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Budget of $2500 for a PC - what do you recommend?

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Submitted by souri on
Forum

I've received an email from someone who's interested in getting into 3D animation. What kind of PC could you get with a budget of $2500? CPU, gfx card, types of ram, HD etc etc... If you have links to hardware websites and prices, that would be great.

(On the software side, I'd recommend the learning editions first off)

Submitted by Aven on Wed, 10/12/03 - 12:22 AM Permalink

www.cougar.com.au for Canberran prices. All the systems I have made though, I have done by buying parts out at the computer markets.

Haven't looked at computer prices for a year now, so I can't really help out much.

CPU, MB and RAM are the most important. A good monitor is also very important. Next comes graphics card, HDD and whatever else.

Submitted by Red 5 on Wed, 10/12/03 - 12:23 AM Permalink

Dell have some good value performance PC's for that sort of money... I just can't believe I'm actually recommending them.

Submitted by Daemin on Wed, 10/12/03 - 1:42 AM Permalink

I would say avoid the pre-built computers at all, they mark them up like crazy.

I recently built two cheaper systems for my parents and their friends, and I bought the parts seperately and assembled them, saving a bundle. Do that if you can and know about hardware and software, or at least have good friends that do.

A sytstem I would recommend is something about a 2.5 GHz range, at least 512MB ram (DDR333 or better, if the motherboard supports it) - I recently used up all the RAM running word, photoshop, illustrator and a few other small things - 80GB 7200rpm HDD is a minimum. Although the biggest tip is to get a really good motherboard, that will make everything so much easier, MSI, ASUS they make good boards, AOpen are good too, EPOX are also good, but only some of the time. The graphics card will probably be your biggest expense, I would suggest trying to get a middle-of-the-range board, since they are a good combination of price / performance, recently friends of mine got Radeon 9600 Pro's, which they are satisfied with.

And as with the debate between AMD and Intel, the only thing I suggest is you avoid the Celerons, since you can get an Athlon at a similar price for better performance. I myself have an Intel P4, which is nice, but I got my parents Athlon's, and with a good cooling utility program (yes software) they can run at about the same temperature as the Intels. So really it depends on what motherboard you want to get, oh yeah, and avoid RAMBUS and SD-RAM boards...

If that person lived in Adeliade then I would probably be able to find decently cheap prices for them, but alas. Queensland has the cheapest prices anyways.

--EDIT--

Well I could estimate the price of a decent computer:

$160 Athlon XP 2500+
$200 Motherboard <- Can probably get it with onboard Sound and/or 100Mbit LAN
$130 512MB DDR333 RAM (could get more, but not worth it atm)
$200 120GB 7200rpm HDD (Seagate, Western Digital are alright) <- try to get 8MB cache
$300 Radeon 9600 Pro <- Decent brand, cheaper one's are $280 or so
$150 SB Audigy 2 (if you want "better" sound)
$60 16x DVD Drive
$75 52x52x32x CD Burner
$15 1.44" FDD (If you *really* want one, they're not needed now)
$120 A good case and power supply, AOpen, or some other fancy one

Optional Items:
$200 19" monitor
$200 One of those fancy Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse combos

If you want to spend more money I would say get a better cpu, although the price grows exponentially the higher the MHz...
I would also avoid the AMD Athlon 3200+, since it doesn't compare to Intel's offering!

Submitted by Doord on Wed, 10/12/03 - 2:49 AM Permalink

Daemin sound he know what he is on about, but I think 1 gig of ram is need. and $200 One of those fancy Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse combos. Wireless broads and mice and not need at all they done work as well as a normal cord mouse you need battlys and the only reason I belive poeple buy them is to say, hey look man my mouse and keybroad has no cord man I'm cool.

Submitted by Jacana on Wed, 10/12/03 - 2:58 AM Permalink

Ahhh - but for those of us who have PC's in the same room as beds we can sit back and fiddle with the pc from afar ;)

Submitted by Jeremiah on Wed, 10/12/03 - 10:59 AM Permalink

The 2 cheapest places I have seen for online or store, computer hardware would be gamedude,or Global Computer Group; http://www.globalgroup.net.au/gloshop/customer/home.php
Both located in Brisbane. I recently bought all my hardware myself and put my computer together myself. Its not really hard these days to do it, a little searching on google for info and you can make your own system. The biggest thing is picking the hardware you want making sure its all compatible and you get the best bang for your buck.

