDIT: Also that motherboard and CPU do not support ECC memory. You need a Xeon processor for that.

He wanted to get an 6700k in the future so a z170 will fit

[Electronics Wizardy]

Don't buy a firepro. It won't be any faster. Id just get a i3 and use the igpu for now.

[Daveeede]

2 minutes ago, dexxterlab97 said:

He wanted to get an 6700k in the future so a z170 will fit

In that case just get the 6700k or Kaby Lake variant now and save for a better gpu in the future. Run integrated graphics for now.

[Guest]

Just now, Daveeede said:

In that case just get the 6700k or Kaby Lake variant now and save for a better gpu in the future. Run integrated graphics for now.

but a 6700k will push his limit and no longer budget

[Daveeede]

Just now, dexxterlab97 said:

but a 6700k will push his limit and no longer budget

it fits if he skips the firepro card  and buy regular RAM not ECC.

[MechaMagnus]

From what could find while researching this the main advantage of a 6700k over the G4400 is total cores and hyperthreading. The clock speed is of course a factor but for now the computer is only supposed to handle modeling single parts, and probably assemblies of ten parts of less. 
The CPU supports ECC http://ark.intel.com/products/88179/Intel-Pentium-Processor-G4400-3M-Cache-3_30-GHz but i can't find EEC-support anywhere official from MSI (just from the vendor, and some forum posts) so you're probably right about the motherboard not supporting ECC. 

I might drop the FirePro for now and try onboard graphics. If it gets too bad I can always buy the GPU later

[MechaMagnus]

It's weird about the motherboard. Both my local vendor https://www.komplett.no/product/859170/datautstyr/hovedkort/intel-socket/msi-z170-a-pro-socket-1151 (in norwegian) and amazon https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Solution-Z170A-Motherboard-PC/dp/B0131GA4VE lists it as ECC supported, but i can find nothing about it from any official site. 

Edit: Disregard that. I found it. It's supported.