The right machine for the job

**Nifty1Pound50** · 04-03-2009, 12:39

Right, I've got a situation developing and I need some help. I'm fairly technically minded, so I'll be as concise as possible whilst not missing out any details.

There are two people who need two desktop computers. Both want them to be top-spec machines, with price theoretically irrelevant.

My initial plan is to get quad-core processing power, with a suitably large amount of RAM in both cases as a base, to provide the necessary grunt to run the programs required with minimal fuss.

One user is predominantly working with a resource-heavy CAD program, the other will mainly be using Photoshop and Illustrator, working to a professional printing standard (this is very important).

I think I can safely say that, given that the power will be there in both machines, it becomes a case of finding the appropriate graphics card. This is where my knowledge isn't too good - what do the different graphics cards over, as far as harnessing the full power of the machine goes? Are there certain cards that would handle the CAD programs requirement for rendering large-scale landscapes in a high-resolution on-the-fly, whilst another that would better suit the graphic user's need to have lots of layers and high-resolution colours on screen at once?

How much do the graphics cards come into play? Is it mainly down to the RAM and processing cores?

The additional requirement is that both users want to play top-end games on their machines. Are there specific set-ups that really harness the full power of a top-of-the-range machine, whilst doing the job of rendering graphics for games?

Is the answer as simple as "get every top-spec component and put them together to form a super-computer" or is there more to consider?

Any advice appreciated. If anyone requires more detailed input, let me know.

Cheers.

***Sweey*** · 04-03-2009, 13:21

The processors - and both need quads - and RAM (only a 64-bit OS will see over 3.2/3.25GB RAM) are most important. You don't need a top end graphics card for the CAD/Photoshop/Illustrator work but as they want to play top-end games, something like the 1GB Radeon HD 4870 or an nVidia GTX 280/285 or GTX 290/295 are pretty much the top end cards at the moment. They would allow almost every game to be run at maximum settings on a resolution of 1680x1050, probably 1920x1200 (24" monitor) too. Of course, given the users you're asking about it may be worth considering a Radeon HD 4870 x2 (CrossFire) which will cost around £400 including VAT. It really does depend on just how much money they want to spend.

I believe the nVidia card is more power hungry and would require, obviously, a high capacity power supply given the other components you'll have.

Where CAD is concerned, I believe all calculations are run on the processor and held in RAM and its precisely this sort of work - and not games - that quad cores are for along with heavy encoding and the like. The graphical representation of this work isn't especially taxing. The Photoshop/Illustrator user probably doesn't need a quad core but with price not an issue and quad cores not costing the earth, they might as well be provided with one as well.

Hope that is enough information.

**Nifty1Pound50** · 04-03-2009, 13:45

Thanks for that.

The games are very much an afterthought - the key requirement is the CAD/graphics software to run at its most fluid.

I've not got the experience with the CAD program that will allow me to analyse it fully, but from what I gather the end-render (visualisation of mathematical components) can be quite graphics-heavy and so I thought that the graphics card could be a consideration.

I guess as far as the graphics machine is concerned, as much importance could be placed on a true-to-form monitor that will give a true representation of colour as the graphics card itself?

I think the safe bet is to set both machines up with the same processor/memory specs (i.e. quad-cores with high RAM) as you can never be sure what the future holds and the needs may change. Graphical programs might, in future, better utilise the quad-core systems as they become more common.

The next question, then, is what the best way is to go about putting together such a machine. I think it would be nice to get machines with very good cooling cases so as to maximise power - but I don't know if there's any sites that specialise in such machines, or whether building them from the bottom-up through various suppliers might be the way to go?

***Sweey*** · 04-03-2009, 13:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nifty1Pound50

Thanks for that.

The games are very much an afterthought - the key requirement is the CAD/graphics software to run at its most fluid.

I've not got the experience with the CAD program that will allow me to analyse it fully, but from what I gather the end-render (visualisation of mathematical components) can be quite graphics-heavy and so I thought that the graphics card could be a consideration.

I guess as far as the graphics machine is concerned, as much importance could be placed on a true-to-form monitor that will give a true representation of colour as the graphics card itself?

I think the safe bet is to set both machines up with the same processor/memory specs (i.e. quad-cores with high RAM) as you can never be sure what the future holds and the needs may change. Graphical programs might, in future, better utilise the quad-core systems as they become more common.

The next question, then, is what the best way is to go about putting together such a machine. I think it would be nice to get machines with very good cooling cases so as to maximise power - but I don't know if there's any sites that specialise in such machines, or whether building them from the bottom-up through various suppliers might be the way to go?

This is precisely what the likes of Scan and Overclockers UK are good for. You'd be able to get all components from the latter and all except for certain brands of RAM from the former.

I can't imagine a CAD program ever stretching a graphics card in quite the way games would but that said I'm not exactly into CAD myself. A card not far off the top end and able to play high end games at fairly high detail is the 512MB Radeon HD 4850 which I have. Its a very good price too.

Just be aware that Intel Core i7 - should you go that way - is DDR3 RAM only. Buying the same motherboard, processor and RAM for both machines is the ideal situation.

**Billy Minof** · 04-03-2009, 14:33

This might help you decide mate.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/15651

It compares the Radeon card to the GTX 260 not 280 though but you may find the answer on that site.