Help with computer specs

[The_Beast]

I've build my own computer, several times. However, I tend to do a ton of research before I buy, but never keep up with everything new that has come out since. So I was wondering if someone up with current hardware could spec out a machine with the following criteria (in order of importance).

1) Under $1000
2) Runs Solidworks, MasterCAM and other design/machining programs
3) Small form factor

My school needs 2 or 3 computers to run these programs for competitions and I don't want full towers to lug around. Don't need monitors, mice or keyboards (huehuehue)

Thanks!

[CPTBadAss]

I'm bad with computers so I'll let someone else comment. But it's great to see you again The_Ben

[HoffmanMyster]

I'm bad with computers so I'll let someone else comment. But it's great to see you again The_Ben

+1 welcome back! 

[blcksqrrl]

How about something like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/blcksqrrl/saved/#view=2MLgXL?

[The_Beast]

How about something like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/blcksqrrl/saved/#view=2MLgXL?

Looks decent but is the graphics card beefy enough for constant 3D rendering?

[jbondeson]

FirePro is AMD's line of gpus for the CAD/Pro market so it should be good there. The next step up (the 5100) jumps to $330, so a little more than double. You'll want to stick with AMD because they do better with OpenGL than the Quadro line from nvidia.

[blcksqrrl]

Ehh, it could be.

You could also go this route: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fDJgMp, a little slower on the CPU and HDD, but that graphics card is much faster. It will also be a little bit larger than the other one, but not by an unreasonable amount.

[tp4tissue]

the main problem is actually the Serial Port and / or Parallel port.

The overclocking boards, which provide the best power side etc, often don't have serial ports / parallel ports.

And most of those addin cards don't work right for 1 reason or another

[themagicat]

For cad programs I would probably go with an amd 8 core fx chip with a amd    firepro GPU mentioned. I don't think that buying the enterprise model for the cpu is even close to being worth it for your price point, since the lower end chips are the same as older consumer models, slightly tweaked. I don't think it would be advantageous unless you went with a more expensive chip.

[themagicat]

How about this http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bLHqZL

[blcksqrrl]

For cad programs I would probably go with an amd 8 core fx chip with a amd    firepro GPU mentioned. I don't think that buying the enterprise model for the cpu is even close to being worth it for your price point, since the lower end chips are the same as older consumer models, slightly tweaked. I don't think it would be advantageous unless you went with a more expensive chip.

The performance of the the FX-9590 is very similar to the Xeon E3 1231-V3. Despite the fact that the Xeon is a quadcore, it supports hyperthreading, giving it the same number of threads as the AMD chip. It really isn't going to make a huge difference either way. One of the larger differences between the two is the the TDP, being 80W for the Xeon and 220W for the AMD. The Xeon can support ECC, which isn't a big deal with CAD but depending on how you use the computers, it may play a benefit later on. Last, the AMD is almost a year older than the Xeon, which came it out in May 2014.

[themagicat]

The only advantage of the Xeon chip is that it supports ECC, which is not even going to be used at a pricepoint around 1000$. Since the AMD chip is cheaper than the Xeon, and so are AMD mobos it allows you to purchase a better GPU.

[tp4tissue]

Def, wouldn't get a xeon..

They're exactly the same as the regular cpus, but they're clocked slower and cost more. They might have an extra instruction set, but I highly doubt you're missing that precise instruction set for solidworks itself, maybe maybe a plugin.


Stability is king here, so if we want the most performance per dollar.. k series + a mild overclock like 4.4-4.6ghz would be ideal.