My complete system cost me at the time about $1600. I got a asus A7N8X-X, i picked this mobo because I knew i wanted to overclock my AMD 2500 Barton Core CPU just by going to my BIOS and raising my FSB to 400, which makes that CPU run eqivilent to a barton core 3200 cpu, which cost at the time an extra $500 dollars around about.

For max performance with Maya or Max, get a dual CPU motherboard, and use dual CPU's, these programs are made to really make full use of dual CPU over the single ones.

I also got a seagate 80 gb hdd 7200 rpm, this is the min i would use these days for hdd, I like seagate, reliable, fast and very quiet, and there getting really cheap now.

I think go for a good 19 inch CRT monitor around $300 brand new.
Defenitly need a dvd rom, and a CD Burner.

I modded my case and put 2 fans in the clear perspex side panel for extra cooling, one above the CPU, and one just above the Graphics card,(I can manually control the fan speed) and i got a fan in the case at the rear blowing hot air out the back. Cooling is really important i think with the heat that the new graphics cards and CPU's generate. I also have a huge heatsink and fan( not the original ones that came with the CPU because I overclock i need better cooling), and it runs cool as a bar fridge in a blizzard.

I use tiny BGA kingmax 512 DDR RAM, pick the appropiate type for your motherboard. ie PC3200 etc... Im getting another 512 stick of ram soon, i would really consider about going with 2 sticks of 512 ram each.

Graphics cards are like the CPU WAR (Intel vs AMD). It really comes down to personal preference, (Nvidia or ATI),Strictly speaking if this computer is going to be a proper workstation only intended for pure 3d animation etc non gaming, check out the maya or max websites for there recommended graphic cards, be warned though proper workstation cards are very expensives $1000-10'000+), but are extremely better for 3d animation then a gaming card.

Personally I like to do some gaming and currently learning 3d animation so I go for gaming cards because workstation cards dont cut it in gaming, but gaming graphics cards are good enough to learn 3d with, and will get you along way before upgrading.

Keyboard any really, and mouse at least the 3 button variety, dont even know if you can get less then 3 now lol. Unless you buy an apple computer.

Going to need Windows XP Professional, not XP home, or you can use Windows 2000 I think for Maya and Max.

You can build a really good computer yourself for way under $2500 these days, and with the saved money I would get a wacom graphics tablet, even the small one like i got is better then nothing, there a must i think, Get used to them now and make them become second nature, it really speeds up work flow and in this industry speed is as important as the quality of your work. Also a Scanner and a Printer will become very handy. I got a Canon, and im not really impressed with them, I would recommend paying a little more for a better quality printer then a Canon if your serious about your art work.

Submitted by Jacana on Wed, 10/12/03 - 7:05 PM Permalink

Just to add personal preference here.

Now days most MOBO's come with RAID arrays - I have two 60gig HDD's running as a mirror.
I am very serious about keeping my data backed up and the mirror is great for adding that protection.

I would think for an artist this would be damn useful. After a while the files get quite big and eat up space quickly. At least this way you know you have a spares if anything goes really wrong (tho I still think backing up to CD is a GOOD thing).

Submitted by Aven on Wed, 10/12/03 - 7:18 PM Permalink

Wow Jeremiah, I have a Canon i850 printer and it does some of the best prints I have laid my eyes on. That is including prints that have been done on $20,000 lasers as well. The only draw back is that you really do need to use photo paper to get perfect results.

I still think that dual CPUs are a little too expensive for the preformance it brings. Very few apps running under Windows can use dual CPUs well. Put the money from an extra CPU to better use. Like....

A lot of people will disagree with me, but I think that a 17 inch LCD is a better idea than a 19 inch CRT. Even with the massive price difference.

