Help with PC purchase

Corey_Richard

Good day,

I am new to the 3D graphics world, I just started attending college in Canada to learn more about the industry, we are currently learning to use software like 3ds max, udk, unity and mudbox. The PC I use at home is not very good and cannot run mudbox; sometimes struggles with max. I am looking to buy a new PC but I do not know very much about hardware specs on PCs. I would like to be able to run mudbox and max smoothly at home to get more out of my models. As I am a student I am hoping to spend less than $500; can anyone help me out in these regards with suggestions or point me in the right direction for what I should be looking for in a PC,

Thanks in advance for any assistance,

Corey

Overlord

If you're looking to spend less than $500 on a 3D rig, you'll have to inventory what hardware you can salvage from the old PC (e.g. Power supply 450W or better, HDD, DVD, case). What you'll want to replace is the CPU, GPU, RAM, and motherboard. You're not going to be able to get an out of the box PC that does 3D work on that budget.

CPU: Get an i5 2500 or i7 2600. Sandy Bridge is more in your budget than Ivy Bridge.
GPU: Geforce 560 Ti or an AMD 6950 with at least 1GB of RAM. Most GPU's don't have less than that these days.
RAM: Get the fastest RAM your motherboard can handle and get at least 8GB DDR3, but no more than 16GB.
Mobo: Get something economical that supports your other hardware. Leave the SLI and Crossfire versions alone, they don't help with your work. Get one with a recent chipset.

If you still have room in your budget, get an SSD. Even a 64GB can make a difference.

ZacD

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-overclock-graphics-card,3032.html

Ghostscape

I'm a goon and found this thread helpful building my last machine:
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3458091

The OP is continually updated with current specs for a budget, value/performance sweet spot, performance breakdown and it explains a ton of shit. It's a lot of words but there is a section that literally just "buy these things and be happy" if you want.