new build for 3d gaming modeling and cad work

[engineerof2005]

parts options
CPU
Intel Core i5-3570K
Intel Core i7-3770K

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP4 TH
Asus P8Z77-V

RAM
Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz
Corsair 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1600MHz
Corsair 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz
G.SKILL 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3 1600MHz

Graphic Card
2 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC
2 x MSI Geforce GTX 660 Ti 2GB PE/OC

Solid State Drive
Crucial m4 256GB
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB
SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 256GB

Hard Disk
Seagate Barracuda 2TB
Seagate Barracuda 3TB

DVD Writer
LITE-ON
Samsung
LG

Power Supply
Corsair TX750 V2
NZXT HALE90-750-M

Cabinet
NZXT Phantom 410
Antec P280

CPU Cooler
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Phanteks PH-TC14PE

Sound Card
ASUS Xonar DG
ASUS XONAR DGX

Mouse
Standard Optical
Razer Deathadder

Keyboard
Standard Mechanical
Razer BlackWidow

Gamepad
Microsoft Xbox360 controller for PC
Razer Onza

Monitor
HP ZR30w
Dell UltraSharp U3011
BenQ XL2410T

please suggest best and balanced configuration from these options or you can suggest your own option also.

I have some questions
1. is i7-3770k preferred over i5-3570k for cad and modeling work and justify the price increase
2. if not overclocking then can I go for non-K version of these cpus and take full advantage of vt-d technology offered
3. dual channel ram or quad channel ram
4. if not overclocking then can cpu cooler be avoided
5. is 750 watt power supply enough
6. if onboard sound can be used to avoid external sound card purchase
7. does more ram (16 GB instead of 8 GB) help in cad, modeling, animation or 3d gaming

[radrok]

I have to admit I don't touch CAD much nowadays but you'll love the additional space that an U3011 or ZR30w can give you, mind that when I do have 3Ds Max and Zbrush opened I use 3 monitors (2560x1600 + 1920x1200 + 1920x1200) and I use every single bit of space.

As far as I can remember the only multi threaded features on AutoCAD are 2D Regeneration and Mentalray renderer, if you DO NOT use any of those you can buy a 3570K cause the program doesn't use more than 1 thread.

I'll return to you in half an hour to check, I'm going to fire up AutoCAD on one of our PCs.

EDIT: Skipped the 3D modeling part, which program do you use? 3D modeling is heavy multithreaded on the CPU if you want to render and see your result. I can use up to 64 threads when rendering (I use queue rendering).

[tokyoduong]

Take the Samsung SSD for reliability. It's not even a question which one you should choose if you have to do real work.
Corsair for PSU.
You'll need 16GB of RAM at least to keep everything running smooth. I would think you will need more than 8 GB doing this type of work. It really depends if you are doing a character model or a huge map. That's something only you'll know. Autocad can use more than 8gb also. It really depends on how complex your work is. Honestly, if you are asking this question then you probably don't need more than 8gb for now. But 16GB is so cheap that you might as well buy it.
Of course i7 is the logical way to go.
The rest is just preference and features and you'll probably want to go for something that is the most comfortable for you.

[engineerof2005]

thanks a lot for the details
thank you both very much

but please also suggest the configuration
my configuration below (is it a balanced configuration)

CPU: i7-3770k
MOBO: Asus P8Z77-V
RAM: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz
GPU: 2 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC
SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM 64MB cache (2 platters)
ODD: Samsung DVD Writer
PSU: Corsair TX750 V2
Case: NZXT Phantom 410
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DGX 5.1
Display: HP ZR30w
Mouse: Standard Optical Mouse
Keyboard: Standard Mechanical Keyboard
Gamepad: Microsoft Xbox360 controller for PC

[jmcslob]

Looks good imo....
If you want just a little performance think about getting 2-128gb SSD's and putting them in RAID0...
The Intel 7 series motherboards support TRIM and other useful SSD functions in RAID...

[Delta6326]

This is what I would go with from your list did some little tweaks, whats your budget?

CPU
Intel Core i7-3770

Motherboard

Asus P8Z77-V

RAM
G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1866MHz

Graphic Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 SC Signature+ * I don't know how well SLI works with CAD, if it was me I would look at workstation cards.

Solid State Drive
SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 256GB

Hard Disk
Seagate Barracuda 2TB

Power Supply
Corsair HX750 Gold Plus Save $10 with code: USMRCHMD7

Cabinet
Antec P280 (I like this look more)

CPU Cooler
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Monitor
Dell UltraSharp U3011

[Asylum]

You need to get the best graphic cards you can find for the money and build your system around that.
Dont know why people keep posting these cad and 3d modeling builds up here with these low end graphics.

[tokyoduong]

Originally Posted by engineerof2005

thanks a lot for the details
thank you both very much

but please also suggest the configuration
my configuration below (is it a balanced configuration)

CPU: i7-3770k
MOBO: Asus P8Z77-V
RAM: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz
GPU: 2 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC
SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM 64MB cache (2 platters)
ODD: Samsung DVD Writer
PSU: Corsair TX750 V2
Case: NZXT Phantom 410
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DGX 5.1
Display: HP ZR30w
Mouse: Standard Optical Mouse
Keyboard: Standard Mechanical Keyboard
Gamepad: Microsoft Xbox360 controller for PC

no no no. The vertex 4 and Barracuda 2TB has abysmal fail rates. You don't want that for your workstation. Get intel or samsung 830/840 pros. Look up the reviews bro. Get WD HDDs, I believe you want black or RE.
I left the graphics up to you because only you know what you need, but I promise you if you do 3d modeling and autocad professionally then you want Quadro or FirePro.
Xonar sound card? i thought this was for work?
HP display? Dell IPS displays are generally better for the price.
Looking at the parts you chose, I think anyone would initially think it was for gaming.

