Computer Build

I put together a computer build for running AutoCAD for someone I know. They will be modeling motors in 3D and expected to show a walk through on the modeling. They also will be doing some rendering.

 

They are trying to pick between a Dell Precision T3500 or a custom built I put together. The dell build is $3700, custom is $2000

 

 

Cart Item List:

 

 

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Item #:N82E16822136284

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $87.99

 

 

Antec Twelve Hundred V3 Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window

Item #:N82E16811129100

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$8.00 Instant

$20.00 Mail-in Rebate

$167.99

$159.99

 

 

LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04

Item #:N82E16827106289

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $19.99

 

 

 

CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory

Item #:N82E16820145315

Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy -$5.00 Instant

$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card

$94.99

$89.99

 

 

 

CORSAIR Professional Series AX850 850W Power Supply

Item #: N82E16817139015

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

 

 

EVGA X58 FTW3 132-GT-E768-KR ATX Intel Motherboard

Item #: N82E16813188065

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$32.00 Instant

-$30.00 Combo

$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card

$30.00 Mail-in Rebate Card

$479.98

$417.98

 

 

 

EVGA GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 015-P3-1580-AR Video Card

Item #: N82E16814130587

Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy

 

 

Intel Core i7-970 3.2GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor

Item #: N82E16819115066

Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy -$5.00 Instant

-$25.00 Combo

$30.00 Mail-in Rebate Card

$1,099.98

$1,069.98

 

 

 

Antec Twelve Hundred V3 Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window

Item #: N82E16811129100

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

 

 

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit 1-Pack

Item #: N82E16832116992

Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy -$8.00 Instant

-$15.00 Combo

$20.00 Mail-in Rebate

$307.98

$284.98

 

Grand Total: $1,995.91

Is the GeForce GTX 580 considered a "gaming" card?

 

Nevermind. Answered own question.

 

I see it supports OpenGL 4.1 which is good.

 

Did you look at the Core i7 2600k at all?

Yes, it is, as you said, I come from a gaming PC background where I have built many pc's over the years, so I am not new to building PC's at all, just never built one for a CAD individual.

 

Any other suggestions or anything you see wrong with the build where it would not get the job done?

I would drop the price of the video card by half and use that amount to add to RAM. No CAD machine "needs" a gaming card that pulls 350W+ of power at load. That's just insane. Motherboard is definitely nice, but for over $400 that is a bit overkill.

 

Building a machine for CAD doesn't need the same mindset for gaming, where you buy the most expensive parts, put them together, and it's the best rig on the block. You can't utilize SLI or Crossfire, a $200 gaming card would offer excellent performance compared to a $500 gaming card that requires it's own nuclear power plant to operate.

 

Putting two drives in this machine and slapping the paging file on a secondary drive would be a good tweak. 64bit OS obviously, max out the RAM, and if you want to really max out the video card then look for a workstation level graphics card, and not a gaming card.

The price of the MB is the MB and PS combined as a combined deal - just noticed that it did not make that obvious in my first post, sorry.

 

I was thinking of going with a GTx 4 series instead to save money and power. If I was to look at a workstation graphics card, what do you suggest with this system?

If I was to look at a workstation graphics card, what do you suggest with this system?

Depends. What program? And how extensive will 3D be used?

 

Also, take a look at this to search certified graphics hardware: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/cert?siteID=123112&id=16391880

 

*EDIT* Look at the nVidia comparison too: http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html

I just assembled a mid-level CAD system for someone where the motherboard alone required four separate power connectors and the graphics card required two. I went with a more robust power supply (700W) as a lower wattage one did not have the requsite number of connectors.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong BUT:

 

That's a real nice CPU with 6 cores and 2 threads per core but keep in mind that AutoCAD doesn't support Multi-core CPUS. http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=15224826&linkID=9240617

 

So it will only use one thread in that 12 thread CPU.

 

You will never see your CPU usage go above 8% when running AutoCAD!!!

 

It's a shame but true. My 8 threaded i7 never jumps above 13% CPU usage.. If I knew this in advance I would have bought a 4core/4thread i5....

Another suggestion would be to get a SSD big enough to put the OS and AutoCAD on. Adding a SSD to my system was the best upgrade I ever made.

You must be doing light CAD work then. I am working off a large 55MB AutoCAD MEP file and just doing a free 3D orbit around a section of it spiked the Core 0 to 95% until it regenerated.

That's 1 Core, not your overall CPU usage.

What did the other cores read?

If you're running a quad core, single thread per core that's only 25% of your total CPU capacity. 75% of your cpu being unused.

Well you didn't say overall CPU usage. You said 8%, which I assumed you meant only one core since AutoCAD doesn't fully support multiple proc cores yet. And you can use multiple cores/threads by utilizing the WHIPTHREAD sysvar even though it's a small addition.

 

And you can isolate affinities and processes with programs on the net. Given the fact that AutoCAD can have multiple instances running at once, you could essentially prioritize one instance on Core 0, and one instance on Core 1, etcetera, to utilize the performance of a multicore proc. Technically speaking, anyways.

