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Solid Works Computer Build


Reaper
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Hey everyone,

 

I have a friend who is looking into building his own computer to be mainly used for programs such as solid works (or programs similar to it, i think photoshop is similar). He does not game at all, so he would like the computer to be optimized for solid works. He has a cpu picked out (the Intel Core i5 3570K). Now for the reason I am posting this, he was asking me about RAM capacity and other stuff. Now for all the geeks out there, can you help me put together a computer build. The gpu should be a workstation gpu due to the nature of programs he will be running. He had read online that the GeForce GTX cards or other cards like it would not work right for solid works and that the program would eventually just use the integrated graphics on the cpu.

 

Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks

 

Side note: Would like the build to be as cheap as possible. Like, under $1,000

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If he's going to be doing CPU intensive things (i.e. solid works), he should look into investing into a Intel i7-3770K rather than the 3570K. The extra hyper-threading cores that the 3770K has will come in handy.

 

As for RAM, a 8GB kit would be enough to get him by, but a 16GB kit (or more, if it fits into the budget) would make it just peachy.

 

I personally don't know much about workstation cards, so I'm going to let someone else talk about those. :3

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You don't need a 3770 for solid works, I use autocad and inventor on a 2300 something and it works fine. 16gb might be overkill but tell he should get and SSD, and as for the workstation card, can you ask him what type of projects he's doing? How many parts, detail, etc?

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Based on the SystemWorks requirements list:

 

You should be getting a Quadro based card, FirePro or FireGL based cards.

Budget is going to be a key factor in which video card he'll have to get.

 

It sounds like you'll need 2+ GB of RAM, basically it depends on how complex the work he's doing. The more complex the models are, the more RAM he'll need. If he's running PhotoShop while using SystemWorks (along side with MS Office, I assume but let's just say for instance he is).. 8 GB would be a MINIMUM.

 

In my experience Petroleum model simulations can take more than 32 GB of RAM for a SINGLE instance.

 

A common consideration is whether he'll want a dual socket mobo or a single socket mobo. Chances are if he's just doing this as an amateur and not as business, a quad core would suit just fine (assuming he doesn't transform it into full business). He'll want at least a hexacore if he's taking this to the business/professional level. At the point where he is constantly running and creating these simulations, I would suggest a dual socket based configuration but most of the time, these are cost prohibitive for an individual.

 

Please have your friend read through this link:

https://forum.solidworks.com/community/administration/blog/2011/10/04/whats-important-for-a-solidworks-workstation

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He is looking at the quadro gpu... i can't remember which one. He is a member/captain of the school's Formula car team. They build the entire chassis in SolidWorks (can be quite complex). He is an ameuter of sorts. As far as I know, he is just doing this for an at home computer, no business. I told him that 8GB of RAM should work, but that I would ask you guys. I think based on the cpu he picked and budget, he will be going single socket.

 

I appreciate the help on this guys.

 

and Enigma, i will send that link to him, thank you.

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  • 5 months later...

Well depending on his price range, The Titan offers it all with the ability to code with the GPU, render, and even game with it. It might be hard on the pocket but it's the best at what it does. Also, going 3770k would be a good idea realizing that you'd be tapping into more resources as time goes on. So I say spend the cash and get what you need to give the system full advantage so if you decided to take your work further. You're all setup.

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  • 3 months later...
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