Want to build a CPU: Need help: Never done this before

[Minikin]

Hi knowledgable folks.

Need some guidance.
What I am looking to build: A PC
What I would use it for: I work on AutoCAD and Siemens NX10 alot. Gaming here and there but I do not particularly care if its maxed out graphics. But something decent would be nice. I only play WoW, and sometimes games like Darksiders 2 or Battle for Midlle Earth 2.

- What is a good place to get hardware from. I am in Canada Ontario. Is Newegg good?
- What are good brands for:
1. RAM
2. Fan
3. Power Supply
4. Motherboard

- I like Intel more than AMD but I am open to convincing. Which is better? Or is it just a matter of preference given my needs stated above.
- For software. I am assuming I would have to purchase an OS cd separately and install it once the hardware is all put together?

- Finally. Is there a website or someplace where there are good reliable guides to walk someone through this. I see multiple videos on youtube, is there any you guys would recommend?

Thanks

[ovm33]

- What is a good place to get hardware from. I am in Canada Ontario. Is Newegg good?

NCIX / Amazon.ca / Directcanada / pc-canada.com / and newegg which you know about.


You can use this site: https://pcpartpicker.com/ to pick your components out. (Change U.S. to Canada in the top right.)

- What are good brands for:
1. RAM
2. Fan
3. Power Supply
4. Motherboard

1. Corsair / Gskill / Crucial
2. Noctua / be quiet! have the best fans. If you mean heatsinks... then Noctua or be quiet!
3. Seasonic / EVGA (G2 or G3) / Superflower
4. Asus / MSI / Gigabyte

- I like Intel more than AMD but I am open to convincing. Which is better? Or is it just a matter of preference given my needs stated above.

More a matter of how much you want to spend. An R7 1700 will cost $407 Canadian. An Intel i7-6800k will be $544. The R7 will beat out the i7 in your work tasks. If money isn't an issue then the i7 6900k is $1300 Canadian and will beat out the R7... sometimes. Autocad and NX 10 likes cores. AMD is your best bet at this moment unless you have a rich uncle. I think I read somewhere autocad scales horribly after the first 4 cores in which case four very fast cores might beat out 8 slower cores. In which case an i7-7700k is the best bet at $449 Canadian.

For software. I am assuming I would have to purchase an OS cd separately and install it once the hardware is all put together?

Yes, there are ways to get windows 10 for dirt cheap though. (Kinguin.com)

Finally. Is there a website or someplace where there are good reliable guides to walk someone through this. I see multiple videos on youtube, is there any you guys would recommend?

pcpartpicker has a TON of step by step walkthroughs on building your own rig. We are really going to need your budget to give any real recommendation on part lists.

[Kagthul]

Hi knowledgable folks.

Need some guidance.
What I am looking to build: A PC
What I would use it for: I work on AutoCAD and Siemens NX10 alot. Gaming here and there but I do not particularly care if its maxed out graphics. But something decent would be nice. I only play WoW, and sometimes games like Darksiders 2 or Battle for Midlle Earth 2.

- What is a good place to get hardware from. I am in Canada Ontario. Is Newegg good?
- What are good brands for:
1. RAM
2. Fan

Noctua and BeQuiet for air coolers if you have a good budget, if you're on a tighter budget, CoolerMaster and CryoRig have good budget-friendly coolers. If you're looking into a liquid AIO, Corsair seems to be the way to go for a budget.

3. Power Supply

Seasonic.

4. Motherboard

If we're talking Intel, i like Gigabyte and ASUS. If we're talking AMD, i have no idea right now. Ryzen was having some teething issues, and i haven't been following which motherboards got updates faster/more functional.

- I like Intel more than AMD but I am open to convincing. Which is better? Or is it just a matter of preference given my needs stated above.

Up until the Ryzen launch, Intel would have been the no-brainer. Since Ryzen launched, if you're pushing a heavily multi-threaded workflow that can take advantage of the 8 Cores/16 Threads that Ryzen 7 boasts, it will serve you better/dollar than Intel. They perform similarly to Intel CPUs that are two or three times as expensive.

- For software. I am assuming I would have to purchase an OS cd separately and install it once the hardware is all put together?

No. You can download an installer straight to a USB thumb drive (requires... 4 GB drive i think, but ive always used 8GB, so it might need an 8GB, just check) from Microsoft's website. Then you can buy a key straight from Microsoft (if for some reason you want to pay full price) or hit Kinguin or similar resale sites to get it cheaper (20-30$ - but pay for the guarantee just in case you get a bum key, its worth the extra 3$).

I would cut my wrists if i had to install off of a CD. USB is so much faster, particularly if your Motherboard has a native USB3 controller in the chipset and you use a USB 3 compatible thumb drive.

