Need to build a $1000 to $1200 SolidWorks CAD PC. Any advice?

[kokalz]

Hi all,

I've been entrusted with a task of building a CAD (not Canadian dollars, rather Computer Aided Design) PC with a budget of about 1000 to 1200 USD. We will be working with small to medium size assemblies.

I don't have much background in PC building, but did quite a bit of reading and it appears that the following set of ideas hold true:

• 
  ■ CPU: SolidWorks uses parent-child relationships for the sketches, meaning that parallelising (is that a word?) is not as important as the peak CPU frequency. It looks like Intel 7600 i5 could be a good option, but comes at quite a cost..
  ■ Memory: Most people say that 16GB RAM should be enough. I was thinking of G.SKILL Ripjaws V, 16GB
  ■ Graphics Card: Much debate here over the exact importance of the graphics card. Solidworks has a list of approved cards, but they're all CAD cards, meaning that they come at a much higher cost (mid-range supported NVIDIA P2000 is $450-$500). I am not expecting to spend much time on rendering and the real-view graphics is not important at all. While this may look like a gaming card might be sufficient, I'm a bit afraid about the stability of such cards for our purposes. Really would appreciate an advice here.
  ■ Storage: Can always be expanded and at the moment I can save some money here. I was thinking that around 200GB SSD is enough to fit all our drawings and software packages.

Unfortunately I'm not 100 sure how to choose the remaining components, such as the Motherboard, a quality power supply, cooling, case, etc.. We also have all the required peripherals and software already, so just need the PC itself.

Would someone be able to assist with this task?

Thank you!

 

[sadams04]

MB - I prefer ASUS or Gigabyte, then look toward MSI or ASRock. Check and read reviews. You will likely be fine with just about anything since you are not looking to overclock.
MEM - The Intel B250 (and H270) chipsets are limited to DDR4-2400. AMD is fine with faster memory.
SSD - A good sata based SSD will be just fine. Check out the Crucial MX300, Sandisk X400, Samsung 850 EVO, Sk hynix, or Western Digital Blue.
GPU - Check out the P1000 for a bit less cost. It is a 4GB card that will serve you well for an entry level machine like that.
PSU - Look toward a Tier 1 or Tier 2 unit for a quality power supply. This is typically XFX, Seasonic or the EVGA G2, G3, GQ models. https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($281.49 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B250M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($71.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($146.33 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 525GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($145.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: PNY - Quadro P1000 4GB Video Card ($309.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($68.59 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus - DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.49 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($92.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1193.74



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($289.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350M-A Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($77.49 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($148.55 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 525GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($145.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: PNY - Quadro P1000 4GB Video Card ($309.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($68.59 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus - DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.49 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($92.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1209.96

 

[kokalz]

Thank you for your help, really appreciate it! Just one question - would you have any suggestions on the cooling side of things?

 

[sadams04]

I wouldn't worry about it. You aren't overclocking and have a GPU that doesn't draw that much power. ...just make sure you have an intake fan on the front and an exhaust fan on the back.