Your opinions of this PC setup

[NoH]

Hi there,

I'm going to assemble a PC for my wife soon. She is going to study some CAD software including AutoCAD and VectorWorks in addition to Photoshop and Illustrator. She is going to do some 2D/3D and I want this setup to be smooth and last for 3-4 years.

We don't know which version of AutoCAD she'll buy but mostly 2010 (student version?)

After reading here and there I came to this configuration as best as we can afford for now. Please tell me your opinions. (I have read the minimum spec for AutoCAD but I believe little better won't harm. I'm just not very sure of wise spending on the components as I never worked with CAD software).

PC spec: (prices are approximate in $ from Japanese yen)

CPU: Core i7 860 (about $270)

MB: Asus P7P55D (~ $177)

RAM DDR3 1600: G.Skill 2x2GB (~$90) (win 32bit) or 2x4GB (win 64bit)

Graphic Card: Quadro FX 580 (~ $270)

HD: 500 GB Hitachi E7K1000 (~ $90)

Monitor: Eizo S2231-WE ( ~ $450)

case and PSU 550w ( ~ $150)

windows 7 (32bit or 64bit) (OEM ~ $130)

additional things ( ~ $130)

 

so total cost about $1750

 

I'm assembling a PC for me with general use (not related to CAD) and it cost less than above with AMD x3 720 processor instead of i7, ATI HD4770 instead of the Quadro, Iiyama 24 inch instead of the Eizo. But reading that for 3D it is better a workstation class card and a good monitor.

 

What do you think?

 

Thank you in advance,

 

NoH

[tzframpton]

First off, stay with 64bit, you will thank me later especially if you'll be using this computer for 3-4 years. Everything about this computer is nice, but I don't know if you need to spend that kind of money on a very low end workstation graphics card. See here: http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=483&card2=606

 

I'm comparing the 560 vs the $120 less gaming card that has more than twice the specs in almost every area. I have a gaming card at home (that cost me $100) and a QuadroFX 1700 at work (that was $500 at the time). Yes there are differences and my workstation at my office does run better and smoother, but by a small margin. Gaming cards can keep up nowadays.

 

Everything else is actually great specs. Load it up with as much RAM as you can, I recommend 8GB if you go with a x64bit version of Windows, since 2GB is already consumed just because of the OS alone. Plus, RAM is dirt cheap right now. That would be my suggestion. As far as monitor, yeah just get a big one, and you'll be fine.

[ReMark]

I can't think of a thing to add so I will just second Stykface's comments. He really knows his computers.

[NoH]

First off, stay with 64bit, you will thank me later especially if you'll be using this computer for 3-4 years. Everything about this computer is nice, but I don't know if you need to spend that kind of money on a very low end workstation graphics card. See here:

(link removed)

I'm comparing the 560 vs the $120 less gaming card that has more than twice the specs in almost every area. I have a gaming card at home (that cost me $100) and a QuadroFX 1700 at work (that was $500 at the time). Yes there are differences and my workstation at my office does run better and smoother, but by a small margin. Gaming cards can keep up nowadays.

 

Everything else is actually great specs. Load it up with as much RAM as you can, I recommend 8GB if you go with a x64bit version of Windows, since 2GB is already consumed just because of the OS alone. Plus, RAM is dirt cheap right now. That would be my suggestion. As far as monitor, yeah just get a big one, and you'll be fine.

 

Thank you StykFacE for your detailed answer.

I know that the Quadro is not that great in hardware compared to a budget game card. The problem that I read with the card game there will be some artificial lines ...etc when viewing the 3D models. So that I wanted a safe choice for her. But if you use a game card in your setup at home, this would make me follow your advice with a blind eyes .

I chose for her this card: GV-N250ZL-1GI (GTS 250 1GB with Zalman) if she won't find it smooth or good for her study, I'll take it and buy her Quadro one ;-)

I also found cheaper monitor but with the same spec (IPS not TN and in the future i can add for her another one). So the setup will be:

CPU: Core i7 860 (about $270)

MB: Asus P7P55D (~ $177)

RAM DDR3 1600: G.Skill 4x2GB (~ $180)

Graphic Card: GV-N250ZL-1GI (~ $150)

HD: 500 GB Hitachi E7K1000 (~ $90)

Monitor: Dell 2209WA ( ~ $200)

case and PSU 550w ( ~ $150)

windows 7 (64bit) (OEM ~ $130)

additional things ( ~ $130)

 

so total cost about $1477

 

 

Thanks all and have a good day

 

 

Sorry i had to remove your link to be able to answer.

