Trying to build a CAD computer - HELP

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Davush

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Hi guys,

As the title suggests I would love some suggestions for a computer that can run CAD applications smoothly, Specifically Solidworks.

I want to avoid spending $$$$ tons on prebuilt dedicated workstation.

Any suggestions on processors, Graphics cards, Motherboards etc would be greatly appreciated. I also have no idea what fits with what.

Thanks
 
A good i7 processor with an ssd will be fine.
An i5 works just as well.
It's the GPU that is key.
Get a Quadro card for any cad applications.
 
Spend your money on memory, GPU (Nvidia Quadro), monitor and a nice mouse. CAD programs don't typically need fast hard-drives as they're not continuously accessing large chunks of data. That said I think it's almost standard practice to try have an SSD as your primary drive, then a regular drive for storage. CPU's - again I don't really notice much impact on most CAD apps. The only time it makes a difference is if you're going to be doing rendering with high quality materials, lights, reflections etc.

For straight up modelling I don't really find CAD apps to be that demanding at all.
 
Spend money on ram and an nvidia card. You don't need anything more than a 4 core 3Ghz processor, and an ssd won't provide any benefit over a hdd.

But you need tons of ram (32gigs is around your target)
 
Rickster said:
GeForce is optimised for games, Quadro is for rendering.
Click to expand...

Do you know why?

CUDA.

You probably don't need 10bit colour output and double precision rendering so a decent spec CUDA enabled card will be ok.
 
slvR said:
Do you know why?

CUDA.

You probably don't need 10bit colour output and double precision rendering so a decent spec CUDA enabled card will be ok.
Click to expand...

SolidWorks is a high-end 3D CAD modeling software. It’s highly demanding on hardware, and requires the appropriate selection of hardware components to run properly. In order to have the best possible user experience, it is important to select a an appropriate card designed for such a resource-demanding software.

Best SolidWorks graphics card

If you plan to make the significant investment in purchasing SolidWorks, it makes sense to provide the best possible platform to maximize your experience that fits within your budget. Keep in mind that a more expensive graphics card is not necessarily better suited for use with SolidWorks. Ultra high-end gaming cards may not necessarily be the most cost-effective choice for 3D modeling, and so you should consider looking specifically for workstation graphics cards, which the software may be able to use more efficiently.
Click to expand...

Source
 
[video=youtube;VGP0ga6salw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGP0ga6salw[/video]
 
rodga said:
Video editing does not equal 3d rendering...
Click to expand...

To a point, but Im trying to show how quadro cards make the most of the card, did you see the CPU/GPU usage in that vid?

The 780 stresses the CPU whilst only using 1/4 of the GPU, while the Quadro is the opposite.

Same goes for Quadro vs. GeForce in gaming. Sure Quadro can play games but not even as good as Geforce.


Do you think nvidia is so stupid that they will just make cheap WS <R10K cards when people will just buy Geforce Cards?
 
Rickster said:
To a point, but Im trying to show how quadro cards make the most of the card, did you see the CPU/GPU usage in that vid?

The 780 stresses the CPU whilst only using 1/4 of the GPU, while the Quadro is the opposite.

Same goes for Quadro vs. GeForce in gaming. Sure Quadro can play games but not even as good as Geforce.


Do you think nvidia is so stupid that they will just make cheap WS <R10K cards when people will just buy Geforce Cards?
Click to expand...

it's quite obv that Quadro>GeForce for high computational intensive workloads.

But FOR ONCE



I want to avoid spending $$$$ tons on prebuilt dedicated workstation.
Click to expand...

read the bloody OP...
 
3D Software like ZBrush:
CPU, and RAM... no need to worry about GPU. Go for RAM as priority 1.

3dsMax, Maya, CAD...
Go for GPU. this is priority 1. Do not get a gaming card, get a workstation GPU. RAM is also important for large scenes.

Rendering
RAM semi important, CPU most important. GPU worthless.



I'm not going to look for specific parts for you, but here's what I would go for in order of priority:
1. Workstation GPU. concentrate your money here. Do research on whether the ATI or nVidia will be better for SolidWorks (I'm not sure myself)
2. RAM. plenty plenty. RAM is cheap, ram is good. ~32GB
3. Decent CPU, but don't blow your money here as it can get expensive real quick.
4. Small SSD, like 64GB or if you can afford, a 128GB. you don't need bigger than this. This isn't essential but will help with overall system speed.

Edit: I'd aim for ATI over nVidia, for SolidWorks.
 
Last edited:
slvRR said:
it's quite obv that Quadro>GeForce for high computational intensive workloads.

But FOR ONCE

I want to avoid spending $$$$ tons on prebuilt dedicated workstation.
Click to expand...

read the bloody OP...
Click to expand...

You get Quadro's that are waaaaaaaaaay cheaper than high-end gaming GPU's.
Even the cheap ones will be so much better.

Just because he goes for a workstation card doesn't mean he needs to spend a fortune.


Also, notice he said he wants to avoid a prebuilt dedicated workstation. keyword: prebuilt
So please, you read the OP.
 
Thread is useless without a budget, I'm thinking K4000/K4200 if the budget is decent.
 
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