New computer specs . . . Help please

[JCROCCO]

Looking to buy/upgrade (by upgrade mean throw out old computers for new ones) my whole office (6 computers), and i am not quite up to speed on the latest and greatest.

Any help would be appreciated.

This is a CAD environment, NO gaming, NO 3D, basic stuff really.

Want to buy basic, that is good, and is upgradable (can add more memory, faster CPU, etc)

Soo many different mobo's out there. ANY to stay away from? Special features to look for?

Whats MPGA 478 pin on the mobo, i know its the socket number, but what is mpga?

Whats the difference in chipsets? whats good or bad? i865G chipset? i865PE? diff?

Any video boards to stay away from, or to look at?

Is the serial ata HD the way to go?

Is corsair REAL GOOD memory? Is it better for gaming (looking to buy 1 gaming computer too) whats the most reliable?

In general, is an onboard lan 10/100/1000 as good as a netgear or linksys NIC?

Any other things to look for?

Looking at monarchpc, oxfordpc, abs, newegg, and adamant for customizability online and service/support.

Any advice, comments would really be appreciated.

 

[Amrcell]

Dont waste your time with Serial ATA

 

[Matthias99]

SATA does cost a bit more, but it's certainly more forward-looking (and you can get WD Raptors then ). And many new motherboards have SATA RAID built in, which might be *very* useful if they use extremely large CAD files all the time -- and is far cheaper than SCSI.

For CAD (Autodesk? AutoCAD? VLSI stuff? The more info on your apps, the better the advice you'll get is), you'll probably want to look at Pentium 4 systems. I'm not real up to date on the latest motherboards, but the 865PE and 875P chipsets are Intel's latest and greatest dual-channel 800FSB setups. For video cards, it's irrelevant if the apps you use aren't 3D -- any card will do standard Windows 2D stuff just fine. If they are using 3D, you'll probably be looking at the workstation-class boards from ATI and NVIDIA (the FireGL and QuadroFX lines, respectively), as they'll offer the high openGL performance you need and better support for workstation apps. If you intend the systems to be usable as gaming machines, you'll want to look at the high end of their consumer lines (probably the RADEON 9800Pro, unless your applications only work well on something like an NVIDIA 5900Ultra).

All Intel Pentium 4 chips use a 478-pin socket. Beyond that it's not really important. MPGA stands for, uh, something-or-other Pin Grid Array.

Corsair is generally regarded as very good quality memory. It's also pretty expensive. Crucial is similar (maybe a little pricier); Kingston is a bit cheaper and generally regarded as a better value. Mushkin's "Level 2 Black" RAM is probably the best stuff on the market right now, but it commands a significant premium. Of course, if you don't care about overclocking, pretty much any high-end PC3200/PC3500 CL2 RAM should do you just fine. All the high-end brands seem pretty similar in terms of reliability -- everyone has defective sticks occasionally, and overclocking ability varies from batch to batch, but it all works pretty well.

Onboard LAN nowadays is in hardware (often using the same chips as an add-on solution), so it should work just as well as an add-on NIC.

Make sure you have enough memory, processor speed, and hard disk space for your particular application needs, as well as a good video card (if needed). If you posted more information about what the systems would be used for exactly, it would be easier to give recommendations.

I've heard good things about Monarch, but haven't dealt with them personally. I'm not sure how their service/support is.

 

[JCROCCO]

Thank you very much for all the detail.

Using Autocad 2002 2D only, and really only email and office software (excel, word, etc).

Will upgrade to Autocad 2004 most likely, but shouldnt be any problems as it is all still 2D.

Any other help or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Ionizer86]

I'm not exactly sure, but if I'm correct, the AMD Opteron rocks at CAD, so the Athlon 64 may be worth looking into. Of course, if a P4 does CAD faster, you'll want to stay with the P4.

 

[new2AMD]

I do cad all day (autocad 2002) on a p4 2.0ghz with integrated video. You really dont need a $300 vid card to do 2d drafting. I do have 640mb ram. That is where you need to spend the money.

 

[JCROCCO]

looking for 6 computers meeting these simple specs, any suggestions, ideas, etc?

- tower case with front usb ports (at least one extra 5 1/4 bay open after all installed, using 2)
- Intel P4 with at least a 2.6g cpu (with 512 L2 cache and 800 fsb) that the mobo can handle a large cpu (IE: a mobo with a 1.8 P4 that is upgradable to a 2.4g) though I want to start at 2.6, what is the mobo able to upgrade to?
- 512 mb ram, 1 stick, with at least 1 bank open, 4 banks total DDR dual channel pc3200 expandable to 2 gig
- 7200rpm 40 - 60 gig hd 8mb cache (lowest possible storage being 40 if available)
- 128 meg video ram (for 2D cad, so high end card not required)
- floppy drive
- 54x cd-rom
- cd-rw also
- on board sound/audio is fine
- on board lan 100/1000
- Windows XP Proffessional installed
- standard keyboard and wheelmouse
- warranty

how does this sound?

 

[Regs]

Any 865PE mobo will suit you well, like the ASUS P4P800. Socket 478's go up to the 3.2 Ghz Northwood monsters including the EE's. Prescott's will be the new socket after the 478's. Then you'll need a new mobo to support them.


Don't forget about the FS/FT forum to sell off your old parts .

 

[JCROCCO]

great idea, thanks