Ive been trying to research computers lately and thought I'd get the board's opinion. Here's the deal. I dont game or anything, this computer will be built to run CAD, specifically Unigraphics NX 2.0 and Solidworks 2005. I also want to keep the final price under 600 dollars if possible (for motherboard, cpu, memory, case, fan, and video card). I have some specific questions though:

Has anyone used the AMD 64bit technology? Would I be better off (for my application) with a 2.4 ghz AMD 64? or a 3.4 ghz P4? They come out to about the same price.

Can anyone reccomend a good CAD video card thats 256 mb and hopefully under 150 dollars?

Im planning on going with 2 gb of memory. Can you reccomend a brand thats "best"? Is DDR2 that much better then DDR?

Throw out some numbers. Give me a few options. I used to keep up with computers, and I built the computer Im typing on now about 4 years ago. Im not a total neophite, but Im not up to date with technology.

This will probably be coming from tigerdirect.com unless someone can reccomend a better source.

Going 64 bit you'll exceed the $600 price margin easily. Talk to scott. If you're going to nickel and dime a PC together, check out www.newegg.com or www.tigerdirect.com for purchasing parts. Make sure you get a motherboard that supports your processor. go with an AMD 64 FX proc since they don't require ECC memory, and 2GB of ECC DDRAM is a lot of money...

Your CAD programs should use D3D (Direct-X) or OpenGL. A top-o-the-line nVidia GeForce 6800 should be good enough.

The debate over which is faster: P4 or AMD64 is not really a debate. Intel likes to shoot out fake and hyped numbers. The AMD64 (FX) trumps all of Intel's P4 line, as the Opterons emberass Intel's Xeon line.

What parts are you only looking to buy? What parts do you have already?

You guys have Fry's electronics down there. They have great sales on MB and processor combos.

www.pricewatch.com

to "properly" run solidworks correctly, you need specialized hardware. the ATI board name escapes my mind, but it's a pro board and very $$$. I built a Athlon64 system for my dad and I peed my pants when it booted windows in under five seconds and was ready to go at ten. I was very impressed. Make sure you go with socket 939, it's newer. Load the computer with ram and don't skimp on the video. Video and ram are VERY SURE EXTREMELY important. if you skimp on ANYTHING, skimp on the CPU. it ran fine with my athlon 2600+ with a 128MB radeon card.

im me if you have any Qs

The Athlon64 system also runs cooler. And ditto on the graphics card... don't skimp. Get one that does not share memory & you'll be that much further ahead.

There's a new company out there in Ohio that's building computers for Office Depot. SYSTEMAX
Their stocks are beginning to climb too

I just had one built specifically to run my Photoshop applications & other photo programs for under $900.

Ascent HA2800; AMD Athlon 64 3400+ w/ HT; 1GB PC3200 Memory (2x512MB); Microsoft Windows XP Home w/SP2 ; 200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive; 16x DVD-ROM Drive ; Integrated Audio; GeForce FX5200-8X 128MB Video Card with TV Out; Integrated 10/100 Network Adapter; 56K V.92 PCI Data/Fax Modem; Logitech Deluxe Keyboard; Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse; 3-Port Firewire Card; 16X DVD +/-R/RW Drive - Dual Layer ; 9-in-1 USB Card Reader.

......b

QUOTE (MattR @ Jul 5 2005, 10:35 PM)

Ive been trying to research computers lately and thought I'd get the board's opinion. Here's the deal. I dont game or anything, this computer will be built to run CAD, specifically Unigraphics NX 2.0 and Solidworks 2005. I also want to keep the final price under 600 dollars if possible (for motherboard, cpu, memory, case, fan, and video card). I have some specific questions though: Has anyone used the AMD 64bit technology? Would I be better off (for my application) with a 2.4 ghz AMD 64? or a 3.4 ghz P4? They come out to about the same price. Can anyone reccomend a good CAD video card thats 256 mb and hopefully under 150 dollars? Im planning on going with 2 gb of memory. Can you reccomend a brand thats "best"? Is DDR2 that much better then DDR? Throw out some numbers. Give me a few options. I used to keep up with computers, and I built the computer Im typing on now about 4 years ago. Im not a total neophite, but Im not up to date with technology. This will probably be coming from tigerdirect.com unless someone can reccomend a better source.

