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Desktop build advice

Discussion in 'General' started by dobr24, Jul 10, 2019.

  1. dobr24

    dobr24 Well-Known Member

    So my old desktop computer at work is showing it's age and even though I have made upgrades along the way I.E. graphics card, SSDs and other stuff I am starting to have trouble with speed. It is a AMD 2.5ghz with a maxed out 16gb of ram. I looked to upgrade just the chipset but the additional speed and limited to 2.7ghz.

    I looked at buying a computer but it seems like unless I want to spend $1,700+ I am going to have to settle in some department. Then I thought about building my own. I have a Microcenter nearby and they have some pretty good deals which means I could probably get away with building a 3.7ghz+ with 64gb ram for around $1,100. I have never built a computer before. I am not super computer savvy but am very mechanically adept. I would appreciate any suggestions and or tips before going too far down the rabbit hole.

    I use the computer for work and ACAD.

    Basic specs I was thinking are these:

    AMD Ryzen 7 2700X with Wraith Prism Cooler, ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F Gaming CPU / Motherboard Bundle $309.
    http://www.microcenter.com/product/...-strix-b450-f-gaming-cpu---motherboard-bundle

    PowerColor Red Dragon Radeon RX 580 Dual-Fan 8GB GDDR5 PCIe Video Card $185
    http://www.microcenter.com/product/...eon-rx-580-dual-fan-8gb-gddr5-pcie-video-card

    Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML120L 120mm RGB Water Cooling Kit $65

    A 500gb ssd primary drive and swap over my 1tb bulk storage drive

    64gb ram

    Windows 10 pro

    New Case

    650w power supply

    Reuse my existing cd drive, keyboard, mouse and monitor

    I plan to shop around a little bit as I know that some of the above pricing can be beat elsewhere.


     
  2. code3ryder

    code3ryder Well-Known Member

    Pcpartpicker.com is very helpful if you haven't hit that up yet.
     
    600 dbl are and BigBird like this.
  3. upload_2019-7-10_14-44-33.jpeg
     
    Mot Okstef, SuddenBraking and BigBird like this.
  4. BigBird

    BigBird blah

    is there a microcenter near you?

    What I've done on my last two builds were get something that was on clearance or open box with the processor I wanted, and upgraded the rest to my liking. Their PowerSpec line is very good too as they use real world parts aka something you can buy yourself and not proprietary stuff, and you get the windows licensing and all that good stuff.
     
    dobr24 likes this.
  5. Kurlon

    Kurlon Well-Known Member

    If going AMD, wait for the just released 3rd gen Ryzen bits to hit the shelves. Decent gains over the 2nd gen bits you're looking at.
     
  6. zippytech

    zippytech Running On Pumpedupness!!

    I would ditch the liquid cooling, that's just a pain in the ass. Use an Intel i7 and oem fan with asus mainboard with nivida card and be done
     
  7. I'm building a rig now. Went with the Ryzen 3600X. I've heard nothing but fantastic things about the new gen of Ryzen processors and it's worth it to go for the 7nm chipset. Anything over 16GB RAM for most applications is unnecessary, what RAM speed are you looking at? The next gen Ryzens will work best with 3600MHz with the lowest latency you can afford (Quality > Quantity).

    Also, that's the same video card I went with as it's the best bang/buck right now. You wont need more that a 500W power supply. You also wont need liquid cooling and the Ryzen processors come with a capable fan. Save the money and go with M.2 over a conventional SSD. M.2 is a bit faster.

    B450 MoBo chipset is solid, X470 is a bit better, but may be unnecessary for your needs. It's worth it to buy a quality MoBo, especially one that allows you to easily OC.

    My cost was <$800
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2019
    backcountryme, Chris, BigBird and 2 others like this.
  8. Kurlon

    Kurlon Well-Known Member

    I like the modern self contained closed loop liquid coolers, easy to install and nice and quiet. For CAD work, I can see 64GB RAM being useful.
     
    Pitmom42 and 600 dbl are like this.
  9. 600 dbl are

    600 dbl are Shake Zoola the mic rula

    https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nThg8Y

    Unless you plan on overclocking, the stock AMD fan will be sufficient. With the gen 2 Ryzens 3200mhz on the RAM or higher. I'm not sure how much video memory CAD software uses, so you may be able to save a little more going with 4GB card instead of 8GB

    Again, not being familiar with CAD, I'm not sure you will need 64GB of RAM. I know video production rigs need as much as possible. You may be better off with 32GB. On the other hand RAM is so cheap right now it's not going to hurt you, but the gains per dollar starts shrinking over 16GB for most applications.

