Question System upgrade for a professional architect

therudegoat

Reputable
Jul 15, 2020
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Hello everyone,

I'm currently in the process of assembling a high-end PC and am also looking to purchase two high-end laptops. The primary use for these machines will be running AutoCAD and other demanding applications, with a focus on efficient rendering and overall quick performance.

My total budget for the PC and the laptops combined is around $4500 to $5000.

Any recommendations that would fit within this budget and meet the required performance criteria would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!
 
For a workstation use, your budget is too low. Proper workstation desktop PC alone costs ~$5000, leaving nothing for two laptops. And if you go with laptops 1st, the ~$2000 a piece, would leave ~$1000 for desktop PC, which is too little to get a PC that would be any use.

For workstation use, you'd need plenty of CPU cores (for final render), loads of RAM (at least 64 GB, if not 128 GB), good GPU (if you want to do initial renders with GPU, e.g Quadro/Radeon Pro) and plenty of storage space for your projects.

For AutoCAD laptops, there are several choices,
further reading: https://www.creativebloq.com/buying-guides/best-laptop-for-cad
Besides those listed there, there is also Dell XPS 15 that is powerful enough for proper AutoCAD, but it will cost ~$2000 a piece.

Proper workstation PC would be something along the lines of this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 4.2 GHz 16-Core Processor ($621.89 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 CPU Cooler ($79.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($280.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 96 GB (2 x 48 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($342.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($319.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($319.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY VCQRTX6000-PB Quadro RTX 6000 24 GB Video Card ($1959.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro Tempered Glass ATX Full Tower Case ($120.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic VERTEX PX-850 850 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $4265.73

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-09 00:52 EDT-0400


High-end CPU, plenty of RAM, plenty of storage, GPU designed for workstation use, nice big PC case and high-end PSU to power all that.

So, proper workstation PC + 2x high-end laptops = ~$8000.
Your call on where or what to cheap out on. But NEVER cheap out on PSU in desktop PC.