Workstation Build?

[jmajcan]

I've been reading the boards here for awhile and thinking about building a new PC, and I've finally decided to go for it. The computer will be used for my school work, which is mostly CAD modelling (Inventor, ProE) and scientific computation (MATLAB, etc.) as well as general e-mail, music, and web surfing. I don't plan on doing any computer gaming or overclocking.

I already have a large LCD monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers, and I hope to keep the budget somewhere between $1100-$1300. Here's the parts list I put together:

Motherboard: ASUS P5K
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131180

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115029
(I wanted to include the E8400 but the price difference is currently about $55 and that seems a little steep)

Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817139001

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145176

HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148288

DVD: LITE-ON SATA Model LH-20A1S (Retail)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827106057

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16832116204
(Is 64-bit going to be more trouble than it's worth? I'd really like to use 4 GB of RAM)

Case: Antec 900
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811129021

My main concern is the video card. Since I'll be doing a good deal of CAD and no gaming, I've been looking into using a workstation card from the Quadro line. But there is so much less information out there about these cards than the GeForces, I'm worried about running into compatibility and driver problems (especially with Vista). Anyone have any advice? Also, does anyone know what type of performance difference I could reasonably expect in CAD programs between a Quadro card and a similarly priced GeForce? These are the two cards I had been looking at:

PNY VCQFX570-PCIE-PB Quadro FX570 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814133208

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

Is the Quadro card even worth considering? I would appreciate any input on the video card, as well as comments on the rest of the components I listed.

[jmajcan]

Since nobody seems to have much info on Quadro video cards, I think I'm just going to stick with the regular GeForce line. This is the card I have picked out:

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

That being said, how is my build looking? Any comments/advice is appreciated.

[shadowpr]

Your build looks great.

Only thing I'm nost sure about is the video card. That 8800gt is a great card for gaming, but not sure about how well it will do what you want it to do.

[eaglestrike7339]

have you looked at tom's hardware? They have a chart on workstation video cards, if my memory serves me right.

As far as I have heard (and a quick trip to wikipedia tells me, see linkies below), they seem to be designed to your CAD needs at least, though i do not know how they would handle media.

Linkies:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVIDIA_Quadro
http://www.nvidia.com/page/workstation.html

[Katreat]

The 8800GT is a great gaming card but expect it is over-kill for what you are planning. I would definately do a bit more reading, or wait for someone who knows about work station cards to come along with suggestions.

You might post a specific quesiton in the video card section (Video, Audio and Multimedia) of the forum and get a better answer, the right person might just not be reading the new build threads.

Kat

[jmajcan]

Thanks for the advice everyone. After doing some more research I still haven't found too much info on workstation cards. I found the chart at Tom's Hardware that eaglestrike mentioned, but it was all for higher end cards that are out of my price range.

In the end I've decided not to bother with a Quadro card. I had my eye on an 8800GT, but Katreat mentioned that it might be overkill since I won't be doing any gaming. And I see that Nvidia has just released the 9600GT, which seems like it might fit my needs/budget perfectly.

EVGA 512-P3-N862-AR Superclocked GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130328

Does this card look like a good selection?

[Masaki 7-11]

I would make a new thread in the Video, Audio and Multimedia section regarding your video card choice, the Quadro and FireGL series cards should render a lot faster in CAD than any of the Geforce or Radeon series cards. Since I don't use workstations myself, I can't recommend a particular card, but if you post in the Video, Audio and Multimedia section, you'll most likely get some replies from other PCMechs who use workstation video cards.

I would also take a look at getting a P5K-E over a P5K since it has a better build quality, and some better parts (for example the sound chipset) for only a small increase in price.

[StykFacE]

I'm a CAD designer and I hate when people spend hudreds of dollars on a gaming card to run CAD programs. it's a complete waste of money. It's one thing to build a budget PC with a $100 gaming card, but when you're getting into the $200-$300+ range, go FireGL or Quadro.

However, the new 8000 series GeForce have a much better architecture related to both gaming as well as CAD design. Still, no contest because it doesn't support full OpenGL driver instructions, only MiniGL. Plus the architecture is still completely different.

Also, Autodesk 2009+ products are moving to Direct3D and away from OpenGL. So the rumors say, anyways. So keep this in mind on a new PC build. It's kind of a risky move at the moment to which one is going to be better.

Personally, Quadro/FireGL all the way.