Originally Posted by jmcslob

Looks good imo....
If you want just a little performance think about getting 2-128gb SSD's and putting them in RAID0...
The Intel 7 series motherboards support TRIM and other useful SSD functions in RAID...

No, RAID 0 doubles his fail rates. As a workstation, who in their right mind would do that?

Originally Posted by Delta6326

This is what I would go with from your list did some little tweaks, whats your budget?

CPU
Intel Core i7-3770

Motherboard

Asus P8Z77-V

RAM
G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1866MHz

Graphic Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 SC Signature+ * I don't know how well SLI works with CAD, if it was me I would look at workstation cards.

Solid State Drive
SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series 256GB

Hard Disk
Seagate Barracuda 2TB

Power Supply
Corsair HX750 Gold Plus Save $10 with code: USMRCHMD7

Cabinet
Antec P280 (I like this look more)

CPU Cooler
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Monitor
Dell UltraSharp U3011

Everything here is good except you probably don't want gtx680 and go with his recommendation for quadro. No Barracuda 2TB (there's 2 versions China and Thailand). I believe the thailand version has better reliability but it's still not good. Just get a good reliable enterprise HD, it's worth the premium if your income depends on it.

I would recommend a good closed loop watercooling system also. Less noise, less heat in case, more space.

Originally Posted by Asylum

You need to get the best graphic cards you can find for the money and build your system around that.
Dont know why people keep posting these cad and 3d modeling builds up here with these low end graphics.

So what is your recommendation? Otherwise, I don't know why you even bothered to comment.

There's a discussion here http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/AutoCA...D/td-p/2994714

and go here to see what you need http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...12&id=18844534

Have a good day

[brandonwh64]

Does CAD and Catia use SLI?

[tokyoduong]

Originally Posted by brandonwh64

Does CAD and Catia use SLI?

Yes but I don't think he will SLI when he can just go to the next tier of Quadro. By the time you reach the highest tier you are spending close to 4k for the card. I don't think most people will SLI.
He can SLI regular cards but 2 regular cards probably will not equal 1 quadro in performance. It's the same chip but.....yea....they gotta make their money.

[repman244]

It's pointless to recommend ANYTHING before knowing what modelling and CAD programs will be used.
If there is heavy 3D modelling involved, ignore the gaming graphic cards and start looking at FirePro/Quadro.

And another thing, the high-end monitors are usually 10-bit which only workstation cards support.

[hckngrtfakt]

Originally Posted by repman244

It's pointless to recommend ANYTHING before knowing what modelling and CAD programs will be used.
If there is heavy 3D modelling involved, ignore the gaming graphic cards and start looking at FirePro/Quadro.

And another thing, the high-end monitors are usually 10-bit which only workstation cards support.

Exactly !!!

[engineerof2005]

what about asrock z77 extreme4/extreme6 (with vt-d support) compared to asus p8z77-v (not sure about vt-d support)?

[repman244]

Originally Posted by engineerof2005

what about asrock z77 extreme4/extreme6 (with vt-d support) compared to asus p8z77-v (not sure about vt-d support)?

K processors don't support VT-d, only the non K versions support it.

I'll ask again: what CAD programs are you using?

Going for faster CPU's and better motherboards won't be anywhere near as important as the GPU if the program can use it.

[Aquinus]

Originally Posted by engineerof2005

what about asrock z77 extreme4/extreme6 (with vt-d support) compared to asus p8z77-v (not sure about vt-d support)?

Originally Posted by repman244

K processors don't support VT-d, only the non K versions support it.

I'll ask again: what CAD programs are you using?

Going for faster CPU's and better motherboards won't be anywhere near as important as the GPU if the program can use it.

Both the chipset and the cpu have to support these features. The Z77 and H77 chipsets doesn't support VT-d, but that only helps you if you're planning on running virtual machines. I don't see how this will make a difference. If you're not planning on overclocking I would look into a motherboard with a Q77 chipset in it as opposed to a Z77 or H77. It will let you enable all the features offered by a non-k edition CPU. If you're not getting a K-edition chip the Q77 is what you want.

Also since you won't be overclocking, VRMs don't need to be nearly as beefy either.

[tokyoduong]

Ok, this is the link to give you the exact answer you need.
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...12&id=18844534

I've already posted this and you still have not even mentioned what program you will be using.

[de.das.dude]

Intel Core i7-3770K
Corsair 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1600MHz
are you sure dont want a professional graphics card?
Corsair SSD for peformance/quality. Intel for durability.
HDD WD 2TB (to be honest 1 TB is more than enough, if you dont pirate stuff i.e. )
Corsair TX750 V2
DVD Writer : Asus (i tried LG samsung, both died within 14months. *fingers crossed* my asus is going well)

HYPER 212 EVO.
or HYPER TX4 (both are similar, but TX4 is a bit cheaper)


MOUSE: Logitech G400. this is the best mouse available. perfect for designing. i dont like razer as they dont seem to be as durable. also the G400 is very ergonomic and will work smoothly on pretty much any surface.

go for the dell monitor.

cant advice on the mobo, as i have no idea.
if you wont overclock, no need of K series CPU.
3770 is preferred as larger models may benefit.
no need of extra sound card. onboard 7.1 channel sound is more than enough.
no need of spending extra money on a expensive mechanical keyboard. they are quite overrated. i prefer the logitech k200 for its soft and silent feel (for gaming mech KB is okay as you will wear headphones, but when silently designing the clicking noise is irritating and distracting)