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 :)

Definitely. At least for another 2-3 years, which is more than enough time to enjoy his profession. :)

Beyond any doubt: Windows 7. In my opinion, you'd either have to be nuts, or insanely old-fashioned and conservative, to still hold on to XP. It's old, ugly, it's got sooooooo many bugs that Windows 7 has not (anymore), and above all: to many common PC-users, Windows 7 is just as fast as XP, if not faster. But of course, same rule applies here, the same as with Vista: don't use it on an old/slow PC. ;) Which isn't the case with your parts, ofc.

So get Windows 7.

If they don't, just sue them. ;)

Kingston is indeed rather cheap and of good quality, and as long as your memory has the same speed as your motherboard (FSB) it won't be any problem.

Nop. Just make sure you know something about putting these parts together. Because computers are very expensive things to 'toy around' with. In other words, do be careful though. ;)

Yep. I for myself have the Antec Twelve Hundred Case, and an ASUS EN9600GT card, which is the biggest I've seen in my life, and it DOES fit in. ;)
So yours shouldn't be any problem either, I suppose.

Yep, they will. As long as it does an intake fan facing upwards. :)

Top-down, as in placing the up-side on the bottom of the case? No way, as long as your PSU has an upwards-facing air intake fan, just put it normally, like any other normal PSU, on the bottom of your Antec 300. If you can see the air intake fan, you'll know you're on the right trail. ;)

At the moment, I have even less horse-power than you (430W), and yet I'm making fun of the graphics in games such as Crysis and UT3, so really, don't worry yet about the PSU. IF you wanna worry, rather worry about the graphics card, cuz that will form a problem much sooner than the PSU, I believe.

Yes. You posted this message in the beginning of September. We're 3 months later now, and things have changed quite a bit.
This is the setup I'd recommend to you, since it's more future proof, and yet, as far as I know, cheaper. ;)

So:

====================

Intel Core i7 920 // 275 €
MSI X58m // 166 €
Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 6GB // 140 €

====================

The rest you could keep, but this little upgrade will keep your PC future-proof for a long while, I think. :)

I also have an Antec 1200 and it has enough space for an ATI HD5970, which measures 30cm/12inch long. That's the biggest card ever made...

And when you're on a tight budget, better go for the i7 based on a LGA 1156 P55 chip. The Intel i7-860 is the most obvious choice (when going with Intel, that is) as that CPU sports Hyper Threading (comes in at between 240 & 290 euro, depending on where you buy), but the real budget CPU is the i5 750. Has a speed of 2.66GHZ but doesn't support Hyper Threading. CPU costs between 170 & 210 euro, again depending on where you buy.