. No glare. I can actually use my computer with my blinds up and strain to see what I am doing.
. No Radiation (well a HELL of a lot less). Lessens the chances of ever needing glasses.
. 1/10th the power consumption. Speaks for itself really.
. Better colour/contrast. Pure white and pure black. CRTs just can't do that (mainly due to the glass with reflections). All the other colours in the spectrum are a lot brighter and vibrant as well.
. My entire monitor is about 10cm thick and weighs about 6-7kg. A lot easier to transport to LANs :)

The downside to an LCD is the cost. The extra $400 is really worth it though. When i frist got my 'new' system a year ago, I took it into the AIE and hooked up both my LCD and a Sony Trinitron CRT. The Trinitron just didn't stand a chance.

Daemon is spot on with the Motherboard being the most important thing. Every other part of your system has to plug into it, so get a good one.

Also, get a good computer chair. Not like the broken piece o' crap I am currently using. The back support broke long ago so it is stuck in one position :/

Submitted by Jeremiah on Thu, 11/12/03 - 9:22 AM Permalink

My Canon printer is a S400SP and it did do some really good prints on photo quality paper but these days the printing head doesnt want to seem to stay in alignment even after I run the print head alignment in the maintenance section. And it hasnt really had a big work load, so it should have better reliability. They do good prints when new, but they dont seem to work like new for long, compared to other slightly more pricey brands.

I agree with the Dual CPU's but it would definitly be better if you where in a studio environment in my opinion because even the slightest increase in efficency and performance leads to faster production etc... Anyway this is for someone wanting to start out with 3d animation so I would go with just 1 cpu. It doesnt hurt though to give some options to think about. Thats the hard part about peoples advice, every one has there own opinion, and when it comes to buying computer hardware it can be very confusing even with all the help. Specially CPU (AMD vs Intel) and Graphic Cards (Nvidia vs ATI). Personally for DX9 go for ATI, for now.

Good point about monitors Aven, if you can afford it go for 17 inch LCD. Specially if you LAN alot. Carting around a 19 Inch CRT monitor in a Suzuki Swift on the back seat gets pretty stressfull watching it roll around if you didnt secure it properly.

Submitted by fr0sty on Thu, 11/12/03 - 11:18 AM Permalink

One thing I've learnt if you're going to go the way of building your own PC cheaply - don't skimp on the PSU, the case or the RAM. Otherwise you're asking for one of those systems with inexplicable problems (dammn it keeps locking up all the time, argh!).

Okay so that dosen't really apply to the case, but atleast spend abit of money and get a reasonable case (not one of those $40-$50 chinese jobs with the so-called '400W' power supply in them). I made that mistake and found out what u pay for (with a few cut fingers....). Buy a good NAME BRAND PSU with lots of power (450W minimum I would say). This component should last you through several major upgrades if you're lucky and it's well worth the extra money spent when you consider that it's providing power to the rest of your investment. Plus graphics cards and hard drives chew up alot of power these days (as do neons, bubble LEDs, fans and EL IDE cables when all put together, LOL).

Same goes with RAM - as many have already said - name brand and within the spec of your motherboard.

Also don't forget when you're buying those hard drives or that PSU that you can get a legitimate OEM copy of WinXP Professional for something like $300. For backup I'd probably go with another HDD but maybe not as a mirrored RAID setup as Jacana mentioned - instead I'd buy an external firewire HDD case and put a hard drive in it. That way you can store your backups away when you're not using them.

I've also heard that gaming graphics cards can be 'hacked' into professional cards using software. I don't know if this still is the case but it was with the older GeForces. Usually the only difference between the professional cards and the gaming cards were the drivers - the extra cost of the professional cards comes from the development, licensing and certification costs that the specialised drivers command. The hacks would simply unlock special features in the driver that were normally turned off if a 'gaming' card was detected. I don't think it's as simple as that anymore though.

Submitted by souri on Thu, 11/12/03 - 1:08 PM Permalink

Some excellant advice and infomation there, thanks guys.I'm not sure the buyer will go the components route, but I would recommend they do - it's definately much cheaper. Hopefully they'll know someone who can put it together for them.

And yeh, certainly, $2,500 can get you a pretty good system. I'd be happy with something like this [url="http://www.tpg.com.au/online/"]for half that price[/url]! It's a laptop, which I know isn't very upgradable, but for learning 3d with and do all your general computing things like email, internet etc it's great! It's darn cheap and looks very slim too [:)]

Submitted by Aven on Thu, 11/12/03 - 6:40 PM Permalink

Wow. Cool find Souri. That is insanely cheap. Laptops are really starting to come into the field of being affordable now.

