What’s the best Workstation PC build for CAD in 2024?

Last update on 2024-04-25 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Alternative High-End Hardware – Intel CAD PC Build

PART	BRAND/MODEL
Processor Options (Must be paired with LGA 2066 motherboard)	Intel Core i9-10900X Intel Core i9-7940X Intel Core i9-7920X Intel Core i9-9820X
Graphics Card Options	Quadro RTX 5000 NVIDIA Titan RTX NVIDIA Quadro P6000 Quadro RTX 6000 Radeon Pro WX 9100
Storage Drive Options	Seagate Barracuda 3TB Seagate BarraCuda 8TB
Boot Drive Options	Sabrent Rocket Q 2TB NVMe PCIe M.2 Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB – M.2 NVMe XPG Pro 2TB 3D NAND NVMe WD Blue 1TB NVMe
Memory Options	Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB
CPU Cooler Option	NZXT Kraken X53 DEEPCOOL Castle 360EX WH, RGB AIO
Power Supply Options	Power Supply 850 Watts 80 Plus Gold Corsair CX Series 750 Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified  EVGA 850 80+ Bronze 850W GAMEMAX Rainbow 750W Fully Modular 80+ Gold   GAMEMAX Rainbow 850W Fully Modular 80+ Gold   EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 850W Rosewill Gaming 80 Plus Bronze 1000W PSU 1200W 80 Plus Platinum Modular PSU  Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 850W 80+ GAMEMAX Rainbow 750W Fully Modular 80+ Gold
Motherboard Options	ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe II X299 LGA 2066 ASUS ROG Rampage VI Extreme ASUS ROG Strix X299-E
Keyboard/Mouse Options	Havit Rainbow Backlit Wired Gaming Keyboard Mouse Combo Havit Rainbow Backlit Wired Gaming Keyboard Mouse Combo Logitech MK270 Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo Dell Wireless Keyboard & Mouse Combo AmazonBasics USB Wired Computer Keyboard Mouse
Case Options	darkFlash Darwin Black ATX Mid-Tower MSI Premium Mid-Tower PC Case Cooler Master MasterCase ATX Mid-Tower MSI MPG 500P Full Tower Thermaltake Commander C36 Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 ASUS TUF Gaming Mid-Tower Cooler Master Cosmos C700P
Display Options	BenQ PhotoVue 27 inch QHD Photography Monitor ViewSonic VP2771 Professional 27″ Philips Brilliance 27″ Monitor, 4K UHD IPS, 122% sRGB, BenQ 27 inch 4K Monitor for Designers LG 27″ 4K UHD IPS Monitor with HDR10 LG 34″21:9 Curved UltraWide WQHD IPS sRGB 99% EIZO ColorEdge CG2730 27″ BenQ 27 inch 4K Monitor Photo Editing IPS EIZO ColorEdge Professional Graphics Monitor LG 27″ 5K IPS LED Monitor ViewSonic 34″ UWQ 14-bit 3D LUT & Color Calibration

Most important Components for the best CAD Workstation build

PROCESSOR

Your processor must be powerful enough to handle the complex 2D or 3D models inside your CAD software. Getting a Core i3 or Core i5 processor is not recommended, even though your software will still run. But in terms of performance, you will be severely limited.

It is recommended to go for the Intel i7/i9 line of processors for CAD, or, if money isn’t an issue and you want to run simulations too, then go for a Threadripper chip. We’ve put together a Threadripper build you should consider. The AMD Threadripper series offers massive performance in multi-threaded rendering, and they’re a good option to future-proof your workstation.

RAM

You’re going to need large amounts of RAM for the best performance. For budget builds, you should go for at least 8GB, but you are going to have performance issues if you are handling large models. It is recommended to go for 16GB and above, for the best performance.

GRAPHICS CARD

When it comes to choosing a graphics card for your CAD PC, it is quite tempting to go for a gaming graphics card, probably because of the cheaper prices. The problem is that gaming cards are not engineered specifically to run CAD software. Gaming cards specialize in drawing high-frame-rate game graphics, but their performance is limited when it comes to handling CAD software. It is recommended to go for an Nvidia Quadro or an AMD Radeon Pro GPU for CAD, though GTX 1080 will still perform ok. But, if you are serious about CAD, by all means, go for a Quadro or a Radeon Pro GPU.