[kevinp]

I would say Im pretty good with computers..so let me critique

 

CPU: 860 is a good choice, but on the other hand, socket 1156 is seemingly a dead end other than i5 and a few i7. X58 chipset has the most features and offers triple channel memory. The i7 920 will be faster if overclocked vs the 860, but stock the 860 wins. Tough choice, but keep in mind the hexa-core (6 core) processors will only be on socket 1366.

 

Mobo: if you do go with socket 1156, take a look at this;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157172

ASrock is ASUS OEM, so they still have a good product.

 

On the other hand, if you go the 1366 route, gigabytes boards are excellent:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375

 

RAM: For socket 1156, its dual channel; 1366 is triple channel, and Ive always been a gskill fan, so kudos on that.

If going 1366, ocz makes a good 6GB kit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

 

video card: for around the price of $150, a HD4870 is faster in every aspect.

 

HD: They dont call them hitachi deathstars for nothing. Get a western digital black or a samsung f1 drive, they are fast and reliable for the price.

 

PSU: heres where Im a huge nerd. IMO, there are only about 5-6 good PSU brands out there:

OCZ, PC power and cooling, seasonic, Corsair, (some) antec, and silverstone are top brands. Going a little lower are companies like FSP and XCLIO, thermaltake, some antec models, etc.

 

Always get a PSU with active PFC. That is the minimum requirement for a PSU to even be considered good. Corsair makes some great psu's at decent prices, same for OCZ but a little more affordable. Seasonic is pretty much the best of the best - PC power and cooling and corsair use OEM seasonic PSUs.

 

And yes, get windows 7 64bit, its awesome

Anyway, thats my 2 cents.

[tzframpton]

HD: They dont call them hitachi deathstars for nothing. Get a western digital black or a samsung f1 drive, they are fast and reliable for the price.

I don't think it's called the Black anymore, it's now called the RE3 (RAID Edition) and I have to 100% agree. Although the drives are more expensive by about 60%-70% they are rated 24/7 use.

PSU: heres where Im a huge nerd. IMO, there are only about 5-6 good PSU brands out there:

OCZ, PC power and cooling, seasonic, Corsair, (some) antec, and silverstone are top brands. Going a little lower are companies like FSP and XCLIO, thermaltake, some antec models, etc.

 

Always get a PSU with active PFC. That is the minimum requirement for a PSU to even be considered good. Corsair makes some great psu's at decent prices, same for OCZ but a little more affordable. Seasonic is pretty much the best of the best - PC power and cooling and corsair use OEM seasonic PSUs.

Once again I couldn't agree more. I believe in going expensive on a PSU. I guess, technically I agree in going with top brands on everything. Less problems and better performance along with sustained life of each component.

....and Ive always been a gskill fan, so kudos on that.

Ouch, this is where I will have to disagree. I have used G-Skill before and had no problems but one time I did.... lock up after lock up. Soon as I replaced the RAM the computer ran with zero issues. They are DEFINITELY cheap, and you can get lots of GB's for less, that's for sure. The problem causing issue is a slim chance, but still. Thought I'd throw it out there.

[kevinp]

Ouch, this is where I will have to disagree. I have used G-Skill before and had no problems but one time I did.... lock up after lock up. Soon as I replaced the RAM the computer ran with zero issues. They are DEFINITELY cheap, and you can get lots of GB's for less, that's for sure. The problem causing issue is a slim chance, but still. Thought I'd throw it out there.

 

And I can agree with you on disagreeing

Everyone has their share of bad experiences with all brands, so Im not suprised. In my experiences Ive found gskill to be the most reliable brand for a good price. They dont overclock very well, but out of over 100 kits Ive bought, Ive only had maybe 1 or 2 bad sticks. Suprisingly, Ive had more trouble with corsair than anything else. To each his own, I suppose...

[tzframpton]

And I can agree with you on disagreeing

Everyone has their share of bad experiences with all brands, so Im not suprised. In my experiences Ive found gskill to be the most reliable brand for a good price. They dont overclock very well, but out of over 100 kits Ive bought, Ive only had maybe 1 or 2 bad sticks. Suprisingly, Ive had more trouble with corsair than anything else. To each his own, I suppose...

Ha, yeah I see things the same way. Hell, it might have been the mobo that caused the RAM to be dysfunctional, who knows.

 

I've been a builder for 12 years now, every since I was fifteen and built my first AMD K6-2 system I've been hooked. I have done my fair share but the only thing I build anymore for is simply for myself and/or a REALLY close friend that needs/wants a custom build. Now, I just buy re-marketed HP products from a reseller list I have access to and slap $100 on it just for setting up the order. ha

 

Oh and, if you are interested in the list, let me know (comes as a daily email list as an Excel file). I can give you my sales contact. Everything is discounted with warranty, boxed as if it's new. All kinds of deals, like free monitors with purchase, etc.... desktops, laptops, workstations, servers, etc etc.

