GPU for an Electrical Engineering Student

[codeToad]

Dear people of the LTT forum,

 

    I am a high school senior, and though my life is a living hell with an endless stream of IB and AP tests headed my way, I find it relaxing to think of what I can do when it is all over. For instance, I have been planning out my first PC build. I will be keeping my epic T420s Thinkpad with its unbeatable i5 2540M and integrated graphics and will build a desktop for more serious work and potentially remote access. I will be studying electrical engineering in college, but I also like programming with Java, C, Python, and occasionally C# with the Unity 3D editor. However, I am not a gamer by any standards. The only two games I play are heavily modded Minecraft (because building massive factories controlled by Computercraft computers is fun, not because I have the taste of a nine-year-old) and Dwarf Fortress (I use the word "play" very loosely here, I am still at the very bottom of a very steep learning curve), and both of these are CPU-bound games. It should also be known that I don't expect to do much video editing or 3d modeling. As a final note, I would like to stick with Nvidia cards, if only because of the fact that they offer the chance to get started with CUDA and the deep learning applications built using it, even if the particular card isn't very powerful.

   So here is the real question: what GPU, if any, should I get? If I end up getting an Intel CPU, I am reluctant to use only the integrated graphics, while all recent AMD CPUs short of the 2200g and 2400g require a discrete card. If you have any advice that links to my choice of CPU, I am all ears. The real issue is that I don't know enough about the workloads associated with being an electrical engineer, college student, and programmer to choose something that is not only cost-effective but matches my use case. If you have any experience as an undergraduate studying electrical engineering, your advice would be particularly helpful.

    As far as budget goes, I am fairly flexible. An absolute budget for the PC as a whole is $1000 (American), but I would like to limit that to something closer to $800. As far as the GPU itself goes, I am also flexible. I would like to see what others worked with, and get something that isn't great but is enough for the use case I have described. I could go as high as $250 for a GPU if someone makes a really compelling case as to why I need a video card from that end of the market, but I wouldn't mind something half the cost, or even Intel integrated graphics or an AMD APU if someone  makes a similarly compelling argument that I don't need a discrete graphics card for what I want to do. Thank you in advance.

[AntiTrust]

Are you sure you don't want to look at getting a better laptop instead of building a desktop? odds are you will be spending a significant amt of time at school..

 

NotreDame engineering dept recommended specs: (http://esc.nd.edu/undergrad/guide/)

Quote

 

Feature	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	i5 (dual core)	i7 (quad core)
RAM	8GB	16GB
Graphics	N/A	Dedicated Graphics Processor
Display	13"	15"

 

[codeToad]

I am fairly certain about my choice to build a new desktop. The issue, as I have discovered, is that a laptop is going to be a fair bit more expensive than a desktop of similar build. My current laptop is still fine, but it can struggle with larger workloads such as what little gaming I do and my larger programming projects. I am going to finish refurbishing my current laptop so it can keep on chugging for a few more years.

On a side note, I use Ubuntu on my laptop, so I am also going to use the desktop as my dedicated non-VM windows machine.

And one more thing: I do have an interest in VR and deep learning, but these are just future considerations. If I were to buy a laptop that suits my needs today, it would be virtually impossible to "upgrade" in the future, short of the particularly costly solution of the external graphics card. WIth a desktop, it is much more trivial to make such an upgrade, if and when I decide that I am serious about the cost associated with running either type of application.

[Lowspecgamer]

5 minutes ago, codeToad said:

I am fairly certain about my choice to build a new desktop. The issue, as I have discovered, is that a laptop is going to be a fair bit more expensive than a desktop of similar build. My current laptop is still fine, but it can struggle with larger workloads such as what little gaming I do and my larger programming projects. I am going to finish refurbishing my current laptop so it can keep on chugging for a few more years.

On a side note, I use Ubuntu on my laptop, so I am also going to use the desktop as my dedicated non-VM windows machine.

And one more thing: I do have an interest in VR and deep learning, but these are just future considerations. If I were to buy a laptop that suits my needs today, it would be virtually impossible to "upgrade" in the future, short of the particularly costly solution of the external graphics card. WIth a desktop, it is much more trivial to make such an upgrade, if and when I decide that I am serious about the cost associated with running either type of application.

The best graphics processor for your situation would be a gtx 1060 it can do that kind of work very well and if you want virtual reality.

[Lowspecgamer]

6 minutes ago, codeToad said:

I am fairly certain about my choice to build a new desktop. The issue, as I have discovered, is that a laptop is going to be a fair bit more expensive than a desktop of similar build. My current laptop is still fine, but it can struggle with larger workloads such as what little gaming I do and my larger programming projects. I am going to finish refurbishing my current laptop so it can keep on chugging for a few more years.

On a side note, I use Ubuntu on my laptop, so I am also going to use the desktop as my dedicated non-VM windows machine.

And one more thing: I do have an interest in VR and deep learning, but these are just future considerations. If I were to buy a laptop that suits my needs today, it would be virtually impossible to "upgrade" in the future, short of the particularly costly solution of the external graphics card. WIth a desktop, it is much more trivial to make such an upgrade, if and when I decide that I am serious about the cost associated with running either type of application.

Gtx 1050 ti would be more in your budget.

[codeToad]

 

1 minute ago, Lowspecgamer said:

The best graphics processor for your situation would be a gtx 1060 it can do that kind of work very well and if you want virtual reality.

I should have been more clear. I have no interest in those now, but I might want to dabble in those in the future. Thus far, my priority has been the CPU. Maybe in a few years and when GPU prices have stabilized, but I don't want those functionalities yet, only the possibility to upgrade in the future, thus my choice to build a PC rather than getting a laptop.

[AntiTrust]

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cCnqpG
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cCnqpG/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor  ($237.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($153.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($166.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($119.24 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.79 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Corsair - 100R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master - MasterWatt 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $864.37

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-01 09:57 EDT-0400

 

@codeToad I would say don't bother getting a graphics card now then. If you were to get like a 1050ti, 1050 or RX 560 now itwould be kind of pointless because theres zero chance a card in this price range (100-150$) will give you a decent VR experience later. It sounds like for what you do (minecraft etc) integrated graphics will do fine, and you might as well save the slot open and upgrade in the future if your needs change.