Lots of questions. stab away

[sodamninsane]

Preface: I am just starting to research building a new computer, but have been out of the game for about 3 years since I built my last system. IN that time I feel so much has changed that I'd like to be brought up to speed rather than trying to fish through everything on my own.


1. Usage: I currently do a lot of CAD work / Video editing and some gaming in the spare time. I would like a pc that is good at all of that. I currently have 1 gig of ram which is OK for FEA (Finite element analysis) but I would like around 3-4 to be able to do larger models.
- Question: Will standard CAD programs (Unigraphics, Solidworks, etc) take advantage of dual core processors?

2. Budget: 1000 - 1500. A bit of a budget system, esp. since I do not have a lot (hardly any) carryover parts from my old system.

3. This system will be built in the USA.

4. No brand preferences. Currently using AMD/ATI/Mushkin/WD/Soundblaster in the desktop, and intel in the laptop.

5. Only carryover parts would be drives...

6. No I have not searched for threads yet.

7. Would like to not overclock.

Thanks for your help!

Andy

EDIT: After Reading through a couple searches here's some more info:

I will not be running vista... damn thing doesn't support half of the cad stuff I want to / do use anyway.. probably will stick with 32bit xp, may try to go 64 but I doubt it.

Upgrading is not a huge concern, I find that upgrading can just be a waste of time in the long run, and I'm better off taking the plunge than bandaiding.

THat being said, I'd like to get another 3-4 years out of my next system. Seems to be a pretty good lifecycle in this world.

Any thoughts on upcoming technologies that might be worth waiting for? I'm in no hurry, and expect to be building this thing next year (spring / summer).

 

[LightningRider]

I would go for an Intel Core 2 Duo or Quad. The Core 2's are 15-20% faster clock for clock than AMD's best offerings. Penryn (Intel) and Phenom (AMD) are coming in Q4 of 2007 so you might wanna wait for that but I don't think either will offer any outstanding benefits over the current CPUs. nVidia has new video cards coming out this year supposedly. DDR3 is out but is not really worth it yet as it is very expensive. There are X38 motherboards coming out at the end of September and new hard drives from Seagate and Samsung (7200.11 series and Spinpoint F1 series respectively) due out soon.

 

[sodamninsane]

Thanks lightning thats pretty much the info I was looking for.

Can anyone explain a little bit about multiple core CPU's and how they are utilized by current OS's? I know for instance that the cell processor in a ps3 is essentially a terrible waste of time because realtime apps cannot utilize all the cores... Or atleast thats what I've heard.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[LightningRider]

Well, I don't use CAD programs myself (tho they do look really cool) but I would assume the latest and greatest versions of them should make use of multi core CPUs. For example I would expect Solidworks 2008, which is coming out in September I hear to make use of at least a dual core machine, if not more cores, though I can't really say for certain but that's what I would expect from them.

Probably if you google around you can pick up some more information on that. As far as other programs and multi core, well they do exist but so far they are few. Programs are starting to make use of dual cores but most apps are still single threaded. Having a multi core processor allows you to take on several extensive tasks at once however, and can be useful depending on how much multitasking you do.

I would personally go with something like:

-Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

-Gigabyte P35-DS3R motherboard (no firewire on this if you need that though) OR wait for an X38 motherboard (though they are supposed to be geared more towards the high end and cost more)

-3GB of RAM (since you are using a 32bit OS you cannot address more than 3GB of RAM, you need a 64bit OS to use more than 3GB) OR get 2GB and upgrade later to 4GB or more.

-8800GTS or 8600GT or ATI X1950 Pro video card (Depending on how much gaming you do, but I guess you will still want a decent card for the 3d stuff, I guess the ATI X1950 Pro would be the best bang for buck card. 8800GTS will offer the most performance, by quite a large factor, or the 8800GTX or Ultra but I think those may be out of your budget range.)

-Western Digital 500GB Hard drive or a Raptor 150GB if you really want something fast. But if you're not building today I would wait for either the Seagate 7200.11 or the Samsung Spinpoint F1 series, which both look promising, though the F1 series looks better on paper. But if you need to build rather soon then I would go Western Digital. Solid performance, low heat and power consumption levels, though Samsung is even better on that front but sacrifices some performance over the WD (though not really noticeable).

-You could save money by going with onboard sound or carrying over your SoundBlaster. Otherwise an X-Fi card if you need EAX for games but otherwise I would go with an Auzentech card so you don't have to deal with Creative's horrible drivers, though they are much worse on Vista than XP. Auzentech generally use better hardware in their cards too.

-Corsair HX520 CMPSU 520W Power supply should be a good PSU though maybe someone has something better. Generally the best Power supply companies are PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, Enermax, OCZ, etc...

Obviously you can choose your own case and that since looks matter to some people. I like having a nice looking case personally.

I think that system will run anything for a good while, especially as quad cores become more supported. If you have money left over you could get the Q6700 which is clocked higher and has a higher multiplier than the Q6600, though it may not be worth the price difference (yes I know I still bought it ). Upcoming games are starting to make use of Quad Cores as well, and there are already a few out that do (BioShock, Supreme Commander).

Lastly, I heard that Solidworks will be certified for Vista 64 when they release the next version in September 2008. So maybe next year you can upgrade to Vista 64 and then get more RAM, since I'd imagine those programs will make use of it. I think support for Vista 64 will be much much better in a year though it is already improving.

 

[Paperdoc]

On the RAM size, any 32-bit OS can address up to 4GB max. Within that it needs to reserve some addressing space (not necesarily actual RAM chip use) for system functions. Most experience says that is 600 to 900 MB, so net result is that you actually can use about 3GB max, plus of minus a bit. So you have some choices:
1. Go to a 64-bit OS to gain access to much more than 4 GB if you really need that.
2. Buy 3 GB RAM - say, 2 x 1GB and 2 x 512 MB.
3. Buy 4GB RAM - say, 4 x 1GB, or even 2 x 2GB - and simply put up with the fact that ¼ of it is wasted for now, but MIGHT be useful later if you upgrade the OS.

 

[sodamninsane]

well I'm going to try and jump my current system to x64 and see how everything works out before building a new box. Sounds like things are going to change quite a bit before I take the plunge...

Thanks guys.

 

[crimson117]

Don't forget to include a UPS solution and a data backup solution in your budget. They will save your skin and pay for themselves many times over.

And I think you should get 2x2GB ram. It's cheap enough and then you can also run in dual channel.