Best build for CAD mechanical drawing & Photoshop, plus monitor $2500 budget

Jun 14, 2018
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Hi Folks,

I'm new to the forum, my name is Bert and I am novice bbq builder, implement designer and photoshop enthusiasts. I am looking to do a first time build for my home office.

I am a novice with computer specs etc. I would greatly appreciate if anyone could recommend a perfect setup for running AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit, v-ray, sketch up pro and photoshop etc.

I would like something that could cope well with multiple programs running and quick rendering times.

As for budget up to $2500. But if it is required to be pushed a little so be it. I,m looking at this Dell at this price. $2514.97 but I want to see if I could make one better.


Dell XPS 8930 Special Edition
Processor
8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8700K 6-Core Processor (12M Cache, up to 4.7 GHz)
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit English
Monitor
Dell 24” LED light bar system 1920 x 1080 at 60Hz
Memory
32GB, 2666MHz, DDR4 up to 64GB
Chassis Options
XPS 8930, Special Edition Chassis (460W)
Hard Drive
512GB M.2 PCIe x4 SSD + 2TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive
Video Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 Graphics Memory
CD ROM/DVD ROM
Tray Load DVD-RW Drive (Reads and Writes to DVD/CD)
Sound
Integrated 5.1 with WAVE MAXX Audio® Pro
Wireless
Killer 1535 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2
Keyboard
Dell KB216 Wired Multi-Media Keyboard English Black
Mouse
6 Button Laser Mouse
Placemat
Windows 10 Placemat
Additional Software
Windows Home and Business 2016
Driver
Killer 1535 driver
Documentation/Disks
Safety/Environment and Regulatory Guide (English/French Multi-language)
Cable
US Power Cord
Systems Management
Windows System driver, XPS 8930
Optical Software
Cyberlink Media Suite Essentials without Media
Service
1 Year Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis
Microsoft Application Software
Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016

Thanks
Bert

Approximate Purchase Date: 6/16/18 to 6/24/18

Budget Range: ( $2500) After Rebates After Shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: AutoCAD, Autodesk, Photoshop designing and manipulating , Work - Word - Excel - PowerPoint , Surfing the internet, Listening to music, Watching movies

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Do you need to buy OS: Yes, Windows 10 pro need license

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, ncix.com, etc... US selection & pricing

Location: City, State; Seymour, Indiana

Parts Preferences: by brand or type; had good luck with ASUS motherboards in the past but open to anything. Hard drive M.2 SSD + , USB ports are a plus

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: I have no idea whatever is needed to show good color and crisp picture.

Additional Comments: Need good, reliable, hardware,windows office home and business software and need advise on best antivirus free or not.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading; Original computer ( built in 2009 ) is AMD Phenom ll x4 945 processor 3.0 GHz, Disk drive ST3200822AS ATA, capacity 190781 MB, RAM 4.0 GB, x64-based processor, Windows 10 Pro. After upgrading to Windows 10 this year, computer has many problems ( restarts whenever, super slow, never reboots easily) I store a lot of photos need more space bought a external drive for more reliable storage. AutoCAD locks it up sometimes. Have to reinstall some programs and don’t want to waste time on this ole girl.
 
Something like this should be good as well...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($319.79 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - X470 Master SLI/AC ATX AM4 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($196.01 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB ARMOR Video Card ($734.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design - Focus G (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($127.88 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus - MG279Q 27.0" 2560x1440 144Hz Monitor ($487.54 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech - K830 Wireless Standard Keyboard w/Touchpad ($74.68 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Mouse: Logitech - G502 Proteus Spectrum Wired Optical Mouse ($49.00 @ Dell)
Total: $2626.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-14 16:33 EDT-0400

Edit: A stronger card has been included as some of those softwares does bulk of GPU processing work and a better card helps. A NVME drive should help in reducing latency and throughput time as well.
Also, IPS panel will give you better color saturation.
 