Submitted by Major Clod on Fri, 12/12/03 - 9:31 AM Permalink

A computer store should be able to put the components together for a reasonable price. I know Gamedude put systems together for $60, but I wouldn't be buying important components from them. Firstly, all of their items only come with a one year warranty, no matter what it is. Secondly, their return policy is a little dogey. I've had friends with faulty equipment return stuff there, and it has taken weeks for them to admit there is something wrong with the system.

Even if the prices sound too good to be true, check out the warranties they provide, and make sure they aren't too dogey. An extra $100 on parts with better warranty is worth it.

Submitted by Daemin on Sat, 13/12/03 - 12:20 AM Permalink

Nah, I have to say to research teh components that you want to get, and then assemble it yourself. It really is cheaper and easier and you'll know far more about your computer if you do it yourself.

But the main point I want to stress is do your research, there is no substitute for it!

Submitted by mcdrewski on Tue, 01/02/05 - 7:06 AM Permalink

I'm looking at buing a new PC (no monitor/kb/mouse/speakers, just the box) and right now I'm looking at around $1100-$1300.

I'm trying to get out as cheap as I can while still leaving some upgrade paths...

So, that's an AMD-64 3000+ with PCI-express MB, 512Mb RAM, one HD of random size, CDR/DVD (not DVDR), and an nVidia 6600GT card.

umart,precision and gamedude (all brissy) are all in the ballpark for pricing, so it's not that hard to find this stuff at a good price.

Souri, that Laptop looks fantastic, but don't forget that cheaper laptops are usually designed for 4-6 hrs per day max use (read the story at http://www.thisistrue.com/dellhell.html). You'll pay more for a 'workstation' class laptop normally.

Submitted by Blitz on Wed, 02/02/05 - 12:40 AM Permalink

Why not DVDR? They cost like $20 more than a DVD reader or CD burner, and i'd be surprised if these days they even made a CD burner DVD reader in one, and a seperate DVD reader + CD burner would cost more than a DVDR i'm sure.
CYer, Blitz

Posted by souri on
Forum

I've received an email from someone who's interested in getting into 3D animation. What kind of PC could you get with a budget of $2500? CPU, gfx card, types of ram, HD etc etc... If you have links to hardware websites and prices, that would be great.

(On the software side, I'd recommend the learning editions first off)


Submitted by Aven on Wed, 10/12/03 - 12:22 AM Permalink

www.cougar.com.au for Canberran prices. All the systems I have made though, I have done by buying parts out at the computer markets.

Haven't looked at computer prices for a year now, so I can't really help out much.

CPU, MB and RAM are the most important. A good monitor is also very important. Next comes graphics card, HDD and whatever else.

Submitted by Red 5 on Wed, 10/12/03 - 12:23 AM Permalink

Dell have some good value performance PC's for that sort of money... I just can't believe I'm actually recommending them.

Submitted by Daemin on Wed, 10/12/03 - 1:42 AM Permalink

I would say avoid the pre-built computers at all, they mark them up like crazy.

I recently built two cheaper systems for my parents and their friends, and I bought the parts seperately and assembled them, saving a bundle. Do that if you can and know about hardware and software, or at least have good friends that do.

A sytstem I would recommend is something about a 2.5 GHz range, at least 512MB ram (DDR333 or better, if the motherboard supports it) - I recently used up all the RAM running word, photoshop, illustrator and a few other small things - 80GB 7200rpm HDD is a minimum. Although the biggest tip is to get a really good motherboard, that will make everything so much easier, MSI, ASUS they make good boards, AOpen are good too, EPOX are also good, but only some of the time. The graphics card will probably be your biggest expense, I would suggest trying to get a middle-of-the-range board, since they are a good combination of price / performance, recently friends of mine got Radeon 9600 Pro's, which they are satisfied with.

And as with the debate between AMD and Intel, the only thing I suggest is you avoid the Celerons, since you can get an Athlon at a similar price for better performance. I myself have an Intel P4, which is nice, but I got my parents Athlon's, and with a good cooling utility program (yes software) they can run at about the same temperature as the Intels. So really it depends on what motherboard you want to get, oh yeah, and avoid RAMBUS and SD-RAM boards...

