Build or buy for Civil Engineer

Snakeweasel

Looking for some advice for a friend. He is a civil engineer and needs a new computer for work. Just wondering would he be better to build or buy. He thinks he would need an i7 or Ryzen 7 processor and a decent amount of RAM. Not sure about what kind of a GPU he would need, from what I have read it seems a mid range card would work but I have no clue if mid range means 1050 or 1070ti. I know from building my own gaming PC that I saved a lot by building my own, but wondering if people here would know if he would get away with buying rather than building.

1. What is your budget? €800 approx
2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Autocad
3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No
4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? No
5. Do you need a monitor? No
6. Do you need any of the peripherals? No
7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No
8. How can you pay? Card or cash
9. When are you purchasing? ASAP

Xenoronin

If it is for work, it is generally a good idea to buy from dell, lenovo, or any other business vendor. The warranty and the parts and service options are essential for getting you back up and running in a crisis. A sudden motherboard failure could take down operations for anywhere between a day and a week while you source a replacement.
For specs, autocad isn't exactly taxing nowadays, but usually benefits greatly from Nvidia workstation cards (Quadro). For CPU and RAM, just as strong as you can get within budget. 16gb should be enough even for big projects. An i7 or Xeon processor also wouldn't go amiss.
I might be being overly cautious, but it is usually a good tip to run far away when friends ask you for IT advice and your only experience is building a gaming PC. If **** hits the fan they could blame you for the mess.

Lu Tze

Xenoronin wrote: »

If it is for work, it is generally a good idea to buy from dell, lenovo, or any other business vendor. The warranty and the parts and service options are essential for getting you back up and running in a crisis. A sudden motherboard failure could take down operations for anywhere between a day and a week while you source a replacement.
For specs, autocad isn't exactly taxing nowadays, but usually benefits greatly from Nvidia workstation cards (Quadro). For CPU and RAM, just as strong as you can get within budget. 16gb should be enough even for big projects. An i7 or Xeon processor also wouldn't go amiss.
I might be being overly cautious, but it is usually a good tip to run far away when friends ask you for IT advice and your only experience is building a gaming PC. If **** hits the fan they could blame you for the mess.

You should check out what software he is running now, and what is bottlenecking it (lack of ram, cores/threads, clockspeed etc.). I've come across modelling packages that have low enough minimum specs, and i7/Xeon for recommended specs, even though when you run it you realise it only uses one or two cores/threads

K.O.Kiki

https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Autodesk-AutoCAD-134/Hardware-Recommendations
https://www.pugetsystems.com/recommended/Recommended-Systems-for-Autodesk-AutoCAD-134

tl;dr
CPU clockspeed > CPU core count
Nvidia Quadro > Nvidia Geforce > AMD however only really needed if working with 3D models
8-16Gb RAM preferred
SSD highly recommended

Serephucus

Important distinction here: Is it "for work" or "in work"?

If it's the latter, as Xenoronin said, I'd go pre-built.
If it's for extra stuff at home, then custom built could be a thing.

Snakeweasel

Serephucus wrote: »

Important distinction here: Is it "for work" or "in work"?

If it's the latter, as Xenoronin said, I'd go pre-built.
If it's for extra stuff at home, then custom built could be a thing.

He works from home so it would be both his workstation and his personal computer.

Metric Tensor

Although maximum clock speed is all important for AutoCAD I wouldn't completely rule out Ryzen options.

If he's like most Civil Engineers I know he will use AutoCAD but probably only for a few hours a day whilst on the phone, on site, using Excel, Word, etc. for the rest of the time. The modest difference in AutoCAD performance between an i7 and and Ryzen 7 will probably not be noticed particularly if he is working with small"ish" files or in 2D only. If you build an i7 system now in 3 years time Intel will be probably be at least 2 sockets/chipsets down the road and an upgrade will involve replacing the motherboard and probably the RAM as well as the processor. AMD have committed to supporting their current socket for a few years so a cheaper upgrade path and more bang for buck over the next few years.