Solution
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($319.79 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - A40 ULTIMATE 83.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($114.35 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - X470 Taichi ATX AM4 Motherboard ($202.98 @ Newegg Business)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($367.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($231.28 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($96.06 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card ($569.99 @ Newegg Business)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass ATX Mid Tower Case ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ B&H)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($127.98 @ Trusted Tech Team)
Monitor: Dell - S2718D 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($375.00 @ B&H)
Total: $2650.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-14 16:36 EDT-0400

- 2k HDR display , Excellent colours, I use this display for a week at work and Im loving it.
- 2700x is a better cpu than intel in rendering.
- ssd for superfast times
- awesome case from phanteks

overall looks pretty cool
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
No reason to get the Dell. And if your use is AutoCAD and Photoshop, I would not get a gaming grade GPU, I would get a Quaddro or Vega Frontier instead. Here's two rigs I would suggest.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($319.79 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i PRO 55.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($367.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($106.01 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($106.00 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Video Card: AMD - Vega Frontier Edition 16GB Frontier Edition Video Card ($982.40 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($96.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($95.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2455.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-14 17:22 EDT-0400

Or:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7820X 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor ($469.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i PRO 55.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X299 Taichi ATX LGA2066 Motherboard ($279.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($367.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($106.01 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($106.00 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Video Card: AMD - Vega Frontier Edition 16GB Frontier Edition Video Card ($982.40 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($96.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($95.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2745.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-14 17:24 EDT-0400
 
mister g unit why no reason to get the dell? its razor sharp for AutoCAD, Autodesk, Photoshop designing and manipulating , Work - Word - Excel - PowerPoint , Surfing the internet, Listening to music, Watching movies

I use it myself 4k is a little bit too tiny and 2k is fantastic.

i really love this dell monitor and im sure op does too.

with the quadro I could agree ...
 
Tried to match the specs that Dell was showing you. Only majors changes was switching to a Quadro (depending on how serious you are about that stuff I'd probably consider a higher tier one so I just started you at the base level). Also upped the monitor to the next tier, this is similar to the one I have which I enjoy.

Side note I'm right in thinking you wanted a copy of Office in their right?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($349.89 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($108.08 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($335.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Black 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi - Deskstar 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY - Quadro P1000 4GB Video Card ($331.69 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair - 270R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.06 @ Newegg Business)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($139.17 @ Amazon)
Software: Microsoft - Office Home and Business 2016 Software ($209.99)
Monitor: Dell - U2717D 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Microsoft - Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard w/Laser Mouse ($106.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2303.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-14 18:08 EDT-0400
 
Jun 14, 2018
5
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Yes I want a copy of office, you are correct. I,d like to tell everyone how much I appreciate the responses. Don’t care about key board and mouse. Visual on the monitor has to look good wither it’s video card or monitor, I like creating art. My wife putting up the money but I’m picking it out, so it has to be dependable, no pressure.
 
oh its 1440p (sometimes referred to as 2k). As opposed to yours which was 1080p. One thing I couldn't tell from your post is if the one you had selected from Dell was the U series or not. Their U series is the one that is factory calibrated for accurate colors and has a good return policy for pixels stuck on one color.

I found out when I switched to mine that the "red" I saw on my previous monitor was actually more of an orange. It's important if you are doing art, especially if its professionally.
 


the monitor i suggested is also 2k with a HDR display compared to your sdr panel mr wolf:p
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


I'm just not a fan of Dell. Never have been, never will be. And $2500 for a 1070 when you could built it yourself with a much better GPU is absurd. I get the software but since most software like MS Office is subscription it can cost a lot less than it used to, especially on a per month or per year basis.
 
Jun 14, 2018
5
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Alright can we fudge the budget a bit and take what will be the best and most reliable.
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($319.79 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H115i PRO 55.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X470 Master SLI/AC ATX AM4 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($196.01 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: AMD - Vega Frontier Edition 16GB Frontier Edition Video Card ($982.40 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($127.88 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell - U2717D 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2827.91
You like it? Or would do something different? You guys rock.
 


Looks good. But I would still get the NVME drive for that kind of workload.