[Fascinate]

It requires an 8gb flash drive now, its weird cause it lists 4gb in one spot but 8 on another, its definitely 8.

[Evildeffy]

If you have Autodesk's AutoCAD then your best bet is a high speed CPU from Intel.
AutoCAD's multi-threading capability is almost non-existant.

Autodesk's own link for this information: HERE!

As far as Siemens NX 10 goes.. unknown to the full extent of it's multi-threading capabilities...
Some of it is well multi-threaded and some is not AFAIK.

Therefore my recommendation is that if you want the best but not exaggerated costs .. grab a 7700K along with the necessary items to make it work.

Had your software been fully multi-thread capable then a Ryzen 7 1700X/1800X would have been your best bet if you didn't want to mess with overclocking.
The truth is that, unfortunately, it's not and it sucks to hear that because you would've expected more from Autodesk f.ex.

So with an i7-7700K (which isn't necessary for what you want BTW if you want to pinch pennies a bit) you would have the fastest possible current architecture for AutoCAD and likely NX 10 but you can mostly just as easily do it with an i5 if you want to reduce cost.

The question is what have you got, what do you want and what is your budget and also if you're willing to dabble in overclocking or not?

In which case I refer you to the subforum and fill out the sticky there and we can assist you with a build optimized for you in a price range you want.
Of course be sure to refer to this post when you make it so people have the proper idea and not start recommending high thread count rigs for large prices when your software is incapable of doing so.

[Minikin]

Hi guys. Thanks so much for the input. Travelling so haven't read them all completely, once I stop over I'll have a look. Thanks!

[Fascinate]

7700k is the safe choice, but the 1700 is also an option for less money plus you get a nice stock heatsink.

As for parts you can use pcpartpicker and select canada from the drop down, will list all the retailers once you add parts to the list.

[Minikin]

@ovm33 @Kagthul @Evildeffy

Thank you guys for the advise. I really appreciate it. I have a couple more questions.
Please see the link below for reference:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3F6DFd

- CPU fan vs Case fan
These are different things correct? The Noctua i picked in the link above, that is going to cool the CPU specifically? I need to pick a case fan besides that right? Also. What is the deal with water cooling? Just curious, im sure I do not need it.

- For a power supply
Is there a way to know if I have enough? Will the website warn me if I pick too much?

- RAM
What is the best way to slot this. I picked two 8gb slots to get me 16gb. Is that enough? Should I have more? Is 8gb slot good or is it better go for a full 16gb or 4x 4gb?

- GPU
Any specifics on this? I just went by a good rated one on that website.

My budget would be about $CAD 2500, maximum maximum $cad3000.

[Fascinate]

There is really no reason to go x99 platform at this point, its either a 7700k or ryzen. NH-D15 is a good cooler, but the thing is truly massive and is unnecessary, something like the cryorig H5 ultimate is all you need. You really cant have "too much" power supply, i actually overbuy them so the fan stays quiet.

Id do something like this if i were you:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($449.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Ultimate 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus STRIX Z270-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($257.45 @ shopRBC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($299.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate FireCuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($134.98 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB ARMOR OCV1 Video Card ($347.25 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Memory Express)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($57.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($177.73 @ Vuugo)
Case Fan: Fractal Design GP14-BK 68.4 CFM 140mm Fan ($18.99 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1974.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-09 19:26 EDT-0400

PSU is on a good sale, you dont need any wifi or audio cards that is all covered by this motherboard.

[Evildeffy]

@ovm33 @Kagthul @Evildeffy

Thank you guys for the advise. I really appreciate it. I have a couple more questions.
Please see the link below for reference:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3F6DFd

- CPU fan vs Case fan
These are different things correct? The Noctua i picked in the link above, that is going to cool the CPU specifically? I need to pick a case fan besides that right? Also. What is the deal with water cooling? Just curious, im sure I do not need it.

That fully depends upon the case you have whether you need case fans or not.

Here's a build that is IMO better for you than the build you made due to the work stuff you work with:
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/MnPFM8

I modified your list for better components I think suits your needs better and overall higher quality components.
I also added a case, since you didn't have that in the list.
Removed the soundcard entirely since if you're not an audiophile with a very expensive setup then it's useless.

The monitors especially... trust me you'll thank me for it!

I removed the ODD entirely since it's mostly useless in this day and age, but if you need it .. tell me and I'll re-add it with a different case.
I still feel dirty for leaving that 2TB Seagate drive in ><

Not sure why you wanted WiFi but I added one that I know is damned good.

- For a power supply
Is there a way to know if I have enough? Will the website warn me if I pick too much?

The one you picked is more than enough, can SLI the card I picked for you with it easily if you wanted to and still have juice to spare.