I echo the above though - unless you know him well and he can survive if there is some sort of system breakdown - it might make sense to get a Dell with a next day warranty/replacement option. Sometimes pragmatism is more important than bottom line and all out power. Don't risk your friendship over it.


SSD, RAM and Large Screens should be focussed on IMO.
Processor speed is important subject to what I said above.
A "modest" graphics card unless he's heavy into 3D stuff. I have a 1070 and it's tremendous overkill for ACAD a Quattro or 1050 should be fine.
A good mouse is important for CAD.

Snakeweasel

Metric Tensor wrote: »

Although maximum clock speed is all important for AutoCAD I wouldn't completely rule out Ryzen options.

If he's like most Civil Engineers I know he will use AutoCAD but probably only for a few hours a day whilst on the phone, on site, using Excel, Word, etc. for the rest of the time. The modest difference in AutoCAD performance between an i7 and and Ryzen 7 will probably not be noticed particularly if he is working with small"ish" files or in 2D only. If you build an i7 system now in 3 years time Intel will be probably be at least 2 sockets/chipsets down the road and an upgrade will involve replacing the motherboard and probably the RAM as well as the processor. AMD have committed to supporting their current socket for a few years so a cheaper upgrade path and more bang for buck over the next few years.

I echo the above though - unless you know him well and he can survive if there is some sort of system breakdown - it might make sense to get a Dell with a next day warranty/replacement option. Sometimes pragmatism is more important than bottom line and all out power. Don't risk your friendship over it.


SSD, RAM and Large Screens should be focussed on IMO.
Processor speed is important subject to what I said above.
A "modest" graphics card unless he's heavy into 3D stuff. I have a 1070 and it's tremendous overkill for ACAD a Quattro or 1050 should be fine.
A good mouse is important for CAD.

I was surprised by the dell options to be honest. I think he does a little 3D but I really wouldnt know what level, you almost describe exactly what he said to me, Autocad for a few hours but excel, chrome etc the rest of the time.

justsomebloke

look into what sort of monitor he has. For CAD I would always suggest 1440p, the extra screen real estate really is beneficial

Gerrymandering reborn

This seems decent http://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdfb1&l=en&s=dfb&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdS5PD4pbMEpx4fPAkntR0oA6%2fobTtX9qY7or%2fXWFnzAXatdFHqX0SaFTwYC%2fobl0%2b8Jv0ndHolhrMlsPzp3qcdvjC%2bkIixLbUQ0QQQKgqKkKpwTDXWYzNK32Dfdt1fijyJonVLDDQqOpg%2fnBDrMt3tfycpxoRjHg3PLmntgfWTkJql5Mds5Fh12YKJg67VDTytzJnmj9tELEnr%2bnSKDQANE2Qsq9%2f3AjsKV6FTkF3WVz

Snakeweasel

Gerrymandering reborn wrote: »

This seems decent http://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdfb1&l=en&s=dfb&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdS5PD4pbMEpx4fPAkntR0oA6%2fobTtX9qY7or%2fXWFnzAXatdFHqX0SaFTwYC%2fobl0%2b8Jv0ndHolhrMlsPzp3qcdvjC%2bkIixLbUQ0QQQKgqKkKpwTDXWYzNK32Dfdt1fijyJonVLDDQqOpg%2fnBDrMt3tfycpxoRjHg3PLmntgfWTkJql5Mds5Fh12YKJg67VDTytzJnmj9tELEnr%2bnSKDQANE2Qsq9%2f3AjsKV6FTkF3WVz

That seems almost spot on for what he is looking for and a great price, where's the catch??

Xenoronin

Snakeweasel wrote: »

That seems almost spot on for what he is looking for and a great price, where's the catch??

Bit late in replying, but the catch is that it is a refurb/return machine. Dell outlet is where they sell on returns at dropped prices. You take a slight risk as you don't know why it was returned.

If you haven't already, sit down with him again and discuss your options. We've thrown a good few of the pros, cons and options at you, so now it is a business decision for him.

Another good thing to bring up with him is a backup solution. If he is working as part of a company, they might have a solution in place. If not, investing in a backup locally and/or online is a good idea.