Student machine build for Fall 2010

[olson]

This is my suggestion for a student on a budget going into computer graphics study in Fall 2010. The focus is on bang for the buck. Parts are sourced from Newegg (mostly for convenience). Anyone feel free to make adjustments or suggestions. Long story short its six cores at 2.8GHz, 8GB memory, 640GB hard drive, and a middle of the road graphics card for about $700.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106333
LITE-ON DVD Writer - Bulk - Black SATA Model iHAS224-06 LightScribe Support - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106333
$21.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129065
Antec Three Hundred + BP430 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply
Item #: N82E16811129065
-$10.00 Instant
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate
$99.99
$89.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136319
-$20.00 Instant
$74.99
$54.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176
ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157176
$59.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150466
XFX HD-567X-YNFC Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card …
Item #: N82E16814150466
$89.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145246
CORSAIR 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model VS2GB1333D3 G
Item #: N82E16820145246
$187.96
($46.99 each)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX
Item #: N82E16819103851
-$10.00 Instant
$209.99
$199.99

Subtotal: $704.90

There’s no operating system because most schools offer an academic discount on Windows which can be had for as little as $5 depending on the school. Also no peripherals or monitor are included in case the buyer already has them but if not I suggest these.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236065
ASUS VH236HL-P Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor w/height & swivel adjustment
Item #: N82E16824236065
-$30.00 Instant
$239.99
$209.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109077
Microsoft ANB-00001 Black USB Wired Slim Keyboard 600
Item #: N82E16823109077
$14.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105096
Microsoft Comfort Optical Mouse 1000 - OEM
Item #: N82E16826105096
-$5.00 Instant
$14.99
$9.99

Subtotal: $234.97

Hopefully this will help some students get the most from their money going into school and have the tools needed to make some beautiful work. Again, feel free to pitch in and make suggestions or changes. Cheers!

[redpandafire]

For monitors, check out Dell.com for deals as well. Lots and lots of stuff go on sale out of nowhere and things can be bought for a steal.

I’d also recommend this monitor:
23" 1080p $179
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&cs=cadhs1&l=en&sku=320-8299

For a much higher quality monitor, check out this 23" ultrasharp when it goes on sale ~ $289
http://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/Displays/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&sku=320-9270

[Gerbilshorts]

I would probably urge to get a better motherboard if the budget allows. I’ve dealt with ASrock mobos before and although they are mostly priced for value oriented customers I would go with Asus or Gigabyte or something along those lines.

[olson]

I would probably urge to get a better motherboard if the budget allows. I’ve dealt with ASrock mobos before and although they are mostly priced for value oriented customers I would go with Asus or Gigabyte or something along those lines.

The focus is on bang for the buck.

If the budget for the individual allows, I totally agree. An Asus board would be better. Then again with a bigger budget there are other things to change too. Thanks for the input. Cheers!

[redpandafire]

Yeah but its insanely easy to make a computer on a larger budget. Just buy an i7 and the rest pretty much falls into place. Easy stuff.

Whats not talked about are student budgets, the ultra low end budgets that need to perform the same tasks, at a much more modest price. This is the build I’d buy today if I was a student on an ultra low budget, and NEEDED a good quad core for rendering:

Newegg.com - $473.94

Rosewill R363-M-BK Black Ultra High Gloss Finished MicroATX Computer Case with 400W ATX 2.2 12V Power Supply
Model #:R363-M-BK
Item #:N82E16811147099
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$64.99	-$20.00 Instant	$44.99
	


GIGABYTE GA-770T-USB3 AM3 AMD 770 USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:GA-770T-USB3
Item #:N82E16813128431
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$89.99	-$10.00 Instant	$79.99
	

ZOTAC ZT-98GEY3M-FSL GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Model #:ZT-98GEY3M-FSL
Item #:N82E16814500144
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$109.99	 	$109.99
	

AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX635WFGIBOX
Model #:ADX635WFGIBOX
Item #:N82E16819103702
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$99.99	 	$99.99
	

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT
Model #:F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT
Item #:N82E16820231253
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$83.99	 	$83.99
	

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:HD502HJ
Item #:N82E16822152181
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$54.99	 	$54.99

Subtotal:	$473.94

[olson]

Yeah but its insanely easy to make a computer on a larger budget. Just buy an i7 and the rest pretty much falls into place. Easy stuff.

