mclamb :
Hello All,
I'm looking to build a serious desktop PC that can last five years or more to do some big renders, complicated CAD/REVIT drawings, and a little gaming.
I was debating if I should purchase the iMac but I have always been aware that i can do much more with less if I tried to build my own computer. So I guess my max budget will be the iMac's price of $4000.
I would need my PC to use:
Revit
Rhinoceros 3D
Grasshopper (a parametric software that uses a ton of memory sometimes)
ArcGIS (a geographic mapping program that also eats a ton of memory)
Sketchup
AutoCAD
V-Ray (rendering program that performs better with more cores)
Maxwell Rendering
3DS Max
Unreal Engine
All Adobe Products (Aftereffects currently slows my current laptop the most)
Ideally it would be great to run some of these programs simultaneously.
Two monitors would be great so any recommendation for monitors and video card is much appreciated.
Thanks again for the time anyone spends to give their suggestion. It'll be a great help.
Best,
MClamb
MClamb,
I'm an architect / industrial designer using many of the same programs: AutoCad, Revit, 3ds, Rhino, Sketchup, Vray, and Adobr CS6. Instead of Arc/GIS ( which I would love to have) I'm using Wolfram Mathematica which has similar hardware demands.
This is a bit difficult as everything needs to be high performance. As you have programs that are CPU, GPU, RAM, and disk intensive, and given the precision required and large datasets for the BIM side of Revit and Arc/Gis, the system needs to have a good capability in every subsystem.
This really needs a dual Xeon system to provide a good basis for CPU rendering and so that there are enough PCie lanes for full dual GPU performance. However, Adobe programs are not fond of dual CPU's and several CS6 programs sort of peak effiiciency at 5-6 core utilization- e.g. After Effects. Premiere has gone back and forth with multi-threading and supposedly that feature is back. My suggestion would be to consider double GPU Xeon E5-2600 v2 used workstation with two GPU's- possibly one Quadro and one Tesla GPU coprocessor.
HP Z820 Workstation Intel Xeon E5-2643V2 3.5GHz 16GB RAM 500GB HDD Quadro K4000 > $1,395
That is using a Xeon E5-2643 v2 which is 6-core @ 3.5 /3.8GHz. that provides a good single-thread performance and many of the operation in the software mentioned - 3D modeling always, rely on the single-threaded function. Add a second E5-2643 v2 for $700-800 (it was $1,550 new) - which requires a second fan heatsink,, add ram to have 64GB, change the GPU to Quadro M4000 and look around for a good value on a used Tesla K8-8GB + 2,880 CUDA cores, often $400-600. With a good SSD- $200 and a storage drive that's something like $1,400 + 800 + 70 (heatsink) + 200 (RAM) 750 (M4000) + $500 (K8) = about $3,800- 4,000. Capability in all departments should be very good.
Otherwise, I could see a single 8-core on an X99 motherboard, very fast M.2 main drive,and then the 64GB RAM and two GPU's, but if the CPU rendering is running purely on the physical cores, the dual Xeon configuration will have advantages and a longer future. As that would be all new LGA2011-3 the specification within he budget can not keep pace with a used system and components.
This would take some study and refinement to really optimize for all the various programs and modes of operation, but a dual Xeon platform is preferable as it is more expandable.
I've had six used workstations (HP z and Dell Precision T) and purchased probably 8 or 10 used CPU's since 2009 and not had a single failure nor any data loss. They're reliable and of course, upgrading is much easier than researching, ordering, assembling, wiring. configuring, and testing from all components.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
CAD / 3D Modeling / Graphic Design:
HP z420 (2015) (Rev 3) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) / 32GB DDR3 -1866 ECC RAM / Quadro K4200 (4GB) / Samsung SM951 M.2 256GB AHCI + Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) + Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)
[ Passmark Rating = 5581 > CPU= 14046 / 2D= 838 / 3D= 4694 / Mem= 2777 / Disk= 11559] [6.12.16]
Analysis / Simulation / Rendering:
HP z620 (2012) (Rev 3) 2X Xeon E5-2690 (8-core @ 2.9 / 3.8GHz) / 64GB DDR3-1600 ECC reg) / Quadro K2200 (4GB) + Tesla M2090 (6GB) / HP Z Turbo Drive (256GB) + Seagate Constellation ES.3 (1TB) / 800W > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > HP 2711x (27" 1980 X 1080)
[ Passmark System Rating= 5675 / CPU= 22625 / 2D= 815 / 3D = 3580 / Mem = 2522 / Disk = 12640 ] 9.25.16