If that person lived in Adeliade then I would probably be able to find decently cheap prices for them, but alas. Queensland has the cheapest prices anyways.

--EDIT--

Well I could estimate the price of a decent computer:

$160 Athlon XP 2500+
$200 Motherboard <- Can probably get it with onboard Sound and/or 100Mbit LAN
$130 512MB DDR333 RAM (could get more, but not worth it atm)
$200 120GB 7200rpm HDD (Seagate, Western Digital are alright) <- try to get 8MB cache
$300 Radeon 9600 Pro <- Decent brand, cheaper one's are $280 or so
$150 SB Audigy 2 (if you want "better" sound)
$60 16x DVD Drive
$75 52x52x32x CD Burner
$15 1.44" FDD (If you *really* want one, they're not needed now)
$120 A good case and power supply, AOpen, or some other fancy one

Optional Items:
$200 19" monitor
$200 One of those fancy Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse combos

If you want to spend more money I would say get a better cpu, although the price grows exponentially the higher the MHz...
I would also avoid the AMD Athlon 3200+, since it doesn't compare to Intel's offering!

Submitted by Doord on Wed, 10/12/03 - 2:49 AM Permalink

Daemin sound he know what he is on about, but I think 1 gig of ram is need. and $200 One of those fancy Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse combos. Wireless broads and mice and not need at all they done work as well as a normal cord mouse you need battlys and the only reason I belive poeple buy them is to say, hey look man my mouse and keybroad has no cord man I'm cool.

Submitted by Jacana on Wed, 10/12/03 - 2:58 AM Permalink

Ahhh - but for those of us who have PC's in the same room as beds we can sit back and fiddle with the pc from afar ;)

Submitted by Jeremiah on Wed, 10/12/03 - 10:59 AM Permalink

The 2 cheapest places I have seen for online or store, computer hardware would be gamedude,or Global Computer Group; http://www.globalgroup.net.au/gloshop/customer/home.php
Both located in Brisbane. I recently bought all my hardware myself and put my computer together myself. Its not really hard these days to do it, a little searching on google for info and you can make your own system. The biggest thing is picking the hardware you want making sure its all compatible and you get the best bang for your buck.

My complete system cost me at the time about $1600. I got a asus A7N8X-X, i picked this mobo because I knew i wanted to overclock my AMD 2500 Barton Core CPU just by going to my BIOS and raising my FSB to 400, which makes that CPU run eqivilent to a barton core 3200 cpu, which cost at the time an extra $500 dollars around about.

For max performance with Maya or Max, get a dual CPU motherboard, and use dual CPU's, these programs are made to really make full use of dual CPU over the single ones.

I also got a seagate 80 gb hdd 7200 rpm, this is the min i would use these days for hdd, I like seagate, reliable, fast and very quiet, and there getting really cheap now.

I think go for a good 19 inch CRT monitor around $300 brand new.
Defenitly need a dvd rom, and a CD Burner.

I modded my case and put 2 fans in the clear perspex side panel for extra cooling, one above the CPU, and one just above the Graphics card,(I can manually control the fan speed) and i got a fan in the case at the rear blowing hot air out the back. Cooling is really important i think with the heat that the new graphics cards and CPU's generate. I also have a huge heatsink and fan( not the original ones that came with the CPU because I overclock i need better cooling), and it runs cool as a bar fridge in a blizzard.

I use tiny BGA kingmax 512 DDR RAM, pick the appropiate type for your motherboard. ie PC3200 etc... Im getting another 512 stick of ram soon, i would really consider about going with 2 sticks of 512 ram each.

Graphics cards are like the CPU WAR (Intel vs AMD). It really comes down to personal preference, (Nvidia or ATI),Strictly speaking if this computer is going to be a proper workstation only intended for pure 3d animation etc non gaming, check out the maya or max websites for there recommended graphic cards, be warned though proper workstation cards are very expensives $1000-10'000+), but are extremely better for 3d animation then a gaming card.

Personally I like to do some gaming and currently learning 3d animation so I go for gaming cards because workstation cards dont cut it in gaming, but gaming graphics cards are good enough to learn 3d with, and will get you along way before upgrading.