I think the guy at my work that runs solidworks has a graphics card that exceeds $600.

honestly, A64s are the way to go... they are as cheap as normal athlons now...

even a 2800+ A64 system will do about anything you want...

I've build a couple of systems recently for people here at work, all were A64 systems, all are ROCK solid and blazing fast...

don't get a cheap mobo though... a nice ASUS is still under 100... and will be much more reliable than a chaintech or other generic type brand.

your budget is reasonable, if you shop around a bit... the only thing I can't attest to is a CAD video card... I know gaming cards though...

Just built an AMD system to run Solidworks, they have listed on their website the cards that work perfectly with SW, and ones that work most of the time. I chose one that works most of the time, saved about 100 bucks over the cheapest one that works all of the time. The card I chose will crash if I have more than 12 SW windows open. I can deal with that limitation. I use SW all day long and I rarely, if ever, have had 12 windows open. Here is the list, no monitor, for 600 bills all from newegg (I had to pay tax because I am in NJ, you may not):


CASE SCASE|PC-115 7C574-115 350W RT (Qty=1,Price=$22.00)
*VGA PWRCLR|RADEON9600PRO 128M 8X (Qty=1,Price=$119.50)
CPU AMD 64 |3000+ ATHLON 64 RTL (Qty=1,Price=$148.00)
DDRAM512MB|CORSAR64X64 VS512MB400 R (Qty=2,Price=$136.54)
HD 80GB|MAXTOR 6Y080M0 SATA % (Qty=1,Price=$67.00)
CDRW 52X32X52|OPTORITE CW5201 BLACK (Qty=1,Price=$21.50)
MB AMD VIA K8T800|SL-K8AV2-RL SOLTK (Qty=1,Price=$82.50)
FAN COOLINGFAN SPEEZE FD08025S1M4 (Qty=2,Price=$4.18)

Subtotal:$601.22
TAX:$36.07

It is a fast machine, runs SW better than my penti4 3.2 at work with the better video card.

They may not seem like a good retailer, but PC Club was having AMD64 upgrade deals. Asus mobos and AMD 64 combos going for like $200 or something. And they weren't slow. Here are their latest specials: link.

i'm so not a computer guy. you'll only be as fast as your isp. my hp laptop is lightning fast if i'm not on netzero. i'd rather spend the big bucks on a paint job than a computer.

k

QUOTE (jasons @ Jul 6 2005, 07:36 AM)

QUOTE (MattR @ Jul 5 2005, 10:35 PM) Ive been trying to research computers lately and thought I'd get the board's opinion.  Here's the deal.  I dont game or anything, this computer will be built to run CAD, specifically Unigraphics NX 2.0 and Solidworks 2005.  I also want to keep the final price under 600 dollars if possible (for motherboard, cpu, memory, case, fan, and video card).  I have some specific questions though: Has anyone used the AMD 64bit technology?  Would I be better off (for my application) with a 2.4 ghz AMD 64?  or a 3.4 ghz P4?  They come out to about the same price. Can anyone reccomend a good CAD video card thats 256 mb and hopefully under 150 dollars? Im planning on going with 2 gb of memory.  Can you reccomend a brand thats "best"?  Is DDR2 that much better then DDR? Throw out some numbers.  Give me a few options.  I used to keep up with computers, and I built the computer Im typing on now about 4 years ago.  Im not a total neophite, but Im not up to date with technology. This will probably be coming from tigerdirect.com unless someone can reccomend a better source. I think the guy at my work that runs solidworks has a graphics card that exceeds $600.

thats what i mean. HUGE ASS processor. Otherwise solidworks crashes like a MO-FO. Honestly and frankly, it runs fine on my 2600+....

So you think an amd 64 at like 2.2 ghz would run faster then a p4 at 3 ghz (and more stable) for cad applications?

As far as video card, the ATI Fire GL is a cad specific card, but they have like 3 versions ranging from 600 to 1200 dollars... Im not making enough money on cad to do that.

How about OS? Is XP 64 worth it? I wasnt planning on starting from scratch, although it may not be a bad idea... I just have to backup all my "borrowed" software...

