PC build with AutoCAD in mind (Low Budget)

Luke2

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Hello, firstly I'd like to say that this forum has helped me gather much knowledge about building PC's and get my own PC build up and running with no issues. So thanks all of You for that. Now to my question.

I had a very good friend of mine ask me to put together a system which will be used for working with CAD software.

I do not have any experience with building CAD workstations, do I go for the Quadro videocard ? Is there any particular parts that I should be looking for instead of the regular cookie-cutter gaming builds ?
I would imagine computers like these need to be stable and somewhat powerful, however no gaming will be performed on this, so that poses me to ask the Pros here.

The budget.... Well, he told me "somewhere" in the range of $500, however I believe the flexibility is there, so if there is something that would be really worth getting in terms of performance, then I'm sure he would be willing to go to $700. Somewhere within that range.

Monitors/OS/Peripherals need NOT to be included in this. I am mainly looking for advice in choosing the core components such as MOBO/CPU/VC/PSU. All else I could possibly pick out myself. One last note, He will be running dual screens.

Thanks for Your time.
Luke
 
Got a fair bit of experience of building systems like this for local designers. Here's what we normally quote them, and none of the machines we've built ever got returned for not being sufficient.

CPU: Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision HDZ555WFGMBOX
Mobo: Newegg.com - ASUS M4A78LT-M AM3 AMD 760G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
RAM: Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model TW3X4G1333C9A G
VC: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948
PSU: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS500-PCARD3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply

That's around budget i reckon. You could probably get away with a lesser video card; originally i put in a GT 430, but then you said dual screens, and that (in terms of rendering on two screens) sometimes requires somewhat increased oomph.
 
RAM, RAM, RAM. I do 3D modeling (Inventor) and I will say this, DO NOT cheap out on the RAM or the amount. Get the most RAM you can afford, and then get some more. but think ahead, you only have so many slots so get them in the largest size so later when u can afford more you don't have to replace all the other ones. More RAM with a lesser GPU will do you better than a super duper GPU with little RAM.
 
I would suggest a power supply approved for dual graphic cards and get a single card that is SLI compatible. You can always get another graphics card down the road to keep the computer from falling too far behind graphics-wise. Same with the RAM, 8GB minimum, then you can upgrade later when you can afford more. I started with 4GB RAM and most times I would wait 30 minutes for large (80GB) 3D assembly files to load. I upgraded to 8GB RAM and wait times dropped to around 15 minutes on average. I then upgraded to 16GB RAM and wait times average around 3 to 5 minutes. I don't know how much he will work with large 3D models, but I can verify that RAM does indeed help tremendously in such things.
 
Get a cheap but decent quadcore like phenom 955 or intel Q8400. You will need the extra core when you multitask.
I agree with getting the most ram for your budget. 4gb for starters but increase it to 8gb when you get more cash.

Videocards dont really accelerate autocad unless you will also be doing 3d like maya/3dsmax.
I didnt notice any speed difference going from my onboard Geforce 6100, to a 9800GT, then an HD5670.
A good midrange card like GT440 will be enough.
 
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