Whats not talked about are student budgets, the ultra low end budgets that need to perform the same tasks, at a much more modest price. This is the build I’d buy today if I was a student on an ultra low budget, and NEEDED a good quad core for rendering:

Newegg.com - $473.94

Rosewill R363-M-BK Black Ultra High Gloss Finished MicroATX Computer Case with 400W ATX 2.2 12V Power Supply
Model #:R363-M-BK
Item #:N82E16811147099
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$64.99	-$20.00 Instant	$44.99
	


GIGABYTE GA-770T-USB3 AM3 AMD 770 USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:GA-770T-USB3
Item #:N82E16813128431
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$89.99	-$10.00 Instant	$79.99
	

ZOTAC ZT-98GEY3M-FSL GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Model #:ZT-98GEY3M-FSL
Item #:N82E16814500144
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$109.99	 	$109.99
	

AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX635WFGIBOX
Model #:ADX635WFGIBOX
Item #:N82E16819103702
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$99.99	 	$99.99
	

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT
Model #:F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT
Item #:N82E16820231253
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$83.99	 	$83.99
	

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:HD502HJ
Item #:N82E16822152181
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$54.99	 	$54.99

Subtotal:	$473.94

Don’t forget the optical drive.

[Gerbilshorts]

If the budget for the individual allows, I totally agree. An Asus board would be better. Then again with a bigger budget there are other things to change too. Thanks for the input. Cheers!

Yeah in that case you may consider 4GB of ram and a better motherboard, that way the buyer has the option to pick up more ram later on which may be easier than upgrading the motherboard later, that’s just what I would do.

[nogojoe]

Asrock is horrible. Buy gigabyte or asus.

[Grocha]

This is my suggestion for a student on a budget going into computer graphics study in Fall 2010. The focus is on bang for the buck.
…
Hopefully this will help some students get the most from their money going into school and have the tools needed to make some beautiful work. Again, feel free to pitch in and make suggestions or changes. Cheers!

Hi,

Thanks for this excellent post. I learned much.
I’m not student, but I don’t make big money so your post did help me a lot.
I have a question : as I’m just about to start 3DSMAX and Vray and as I just want to build and render scenes with no animation (except camera), I would like to know what video card you’d suggest for a low budget (Something about 100 euros (+/- $) would make my day.)?
I’ve been told I wouldn’t need a very big card since I play no game an make no animated stuff.
To help you help me, here’s the kind of work I’d be pleased to do :

http://www.foro3d.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=130540
http://fc09.deviantart.com/fs14/f/2007/115/f/5/Bathroom_2_by_zodevdesign.jpg
http://www.sorano.ca/images/VrayKitchen/VrayKitchen04_Large.jpg
http://www.smcars.net/forums/attachments/finished-work/58992d1178226939-audi-q7-audi-q7_layer-1.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6F8ax8arpOA/S_6NX0xq1yI/AAAAAAAAAVo/m5NAliG0a1I/s1600/buggy+render+2.png

Many thanks for all

[olson]

I would like to know what video card you’d suggest for a low budget (Something about 100 euros (+/- $) would make my day.)?

I’m glad this thread was helpful. Nice renders by the way. Tom’s does an article one a month about what gaming video cards are best for the money (e.g. not workstation cards).

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-radeon-hd-5570-gaming,2697-3.html

There should be an update for September soon but that’s a good place to start.

[Grocha]

I’m glad this thread was helpful. Nice renders by the way. Tom’s does an article one a month about what [color=Yellow]gaming video cards [/color]are best for the money (e.g. not workstation cards).

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-radeon-hd-5570-gaming,2697-3.html

There should be an update for September soon but that’s a good place to start.

Thanks again. I appreciate.
Just one more question if you please : do I need a “gaming” v.c?

[olson]

Thanks again. I appreciate.
Just one more question if you please : do I need a “gaming” v.c?

Depends on what you’ll be doing with the system. For most hobbyists and students a gaming card will do just fine (with a few caveats depending on software being used). For professional looking to make a living off their workstations, there’s a few advantages in buying a workstation graphics card (Quadro, FirePro).

[redpandafire]

Another goodie to build for school. Posting for people like my brother who think they need a $2,000 machine to do student work. =)

Subtotal: $528.93

HEC 6K11BBX585 Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case 585W Power Supply
Model #:6K11BBX585
Item #:N82E16811121034
$49.99
	

ASRock A780LM-S AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 780L Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:A780LM-S
Item #:N82E16813157186
$49.99
	

MSI N250GTS Twin Frozr GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Model #:N250GTS Twin Frozr
Item #:N82E16814127495
$99.99
	

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
Model #:HDZ955FBGMBOX
Item #:N82E16819103808
$149.99	 	
	

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model AD2U800B2G5-DRH
Model #:AD2U800B2G5-DRH
Item #:N82E16820211188
$78.99	 	
	

Western Digital AV-GP WD10EVDS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal AV Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:WD10EVDS
Item #:N82E16822136496
$79.99	 	
	

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Item #:N82E16827135204
$19.99	

[stacey1983]

