Hi,
Ok well my old rig is getting kinda sluggish, so lately I was looking in to getting a new computer for my work and studies.
The programs I use are Maya, Photoshop, Mudbox, Zbrush, marmoset toolbag 2, Xnormal. I do not wish to play any hard core games on my system maybe just some Tf2 and Red orchestra.
The first option I was looking at was the Dell Precision T3610:
http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-t3610-workstation/pd?oc=cap3610w7p0088t&model_id=precision-t3610-workstation
The second option was to build my own PC:
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Box
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X OC GV-R927XOC-2G ( I never had a problem with AMD so I think I will just stay with there products)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO
Hard Drive: 1TB 3.5inch Serial ATA (7.200 Rpm) Hard Drive
Ram: 16GB
I know I have allot of components missing but im only trying to give you guys an idea of what im aiming for.
So here are some questions I have:
1) Is there anything pre-built that has better specs than the Dell Precision T3610 (Pleas keep in mind that my bugget is below 3000$)?
2) Do I really need that Xeon CPU and a professional GPU for my studies ?
3) Is there any better configuration you guys can think of under 3000$?
4) Will the Dell Precision T3610 be able to support two 1080p (1920x1080) while delivering the same performance that it would supply on a single monitor?
5) Im not looking for a laptop because I really want to utilize two monitors, but if you guys know of any laptop that is really really great and worth it then pleas post it
![:) :)](https://polycount.com/plugins/emojiextender/emoji/twitter/smile.png)
Im sorry about all the questions this is the first time im building a PC for serious usage and not just gaming.
Thank you so much !
Sincerely,
Immanu'EL Segol
Replies
No and no, but Xeons can save you money in certain situations if you aren't over clocking your CPU. For $1500+ you should be getting a 6 core cpu.
Yes, 6 core processor, mid range GPU, 256 gig SSD, should be easily possible for under $1500.
Yes, any modern dedicated GPU will.
You can easily get a laptop that supports 2 displays, but there's a lot of other things to worry about when picking a laptop.
You do not need a professional GPU. A Xeon can actually be comparable in price and performance to an i7 with the biggest difference being the i7 has built in graphics. You certainly don't need a high end $1000 xeon (these are meant for servers etc).
Laptops are always a compromise. If you want something small and light with good battery life, it will be underpowered compared to a desktop. If you want something fast and powerful, it will be huge, heavy, and have bad battery life (so there is little difference vs a desktop pc).
4790 is a good choice. R9 270X is a good value but a little mid range, ok if you intend to buy a new GPU in 2 years or so. Otherwise, get a R9 290 or a GTX 770 ( would recommend nvidia for a workstation as there tends to be less issues with drivers and more support, like cuda, for dev apps).
Definitely get a 240/256GB SSD.
Theres also this: http://www.logicalincrements.com/ but its not really targeted to game developers.
We'd basically use logical increments but with a few notes.
Suggest you at least spend around $600
Spend about the same amount on your CPU and GPU depending a bit on your toolset
If your spending close to $1000 you probably want 16 gigs of ram.
Nvidia is the safer GPU choice right now, and worth it if anything you use has CUDA support.