Build Help

[thedoormat]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
In order of priority, Solidworks/AutoCAD, Accounting softwares, excel/browsing etc

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
<$1400

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

I prefer an Intel processor, and am biased towards ASUS components, but within reason. If a good case is made for not picking from their offerings, I can listen to reason.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
2x 27" Westinghouse Monitors (HDMI) (1920x1200)
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Some light overclocking, since solidworks performance is heavily reliant on CPU clock speed.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
1920x1200

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Around BF. But need all components to be purchased on or before 12/25.

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
No.

Here is a rough Build that I came up with, but am looking for some fine tuning, and general guidance.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wqbqwP

 

[Ken g6]

Mostly looks good. I made a few tweaks and got you 32GB RAM. Are you in a place where electricity is expensive? If not, a Gold PSU may not make sense for you; though I found a fairly cheap one. I also picked out a cheap HDD. If you picked that one for reliability, I'd say get 2 cheap ones and RAID-1 them.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($102.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: *PNY 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($255.20 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($112.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($147.26 @ OutletPC)
Other: PNY Quadro K620 ($169.99)
Total: $1355.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-29 16:39 EDT-0400

Edit: I'm not actually sure which video card is better. The Quadro has 2GB VRAM, but the FirePro has GDDR5. Edit2: And then there's the FirePro W4100. :hmm:

 

[ElFenix]

If you picked that one for reliability, I'd say get 2 cheap ones and RAID-1 them

i'd say get a real backup solution, such as NAS and cloud based.

 

[mfenn]

Edit: I'm not actually sure which video card is better. The Quadro has 2GB VRAM, but the FirePro has GDDR5. Edit2: And then there's the FirePro W4100. :hmm:

A Quadro K620 is roughly equivalent to a GTX 745 (3/4ths of a GTX 750) whereas the V4900 is roughly equivalent to a 6670. The W4100 is roughly equivalent to a 7750. The parts are close enough in performance that the GDDR5 on the FirePro cards, and the newer W4100 in particular makes it the better choice.

 

[thedoormat]

Thank you everyone for your inputs. I really appreciate it. Work has been hectic and so I haven't been able to read/respond and thank everyone for their assistance.

I am not extremely concerned about data back up. We do a weekly backup and pay for a professional backup service as well (which performs a scheduled online backup of all our computers). We've had our primary hard drives fail on us a couple of times and since then, we do multiple backups. Although, a RAID does sound appealing.

i'd say get a real backup solution, such as NAS and cloud based.

Why is RAID not attractive ElFenix? I'm extremely curious to hear your thoughts.

As for the GPU, I picked the 4900 because of the bandwidth (64GB/s). There wasn't enough of an improvement in the 4100 (72GB/s) to justify spending the extra money and the Quadro was actually lower in bandwidth (29GB/s).

Is the Corsair a reliable PSU? In the past, I've heard some rating and reliability issues on the corsair's budget series (they were rating it at room temps, not operating temps?)

Again, thank you to everyone that has replied. It is highly appreciated.

 

[Ken g6]

Why is RAID not attractive

RAID is not a backup. But if you're already doing backups, it could be a nice addition, for an extra $43.

There wasn't enough of an improvement in the 4100 (72GB/s) to justify spending the extra money

Not enough to justify $20 AP?