Building a Solidworks Workstation for Automotive Design

[MachtundKlugheit]

Hi everyone. Three weeks ago I was given a budget of $2050 to build a computer for 3D design and school work. I intend this computer to last about 5-10 years. I have done a lot of research but I still questions. I came to this site to make sure that the parts that I have chosen will work when I put them together. Everything is being purchased at Newegg.com.

Its a Windows7 64bit OS Dual Channel

$199.99 ASUS sabertooth X58
LGA1366 SATA 6GB/s USB3.0 ATX

$569.99 Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield
3.2GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core

$199.99 Corsair XMS3 8GB (4x2GB)
240-pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

$379.99 ATI Firepro V5800 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI-E2.0

$104.99 HP PY279AA 250GB 7200RPM SATAII 3.5"

$139.99 HP 2010i 20" 5ms 16:9

$29.99 HP 24X Multiformat DVD burner SATAII model 1270i

$16.99 Rosewill RNX-G300LX

$64.99 Apevia ATX_AQ700W-BK 700W ATX12V

$144.98 Apevia X-Dreamer 3 ATX combo with W7 64bit

$99.99 Solidworks Student Version 2010

What I want to know is if the workstation card will fit in the tower that I want to buy, and if this is a good set up for a long future. I chose the ASUS sabertooth because it has new components that aren't used yet but will.

Any help is welcomed.

[jdeb]

The Video card will fit. Don't put the hard drive directly behind the video card.

I would ditch that power supply for a corsair, seasonic, or antec

Are you set on that motherboard and CPU?

Have you looked at the Hardware Periphery Compatibility file for that board?

I am not sure as to your choice on drives? Why HP's?

[Nikon]

i cant even find that HDD on newegg. from what you say, its small, slow, and really expencive... get yourself a western digital caviar black 1tb. i think they are $89, 100 at most, and they are sata III (6gbps).

EIDT: i found it, and i see no reason to purchase it. seriously. waste of money. its feature list is 'compatabile with xxx workstation'. its a hard drive... its compatabile with any computer you put it in, just format it... dont buy that hp waste of money. a 1 year mfg warranty doesnt boast any reliability either.

the x58 is for the enthusiast, you dont need to go there unless you WANT to, plus it can be picky, especially with improper ram.

the ram you picked would probably work, but your performance would be dismal. that x58 board uses tripple channel memory, not dual channel.

i recommend (and i probably wont be the only one) to stick with the LGA 1156 socket.

you can keep that ram, and put it on an asus p7p55d-e (or p7p55d-e pro if you wish to xfire later) with an i7-870 cpu.

if you need wireless support, get a card that matches the current network speed/brand if possible.

[Khalil]

X58 motherboards are tripple channel so the memory should be 6GB or 12GB
This is the motherboard you want Newegg.com - ASUS P6TD Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard if you want to stick to the X58 chipset however I recommend P55 over the X58 for stability.
Great video card!
You don't want HP components. You want Western Digital hard drives, LG/Asus/Sony Optical drives, Asus/Smsung LCD monitors.
Apevia power supply are total junk, for a work station Seasonic is the best power supply.
Rosewill products are no good, for a wireless card I would go with Trendnet, D-Link or Netgear.
The Apevia case is hardly a case for a workstation it is a low end wannabe gaming case. They are built badly and expansion is a problem with them, if you are truly planning on keeping this computer for more than 3 years then you need a case that will allow for expansion.
Here is what I recommend for a Mid Tower Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Gladiator 600 RC-600-KKN1-GP Black SECC Body ; Mesh Front bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case or this for a full Tower Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Now going back to the X58 chipset, how many systems have you built in the past? How familiar are you with Bios and motherboard debugging? If the answer this is your first build and you are not avid at debugging hardware problems I highly recommend you go with this motherboard Newegg.com - ASUS P7P55D Deluxe LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard and this Processor Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-875K Lynnfield 2.93GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor BX80605I7875K and forget about the X58!

[Nikon]

khalil, that cpu doesnt come with a heatsink, and its 50 bucks more than the 870. your paying a high price premium for that unlocked multiplier, and its great, if you wish to overclock. i dont think our thread starter is into that, but alas, i dont know if that is something he is considering.

[Khalil]

You are right, the 870 is more than enough but I was showing that even the most expensive 1156 will fit nicely in his budget and I think is a much better choice! He did mention he wants to keep it for a long so some overclocking once the machine gets older would not hurt.

[MachtundKlugheit]

First thank you for replying. I am not into overclocking. I wanted to know why the 870 was a better buy. I thought that the 960 was faster, or is the 870 a better buy for the money now. considering i was going to spend $570 on the 960, I just want to know if it won't benefit me.

I was concerned about the card size, I looked at a few cards and they could only fit in an EATX case. It is my first computer.

