Build Advice Solidworks Workstation for $1000

[indigoataxia]

A client of mine asked me to build a similar Solidworks workstation to 3 I built a few years ago. Previous workstations were a budget of a $1000, I went with i5-6600, Gigabyte DS3-B250M, 16Gb DDR4, PNY Quadro P1000, 850 EVO 500GB build.

This is the build I came up with today for $1000. For Solidworks a high frequency Intel CPU is recommended along with Quadro cards, 10 cores is close to max with software so extra cores aren't necessary. https://www.pugetsystems.com/solutions/cad-workstations/solidworks/hardware-recommendations/

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mpx69r

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($213.82 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12S 55.44 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME H670-PLUS D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($121.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY VCQP2000-PB Quadro P2000 5 GB Video Card ($304.64 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake V100 ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM650x (2021) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $996.36

He just wants a plain case, the noise won't matter as its in a welding shop with air compressors running nearby. Typically I buy CPUs with the stock fan so I am not an expert in CPU cooling, just did a bit of research to arrive at the Noctua. I previously used 500w PSUs, PC Part Picker estimated 344w for this build so I did some overkill.

I welcome any input or suggestions before I purchase tomorrow. Thank you!

 

[Eximo]

Don't need such a high end cooler if you go for the newer generation locked processor. Boost performance is similar, but the generational improvements should make up the gap. (Oops, forgot the ram somehow) Also suggest switching to DDR5 for that sweet bandwidth.

Swapped in an A2000, which gets you way more GPU performance, for only about $100 more.

Swapped in a PCIe 4.0 drive, because why not.

Similar case design, except the front panel is more open to airflow. You might want to buy a few some chassis fans while you are at it.

P2000 (Pascal) 1024 CUDA Cores
Quadro RTX 5000 (Turing) = 3072 CUDA Cores
A2000 (Ampere) 3328 CUDA Cores

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13400F 2.5 GHz 10-Core Processor ($209.94 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK400 66.47 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M PG Riptide Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5200 CL36 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY RTX A-Series RTX A2000 6GB 6 GB Video Card ($424.49 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman T6 ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM650x (2021) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1144.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-15 15:41 EDT-0400

 

[indigoataxia]

@Eximo Thanks for much for your recommendations. I didn't realize the 13400 had such a high boost when I first looked at it so thats a great find. I was leary on the price of the DDR5 motherboards as most are above $200. The ASRock you listed has no amazon reviews and only 1 newegg, do you have any experience with that one specifically?

Also thanks for the recommendation on the A2000 GPU, when I last built Turing/Ampere weren't out. And the case as well.

 

[Eximo]

A2000 is a hidden little gem, only reason the price is so high is because it is also the smallest most powerful GPU for gaming (Basically an RTX2060 with half the ram). A few months back it was closer to $300.

You could even go for a smaller PSU, though I like the RM650x. A very high end unit.

Not this particular generation, the 760 chipset hasn't been out that long. But the Riptide series does have a good reputation in general. I like that they went for full coverage of the VRMs and everything else looks pretty good. Can't really speak for the BIOS, but with a locked chip you shouldn't have to worry too much about it.

 

[USAFRet]

Please don't forget to budget in an OS license for this if needed.