Gaming/Workstation Computer Build

[shanetheman]

I am needing some advice on a computer build. My current budget is $800 - $1000. I am looking to build a desktop that can run modern games such as some of the totalwar games, bf4, etc. Also, I am needing it to be able to run SolidWorks. I do not need Solidworks to perform the higher end image rending, I just need to design and analyze. I have some ideas of what I need, however this is my first build and need a little advice. Thank you.

 

[jbaker22]

You can add more ram and storage space to this build. Hopefully you can use an old computer windows key. (It is not legal to have 2 computers with one windows key though) http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pXw3Q7

 

[datguy20]

With a $800-1000 budget you can make a very decent build. From a quick google it seems SolidWorks does utilize Cuda, so I would probably go with Nvidia and either an intel i7 or an AMD 8350/8370 (essentially the same thing).

I'll post back in a secs with a rough build, but it helps if you know what case size you want (small, medium, large) and if you want to overclock or not (I recommend overclocking if you have the patience)...

 

[datguy20]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rz4YCJ This is a super rough build, but it would be quite good. There's no case or storage, just using it as a starting point.

You could potentially use a cheaper CPU/Motherboard and then get a GTX 980, but I'd need to know whether you want to overclock or not. Also, I don't know anything about Solidworks, so if it doesn't need more RAM then the 16GB is pointless. I assumed it does though, and you could always get more RAM if it's necessary for the program.

 

[synphul]

I'm sure this could be tweaked a little to use a desktop gpu for gaming instead of a workstation gpu. Some performance tradeoffs would be made in order to game and run solidworks (workstation gpu's aren't good for gaming).

https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/78834

You can also see some solidworks benchmarking scores here. Keep in mind most of these xeons at the top of the list are the much larger core count expensive xeons, not the 1231v3 or similar budget xeons. According to the first link, overclocking increases performance in solidworks so you may want to look for a k series intel like the i5 4690k or i7 4790k.

https://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/shareyourscore.htm

Hope this helps.