Choosing A CPU for Drafting

Mini Anden

Mini Anden

New Member
I will be purchasing/building a computer within the next couple of days which I will be using to work with Autodesk Inventor 2012, and Solidworks. It will have 8gb Ram, still deciding on video card.

Basically what I am asking is; which is better for me: AMD phenom II x6 or intel i5 ?

The following is the a list of my choices, their price, and Passmark score.

i5 2310 ....... $179 ............. 5,752
i5 2400 ....... $189 ............. 6,082
i5 2500 ....... $205 ............. 6,560
i5 2500k ...... $218 ............. 7,369

x6 1055T ......$159 ............. 5,191
x6 1090T ......$180 ............. 6,052
x6 1100T ......$212 ............. 6,309

So, according to Passmark, 2500k>2500>1100T>2400>1090T>2310>1055T

I'm not really sure what a passmark score relates to btw.

I have read that the i5 2500 is superior for gaming, whereas a x6 processor is better for programs that can utilize more than 4 cores. Any Idea if Inventor is one of these programs??

If I chose to go the budget route would the 1055T be adequate for drawing?

Is there any noticeable difference between a 1055T computer and an i5 2500 when playing computer games?


Thank You.
 
I checked out the system requirements, might be of use; http://usa.autodesk.com/autodesk-inventor/system-requirements/

For Autodesk Inventor 2012 Windows Users

Note: Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0 is required to successfully install Autodesk Inventor.

For General Part and Assembly Design (Typically Fewer than 1,000 Parts)

Microsoft® Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit) Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise edition, or Microsoft® Windows Vista® (32-bit or 64-bit) Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate edition (SP2), or Microsoft® Windows XP Professional (SP3) or Professional x64 Edition (SP2) (1,2)

NOTE: Microsoft Vista Hotfix KB971138 is required for installation on Vista operating systems. Please refer to http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS16323149 for complete information and access to Microsoft Vista Hotfix KB971138

Intel® Pentium® 4, 2 GHz or faster, Intel® Xeon®, Intel® Core™, AMD Athlon™ 64, or AMD Opteron™ processor, or later (3)
2 GB RAM or more (4)
Microsoft® Direct3D 10® or Direct3D 9® capable graphics card (5)
DVD-ROM drive (6)
Microsoft® Mouse-compliant pointing device
1,280 x 1,024 or higher screen resolution
Internet connection for web downloads and Subscription Aware access
Adobe Flash Player 10 (7)
Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.x through 8
Microsoft® Excel 2003 through 2010 for iFeatures, iParts, iAssemblies, thread customization, and spreadsheet-driven designs
Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0

For Complex Models, Complex Mold Assemblies, and Large Assemblies (Typically More than 1,000 Parts)

Windows 7 64-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit (SP2), or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (SP2)

NOTE: Microsoft Vista Hotfix KB971138 is required for installation on Vista operating systems. Please refer to http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS16323149 for complete information and access to Microsoft Vista Hotfix KB971138.

AMD64 or Intel® 64 processor
8 GB RAM or more

CAD workstation-class graphics card <== WHAT IS THIS?

Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0
 
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A CAD class workstation card would be your Nvidia Quadro or AMD Firepro graphics cards. They are designed explicitly for designing programs.

Any decent graphics card should still work with CAD programs, but workstation cards should work better. They are, however, a fair amount more expensive than regular graphics cards.
 
and as was said before a FireGL or Quadro graphics card. probably a good idea to not overclock and use ram at JDEC spec timings, IE: DDR3 1333
 
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