- RAM
What is the best way to slot this. I picked two 8gb slots to get me 16gb. Is that enough? Should I have more? Is 8gb slot good or is it better go for a full 16gb or 4x 4gb?

I picked 16GB because I know what AutoCAD CAN devour but unsure of Siemens NX 10.
16GB in general is enough but if you so desire more RAM then you can just add another set later!

- GPU
Any specifics on this? I just went by a good rated one on that website.

Changed it ... with that set .. you'll thank me later

My budget would be about $CAD 2500, maximum maximum $cad3000.

Done! Check your list. - Your Canadian currency sucks balls though
(https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/MnPFM8)

[ovm33]

[MENTION=913552]
- CPU fan vs Case fan
These are different things correct? The Noctua i picked in the link above, that is going to cool the CPU specifically? I need to pick a case fan besides that right? Also. What is the deal with water cooling? Just curious, im sure I do not need it.

- For a power supply
Is there a way to know if I have enough? Will the website warn me if I pick too much?

- RAM
What is the best way to slot this. I picked two 8gb slots to get me 16gb. Is that enough? Should I have more? Is 8gb slot good or is it better go for a full 16gb or 4x 4gb?

- GPU
Any specifics on this? I just went by a good rated one on that website.

My budget would be about $CAD 2500, maximum maximum $cad3000.

- CPU fan generally refers to the heat sink... the thing sitting on your CPU to keep it cool. Case fans are ones the provide airflow throughout the case. Any decent case will come with at least one case fan. (The one I have suggested below comes with two.) Your heat sink will also come with it's own fans. The one I suggest is based purely on looks. It will perform the same as the one you picked but for ten bucks more won't look like a dog's ass.

- The build you linked is coming in at 408 watts per pcpartpicker. A 550w would be plenty. Having more won't hurt you though; the one in my suggested build below is 650w because of price.

- There are marginal gains to be had by going with quad channel. Nothing you'll notice outside of benchmarking. The speed and latency of the ram will play a much bigger factor over single / dual / quad sticks. The RAM I listed is 4x sticks of 8gb but 2x sticks of 16gb wouldn't matter. You have plenty budget to go with 32gb and your job may switch programs to actually make use of it. (You can save money now by cutting it to 16gb.)

- I upgraded your 1060 to a 1070. You want see any difference in your work programs but it will greatly benefit your gaming. Gigabyte, ASUS, MSI, EVGA are all good manufactuers of GPU's. You only want to avoid the Founder's edition cards (looks silver with a single small fan) because the produce worse thermals over custom fan cars.

- This build below is in all "funny money" (Canadian dollars ) from Canadian retailers. It is exactly what I would buy in your shoes. Note: I dropped the network & wifi & sound cards for a mobo with built in versions of all. If you are not satisfied with your mobo's built-in performance in any category I would then suggest looking for external solutions.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($449.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($97.13 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus STRIX Z270-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($257.45 @ shopRBC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3466 Memory ($338.97 @ NCIX)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($114.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.89 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card ($519.50 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($57.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2246M-LED 22.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2246M-LED 22.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Other: Windows 10 Pro key from Kinguin Canada ($34.99)
Total: $2454.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-09 20:18 EDT-0400

[Minikin]

@Fascinate @Evildeffy @ovm33

Thanks guys I really appreciate it.

Hey quick canadian currency fact: Our 1 dollar coin is called a LOONIE. and our two dollar coin is called a TWOONIE. Yeap we are very creative north of the border XD.

Couple more questions please.
- @Fascinate
I noticed a hybrid hdd. What is the difference between having an SSD and a general HDD. Not too familiar with hybrid hdd.

- @Evildeffy
SLI is when you can have multiple GPUs like rams correct?


Finally a last mention that is more a curiosity. When people build custom PCs into a table, generally speaking it does not matter if its a case or a table, wiring is the same just setup to work with the dimensions correct? Also water cooling. Whats the deal there?

Thanks a ton guys

[ovm33]

Finally a last mention that is more a curiosity. When people build custom PCs into a table, generally speaking it does not matter if its a case or a table, wiring is the same just setup to work with the dimensions correct? Also water cooling. Whats the deal there?

Thanks a ton guys

There are two different types of water cooling. All in One (AIO) coolers and Custom Loops. I won't go into custom loops as that's pretty advanced stuff and not really in your budget. Bottom pic has a custom loop BTW.

Typical AIO cooler:



The main benefit of an AIO cooler is it's ease of use and visuals. They are easier to install into a case. And they look snazzy too. I'm warning you right now the large heat sinks that have been suggested by us are a pita to install. Now there are other benefits as well but those are hotly debated. I'll try to break it down as simply as possible:

Heat sinks get hotter quicker but also cool quicker than water. Water can smooth out temperature spikes that your CPU endures. But the flip side is that once water does reach it's max temp it takes much longer for it to cool down. At the end of the day does it matter? That's a fist fight I have no intention of getting into. I would say that for 95% of users it doesn't matter if they choose a high quality heat sink, like the Noctua or Dark Rock, vs a high quality AIO.