QUOTE (MattR @ Jul 6 2005, 01:05 PM)

So you think an amd 64 at like 2.2 ghz would run faster then a p4 at 3 ghz (and more stable) for cad applications? As far as video card, the ATI Fire GL is a cad specific card, but they have like 3 versions ranging from 600 to 1200 dollars... Im not making enough money on cad to do that. How about OS? Is XP 64 worth it? I wasnt planning on starting from scratch, although it may not be a bad idea... I just have to backup all my "borrowed" software...

if you change the motherboard you HAVE to start over... windows doesn't take kindly to pulling it's IDE interface out from under it...


I've done it another way 1-2 times, with marginal sucess... you remove all of the hardware from your hardware configuration in the registrym in safe mode of course.

then shut off the PC, swap the hardware and when you boot up, it *should* find everything again... it was NOT as stable when doing this method though...

you can use regualr XP if you already have a copy, and when you do the windows update, it will put the 64-bit components in...

Geek alert .....WAAAARP WAAAARP WAAAARP

Here is the build sheet im considering:

CP1-A64-32009 :: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ / 512KB Cache / 2000 MHz FSB / Socket 939 / Processor with Fan (1 lbs) <192.99>

A455-2110 :: Asus A8V Deluxe VIA Socket 939 ATX Motherboard / AGP 4X/8X / Audio / Gigabit LAN / Serial ATA / RAID / USB 2.0 / Firewire (3.5 lbs) <132.99>

TC3H-1016 :: nVidia GeForce 6600 / 256MB DDR / AGP 8x / DVI / TV-OUT / Video Card (1 lbs) <149.99>

M56-5920 :: Mushkin HP Dual Channel 2048MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB) (0.5 lbs) <219.99>

C455-1006 :: CG TAC ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB and Audio Ports and 400-Watt Power Supply (19 lbs) <44.99>

THD-160MM8 :: Maxtor / DiamondMax 10 / 160GB / 7200 / 8MB / ATA-133 / EIDE / OEM / Hard Drive (3 lbs) <49.99>

On windows XP 64. The total price is about a grand (free shipping and no tax). The operating system came out to about 150, which I didnt anticipate, and I have some other crap on there (DVD drives, DVDs, etc) that totals about 100 bucks, so just the computer with case and everything comes out to 750, which means I may have to wait to get finances in order . I'll be shooting for the end of summer. Thanks guys!

where are you getting the prices? have you checked newegg.com?

I use an Nvidia Quadro FX3400 video card ($1200) for my SW machine. Everything else in the computer is mainstream. Just get a reasonably fast processor (3Ghz+) and 2 gigs of memory. Also, forget the home editions of Windows. Get a professional version.

Demick

You just missed out on motherboard and proc for less than proc or MB single price you spec'd. Dude, gotta watch those ads at Fry's, will beat $500.

Matt,

I may have just what you need.

AMD 64 3000+, ASUS Board, 2GB RAM, (4quad) 36.4 GB 8MB Cache 10kRPM Serial ATA Raptors in a RAID 0, ATI x800 PRO 256MB DDR3 AGP, Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS, Antec Case Full Tower server case with 5 fans, Adjustable 520w Antec PS, DVD dual layer burner,etc. Computer runs quite and cool, looks bad ass, and can run anything you throw at it. Everything is wireloomed and dust free. I can put together a complete detailed list if you are really interested.

$750 and I have a 19" Dual input Sony trinitron CRT monitor (flat glass) you can have for free. Works perfect but I have LCD's now.

Luke D

Oh, or I have a Dual Processor 2.4GHz XEON workstation that I built with virtually the same specs but not quite as pretty for $700. Some of the drives are white as aposed to black. It's a bad mother. I need to get rid of one so take your pic. I can send pics also and detailed list.

Luke

WTF are you people talking about???
Elliot

QUOTE (Elliot Cannon @ Jul 6 2005, 06:19 PM)

WTF are you people talking about??? Elliot

Elliot, computers can be used for more then 914club, porn, and auto pilot

Luke, I sent you a PM.

QUOTE (Demick @ Jul 6 2005, 02:07 PM)

I use an Nvidia Quadro FX3400 video card ($1200) for my SW machine.

ditto, at home and at work......

QUOTE (MattR @ Jul 6 2005, 06:27 PM)

QUOTE (Elliot Cannon @ Jul 6 2005, 06:19 PM) WTF are you people talking about???         Elliot Elliot, computers can be used for more then 914club, porn, and auto pilot Luke, I sent you a PM.

OMGWTFBBQ liez!!!