3D Modeling/CAD Computer Components

[Chris_Ely]

Originally Posted by Jared

Don't get an SSD unless you like spending money.

A 120 GB SSD is only about $90. Using it as the boot drive and installing the CAD package to it will drastically increase boot and load times, both new and over the long term. Get a cheap hard drive for everything else.

[z_beeblebrox]

Originally Posted by Michael Hill

One question to the others though: how does SolidWorks work with the QHD+ displays on the new Dell laptops? I hear some applications have a rough time scaling to the high resolution (they're 3200 x 1800).

I just ran it at very high resolution on my Retina MacBook Pro and it appeared to behave fine.

[evanperryg]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

Make sure you get a professional graphics card - either an AMD FirePro or nVidia Quadro. The hardware and drivers are tailored for CAD/modeling performance instead of gaming performance, and are thus the only officially supported graphics cards for most CAD software.

YES. Workstation cards can be pretty expensive, but they are absolutely worth the money. My machine runs a FirePro v4800, and the performance is absolutely flawless. Also, 6+ core processors and 8gb+ of RAM. This combination will allow you to work with multiple files at the same time, and allow you to use raytracing while working.

Edit: This doesn't mean normal video cards won't work. I used an AMD HD5450 for CAD for quite a while, and although I couldn't keep raytracing and shadows on all the time like I can with my v4800, it was sufficient.

[headlight]

+1 for the SSD. Best choice I made for my computer.

I use this site when I'm putting together a computer.

http://pcpartpicker.com/

It makes it pretty simple and I've never had incompatible parts.

[AdamHeard]

If you can get your hands on a decent gaming card for free, it's certainly okay to use that for a budget build.

That being said, if you can afford it the workstation card is a better option.