Re-entering the PC Market

[womble]

I have a PC box thats been sitting in my room now for about 2 years, I think its something like a 1.3Ghz, 256mb RAM, 40gb HD. I have been using my little iBook for the past two years (things such as browsing the web, watching dvd's) and using the (slightly more) powerful desktop mac's at my university studio for almost all my modelling and rendering (which by all means wasn't hugely power intensive).

 

Now I'm planning to go a lot further with m 3d work when I go back to university in January (im on a year placement working with an architecture firm at the moment) and I would like quite a powerful machine with which to improve my modelling and rendering capabilities.

 

Having been out of the pc market for years, I have no idea where to begin looking for components or a machine that fits my budget! So what I'm really looking for is advice or suggestions as to what I should be looking at.

 

I have some information to help with any suggestions

 

1)I have the existing box, other than keyboard, mouse etc will any of this be scalvagable? (I know I probably havent given enough information about this to really make an informed decision but judging on experience, will a 3 year old pc be of any use?) PSU or case? Im really not bothered at all about having a 'cool' case with flashing LED's or whatever.

2) My budget will be around £400-500, not exactly a kings ransom. All components or machines will need to be purchasable or easily delivered to the uk.

3) I don't expect top of the range with my meager budget, i know I wont get it. What im looking for is a stand-alone modelling/rendering/simple animation box. I plan to continue using my ibook for everything else (to help avoid virus's and spyware on the windows box).

4) I won't be modelling hugely complicated things. It'll be some sketchup, some 3ds max or maybe some maya. It won't need to be a render farm or anything.

5) In the budget i would _like_ to get a flatscreen monitor if possible. I have the existing monitor off the old machine, but its bulky and ive had it about 5 years now so im sure its going to die soon.

 

What I'd really like is the most bang for my buck. I won't really be gaming on it or anything (i plan to wait for the Nintendo Revolution for any gaming needs ^_^) and I just have no idea really about which components are compatible with which. Im fine with ebaying components, and it should probably be known that I have never self built a pc, though i think it would be quite a fun project so i am open to that possibility.

 

Is that enough advice? I guess what I'm looking for is for somebody to spec a machine for me for £500 that will turn out semi-complicated models/renders in a reasonable time scale.

 

If i've left out any information please ask and I'll do my best to answer!

[tecton3d]

I'd go for an AMD X2 system:

 

 

Antec Solution SLK1650B Black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail

Model #: SLK1650B

Item #: N82E16811129150

$59.99

 

ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard

Model #: A8N-SLI Premium

Item #: N82E16813131540

$159.99

 

PNY VCG68128XWB Geforce 6800 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card -

Model #: VCG68128XWB

Item #: N82E16814133155

$149.99

 

MASSCOOL PS-PSU460 ATX12V/ EPS12V 460W Power Supply 90 - 264V UL, TUV, SIMKO, CB. - Retail

Model #: PS-PSU460

Item #: N82E16817388003

$69.99

 

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail

Model #: ADA3800BVBOX

Item #: N82E16819103562

$297.00

 

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail

Model #: VS1GBKIT400

Item #: N82E16820145440

$77.00

 

 

Western Digital Caviar WD2500BB 250GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

Model #: WD2500BB

Item #: N82E16822144157

$79.00

 

BenQ 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With exclusive SolidBurn Technology Black ATA/ATAPI Model DW1650 BK - OEM

Model #: DW1650 BK

Item #: N82E16827101010

$35.99

 

Newegg'd everything... comes out to about $929 before shipping

 

system:

With the X2 you get dual cores which are great for rendering and still great non-smp performance (basically everything except rendering). 1gb of ram is enough if you're not going to be working with huge files... although I recommend upgrading to 2gb as soon as you can afford. The Asus motherboard has great reviews and has a rather high overclocking ceiling... if you want go that route, it's great getting something for nothing and since you're on a buget! The PNY video card is great for that price point. Since you're just starting out you don'd need fast hard drives and a single, larger hd will do fine and the 250gb seems to be at a "cozy" price point.

 

shopping:

I'd http://www.pricewatch.com to get the absolutely lowest market price for each new component and then see where that leaves you. From there, if the cost is still more than you can afford start e-baying or select the next - cheapest component. Once you decide on the exact components, hunt them down like a wounded animal on e-bay... you'd be surprised the bargains you can get!!

 

Good luck and I hope this helps!

[Jackal]

Hey guys,

 

I'm getting back into 3D and I'll be using a older rig to start with. I might upgrade at a later point but since I just build a new dual Xeon video editing station I'm short on funds for now.

 

The old box has a Pentium 2.4 GHz proc, 1 GB of RAM (PC-2700, I think?), 2 80 GB HDD's. I may just add another 1 GB of RAM and a new video card and monitor. The mobo video slot is for an AGP card, PCI too of course.

 

If I get a new mobo and proc and salvage what I can from the old system then at least it will open the video to a PCIe slot and new RAM chips. But is it really necessary to have all of the new and powerful stuff? I'm sure it would help in the rendering.

 

I was looking at the AMD 4200 on the Micro Center site and list its speed as 2.2GHz. Do you think my rig is ok for the time being? I'll be using Lightwave, Vue and a few more packages to start.

[AJLynn]

I was using a P4-2.4 laptop for a lot of my stuff until recently. It's not great but will do in a pinch. Can you farm renders to that dual Xeon?

 

Anyway, that AMD 2.2GHz - the 4200 is a dual-core, it has two 2.2GHz chips, and a 2.2GHz AMD is as fast as a 3.something Intel. The AMD duals are the best price-performers, get that if you want to buy new stuff. On a budget, with an AGP slot, you can Ebay a Quadro4 900 or 980 for an incredibly low price these days.

[Greg Hess]

womble,

 

Why not invest in a new macbook pro?

[radii]

As I understand it, the Mac mini's have the same processors ( please correct me if I'm wrong ). If so, they seem to be a much better deal if you already have a monitor or buy a 300$ 19" LCD. You'd have to buy Windows though for an extra 199$ :-(

[Greg Hess]

The Mac mini's use the single core version of the dual core's in the laptops. There is a significant difference in performance between the two. (Single processor vs dual processor).

 

However the imac's do use the same processors as the laptops do.

[AJLynn]

They have a Mini Duo, but only in the 1.66. The main limitations of the Mini, I think, are that it comes with 2x256MB RAM that is not user upgradeable (disassembly is very difficult and likely to damage the box, so you have to buy Apple "center of the silicon plate" memory at $300/1GB and have them install it for you), and it's only available with the Intel GMA onboard video, which is entirely inadequate for 3D work. Better off with a do-it-yourself AthlonX2 with a bunch of RAM and a decent Geforce or Radeon card.

 

Now I don't know anything about upgrading the RAM on an Imac, but at $1700 for dual 2GHz, 512MB on one DIMM, 250GB, DVD burner, ATI x1600 and 20" 1680x1050 LCD I like it. You're still paying extra for form factor and design, but if design isn't worth money I don't have a job.