I have a few worries about the brand names you suggested, only because of reviews left on Newegg.com. I know most people who post are really happy or really upset.

why is the LGA 1366 not a better buy, more than I need?

thank you again for your suggestions.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by MachtundKlugheit First thank you for replying. I am not into overclocking. I wanted to know why the 870 was a better buy. I thought that the 960 was faster, or is the 870 a better buy for the money now. considering i was going to spend $570 on the 960, I just want to know if it won't benefit me. I was concerned about the card size, I looked at a few cards and they could only fit in an EATX case. It is my first computer. I have a few worries about the brand names you suggested, only because of reviews left on Newegg.com. I know most people who post are really happy or really upset. why is the LGA 1366 not a better buy, more than I need? thank you again for your suggestions.

you may get steered away from the 1366 socket because it is designed for the enthusiast and technically advanced end user (you may be such a user).
you cant go by the newegg reviews and maybe about 1/3 of the verified users are knowledgeable. This is the correct format (PCMech) to seek out the correct parts for a build. It will save you a lot of confusion and money.

[glc]

Rosewill products are no good, for a wireless card I would go with Trendnet, D-Link or Netgear.

That particular Rosewill wireless card is a good card. I've used several with no problems.

For an 1156 motherboard, I'd recommend an Asus P7P55D-E, because it's true USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0.

[MachtundKlugheit]

So i have used all of your suggestions, and this is what I have come up with.

Processor
$289.99 Intel I7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz
Board
$179.99 ASUS P7P55d-E PRO LGA 1156
Case
$54.99 Cooler Master Gladiator 600 RC-600-KKN-1-GP
PSU
$109.99 Seasonic SS-750ONT ATX12V
Optical
$84.99 LG Black Blueray UN10LS20
HDD
$89.99 WD Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 64mb
RAM
$199.99 8GB (4x2GB) Corsair DDR3 1600 XMS3
Monitor
$209.99 ASUS Black 23" 2ms(GTG)
Workstation Card
$379.99 ATI Firepro v5800 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCIE2.0x16
Network WiFi
$54.99 D-Link DWA-552
OS
$99.99 Windows 7 64bit

the cheaper processor put me inline with my budget without sacrificing anything. I can order a biggere monitor and get Blueray while remaining with what I wanted to pay. If there are any problems with this, now is the time, i have about another week before I can pay for all of this and a few extras.

I thank alll of you for help, I have learned alot in afew weeks, but nothing replaces expertise in the field

[MachtundKlugheit]

I have already posted here for a help on getting the parts right for my PC for Solidworks. I have been using Solidworks for Automotive design for about a year. I didn't know what specs the PC I was using were, it was Dell from a comunity college. I think it was 32bit pro with 4GB of ram. I don't know the workstation card used, but if it was a Dell, it was most likely cheap.

Althougth i am an experienced Solidworks person, I need advice from an expert who has been using it for years and makes their own computers.

This is the set up I will be ordering using the advice from others on this site, Who I thank for their help without reticule.

Processor
$289.99 Intel I7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz
Board
$179.99 ASUS P7P55d-E PRO LGA 1156
Case
$54.99 Cooler Master Gladiator 600 RC-600-KKN-1-GP
PSU
$109.99 Seasonic SS-750ONT ATX12V
Optical
$84.99 LG Black Blueray UN10LS20
HDD
$89.99 WD Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 64mb
RAM
$199.99 8GB (4x2GB) Corsair DDR3 1600 XMS3
Monitor
$209.99 ASUS Black 23" 2ms(GTG)
Workstation Card
$379.99 ATI Firepro v5800 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCIE2.0x16
Network WiFi
$54.99 D-Link DWA-552
OS
$99.99 Windows 7 64bit

Everything fits my budget, but I want to know how important RAM is. I hit the cieling on the computer I was using, and I am sure it was 4GB. I have 8 on this one, But I want to know if 16GB, which is the limit on this board will help me. I would be using Crucial because they have a deal for 16GB for the same price as the Corsair's 8GB.

I pretty sure the Workstation Card is what I want, everything fits my budget. But if anything better would be appreciated. Thank you in advanced for your help and expertise.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Such a shame to use a good card with a crappy TN-panel. Is a good IPS monitor too out of your league?

[glc]

Threads merged, please keep all questions about a build in one thread. Thank you!

- Admin -

Please post a link to the Crucial ram - and make sure it's on the compatibility list for the motherboard.

[MachtundKlugheit]

below is the link to the Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) ddr3 1333, Newegg.com has a bulk offer for $200 which woud allow me to get twice as much as I would if I bought Corsair 8GB (4x2GB) XMS3 ddr3 1600.

Newegg.com - Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT51264BA1339

Sorry for the two postings about the same build, just have been anxious about getting this computer running so I can continue designing.

I didn't know about IPS monitors until just now, I have had my head in other studies, didn't relize a new tech for LCD came out. Given the budget I have shown above, I only portioned about $200 for a monitor. However if better and cheaper components can be used and i can move money around I could afford a better monitor for designing.

If anyone has any suggestions on how I can change my budget with insider part deals others wouldn't know about (like myself) and then I could afford a better tech monitor.

Again thank you for your expertise