[SOLVED] Advice on what pc parts I want to buy

aden.anderson2001

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Aug 26, 2018
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Hello. I want to build a new pc and get it assembled by someone professional I know. I'm looking for help deciding how strong this pc needs to be according to the things I'm gonna do with it.
I'm a university student in mechanical engineering and for 3 years I've been using a laptop with these specs:
8gb ram
Samsung Evo 860 ssd
AMD Radeon r7 m265 graphics card
Intel i7 5500u cpu
Windows 10

The things I do with my laptop are designing 3d rendered models with Solidworks and in the next few years I will be using softwares like matlab, Catia, inventor, Autocad. I also do gaming a lot with my laptop but because of it being weak I haven't been able to play the new titles lately, even at the lowest settings possible.
Now I've decided to assemble a pc that can let me play all games in at least medium settings. And this needs to be guaranteed for at least 3 years. Maybe later I could upgrade the parts but for now I need it to be able to launch all games in medium settings in at least 45 fps or 30 fps.
The other thing I use my laptop for is using a daw and a plugin to get the tone for my electric guitar as I use a sound card for it.
Now I'm having trouble deciding how much I need to put for this build and what specs I need for me to be able to do all of these things and do it fast.
My budget is about 2100 2200 dollars. Also I need to buy a monitor that has safety standards for eyes to stay as healthy as possible, if that's a thing. Whether it's the size of the monitor or a technology used in it. Thank you in advance for helps, please let me know if I need to mention other things about this matter.
 
Solution
@aden.anderson2001

for 3d modeling, I recommend you buy a digital pen-tablet (it connects to a pc/laptop). That has a pen you hold, makes modeling to a level out of this world.
If you buy tablet without display, a small size is ok. because you'll have to look at your monitor and your hand is moving elsewhere, so buying medium or large is not a good idea.

you can't look at your monitor and move your hand precisely 21cm cross. So buy a small tablet. That's the most important thing for a designer.
best gaming CPU is 5800x, I don't care about intel. You can buy 3800x instead to save money. Although 2K$ is a lot.
I think 16gb Ram is enough for you.
I'll highly recommend buying a digital pen display tablet. That's a wonderful asset...

LeiHeJun

Upstanding
Dec 13, 2020
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@aden.anderson2001

for 3d modeling, I recommend you buy a digital pen-tablet (it connects to a pc/laptop). That has a pen you hold, makes modeling to a level out of this world.
If you buy tablet without display, a small size is ok. because you'll have to look at your monitor and your hand is moving elsewhere, so buying medium or large is not a good idea.

you can't look at your monitor and move your hand precisely 21cm cross. So buy a small tablet. That's the most important thing for a designer.
best gaming CPU is 5800x, I don't care about intel. You can buy 3800x instead to save money. Although 2K$ is a lot.
I think 16gb Ram is enough for you.
I'll highly recommend buying a digital pen display tablet. That's a wonderful asset for a 3d designer and is very expensive. It can be your monitor as well (that's how I live)

just buy this with 1199 dollars, forget about games:
https://estore.wacom.com/en-US/wacom-cintiq-22-dtk2260k0a.html

amazon same price:
https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Drawing-Graphic-Pressure-Levels-DTK2260K0A/dp/B07TR7YQ8Y

that's what a designer needs.
people here are going to tell you, wow 2200 dollars, buy RTX3080, buy intel 5GHz.
You can still get a good graphic card, decent everything and save for Wacom too.
I sad 16gb ram, you can add later. If it's not enough, you'll buy the same stick.

Buy a good PSU, go 750w and up. It is worth it. It is future proof and has decade warranty.
 
Solution

madchemist83

Distinguished
I would disagree with a separate tablet. From what I got, OP needs it for mechanical parts rendering not for making designs. You will need strong cpu and lots of ram, gpu here would be secondary. I would also invest in a nice monitor that will give you a lot of space to work on.
Another thing to mention is that new parts are pretty hard to get right now (talking about cpu and gpu) due to supply shortages.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/VX3BF8
Something like this, I added OS, and peripherals if you need them.
If you need one now without hassle of looking for new cpu/gpu, then swap it for 10700k with intel mobo and something like rtx 2070. However if you put a little more effort you can easily get new gen cpu/gpu with vastly increased performance.
 

LeiHeJun

Upstanding
Dec 13, 2020
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@madchemist83

He will design 3d models and then render them. So he needs to select edges and vertices and move them. He needs to move the column under the dome, bevel the staircase, design rims for a wheel. Give curves to butterfly wings, put holes in a colander.
Designing a 3d model with a mouse is like a woodpecker trying to paint mona lisa on a trunk.

yes, for rendering alone cpu with lots of cores. More cores than a gaming cpu requires. And very soon renders will take advantage of GPU. for example Arnold that comes with Autodesk Maya is moving towards GPU rendering. Or in Houdini you can simulate fluids on CPU while the foam, bubbles and splashes (whitewater) are handled by GPU (OpenCL)

I won't let anyone take my tablet from me. For me, mouse is medieval antiquity.
Even the inventor of mouse (Douglas Engelbart) proposed a pen first, he later changed it to a mouse because it was hard to pick up the pen each time. He could have just come with a good design for a pen holder. Anyway, the brain of inventor of mouse knew pen is better.
 

madchemist83

Distinguished
I respectfully disagree, solidworks, autocad and such are designed for mouse and keyboard. Engineers don't like curves, it's all about straight lines and angles. CAD tablet is for photoshop.
That's all good read but spending half your budget on tablet is a waste. And someone said that 2200 is a lot of money. So if OP would like to stay in the budget and have a decent rig I would recommend with the list above.