Working on planning a build. Need suggestions

[Roggie]

Hello

I'm working on building a computer. It will be my first build.

I'm working on becoming a mechanical engineer, and will be running some pretty demanding software (3D simulation, etc), so I would like to have a higher performing computer. I know I could buy, but where is the fun in that...

So here is what I'm thinking of for starters.

Mobo: Asus PC4C800-E
Processor: Is an AMD Athalon 64 X2 compatible with the above mobo
Power supply: Antec Phantom (is this way overkill? 500 watts)
Case: will an Antec P180/B work for this application? Are they any good? I want something well built and easily expandable...

I don't know how much memory I need, what would be recomended?

[AnotherMuggle]

2Gig would be plenty of memory for most applications. What OS are you planning on using on the system and what are the 3D applications you intend to be using?

If you are going to be doing a lot of intense 3D work then a decent graphics card is something that you must invest in, which in turn will need a decent quality PSU.

The amount of watts the PSU is stated to deliver is not always a good way of determining how good it is, however, you can't really go wrong with an Antec supply. To justify 500Watts you will need to think about what the computer will be running: will it use a powerful graphics card? how many hard disks are you intending to run? etc etc..

The Antec P180 is one of the best cases there is

I can't seem to find much info on that Asus Mobo either, neither on their site or in a Google search...do you have a link? From the little information I can find, it indicates that it is a board designed for a P4 chip!

[newbuilder14]

I believe that's an Intel motherboard. What is your budget? I would go for:

Socket AM2:
Asus M2N-E
3800+ x2

OR

Socket 939
Asus A8N-E
3800+ x2

I'd honestly go with the socket AM2 for future upgradability with Corsair XMS2 DDR2800 SDRAM.

[David M]

You may need a graphics workstation...which is a different animal altogether than the typical gaming computer. Graphics workstations have two CPU's and a 64 bit OS typically with ECC RAM. What software do you need to run?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workstation

[Roggie]

^^very helpful, thanks.

I'm going to be running ProE and inventor right away, along with AutoCAD 2-D.

I'll use XP for an OS, and would like to be able to run vista. Does that require anything different for hardware?

For a good, powerful graphics card, what would you recommend?

This is a little off topic and probably stupid, but does a USB draw power directly from the power supply for the computer, and if so, does it draw enough power to consider it when choosing a power supply?

good to know about the case, too.

thanks

[AnotherMuggle]

USB draws the power from the motherboard but is such low voltage that it's pretty insignificant as far as power goes. The most important thing to look out for is the amount of power that the graphics card is going to draw!

If you are after a top of the line graphics card then ATIs new X1950 is something pretty special...but will set you back some cash for sure.

GRAPHICS CARD: http://www.ati.com/products/RadeonX1950/index.html

If you are using Windows XP then you are best to stick with 2Gig RAM. It is plenty enough for most applications and XP will struggle with anything larger than that!

[David M]

I think first you need to determine if you need a graphics workstation or a regular PC before continuing. Perhaps somene else has some more insight and experience into the difference between the two and your needs? It sounds to me like you have some heavy engineering and professional grade graphics software to run.

What are you using to run the same software now? If it is new software, what kind of hardware does it say it requires? You design the machine around the software you need it to run.

[AnotherMuggle]

I have looked at the system requirements for AutoDesk Inventor and a decent PC would be plenty to do the job...same goes for AutoCAD

Not so sure on the situation with ProE.

[Roggie]

I don't have my own copies of the software, because I don't have a computer capable of running it. Pro E is the most demanding, and I've talked to a few people through the university, they've said that a "strong PC" can handle Pro E just fine.

So now i've got some research to do.

[AnotherMuggle]

I have now looked at the specs for ProE and a decent computer will also have no problems...so that covers all three

I think your main hurdle is going to be paying for a licence for the software. They are extremely expensive and are going to cost more than the machine to run them on.

For example a licence for AutoDesk Inverntor will cost you $5295.

[glc]

What you need is a Core 2 Duo Intel build and a workstation grade graphics card. The P4C800-E is old technology, socket 478 is long gone and AGP is just about gone. The C2D is outperforming anything in AMD's arsenal right now and is NOT expensive unless you go for the 2 high end models.

I would look at something like an Asus P5B motherboard, E6600 processor, and an ATI FireGL PCI-E video card. 2 gigs of DDR2-667 or -800 ram is the best choice here, get a dual channel kit.

The Antec P180 is a great case. I'd definitely put an Antec power supply in it due to the power supply location and the need for long cables. I'm looking at a similar build for a customer right now, and I'm probably going to be putting an Antec TP II - 550 in it.