The EuCARD-HFM task aims at realizing a 13 T dipole magnet with an aperture of 100 mm, which is a challenging step towards very high field accelerator magnets. This dipole, utilizing Nb3Sn superconductor, will be used in the Fresca test facility at CERN. A preliminary design study has compared two possible design layouts for the EuCARD-HFM magnet: the cos-θ and the block. This report summarizes the conclusions of this study and justifies, on the base of quantitative and qualitative arguments, our decision to pursue the detailed design with the block layout.