$500 CAD Machine

[klondikebear]

Yes it's another one of these threads

My laptop just died and I'm replacing it with a desktop. I'm a senior in Mechanical Engineering so this will mainly be for CATIA and Solidworks.

Should I focus more of my money on a good processor or on a good graphics card?

Here is what I currently have right now, feel free to change anything.

AMD Athlon II X3 450 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886 $79.99
(Possibily thinking AMD Phenom II X4 840)
ASRock 770 Extreme3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157195 $76.99
(Cheapest motherboard I found that has a USB 3.0 port)
EVGA 01G-P3-1450-TR GeForce GTS 450 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130572 $119.99
(Cheapest I found with 2 DVI outputs for duo-screen)
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033 $39.99
SAMSUNG 1TB Spinpoint F3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 $59.99
(Possibly two for RAID 1, suggestions?)
G.Skill Ripjaws Series 2x2GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277 $36.99
(Really just picked the cheapest with nice ratings, suggestions?)
Antec 300 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 $59.95

Total: $473.89

All suggestions would be appreciated

 

[jerreddredd]

How much of an improvement would I see here? Because there's always something better for a little more money

I noticed the 600 has 96 CUDA cores, how does that compare with the FX580's 32 stream processors? or are they not comparable

tricky question. I don't want to start a war... lets just say the quadro 600 is significantly faster than the FX580 due to a better architecture and the extra Memory (1Gb vs 512Mb). the quadro 600 is the latest generation card the FX 580 is about 3 years old, I believe.

 

[klondikebear]

so yes it's by far worth the $15? Why is something new and better worth just a little better than year old technology? Is it reliability?

 

[Soma42]

so yes it's by far worth the $15? Why is something new and better worth just a little better than year old technology? Is it reliability?

Supply and demand would be my first guess. My second would be, it's a marketing technique. If you don't lower old tech cost you force people to adopt the latest and the suckers who don't know there's something new still pay full price, but maybe I'm just grabbing at straws.

Intel does the same thing though. The q9550, for example, is ~$300 and is crushed by the new $220 i5-2500k. It discourages people with old socket 775 to upgrade and forces them to buy a whole new motherboard, ram, cooler, etc. if they want decent performance per dollar, although it's not exactly the same as this case...

 

[jerreddredd]

I concur with Soma42's explanation.

 

[klondikebear]

Okay so here is an updated list, I think I'm pretty much ready to order.

CPU: Intel i3-2100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078 ($124.99)
MBO: ASRock H61M-VS LGA 1155 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241 ($59.99)
GPU: PNY Quadro 600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133354 ($169.99)
RAM: G.SKILL 2x4GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311 ($54.99)
PSU: Antec EA-380D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033 ($39.99)
HD: Samsung Spinpoint 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 ($59.99)
Case: Antec 300 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 ($59.95)

Puts me at a total of $580

I could shed some weight on the case, but I kind of like the simplicity of the Antec, unless there's another one that doesn't look like a transformer

 

[dangerboyjtf2]

Lol, yeah some cases are cheap but aren't easy on the eyes.

Looks like you have a nice build going, just as a side note as well, you can find bare bones kits on www.tigerdirect.ca (seeing as you are, like me, a Canadian), and more importantly, if you wait for them to come on sale (ie. those "1 day deals on the front page" you can save $30-$50 on top of the kit. However that would require shipping so you would lose a bit on that (but seeing as your ordering from newegg it'd be the same as their shipping anyway).

Just a thought, but it looks like your build is set anyway.

 

[Soma42]

I'm trying to start my next build as well and I'm torn between the Antec 300 and the Rosewill Challenger.

I think I'm leaning towards the Challenger right now though. It's also about 3 lbs lighter.

Rosewill CHALLENGER - $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

Rosewill has a couple other cases around $50 that are worth checking out as well.

 

[jerreddredd]

now that you have a parts list, its time to price shop. here are a couple of other canadian sites that i have seen people recommend. you can get free shipping on these sites and sometimes save $ over newegg.ca. also hit up Amazon.ca

http://www.directcanada.com/category/?minorcatid=1223

http://www.bestdirect.ca/department/?deptid=145

the antec 300 is $54.69 CAD and has free ground shipping.
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10370AC8944&vpn=THREE%20HUNDRED&manufacture=ANTEC

 

[klondikebear]

wait wait wait, I'm not Canadian -.-

dangerboyjtf2, what made you think I was from Canada?

 

[jerreddredd]

wait wait wait, I'm not Canadian -.-

dangerboyjtf2, what made you think I was from Canada?

LOL, I saw dangerboyjtf2's post and felt bad that I missed that you were Canadian and i was posting in US prices. Since you aren't I won't feel bad anymore.

 

[klondikebear]

Best answer selected by klondikebear.

 

[klondikebear]

Hey I just want to thank you guys for all your help, I have built up the computer now and it runs CATIA flawlessly, much better than the laptop I used to work on.

Everything went together with ease and it's all running smoothly. Not bad at all for the first time, although it needs some wire management upgrades, haha.

 

[jerreddredd]

Hey I just want to thank you guys for all your help, I have built up the computer now and it runs CATIA flawlessly, much better than the laptop I used to work on.

Everything went together with ease and it's all running smoothly. Not bad at all for the first time, although it needs some wire management upgrades, haha.

Glad to help.