[NoH]

Thank you kevinp and StykFacE for your opinions.

I have some points to share:

 

1. It is not easy to find similar products in Japan and if there are those brand names, the price is higher than other countries like USA for example. However, there is an advantage because there are local Japanese companies with good quality products rival the more expensive brands like Antec, Thermaltake ...etc. This apply on cases and power supply. I chose a good one 550w (i think) (Kamariki 4 from Scythe) I think it will be ok for the price (7,480 yen). I will check if it has active PFC. Thank you kevinp :-)

 

2. I can't agree more. For years I just chose WD for the hard drives (especially in the years 2000-2001 when i was working as PC Technician & Systems Administrator) and I never chose Hitachi. But, There are 2 reasons why i chose this model:

a) it is easier to deal with Hitachi in Japan when it has failure (5 years warranty) and b) it is really a good one different than previous Hitachi ones (as it is tested in tomshardware under the name Hitachi E7K1000)

 

3. In spite of the advantages for the 1366 socket, the motherboards for the socket 1156 are much cheaper. The 1336 combination is beyond my budget. I don't care really about overclocking as I never needed it. I believe for the years she is studying this CPU would be more than enough. don't you think so? After 3-4 years, we'll build a new system with i9 CPU and 12 way memory channel ;-)

 

4. RAM was a headache for me! I could only find this one "compatible" with the motherboard. I have the feeling any memory (with the same spec) could run! but just to be in the safe side I chose one in the list of supported memory. I read good reviews about this brand but to be honest I'm far from brand names loyal ;-) In the past I just bought generic low price ones and never had a problem with them. But years passed, and I switched my career so maybe the complexity of new CPUs and motherboards requires compatible RAM? I can't experience anymore as I don't have PCs around me like before.

 

5. Last point is the graphic card. This is a real headache! The market has changed a lot since 2000-2002 (lol! of course it is natural). I remember in the company I worked (they used mainly Pro/E) the main card that we always build for the clients was from 3D Labs. it was expensive ($500) for the lowest in the range! We tested gamer card from nVidia and it was more in specs than the pro one. But sadly it was not good with poor performance in Pro/E. In the end I will choose for her the FX 580 card BUT before this, as I will assemble my PC first, i will test Autocad in my PC with the HD 4770 in both win xp 32bit and win 7 64bit (both PCs will have dual boot) and see the performance. if it is ok, i will take your advice and go for a gamer card.

[tzframpton]

Well, if it's the best price you're after, just shop for a small to medium Workstation level HP (or equivalent). You can't beat the price of a manufactured computer, but you cannot beat performance of a built rig. If it's money you're trying to save that would be your best option IMHO.

 

For instance, a year ago I got my work computer which is a HP xw4600 for $1,100 and it has a Core2 Duo E8400, 8GB of RAM, and a nVidia Quadro FX1700. It it not anywhere near the best on the market when I bought it, but it DEFINITELY was better than what I had and for a great price. Just a thought....

[NoH]

Well, if it's the best price you're after, just shop for a small to medium Workstation level HP (or equivalent). You can't beat the price of a manufactured computer, but you cannot beat performance of a built rig. If it's money you're trying to save that would be your best option IMHO.

 

For instance, a year ago I got my work computer which is a HP xw4600 for $1,100 and it has a Core2 Duo E8400, 8GB of RAM, and a nVidia Quadro FX1700. It it not anywhere near the best on the market when I bought it, but it DEFINITELY was better than what I had and for a great price. Just a thought....

 

Thank you StykFacE. Great idea i forgot completely about HP workstations. But I'm not sure it would be cheaper. I just checked and it costs around $2000 but with Xeon processor! So actually it is cheap for the specifications. I'll check if I can choose another processor other than Xeon (this is what pushed the price up!).

[tzframpton]

Thank you StykFacE. Great idea i forgot completely about HP workstations. But I'm not sure it would be cheaper. I just checked and it costs around $2000 but with Xeon processor! So actually it is cheap for the specifications. I'll check if I can choose another processor other than Xeon (this is what pushed the price up!).

No, you clicked the wrong option, go below that option and choose "xw4600". That's the "base" models.

[NoH]

No, you clicked the wrong option, go below that option and choose "xw4600". That's the "base" models.

 

Oh great thanks StykFacE. I'll check it carefully with the options. I just hope there is no much difference in the price in Japan. Cheers bro