Computer buying help thread for February-March

[Andrew Lynn]

Okay, time to start a new one of these. I've updated the parts lists on Amazon, and will update the monitor and laptop lists soon.

If you have any questions about what kind of computer to buy, please feel free to ask anything here. If you're looking for recommendations, please go to this page, where I list recommended configurations specifically for architecture, graphics and design visualization work, updated periodically. (That link is also in my signature.)

[Vu Thanh]

@Andrew Lynn
Recommendations look good . But please add a CPU cooler for I7 3930K .There's no fan include in the box .

[Andrew Lynn]

Oh, good catch. Thanks.

[Tom Livings]

Thanks Andy, helpful as always. If I could make a suggestion, could you put a price total somewhere in the text? I had to put everything in my cart to find out how much the sum of the parts is. Then I couldnt find the 'empty cart' button, so it becomes a bit laborious.

[Andrew Lynn]

Yeah, that's a good idea. It would have to be approximate - prices change constantly.

[Jeroen Prins]

Thanks again! your setup has bin a great timesaver for me to built a workstation.
I see you've added a basic rendernode

The next thing will be rack-based rendernodes. Trying to built a few myself using this as a reference(using the http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...node,2340.html . But's a bit dated..

[Jeroen Prins]

I do not recommend the Hyper 212 EVO for cooling. This one has not included a Socket LGA2011 bracket. You can obtain it free of charge with the "free LGA2011 Bracket Program" on the company website. So keep that in mind

[marc marc]

Hi Andrew,

I would be very interested to buy a " high end 3d artist cuda edition" which looks very powerfull for 3DSMAX, vray RT and normal rendering.

you updated it 4 months ago. what would i change now? is there new/better graphic cards, better processor ... ?

thank you for your advices

Marc

[Joel Gray]

Andrew, do you plan to update the Amazon list? It's been several months since the workstations have updated and I'm sure there's some new pricing and other whiz-bang things that have changed in the market since February. I'm trying to decide if I want to build a box or buy another BOXX...you've been my go-to resource for hardware info!

Joel

[Panagiotis Sourvas]

I'm thinking of buying a new machine for Architectural vizualisation. Because i love macs could i use an imac with an i7 processor and 16gb ram? I use Autocad, Architectural Desktop, 3dsmax and Vray. Or should i go with a new dell workstation?
Thank you.