Building New System

[blk03MitsuES]

going to start a drafting program at ITT Tech pretty soon. so i just want to put together a pc good enough to handle whatever course work i can do at home. my budget is about 300 bucks but i got some parts at home.

Foxconn A74MX-K AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186151
$50

Rosewill 550v power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182017
$50

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231149
$40

AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103244
$90

$257 with shipping and tax

other than that, i got two sata HDDs 7200rpms, xfx 7600gt pciex16 cables, dvd rw and dvd drives, cases.

i figured I'm not going to be doing anything 3d/graphics heavy work at the beginning of the program, provably just cad work and what not. what are your guys' opinions?

[Spawn-Inc]

i wouldn't touch a rosewell psu if you paid me... other then that it looks fine.

[x88x]

Same on the PSU; Rosewill in general tends to fall on the lower-mid end quality-wise, and while I'm willing to make the compromise for some stuff, definitely not the PSU. It's a little more expensive, but I would recommend this 500W PC Power & Cooling ($80): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703015

Also, the MBB you linked uses DDR2 RAM, not DDR3. Here's a nice 4GB set from OCZ ($50): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227362

That should still fall within your budget, and the additional 2GB of RAM will give you a big performance boost (especially if you're running Vista).

[blk03MitsuES]

what about the processor and vid card? do i really need a quad? would a faster dual core be ok? maybe i can settle for a little bit cheaper processor and mobo to get a better video card? that is if the 7800gt isnt good enough.

[x88x]

Do you know what programs you'll be using in your drafting course? Because depending on what you'll be doing with it, a quad-core might be a benefit, or a better video card might, or neither might be necessary.

[FuzzyPlushroom]

Yeah, run away from that PSU. ATNG = GTFO.

You don't need a 550w PSU for that system, anyway; a quality 450-500w would do the job with no hassle. Here's a great deal if you don't mind mail-in rebates. This isn't bad either, though probably a bit overrated; these are ugly but tough and reliable.

[blk03MitsuES]

Do you know what programs you'll be using in your drafting course? Because depending on what you'll be doing with it, a quad-core might be a benefit, or a better video card might, or neither might be necessary.

not really i'm barely going to start my first quarter in the next few weeks. i know it's kinda hard to help when you don't know the details so i googled around. found a job listing for an ITT instructor and these are the programs they need to be efficient on:

Inventor
AutoCAD Architecture
Autodesk VIZ or 3dsmax
AutoCAD
AutoCAD Civil 3D
Adobe Photoshop CS3

so by the looks of it, some do deal with 3d graphics...

[x88x]

Someone with more experience with these programs, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe all of those would benefit most from more CPU power and RAM, and not so much necessarily from GPU. So, my recommendation would be to stick with the quad-core, switch to a MBB that can take up to 4 DIMMs and 8GB, like this ASUS, and start out with 4GB, then add another 4 later if need be.

[Datech]

The quad vs the dual will come down to how much multitasking you're going to do. If this computer is just going to be your drafting computer then you can settle for a dual. If you are going to have Firefox open, AutoCAD DWG's all over the place, your IM client, and all your other productivity software you probably should get a quad core just to reduce hassle.

I agree with x88x on the RAM. Start out with 4GB and get another 4 later if you really get into drafting. You will be surprised how quickly AutoCAD can bog down your system.

The GPU won't matter much for straight CAD, but it will be more than useful for Photoshop and Inventor. You don't have to go out and get a GTX, but the GTS 250 or a discounted 9800 will do just fine. The last time I used CAD was on AutoCAD 2007 and I had a XFX 7300GS that handled the load fine. Right now I use a EVGA GTS 250 and it works real well with Photoshop CS4.