The downside of AIO's is the addition of more moving parts. Heat Sinks only have 1-2 external fans which can be easily replaced if they fail. AIO's have the same two fans plus a pump to move the water. There's also the possibility, however extremely remote, that your AIO could leak. Water + expensive electronics = sad panda. Let me again state that having a quality AIO leak is extremely unlikely. Your house is more likely to get hit by lighting and fry your system type unlikely.

As far as the desk goes are you meaning something like this? If so that's a real damn deep rabbit hole you're looking in.

[Fascinate]

Hybrid hard drives have flash storage built in that acts as a cache to speed up frequently used programs. I can honestly say you do not need a SSD if you have one of seagates new SSHD's (solid state hard drive). In normal everyday operation it is a very similar experience, for a fraction of the price.

I own the 1tb version of the one i linked, its the most impressive thing of my entire build.

Here an example of a desk PC:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...D&Q=&A=details

Pretty cool if you ask me, id consider it if i had the budget.

[Minikin]

There are two different types of water cooling. All in One (AIO) coolers and Custom Loops. I won't go into custom loops as that's pretty advanced stuff and not really in your budget. Bottom pic has a custom loop BTW.

Typical AIO cooler:



The main benefit of an AIO cooler is it's ease of use and visuals. They are easier to install into a case. And they look snazzy too. I'm warning you right now the large heat sinks that have been suggested by us are a pita to install. Now there are other benefits as well but those are hotly debated. I'll try to break it down as simply as possible:

Heat sinks get hotter quicker but also cool quicker than water. Water can smooth out temperature spikes that your CPU endures. But the flip side is that once water does reach it's max temp it takes much longer for it to cool down. At the end of the day does it matter? That's a fist fight I have no intention of getting into. I would say that for 95% of users it doesn't matter if they choose a high quality heat sink, like the Noctua or Dark Rock, vs a high quality AIO.

The downside of AIO's is the addition of more moving parts. Heat Sinks only have 1-2 external fans which can be easily replaced if they fail. AIO's have the same two fans plus a pump to move the water. There's also the possibility, however extremely remote, that your AIO could leak. Water + expensive electronics = sad panda. Let me again state that having a quality AIO leak is extremely unlikely. Your house is more likely to get hit by lighting and fry your system type unlikely.

As far as the desk goes are you meaning something like this? If so that's a real damn deep rabbit hole you're looking in.

lol yes that rabbit hole is actually the final goal. I got a new place in the works. and once its ready I want to work about setting up a study/office. I have just normally bought laptops and PCs but I think its time I delve into just building something that I want. But as you correctly stated, I need to magnify my knowledge by ALOT so here I am!

I will most probably as you suggest go with just the standard setup for cooling. I want to have something unique but I am not that passionate or going to use it so heavily that I need a watercooled setup.

[Evildeffy]

@Fascinate @Evildeffy @ovm33

Thanks guys I really appreciate it.

You're welcome.

Hey quick canadian currency fact: Our 1 dollar coin is called a LOONIE. and our two dollar coin is called a TWOONIE. Yeap we are very creative north of the border XD.

Couple more questions please.
- @Fascinate
I noticed a hybrid hdd. What is the difference between having an SSD and a general HDD. Not too familiar with hybrid hdd.

Again since I know AutoCAD and assume NX 10 to be similar you don't want to use a hybrid cache drive, too many small objects and amount of data to be loaded.
And considering cache drive always swaps... not a good idea to do so, a pure SSD is far better for your work purposes.

- @Evildeffy
SLI is when you can have multiple GPUs like rams correct?

Correct, say you want to double up compute power from your graphics for w/e reason you can drop in another 1070 and get it.
Naturally this is HIGHLY dependant on the software you use but that's the simple gist of it.

Finally a last mention that is more a curiosity. When people build custom PCs into a table, generally speaking it does not matter if its a case or a table, wiring is the same just setup to work with the dimensions correct? Also water cooling. Whats the deal there?

Thanks a ton guys

What @ovm33 said.

That said.. there's many choices you can make in hardware but keep in mind that most of it will do what you want.
We just optimize things to choices that are possible.

Mine, out of the 3 given, is the most expensive but also for drawing probably the most desirable because of the monitors.
Also it's resolution should allow the 1070 to stretch it's legs.

But having worked with AutoCAD I can say that FullHD is a pain if the drawing is any bit of a larger size, keep that in mind.