Keyboard any really, and mouse at least the 3 button variety, dont even know if you can get less then 3 now lol. Unless you buy an apple computer.

Going to need Windows XP Professional, not XP home, or you can use Windows 2000 I think for Maya and Max.

You can build a really good computer yourself for way under $2500 these days, and with the saved money I would get a wacom graphics tablet, even the small one like i got is better then nothing, there a must i think, Get used to them now and make them become second nature, it really speeds up work flow and in this industry speed is as important as the quality of your work. Also a Scanner and a Printer will become very handy. I got a Canon, and im not really impressed with them, I would recommend paying a little more for a better quality printer then a Canon if your serious about your art work.

Submitted by Jacana on Wed, 10/12/03 - 7:05 PM Permalink

Just to add personal preference here.

Now days most MOBO's come with RAID arrays - I have two 60gig HDD's running as a mirror.
I am very serious about keeping my data backed up and the mirror is great for adding that protection.

I would think for an artist this would be damn useful. After a while the files get quite big and eat up space quickly. At least this way you know you have a spares if anything goes really wrong (tho I still think backing up to CD is a GOOD thing).

Submitted by Aven on Wed, 10/12/03 - 7:18 PM Permalink

Wow Jeremiah, I have a Canon i850 printer and it does some of the best prints I have laid my eyes on. That is including prints that have been done on $20,000 lasers as well. The only draw back is that you really do need to use photo paper to get perfect results.

I still think that dual CPUs are a little too expensive for the preformance it brings. Very few apps running under Windows can use dual CPUs well. Put the money from an extra CPU to better use. Like....

A lot of people will disagree with me, but I think that a 17 inch LCD is a better idea than a 19 inch CRT. Even with the massive price difference.

. No glare. I can actually use my computer with my blinds up and strain to see what I am doing.
. No Radiation (well a HELL of a lot less). Lessens the chances of ever needing glasses.
. 1/10th the power consumption. Speaks for itself really.
. Better colour/contrast. Pure white and pure black. CRTs just can't do that (mainly due to the glass with reflections). All the other colours in the spectrum are a lot brighter and vibrant as well.
. My entire monitor is about 10cm thick and weighs about 6-7kg. A lot easier to transport to LANs :)

The downside to an LCD is the cost. The extra $400 is really worth it though. When i frist got my 'new' system a year ago, I took it into the AIE and hooked up both my LCD and a Sony Trinitron CRT. The Trinitron just didn't stand a chance.

Daemon is spot on with the Motherboard being the most important thing. Every other part of your system has to plug into it, so get a good one.

Also, get a good computer chair. Not like the broken piece o' crap I am currently using. The back support broke long ago so it is stuck in one position :/

Submitted by Jeremiah on Thu, 11/12/03 - 9:22 AM Permalink

My Canon printer is a S400SP and it did do some really good prints on photo quality paper but these days the printing head doesnt want to seem to stay in alignment even after I run the print head alignment in the maintenance section. And it hasnt really had a big work load, so it should have better reliability. They do good prints when new, but they dont seem to work like new for long, compared to other slightly more pricey brands.

I agree with the Dual CPU's but it would definitly be better if you where in a studio environment in my opinion because even the slightest increase in efficency and performance leads to faster production etc... Anyway this is for someone wanting to start out with 3d animation so I would go with just 1 cpu. It doesnt hurt though to give some options to think about. Thats the hard part about peoples advice, every one has there own opinion, and when it comes to buying computer hardware it can be very confusing even with all the help. Specially CPU (AMD vs Intel) and Graphic Cards (Nvidia vs ATI). Personally for DX9 go for ATI, for now.

Good point about monitors Aven, if you can afford it go for 17 inch LCD. Specially if you LAN alot. Carting around a 19 Inch CRT monitor in a Suzuki Swift on the back seat gets pretty stressfull watching it roll around if you didnt secure it properly.

Submitted by fr0sty on Thu, 11/12/03 - 11:18 AM Permalink

One thing I've learnt if you're going to go the way of building your own PC cheaply - don't skimp on the PSU, the case or the RAM. Otherwise you're asking for one of those systems with inexplicable problems (dammn it keeps locking up all the time, argh!).

