So you want to build a computer

[horus]

If you want to build a computer and need help reply here give my your budget and I will see how I may help you

[Cicca]

Wsell....I may be interested in building up a gaming computer....what could I get with...let's say....500 € ?! Monitor and HD not included....I already have.... ;-)

[horus]

How much memory and ram would you want it to have

[TodayIsForgotten]

Give him 8-16. Ram is so cheap. Build that rig, horus.

[horus]

:/ here comes the tricky part

---------- Post added at 06:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:19 AM ----------

ram may be cheap but a good graphics card costs 250$ with is like 225 Euros

---------- Post added at 06:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:22 AM ----------

nvm

---------- Post added at 06:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:23 AM ----------

What type of hard drive do you want it to have? I would recommend two terabyte

[Slime Slayer]

Build one for me too, 800 Canadian budget. Don't bother asking me questions because I don't know the answer. All I know is that I need it to handle very large files in image editing, and animation software. It also needs to output 1920x1200 resolution.

[TodayIsForgotten]

:/ here comes the tricky part

---------- Post added at 06:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:19 AM ----------

ram may be cheap but a good graphics card costs 250$ with is like 225 Euros

---------- Post added at 06:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:22 AM ----------

nvm

---------- Post added at 06:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:23 AM ----------

What type of hard drive do you want it to have? I would recommend two terabyte

You'll have to buy used. I don't see this thing coming in under that price range for a gaming rig.

[Kugyince]

I've been thinking about dipping into an 8Gb graphics card now that prices have dropped like a rock for them. Apparently my 3Gb card isn't going to cut the mustard for a VR headset.

[Kong]

@cicca. What is the most powerful game you realistically plan to play? Do you want to play it on minimum, default or max settings?

@horrus. What I do first is find out the most powerful game they want. Then look up the requirements Can You RUN It | Can I run that game | Game system requirements (http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri)
Then I use Passmark (http://www.cpubenchmark.net) to find the best value for those specs.
Best to ask all your questions at once or this will be a very slow conversation. Cicca already has a hard drive and monitor.

@Steven
What software do you use for animation and what are the recommended system requirements?
you will probably want... (prices are rough estimates)
A 64x CPU with hyperthreading and multicores between 2.5 and 3.5 GHz. I think Xeon is best bang for buck. $50 The Xeon is a server cpu and needs special case, motherboard and ram. Make sure all is compatible. Or spend more for something more standard and easier to match like an i7.
16GB ram. ~$70
$200-$350 on a video card.
An SSD hard drive. About $150 for 500GB.
A second standard hard drive for non-work files and archiving work files. $50 for 1tb.
Then a case, motherboard, power supply and fan that is compatible with them. $200

That comes to around $750 USD. $1,000CAD. You will also need a mouse, keyboard and monitor. Lower the price by skipping the SSD and getting a used video card.

Generally speaking that is pretty good advice for most people wanting a budget gaming computer.

As far as I know the best deal in this price range are refurbished Dell Precisions from Ebay.

Examples from Ebay Canada
1 Meets your budget. Complete as is - no parts or building required. Slightly less powerful than my above recommendation. (http://www.ebay.ca/itm/HP-Z400-Workstation-XEON-X5550-2-66GHz-16GB-2x-500GB-FX3800-Windows-7-/171230816062?hash=item27de26e73e:g:YhgAAOxyOlhS6Vq L)

2 Base computer. You need to add video card, hard drive and OS. And you need to confirm the existing power supply will support your video card. You can pay this seller to customize it for you. (http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dell-Precision-T3500-2-66GHz-Quad-Core-X5550-12GB-RAM-No-HDD-No-OS-/172014952475?hash=item280ce3e01b:g:T-MAAOSwnLdWsP28)

[Slime Slayer]

Will that support 1900x1200? Right now I have an Intel core i5, and it doesn't. Really sucks having to use a non native resolution then adjusting the horizontal and vertical settings so things don't appear squashed and stretched.

As far as my programs go, it's not really something that would have specific requirements, it will run on a bad computer, and for a small project be fine, but then I'm dealing with file sizes over 100 megs in Photoshop, and it can start to take awhile in between actions. What is it that would limit my wait times between actions? Ram? Cpu? Graphics card?

[Kong]

Nearly any cheap video card will support 1900x1200.

Press Control + Shift + Escape to open task manager. You should see percent of CPU, RAM and Disk usage. Load a huge file in PS. Do an intensive action to make it lag. Switch to task manager. Which column uses the largest percent. Repeat test a few times with different PS actions.

[horus]

I would recommend you get a little more than 8 gigs for your card say 12

[krehztim]

I would recommend you get a little more than 8 gigs for your card say 12

Pretty sure he was talking about just the graphics card - 16gb gfx card's going to run you in the thousands, I think. Now, 16gb total RAM, that's another story.

[Kugyince]

I was talking about just the graphics card.

[Cicca]

@cicca. What is the most powerful game you realistically plan to play? Do you want to play it on minimum, default or max settings?

Well...I wish I could play "modern" systems emulators (Model2, Model3, PSX2....), some driving game (Trackmania), some FPS (Wolfenstein)....suffs like that....at least at default settings.. :act-up:

[Kong]

Nearly all modern computers will easily play Trackmania and Wolfenstein.

Requirements to play Model2/3 and PSX2 emulators
CPU High 2 GHz with SSE2 support. (A decent mid range CPU)
Video card that supports Pixel Shaders 2.0. 8600gt or better. That's a low end $25 video card. Nearly anything more than a generic onboard card will do.
A large hard drive or a dvd burner.
2GB RAM is enough but go for at least 8.

Some computers that will work
Dell Precision T3500 Workstation Desktop Xeon W3565 3 2GHz Quad 12GB 1TB HDD | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-T3500-Workstation-Desktop-Xeon-W3565-3-2GHz-QUAD-12GB-1TB-HDD-/111908326410?hash=item1a0e418c0a:g:0-4AAOSwFNZWxml2)

Dell Precision T3500 PC Desktop W3550 24GB 10600U 500GB HDD NVIDIA Quadro 4000 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-T3500-PC-Desktop-W3550-24GB-10600U-500GB-HDD-Nvidia-Quadro-4000-/351662794084?hash=item51e0bc6564:g:mKoAAOSwQYZWz33 6) Needs OS.

[Cicca]

What about a configuration like this:
The best budget gaming PC - PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/pc-build-guide-budget-gaming-pc/)
?