PC Spec overkill?

[Anonymous]

Hello

I am building my new PC and was wondering if the following build is great or overkill!?

Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor

MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card

16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory

I'd rather not go way over spec if I could save some cash....

Thanks

Pascal

[brianrepp]

Hey @Anonymous - in case you haven't already seen them, our minimum system requirements are posted here:  https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-Autodesk-Fusion-360.html

I'll let some others chime in with personal experience, but can you ever have too much power?!  

[lindsay.fowler]

Hi Pascal,

In terms of performance, I find F360 to be pretty good. I use a computer that is now 7 years old (iMac i3 processor) and I have been really impressed because F360 runs fine. Obviously model complexity and rendering options will come into play, but yeah I'd say your specs are more than adequate. If you did run into a performance problem with those specs, it would probably indicate a workflow issue rather than insufficient specs.

[seatonA9RG6]

I think that configuration is great. I'd keep the memory but you can probably save some money on a GTX 1070 there -- I've had great results with mine and there's a big price difference. A lot of the time, CPU horsepower is way more important. (If you're also gaming on this box, then why not stick with bigger/better/faster/more?) I think your storage (which you didn't mention) is also important. I'd "invest" in some great fast SSDs as-needed (don't just buy on capacity alone.)

I have a similar system and did initially have some overheating problems. It's because Gigabyte messed up my logic board [by design!] so just plan to keep it all cool. I honestly didn't have a stability problem on that logic board until I started rendering with light emitters. Overall, I think you're good and could shave some cost off that GPU choice if that's your goal.

[Anonymous]

Hi 

This is real good advice thank you.

Unfortunately I'm not into computer playing games, I wish had I had the time...

The only two things that spring to mind reading your post are...

1. Processor wise, should I go for the i7 or go for something like AMD Ryzen 7, based on tests I hear that it can deal with more multi threaded processes because it has more cores...

2. While I don't play games, I do hope one day to figure out how to put on a 3D headset and view my design in 3D before I get them manufactured. So I was thinking the 1080 but to save £150 I have been tempted to drop down to the 1070...

Based on this what do you all think?

Thanks again

[O.Tan]

How much memory does the 1070 come with? The spec in your original post will certainly allow you to work on large assemblies. I'm interested in letting you run some of my files and tell us what kind of FPS you're getting with such setup.

[Anonymous]

Hello

The 1070 comes with 8GB.

I'd be happy to try out some files and compare the speed with other hardware setups, in fact it would be great to get a few people on the forum to help us to make some comparisons.

I'm planning on ordering the bits end of this week and pull the PC together early next week.

I am leaning with going for the i7 rather than the AMD CPU unless anyone provides any further insight on this thread.

[O.Tan]

aah, I guess between the 1080 or 1070, you'll have to ask yourself, how often do you work with large assemblies? Cause if you work on it often, then a better GPU will pay itself rather quickly.

[HughesTooling]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello

TI am leaning with going for the i7 rather than the AMD CPU unless anyone provides any further insight on this thread.

---

Are you just modeling or are you using CAM or rendering? Modeling will benefit from the fastest processor as modeling is not very good at using multiple cores\threads. CAM and rendering will use all cores so an 8 core 16 thread AMD chip might have benefits. 

Here's a couple of tests run using the HSM performance test.

AMD

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/machining-discussions/performance-is-your-pc-fast-or-slow/m-p/7019343#M12473

Overclocked i7

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/machining-discussions/performance-is-your-pc-fast-or-slow/m-p/6072506#M254

These tests will give you a good idea how the CAM is going to perform, better than most benchmarks as it's using the same code as Fusion.

Mark

[Mike.Grau]

Hi @Anonymous,

Thank for sharing this with us.

The specs look great. You may lower it a bit to save money

• Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor -> i5 is fine, no need for Quad Core, I´m running Fusion 360 with an old i3 it runs great.
• MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card -> it´s a good one, I would go for it since VR capability is important in the future but 2 Gb should enough to run Fusion 360 perfectly
• 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory -> great pick 16 Gb DDR4 for sure but make sure you can upgrade up to 64 Gb, for later 😉 I don´t like pagefile.sys filling up my harddrive 😉

1. What about your Mainboard, PowerSupply and SSD? SATA or PCIe? 
2. Make sure the Tower is big enough to transfer the amount of energy you bring into the system. 😉

I hope this helps,

Thanks,

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply. Great points.

For the Mobo I am leaning towards the MSI Z270 SLI Plus. Seems to have a good set of features for the price and expansion capabilities.

SSD I have a Samsung 840 EVO 120GB from the PC I am replacing which I plan to reuse for now.

I have not decided what to get for the PSU. I think I need something in the 600w-700w range? Bronze rated as it won't be switched on all the time? Any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Hi Mark

I am relatively new to all this so hopefully I am answering properly...

I do a lot of modelling at the moment. 

I plan to get into rendering, just haven't done so yet. I thought rendering would use the GPU rather than CPU which is one of the reasons I was going for a decent graphics card.

As for CAM, I use 3d printing at the moment, so I export my models into STL files and use a separate slicer app to get it ready for the machine. I haven't even begun to explore how I could do this in Fusion..!

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@HughesTooling wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello

TI am leaning with going for the i7 rather than the AMD CPU unless anyone provides any further insight on this thread.

---

Are you just modeling or are you using CAM or rendering? Modeling will benefit from the fastest processor as modeling is not very good at using multiple cores\threads. CAM and rendering will use all cores so an 8 core 16 thread AMD chip might have benefits. 

---

[HughesTooling]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi Mark

I am relatively new to all this so hopefully I am answering properly...

I do a lot of modelling at the moment. 

I plan to get into rendering, just haven't done so yet. I thought rendering would use the GPU rather than CPU which is one of the reasons I was going for a decent graphics card.

---

Rendering done in the render workspace is done by the CPU or you can use up any credits you have and cloud render. While rendering all threads are used so if you go for a 4 core 8 thread i7 you will see an improvement over an i5. Don't know how the AMD chips perform with rendering but I would think 8 core 16 thread would help. Not sure you need more than an 4Gb graphics card so it might be worth saving some money there and get the fastest processor and a good cooler.

Mark

[O.Tan]

Yeah, as @HughesTooling mentioned, you'll be better of with CPU than GPU if rendering is important to you, or you can just use Cloud Credits.

I'm not sure how many cores does the AMD Ryzen has, but they're many test results that has shown that when it comes to rendering, a CPU with more cores, even at lower base frequency, renders faster than a CPU with less cores but higher base frequency.