If you go with AMD instead of INTEL MB & CPU you will save about $1000.00 in any custom build. I've been running AMD with AutoCad for years and it runs the software real good. I just built a Dual core AMD at 3.4 GHz. with 16 Gigs of 1333 ram, (2) 500 gig Hds ATI 4800 workstation Video card and I'm doing 100 meg Xref drawings in 3D. Doing just fine. My cost before software was about $700.00 I did add a few features that I didn't list that was included in the cost.

Check out www.TigerDirect.com for prices.

Software that I'm running is AutoCad 2012 Mechanical, Inventor 2010, AutoCad 2010 Mechanical

 

I'll Post a Parts list and prices later tonight

Edited April 28, 2011 by Buggsy
More Info

I wouldn't say $1k, but yes the price gap is significant between Intel and AMD.

AMD CPU 6 Core 3.3 GHz price 229.99 copared to $1069.00 price was listed above?????

Well you didn't say overall CPU usage. You said 8%, which I assumed you meant only one core since AutoCAD doesn't fully support multiple proc cores yet. And you can use multiple cores/threads by utilizing the WHIPTHREAD sysvar even though it's a small addition.

 

And you can isolate affinities and processes with programs on the net. Given the fact that AutoCAD can have multiple instances running at once, you could essentially prioritize one instance on Core 0, and one instance on Core 1, etcetera, to utilize the performance of a multicore proc. Technically speaking, anyways.

 

Go back and read my original post and the link I provided. Does it still sound like I was referring to a single core in a multi-core CPU?

WHIPTHREAD variable provides a negligible increase.

You can change affinity within windows, no need for special programs off the net.

Running multiple instances of acad won't help in the 1 drawing you are working on.

 

face it, acad is living in the stone age...

You can go buy an old P4 cpu that will run acad just as well as a 6core,12 thread i7... :/

 

Sorry if I sound peed off. I'm still mad at myself for buying an 8 threaded cpu... lol

Go back and read my original post and the link I provided. Does it still sound like I was referring to a single core in a multi-core CPU?

Yes it did, to me. That's why I assumed.

 

Sorry if I sound peed off. I'm still mad at myself for buying an 8 threaded cpu... lol

lol, I know the feeling. I've often debated on a higher clock dual core vs a slower clocked quad but I am starting to give up and just say "Throw in the quad core, as much as the budget will allow." Although I am spoiled at work so....

 

AMD CPU 6 Core 3.3 GHz price 229.99 copared to $1069.00 price was listed above?????

Uh, you mean an Intel proc that outperforms the 1100T that's actually cheaper??

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

You can go buy an old P4 cpu that will run acad just as well as a 6core,12 thread i7... :/

Uhh..... that's a REALLY bold statement. A P4 isn't even a 64bit proc. I still have my P4 HT 3.2GHz machine and there's NO WAY that thing can keep up with my E8400 let alone my Core i5.

 

You can change affinity within windows, no need for special programs off the net.

Yes I know but there are special programs out there that do it automatically. Picky picky.....

Running multiple instances of acad won't help in the 1 drawing you are working on.

I know this, the point is that you gain efficiency. That's one of the main points of multithreading or multicore procs - "multitasking". You can have two instances of CAD running, rip and burn a DVD, surf the net, and chat on Yahoo Messenger all without skipping a lick. Gaining efficiency does count for something. I know when I have multiple Sheet Sets open, because I have to make a revision here, a revision there, and keep on task with the current job, the computer can take a beating. That's why I run multiple instances of AutoCAD most of the time and set affinities. I even keep my paging file on a secondary drive, just things like this ultimately help in all areas it's not JUST about the proc.

I was comparing the price for that 6 core intel I7 to the AMD 6 core 1100. The bench mark isn't that much different from the AMD to the Intel, what .4 better on the bench mark. Also you are comparing the I5 and that is only a 4 core. I'm not trying to argue with you. I'm just saying for the money that was posted on the earlier posts I would go with the AMD. I'm running right now a dual core AMD Ph II X2 565 Black Edition Stock speed at 3.4 GHz with 16 Gigs of ram at 1333 MHz with 2 500 Gig HDs mirror 1 At it handles 100 mega bite drawings. Honestly if I could find that paper that I got from Autodesk on how autocad uses multicore CPUs, I would scan it and post it. I will try to explain what it stated from memory here. According to the sheet, autocad only uses 50% of core #1, and from there, the CPU usage degrades by 50% of core #1 to 25% for core #2 and 50% of core #2 to 12.5% for core #3 and 50% of core #3 to only about 6% for core #4.

So, There is really no need for multi core CPUs more than DUAL Core to run autocad or its sister software. The most important thing to focus on is the processor Speed. I'll give you another configuration that my 2004 Mechanical is running on. Similar Gigabyte mother board with Athlon II 565 3.4 MHz no Black Edition with 4 Gigs of 1333 MHz ram Running on XP Pro and I run 75 meg 3D drawings on it with no trouble

Also to add to this discussion, I have the AMD 1100 Black Edition here in my office and have tested it in the higher end machine with my autocad 2012 and I summarize between the Dual and the Hex Core I find little difference in performance with autocad. Now if you go to gaming,,,,,the Hex core out performs wildly.