Recommend an AutoCAD build

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Ancalagon

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Hi guys,

So a friend of mine needs a new database server/AutoCAD PC. I said I'd help him build it, but I'd like some input from the MyBB experts on hardware.

I know its running a database and AutoCAD, so I'm thinking it would need a quad core at minimum. Probably 8 GB of RAM too. I had a look at what video cards AutoCAD supports, and unfortunately it seems it only has unofficial support for gaming video cards. To get full support, you need a professional video card. So, it looks like it has to be a FirePRO or Quadro. I know, far more expensive for pretty much the same thing but we have little choice!

I think his budget is about R10k which would leave something like R2k to R3k for the video card. Can anyone suggest a good vendor and perhaps a good build? Doesnt need screen, I dont think, would need a Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit license.
 
I tried AutoCAD Inventor at home once on my HD4850 and didn't notice any difference between that and my Quadro FX570 at work. Compatability wise.
 
I'd suggest that you rather go for a decent AMD desktop graphics card than an Nvidia or workstation one, seeing that your friend doesn't have a budget for a workstation graphics card.
 
Have clients running AutoCAD on i7 860's with 8GB RAM and nVidia GTS450 graphic cards, no complaints... all depends if your mate really needs a Quadro card or not for the work he does.
 
Most important thing is going for Windows 7 64-bit, then getting AutoCAD 64-bit then CPU speed then RAM then GFX card.

If it is just plain AutoCAD then any fast PC will do, if you looking at Civil3D or Inventor you start needing some serious computing power.
 
I dont know what particular version of AutoCAD it is. I know their current PC has a Core 2 Duo and an 8600GT. So, rather anemic by comparison.

If I can be sure that AutoCAD will run on a consumer Nvidia or AMD card with all the bells and whistles, then I'll recommend a 6850 or 460. Probably a fast Sandy Bridge processor I think with 8GB of RAM.

Can anyone recommend a good Sandy Bridge motherboard that wont suffer from the SATA chipset problem?
 
Ancalagon said:
Can anyone recommend a good Sandy Bridge motherboard that wont suffer from the SATA chipset problem?
Click to expand...
Probably best to wait, OR get a PC with faulty motherboard and swap out when they have stock later of newer motherboards.

I'd recommend:
Motherboard: Intel Burrage Flat P67 (Extreme Series) R 1,438 incl. (PCInternational)
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500 Processor R 1,727 incl. (PCInternational)
RAM: http://www.take2.co.za/electronics-corsair-vengeance-16gb--4-x-4gb--ddr3-1600mhz-8944977.html
GPU: http://www.prophecy.co.za/club3d-radeon-hd6850-gddr5-256bit-pcie-p-86945.html
PSU: http://www.prophecy.co.za/corsair-cx430-430w-power-supply-unit-p-82872.html
Case: http://www.prophecy.co.za/coolermaster-elite-rc335-black-chassis-p-79505.html

Will rock in pretty much anything.
 
I think it will have to be a FireGL/FirePro V4800. It just needs to work with AutoCAD, no questions asked, which I dont think consumer GPUs do. Its quite sad though, because it means I have to buy him a 5670 that costs R2000. But hey, what do you do?
 
No, I meant the FireGL V4800 is hardware wise a 5670, but it costs R2000. But he has to buy it because otherwise it wont work well with AutoCAD.
 
Thx HavocXphere i've done that
 
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I don't think you really need the workstation card tbh. I've seen people do largish building plans on some truly ancient hw tech, so I don't see why a modernish consumer card shouldn't cope. Would depend though on what exactly he is doing in AutoCAD.

Ultimately it all runs through DirectX anyway, so I don't quite buy this business about consumer cards being unsupported, esp not if the AutoCAD specs say Pentium 4 + 128mb GFX.

Can't you borrow him a consumer spec card from your PC for a week to see if its sufficient? You can always buy the workstation card later if necessary.

Nonetheless I can see how the extra R1300 might be worth the peace of mind.

@Vegeta: A new thread will get you a better response imo.
 
HavocXphere: AFAIK most CAD applications run on OpenGL and not on DirectX.

I'd reckon that if you don't work on VERY large projects that a standard desktop graphics card would suffice - like most people here said.
As soon as you actually want to offload the work onto the graphics card (like rendering particles in 3D Studio Max for instance), then it would be worth while to get a workstation graphics card.

WootWare also sells an Asus P67 motherboard for under R1500!

If you only use the 2x SATA 3 (6Gbps) ports, then you that flaw on the Intel motherboards won't affect you.
 
Pada said:
HavocXphere: AFAIK most CAD applications run on OpenGL and not on DirectX.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure you can select. A quick google suggests that it depends on OS & app version etc. I vaguely recall that they even had a 3rd proprietary gfx engine for a while.

Reason I picked DX is because of the specs
## 1,280 x 1,024 true color video display adapter 128 MB or greater, Microsoft® Direct3D®-capable workstation-class graphics card
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter ultimately, my argument goes for either: The app sees very little of the underlying hardware & just uses standardized calls.

Random interesting fact: OpenGL doesn't have a 2D mode.
 
My mom uses ArcView GIS and the latest AutoCad at work and they have 8800GT's with 6gb of ram in their machines. She's done some hardcore huge, 3d stuff and doesn't have problems with the hardware.
 
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