Wanted: Parts list to build PC from NewEgg :)

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1

Here’s the deal,

My girlfriend is a recent animation grad and want’s to get a computer that will keep up with some of the processing work Maya (an 3D animation/modeling etc program) so she can continue working on her portfolio.

She has a budget of about $600. This will include;

-Motherboard
-CPU
-Memory
-Drives (least concern)
-Audio/Video (if not integrated with MB)

Everything else she has, and she can pick a PC case to her own liking

No need to include cost of software, she can get a full copy of Winblows for a few bucks from school.

Any build-savy NYSpeeders wanna chime in?

2

Heres my sugestions for a $600 comp

CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115014
$140 - 2ghz core 2 duo

Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128049
$60

Mem - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231119
$110

Drives - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144416
$55/ea x 2 = $110

Video - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195030
$170

Audio - Integrated

Fan for processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106085
$19

Total - $605

A little over $600, but id make a prety bomb ass comp… 2gb mem, 400gb of sata 2 drives, 512mb pci-x16 video, not bad…

3

I know if you search you will find a whole bunch of threads about people building sweet computers for ~$600 complete with parts lists.

4

do you need to budget in a case and power supply?

monitor? speakers/mouse/keyboard?

I’ll throw something together as well. I’ve built well over 400 new machines in the last 4 years :slight_smile: I think I’m pretty savvy…

5

I’m still doing searches RX3, but with new products and new sales/prices, it makes sense to reflect what’s out there now, not what was out there 2 or 3 months ago.

The total can be over $600, but figured it was a good starting point. If there’s anything worth wild for a few more bucks, then we’re game :slight_smile:

6

[quote=“Clean Baldy,post:4,topic:30698"”]

do you need to budget in a case and power supply?

monitor? speakers/mouse/keyboard?

I’ll throw something together as well. I’ve built well over 400 new machines in the last 4 years :slight_smile: I think I’m pretty savvy…

[/quote]

Power supply yes! Forgot about that.

Everything else we have, she has a nice new LCD, keybord and mouse already she bought recently for an old computer I wasnt using.

As far as the case, she’s a girl, and will probably want something “pretty”. SO we’ll go by whatever form factor the motherboard and PS turns out to be

7

As long as you have like 300gb min storage, 2gb min mem, and a nice video card running dvi into your 19"+ lcd, it would be great for 3d modeling, but DVI is really key here, if you ever saw the difference between dvi and vga, its substantial, the text and small lines and stuff is very sharp on dvi, compared to fuzzy vga. And you might want to consider dualie monitors, i couldnt live with only one :wink:

I dont know how hardcore of a user she is/plans to be, but i cant see how one would use a comp with less than a tb or so of storage, but alot of people get away with like 80gb, hahaa…

8

once you go dual, you’ll never go back

9

[quote=“Nikuk,post:8,topic:30698"”]

once you go dual, you’ll never go back

[/quote]

Oh soo true… but what about dual quads? :stuck_out_tongue:

10

[quote=“Schema,post:5,topic:30698"”]

I’m still doing searches RX3, but with new products and new sales/prices, it makes sense to reflect what’s out there now, not what was out there 2 or 3 months ago.

[/quote]

:confused:

What’s out there 2 to 3 months ago is still out there now. So if you look the prices will just be cheaper.

No major breakthroughs in video have happened in the last 2-3 months. Direct X 10 and Vista are still unstable as ever, so your options are still the same as 2-3 months ago :shrug:

Video editing just needs the best video card, and memory that you can afford. Very few video programs use specific chip functions, and if they do they are usually mentioned in the literature for the program.

All the other components are trivial.

It’s not like there are a million ways to do this. No need to make it that complicated. Search on the rigs built by the huge nerd gamers, doublecheck the video cards (there are some that have about 200MB more memory now), get the same components for cheaper than we paid for them, and use the extra cash on HDD storage space because if the GF is serious, you will need all the space you can get.

11

deffinitly get a good power supply and a decent video card (don’t really need top of the line unless she’s getting into very large/detailed scenes). a geforce 7900 or the ATi listed above should work great. I know that 3ds has optional nvidia shader packages you can use to view them in real time… may want to think about that/do some research before picking a brand to go with.

I’d also recomend getting the fastest processor that she can afford. It will help greatly with rendering times (biggest PITA with maya/3dsmax/ect) not to mention, if maya supports dual core… well, it should be a pretty dramatic improvement in speed.

oh, don’t skimp on memory either… go big (same with the hard drive… a 500gb drive should do the trick for a while)

all else, penny pinch on and you should be able to build one within budget. If need be, throw in some old junk parts and upgrade when the money is around :slight_smile:

12

[quote=“Rx3,post:10,topic:30698"”]

:confused:

What’s out there 2 to 3 months ago is still out there now. So if you look the prices will just be cheaper.