Okay so that dosen't really apply to the case, but atleast spend abit of money and get a reasonable case (not one of those $40-$50 chinese jobs with the so-called '400W' power supply in them). I made that mistake and found out what u pay for (with a few cut fingers....). Buy a good NAME BRAND PSU with lots of power (450W minimum I would say). This component should last you through several major upgrades if you're lucky and it's well worth the extra money spent when you consider that it's providing power to the rest of your investment. Plus graphics cards and hard drives chew up alot of power these days (as do neons, bubble LEDs, fans and EL IDE cables when all put together, LOL).

Same goes with RAM - as many have already said - name brand and within the spec of your motherboard.

Also don't forget when you're buying those hard drives or that PSU that you can get a legitimate OEM copy of WinXP Professional for something like $300. For backup I'd probably go with another HDD but maybe not as a mirrored RAID setup as Jacana mentioned - instead I'd buy an external firewire HDD case and put a hard drive in it. That way you can store your backups away when you're not using them.

I've also heard that gaming graphics cards can be 'hacked' into professional cards using software. I don't know if this still is the case but it was with the older GeForces. Usually the only difference between the professional cards and the gaming cards were the drivers - the extra cost of the professional cards comes from the development, licensing and certification costs that the specialised drivers command. The hacks would simply unlock special features in the driver that were normally turned off if a 'gaming' card was detected. I don't think it's as simple as that anymore though.

Submitted by souri on Thu, 11/12/03 - 1:08 PM Permalink

Some excellant advice and infomation there, thanks guys.I'm not sure the buyer will go the components route, but I would recommend they do - it's definately much cheaper. Hopefully they'll know someone who can put it together for them.

And yeh, certainly, $2,500 can get you a pretty good system. I'd be happy with something like this [url="http://www.tpg.com.au/online/"]for half that price[/url]! It's a laptop, which I know isn't very upgradable, but for learning 3d with and do all your general computing things like email, internet etc it's great! It's darn cheap and looks very slim too [:)]

Submitted by Aven on Thu, 11/12/03 - 6:40 PM Permalink

Wow. Cool find Souri. That is insanely cheap. Laptops are really starting to come into the field of being affordable now.

Submitted by Major Clod on Fri, 12/12/03 - 9:31 AM Permalink

A computer store should be able to put the components together for a reasonable price. I know Gamedude put systems together for $60, but I wouldn't be buying important components from them. Firstly, all of their items only come with a one year warranty, no matter what it is. Secondly, their return policy is a little dogey. I've had friends with faulty equipment return stuff there, and it has taken weeks for them to admit there is something wrong with the system.

Even if the prices sound too good to be true, check out the warranties they provide, and make sure they aren't too dogey. An extra $100 on parts with better warranty is worth it.

Submitted by Daemin on Sat, 13/12/03 - 12:20 AM Permalink

Nah, I have to say to research teh components that you want to get, and then assemble it yourself. It really is cheaper and easier and you'll know far more about your computer if you do it yourself.

But the main point I want to stress is do your research, there is no substitute for it!

Submitted by mcdrewski on Tue, 01/02/05 - 7:06 AM Permalink

I'm looking at buing a new PC (no monitor/kb/mouse/speakers, just the box) and right now I'm looking at around $1100-$1300.

I'm trying to get out as cheap as I can while still leaving some upgrade paths...

So, that's an AMD-64 3000+ with PCI-express MB, 512Mb RAM, one HD of random size, CDR/DVD (not DVDR), and an nVidia 6600GT card.

umart,precision and gamedude (all brissy) are all in the ballpark for pricing, so it's not that hard to find this stuff at a good price.

Souri, that Laptop looks fantastic, but don't forget that cheaper laptops are usually designed for 4-6 hrs per day max use (read the story at http://www.thisistrue.com/dellhell.html). You'll pay more for a 'workstation' class laptop normally.

Submitted by Blitz on Wed, 02/02/05 - 12:40 AM Permalink

Why not DVDR? They cost like $20 more than a DVD reader or CD burner, and i'd be surprised if these days they even made a CD burner DVD reader in one, and a seperate DVD reader + CD burner would cost more than a DVDR i'm sure.
CYer, Blitz