Budget build

[tamagorci]

Hello,

I am about to build a system for my girlfriend because her
laptop (macbook, integrated intel graphics ) doesn't preform well.
She will mainly be using it for Autocad, Sketchup and Kerkythea, later
maybe also 3D Studio. She needs to do a lot of renders, doesn't game
at all.

Here is the setup I had in mind:

Case: Silverstone Sugo SST-SG03B
Motherboard : MSI G41M-FD
CPU : Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200
RAM: 4096MB-Kit OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500
GPU: Sparkle 9500GT 1024MB passive
Power supply: Corsair VX450W
HD : Samsung EcoGreen F2 500GB
DVD : Samsung SH-223L
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium

Total system cost is around 500?.

I was thinking mATX, so it will not take up much space and
she liked the idea.

Thank you for any input!

 

[Denithor]

"needs to do a lot of renders" + "9500GT" = Ouch.

If she's running lots of Autocad stuff - get a decent gaming card like a 9800GT at the minimum. If you aren't planning to OC I would also step up to the Q8400.

 

[phaxmohdem]

I can't speak for AutoCAD, but 3D rendering in apps such as Lightwave, and 3DS are CPU bound tasks, the more cores, and the faster the cores are, the faster your renders... (especially with heavy raytracing and lots of lights)

I personally think the video card you chose will work okay, but I too would recommend, stepping it up to at least a 9600GT, or 9800GT as Denithor requested. You won't regret it, plus it will be much more future proof.

*WARNING* about your case: I also have a SUGO case (different model, but same internal layout) The power supply sits RIGHT on top of the CPU fan, so unless you have a PSU with a bottom mounted fan, your CPU will overheat constantly, and the system will shut off. (This will become a huge issue if you are doing intricate 3D renders that take several hours/days at full CPU load.) Your selected PSU does have a bottom mounted fan, but be cautious still, as the PSU fan will be sucking air UP into it, while the cpu fan directly below it will be pulling air DOWN onto the heatsink fins.

 

[tamagorci]

Thank you both for you answer!

Thanks phaxmohdem for the case tip, at this point i will reconsider
the whole mATX thing and start thinking about a quiet mini tower with
good airflow.

The graphic card and CPU are also being reconsidered, that will pump
the budget, but she might be willing to spend some more money as it
is work and speed is important there. Also the future proneness.

I was planning of giving it a little OC as I've seen these processors
are quite OK with it.

Thanks again!

 

[cboath]

As someone who does a lot of that same stuff, but heavy on the 3ds max side, quad core is what you're after. Go 920 if you can afford it. Huge rendering difference. I had an AMD opteron 185 running at 3Ghz. Replace it last month with a 920. When rendering, the old machine could handle a frame of the job i'm working on in about 3 minutes. The 920 handles the same frame in 30 seconds. It doesn't exactly fit the budget mold, i realize that, but it's been worth every penny so far for me.

Also, AutoCAD and 3ds max are being developed around DirectX/3D. 3ds hasn't done anything with OpenGL development since version 4 or so (max 2010 is version 12 i think).

I realize you are looking more budget, but i wouldn't go less than the 9800gt if max is going to get used. It'll make a big difference. Also, if she may be working with large files, make sure the motherboard can handle more than 4GB of RAM and get a 64bit OS.

 

[tamagorci]

Hey cboath, thank you for your input!!

I guess we will have to up the budget for a rig like that since the motherboard and memory cost much more as well.