budget graphical workstation (950 euro)
 

Hey,

I'm selecting parts for a new system for a friend with the following requirements :
* 2d/3d graphical workstation. he says he'll mostly use 2d
* he just started being a student to become an architect
* he doesn't need luxury. he wants to save money where possible but still have quality parts.
* he doesn't want to overclock
* he doesn't want to play games
* he doesn't care about preventing rendering artefacts by buying a workstation graphics card
* the system can't be more expensive than the one I've selected (about 950 euro)
* he wants to be able to use the following software :
+ adobe CS4 (indesign and photoshop) : shader model 3.0 and opengl 2.0
+ sketch up 7 : recommends graphics card with 512 mb ram and not to use intel or ati
+ autocad 2010 : microsoft 3d capable workstation graphics card
* I think the Q9550 should stay because it's a nice quad core cpu.
* He doesn't want to spend money on a SSD or raid-mirror

I have selected the following parts :

1 Antec Three Hundred Zwart about 59
2 Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro about 23
3 Asus P5Q-E about 116
4 Corsair HX450W about 68
5 Iiyama ProLite E2407HDS-1 about 212
6 Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 about 188
7 2x Kingston ValueRAM KVR800D2N5K2/4G about 99
8 Logitech Value Keyboard about 14
9 Logitech Value Optical Mouse about 15
10 Club3D 9400GT HDMI Passive about 40
11 Samsung SH-S223F about 25
12 Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS, 1TB about 88
total about 950 euro

My questions :
* Is the videocard powerful enough ? Since he doesn't need a workstation card and doesn't play games.
* Should I recommend Windows 7 64 bit or Windows XP 64 bit ?
* Does the artic cooling freezer 7 pro come with paste ?
* the memory isn't listed on the P5Q-E QVL but it's very populair memory (cheap and quality brand). Is this a problem ?
* Did I oversee some compatibility problem (for example regarding the size of some parts) ?
* Does the videocard fit in the case ?
* Do the psu and case fit together ?
* should the PSU be mounted top-down ?
* I think the PSU is powerful enough even if he would switch to a workstation graphics card later on (Quadro FX 580 for example). Do you agree ?
* Does anyone have any recommendations/feedback ?


Thank you very much in advance!

I don't see any compatiblity problems at first sight. Now for your questions:

The card is powerfull enough for both 2D and 3D applications. Since he just started as an architect student, he'll probably won't be rendering too heavy designs in autocad, so it's powerfull enough.
Windows 7, because you can't get XP anymore (or at least it's very hard to get on non OEM pcs or netbooks). Just don't forget that Windows 7 x64 only accepts signed drivers and supports even less legacy hardware than Vista.
yes
The list is very limited (because they can't test everything) and in my humble opinion useless (we recently had a topic about a Gigabyte motherboard that couldn't run with the memory modules they had on their list)
No
It's not a big card and the antec case isn't small either, so it'll fit ;)
Yes, that's why there are standards ;)
Dunno ?
The FX580 has a TDP of 40W whereas the 9400GT has a TDP of 50W, so it shouldn't be a problem at all ;) .
Not at the moment ;)

it possible, have the PSU pull in cool air from the outside the case; but in Antec 300 case at the bottom there is no grill; so just let the PSU fan help remove hot air from the case.

wutske thank for your feedback!

Thanks for your feedback.

So I should put it in top down (at the bottom of the case) so it helps to remove hot air from the case ?

Antec 300 has the mounting for the PSU at the bottom, if your PSU has in intake fan, make sure it's pointed upwards

Thank you!

If we only look at the performance of the software he wants to run. Which operating system would perform better ? Windows XP (64 bit) or Windows 7 (64 bit) ?

Does anyone have any other recommendations or feedback ?

Thank you very much in advance.

depends if his software is written before/after Vista introduction;)

if his software is older... it will run better under XP; if newer, it should work with 7

thanks :)