    Building your own is simple. There's some very good tutorials on youtube from jayz2cents and Bitwit.

    If you need a copy of windows 10 you can get it from Kinguin for around $30.00.
     
  10. Chris

    Chris Keepin' it old school

    Keep in mind AutoCAD only uses one core and isn't a GPU hog, or has up until this post, so going with an ultra multi-core probably won't gain you much when working in ACAD.

    I work in ACAD all day and play games at night or on the weekends. The used space and immobility of a tower pushed me into a laptop this time around, as I have always built my own towers in the past. I'm currently running an Alienware 17 R5 laptop with the 8th gen i9, 32gb ram and 3tb of on board SSDs, two of which are M.2 1tb drives. The price of this laptop (purchased the base components where possible and upgraded) makes my eyes water, but it is unstoppable for everything I need. When I'm done, I put it in my carrying case and go on with my life.

    If you are building a tower, you really don't need anything more than the latest i5, the highest speed ram you can get, a motherboard capable of accepting M.2 interface and running windows off of that drive, a decent GPU and call it a day. If you are rendering or working in other programs such as Solid Works, you would want a processor with more cores and a stronger GPU.

    As far as the water cooling, I have built rigs with it and also using standard tower type fans. EVGA, in my experience, makes very nice air cooling products which eliminates the possibility of a water cooled component leaking. Honestly, unless you are doing some serious gaming, any decent air cooler will keep things in check. The bigger cooling factor is where the tower is located and how much access it has to overall cool airflow.

    Just my $0.02
     
    dobr24 and BigBird like this.
  11. dobr24

    dobr24 Well-Known Member

    Yep, I'll be looking there for sure.

    Good advice, thanks.

    Thank you! Good Stuff!

    I'm using an aftermarket stand alone design program and figured I would plan for the future. Plus I hate to close windows and will be streaming racing on a big screen while working. I normally keep my work computers 6-8 years so no big deal spending a little more on them. Thanks.
     
  12. YamahaRick

    YamahaRick Yamaha Two Stroke Czar

    For SSD, be sure to have both a drive and a motherboard that supports NVMe.

    I'd boost the size up to 1TB, as they are pretty cheap these days. I like Samsung Pro brand.
     
    nd4spd likes this.
  13. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    two words flux capacitor
    [​IMG]
     
  14. 600 dbl are

    600 dbl are Shake Zoola the mic rula

    NVMe for the win. Windows boots in about 8 seconds.

    Pricing on the SSD 2.5's have dropped as well. I'm a fan of WD myself.

    Good info right there, I learned something today. Is 64GB ram overkill for ACAD?

    Depending on the reviewer you find, the new Ryzen chips outperform Intel on single core performance at a lower clock speed thanks to the improved IPC's (Instructions Per Clock). From what I am reading, overclocking the Intel chips to 5GHZ negates the AMD advantage. Since you probably will never overclock, your best would be going with the new Ryzen or an 8700K or 9700K (IMO).
     
    dobr24 likes this.
  15. Kurlon

    Kurlon Well-Known Member

    I9 9900K doesn't need to be overclocked to hit 5ghz, nor does the I7 8700k... on the flip side I've got my 9900K locked at 5ghz all cores without a voltage bump for extra fun.
     
  16. code3ryder

    code3ryder Well-Known Member

    You guys suck. I'll be checking my motherboard out for compatibility when I get home lol.
     
  17. Chris

    Chris Keepin' it old school

    As of today, 64GB of ram is overkill for nearly everything. I've been running 32GB in my rigs for the last 6-7 years, which everyone told me was overkill. The nice thing is I never ran into an issue of it getting bottle necked due to memory, which is why I still use 32GB today. With the price of memory coming down, I would upgrade to 64GB if my machine could use it, but my current laptop maxes out at 32GB. I'm sure you're aware of this, but for anyone unfamiliar, you can find out how much ram your system can actually use by checking your system properties. IIRC that windows keyboard shortcut is windows key + pause. Google "Maximum ram for windows version" + your windows version and if it is 32 bit or 64 bit.
     
  18. dobr24

    dobr24 Well-Known Member

    In true Beeb fashion now you have me thinking I should go with a laptop and just dock it at the office. I run my own business and the mobility of a laptop computer would be great for when I travel. I just took a 2 week trip and felt a little hamstrung with not being able to work on drawings and print stuff off for my employees from afar....

    So did you add the I9 processor? I see the same laptop for about $1000.00 and the processor would be another $449 for the Intel version.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2019
  19. rd49

    rd49 Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]
     
  20. dobr24

    dobr24 Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]

    You shut up! :crackup:
     
    rd49 likes this.

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