500€+ Desktop Pc AutoCAD, etc.

[Pringels]

Hi guys,

 

i am currently looking for a Pc, mostly for office work and using CAD-Programs like AutoCAD. I am architecture student so I am not using these programs for the most complex 3D-Structures. 

The budget is about 500-600€.

At the moment my biggest problem is choosing the right CPU and i am not sure what kind of graphics card is needed. 

I was thinking about an Intel i5 but the latest ones were released last year.

 

Could you give me a few builds that fit my needs? 

Thanks in advance 

Mat

[3 Lions]

I always recommend getting an Intel Core i7 for CAD software as it makes use of the 4 cores and 8 threads. Will you be playing any games on this system? 

[Pringels]

Games are not top priority, just playing games with low requirements.

Do you think that a Core i7 fits the budget? it would be possible to upgrade the budget to 750€ if really needed.

[Matias_Chambers]

23 minutes ago, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

I always recommend getting an Intel Core i7 for CAD software as it makes use of the 4 cores and 8 threads. Will you be playing any games on this system? 

Some laptop i7's are dual cores with hyper-threading. 

[3 Lions]

Just now, Matias_Chambers said:

Some laptop i5's are dual cores with hyper-threading. 

But those are dual cores with 4 threads. (not proper i5's) 

[Matias_Chambers]

Just now, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

But those are dual cores with 4 threads. (not proper i5's) 

Oops I meant i7 

[3 Lions]

17 minutes ago, Pringels said:

Games are not top priority, just playing games with low requirements.

Do you think that a Core i7 fits the budget? it would be possible to upgrade the budget to 750€ if really needed.

You would need to save up for a bit longer for an i7, as a GPU a GTX 1060 3GB would do you perfectly. 

[Brand-X]

Forums Necromancy, but for anyone looking for recommendations for workstations primarily for Autodesk's CAD products, read on. 

 

As a long time AutoCAD power user, almost 20 years in industry, my advice is to focus on single core performance and GPU compute performance. Get as much fast RAM as you can. If you plan on working with large files or large projects with lots of dependencies, references or links you will want to prioritize quantity, if you can't afford both speed and quantity. Get an SSD an NVMe SSD if you can swing it.

 

At the time of writing, Autodesk's CAD software does NOT utilize multiple cores. This is not as noticeable in AutoCAD LT or even AutoCAD but when you start using Intelligent/Dynamic objects in the 3D oriented applications (Revit, C3D, etc) The lack is really felt. There are a couple of commands which can be configured to run in multiple threads, but ime, in products based on the 2017 engine and earlier (haven't tried 2018 yet), the implementation is somewhat janky. To reiterate, AutoCAD doesn't care if you have a dual core, a quad, 6, 8, 10 or 16 cores. All it cares about is the frequency and IPC of the fastest core.

 

AutoCAD is not super dependent on 3D performance. Look for decent workstation graphics cards (or good mining cards). They will offer better performance than 3D focused "Gaming" cards.  A good CAD workstation will be bad at gaming (price to performance) but will run games okay and vice versa.

 

TL;DR ->  Priorities for Autodesk CAD products Workstation builds:

1)  CPU with the best single core performance your budget allows

2)  As much RAM as your budget allows, use your best judgement on frequency and timings budget allowing

3)  Decent compute focus GPU

4)  Fast storage 

5)  Monitor size and/or multiple monitors

 

----- Pro CAD Tips -----

Read your ACAD.lsp, learn and use the 2 keys, turn off dynamic user input and turn off the ribbon. Create your own shortcuts, but never alter or replace the default aliases.

Never draw on layer 0. Qsave often

If you ever work with large drawings, turn off selection effect and selection preview. Set your Osnaps to ignore hatch objects.