No major breakthroughs in video have happened in the last 2-3 months. Direct X 10 and Vista are still unstable as ever, so your options are still the same as 2-3 months ago :shrug:

Video editing just needs the best video card, and memory that you can afford. Very few video programs use specific chip functions, and if they do they are usually mentioned in the literature for the program.

All the other components are trivial.

It’s not like there are a million ways to do this. No need to make it that complicated. Search on the rigs built by the huge nerd gamers, doublecheck the video cards (there are some that have about 200MB more memory now), get the same components for cheaper than we paid for them, and use the extra cash on HDD storage space because if the GF is serious, you will need all the space you can get.

[/quote]

RX3…

You realize this is a discussion board. As in, a place to discuss, give answers, or get answers. There’s a sub-topic here on NYSpeed called “Nerd Corner” not “Search corner”. I realize I can go elsewhere to look or ask the same questions, but so can everyone else on this board for every question ever asked. Telling every person to do a search for every question asked, whether posted here or not, car or non car related is, flippin retarded.

It’s called contribution. I posted here because there are people more than willing to piece together a system and have fun doing so, just like how I get kicks out of talking about something I enjoy doing.

I have your answer. Search. Thank you for your contribution and wealth of knowledge in the subjet.

13

If it makes a difference, I had a pretty good day at the casino yesterday, so the budget can be bumped up to the $800 range… :smiley:

14

[quote=“02AccordCoupe,post:7,topic:30698"”]

I dont know how hardcore of a user she is/plans to be, but i cant see how one would use a comp with less than a tb or so of storage, but alot of people get away with like 80gb, hahaa…

[/quote]

I actually despise Windows and prefer my Mac, but unfortunately I need a PC to run this animation program. I don’t plan on using it for much else besides this one program. So long as it can handle this program and is FAST (for rendering my animations), I’ll be happy as a clam. :slight_smile:

I’ve got a 250 GB external hard drive, so I don’t need to go overboard with much more storage on this new computer.

15

[quote=“02AccordCoupe,post:7,topic:30698"”]

DVI is really key here, if you ever saw the difference between dvi and vga, its substantial, the text and small lines and stuff is very sharp on dvi, compared to fuzzy vga.

[/quote]

I’ve run both DVI and VGA through my 22" widescreen viewsonic LCD and honestly couldn’t tell a difference

16

What do we think of this processor?

And the motherboard package deal it offers.

Like I said, my budget has increased a bit, so I’m working off of 02AccordCoupe’s list, and upgrading here and there…

17

For maya you need a fast processor, and alot of RAM.

When i worked at fisher price, they all had dual core intels, 2 24’ lcds, 2 gig of ram, and sata drives.

you can get a slower hdd if need be, but the memory and cpu are important to run maya.

18

You’d never buy a slower HDD due to the price difference being a buck or two? :lol:

its the processor and memory and VIDEO CARD that is important with Maya.

A fast CPU isn’t the #1, but helps. Memory is very important to have enough. (2GB should be OK I’d imagine) But, a 256MB+ Video card that performs well is a must for graphical imaging and visual effects.

19

actually… video card really isnt a huge must (unless you’re getting into very high detail models)… atleast, you don’t need anything more than a 150-200 card. The rendering process, AFAIK, uses the CPU for all of it’s computing… effects and such are also handeled by the CPU.

I was running max using an old 9700 pro and it worked great… albeit, once I started creating huge scenes, it did slow down quite a bit (the 7800 helped it though)

20

[quote=“Dr.Stevil,post:19,topic:30698"”]

actually… video card really isnt a huge must (unless you’re getting into very high detail models)… atleast, you don’t need anything more than a 150-200 card. The rendering process, AFAIK, uses the CPU for all of it’s computing… effects and such are also handeled by the CPU.

I was running max using an old 9700 pro and it worked great… albeit, once I started creating huge scenes, it did slow down quite a bit (the 7800 helped it though)

[/quote]

you contradicted yourself… :slight_smile:

you said “videos not a huge must unless…”

and then you said the unless part, which is “huge scenes” and “the 7800 helped it though”

That was my point exactly before :lol: Its not a HUGE must have… but, if you’re gonna use the program to its full potention, something like a 7800 is a must have. (they’re not too expensive nowadays, thank god)