[left][font=Verdana]Further to my previous post ( http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=23&t=916794 )and the advice on this topic I have done a little window shopping online, would someone be able to comment on the following please, [/font]
[/left]
[left][font=Verdana] [/font]
[/left]
[font=Verdana]Programmes, Maya 2011 & Mudbox 2011[/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana]£156 [/font]

[font=Verdana]AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz 9MB Cache Socket AM3 Retail Box Processor[/font]

[font=Verdana]http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Components/cat/Processors-AMD/subcat/AMD-AM3-----AM3-Phenom[/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana]£74[/font]

[font=Verdana]Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz Memory Kit Unbuffered CL9[/font]

[font=Verdana]http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Components/cat/Memory—PC/subcat/DDR3-1333MHz[/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana]£77[/font]

[font=Verdana]Inno3D 9800GT Esave Edition 1GB GDDR3 DVI VGA HDMI Out PCI-E Graphics Card[/font]

[font=Verdana]http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=9800+gt[/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana]Or would the performance of this other be worth twice the cost? [/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana]£148[/font]

[font=Verdana]PALIT GTX 460 768MB GDDR5 VGA DVI HDMI Out PCI-E Graphics Card[/font]

[font=Verdana]http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=gtx+460[/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana]As for the motherboard could someone recommend a good one with plenty of space to add more RAM at a later date, talking of which would it be better to get a single 4Gig stick so can upgrade even further ? [/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana]The operating system will have to be XP home 32 bit until I can afford to purchase win7 pro 64bit, hence 4Gig ram initially then upgrading with new OS.[/font]

[font=Verdana] [/font]

[font=Verdana]As for the graphics cards have read elsewhere on the forum that ATI card drivers are a little better than nvidia with less problems? [/font]

[redpandafire]

Stacy1983, how about this motherboard?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/206150

Latest chips from AMD, four RAM slots, USB 3.0, and all the overclocking features you could want lol.

As for the video, I’d go with the gtx 460. It’s a bit more pricey but worth it in the long run.

[stacey1983]

Thanks for that think ill go for the GTX in that case, as for the motherboard was hoping to spend a little less, see your point on the 4RAM slots but wouldnt use the overclocking or USB 3

Will be ordering these parts within the week so will post up my thoughts on this cheap PC for other students looking for a budget workstation.

[mattmos]

Shop around as the 460 has just dropped in price - can get a value card from 117 inc vat from overclockers.co.uk or the msi cyclone version for 146 which runs very quiet.

[redpandafire]

Thanks for that think ill go for the GTX in that case, as for the motherboard was hoping to spend a little less, see your point on the 4RAM slots but wouldnt use the overclocking or USB 3

This one seems quite nice as well: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-278-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1782

60 pounds this week. Thanks to the link from mattmos.

[stacey1983]

Well following all your advice i have just recieved and built the following, ( all from overclockers, thanks mattmos ) hope this is of some use to other students out there ?

ps what test do i use to post up speed results, is 3D mark 2006 still up to date ?

Radon AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 95W Edition 2.80GHz @ 3.80GHz Overclocked Bundle £264.00 ( includes mother board, chip, 4GB ram )
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £64.99
Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler £30.63
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £124.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit - OEM (FQC-00765) £94.99
OcUK Crusade 650W Dual Rail High Efficiency Modular Power Supply £40.84
Antec VSK 2000 Midi Tower Case - Black £25.52
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £25.52
Samsung SH-S223L/RSMN 22x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Beige/Black/Silver) - Retail £11.48
Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse Black - Retail (P58-00019) £8.50
Emprex Slim Desktop Low Profile Keyboard - Black (6310U) £8.50
Sub Total:£699.96
DPD Next Day ParcelShipping:£12.50
Total Vat:£124.68
Total inc Vat: £837.14

[zanfb]

hi. i am also buying a computer for this year. i dont know if i am able to build it myself. so here is what i am looking at on http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk

i put this together after minimal research so please tell me what is worth upgrading/downgrading.

i wouldnt like to go over this budget, actually i am willing to cut back if some stuff is not important.

for £745 incl. VAT and delivery

i get

Case

STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USBProcessor (CPU)

AMD PHENOM II X6 1055T (2.80GHz/9MB CACHE/AM3/)Motherboard

ASUS® M4A87TD/USB3: DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0Memory (RAM)

8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)Graphics Card

1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTS250 PCI EXPRESS

Memory - 1st Hard Disk

1TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 16MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

RAID

NONE1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive

24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply & Case Cooling

450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan Processor Cooling

SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER Sound Card

ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)Network Facilities

ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORTUSB Options

6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

please tell me if this is overpriced/more than i need/etc etc