3000$ for a gaming/professional setup?

Question

Hi, I need to get a setup for my new apartment for both gaming and working. I am first and foremost a 3d artist and I spend about half my time out of class working and rendering. The rest of the time I'm playing video games on my xbox and ps3 because the computer I have sucks (it's a dell laptop with a terrible ancient processor). I have 3000$ for a whole setup. From the mouse pad to the motherboard, I need a complete set. I myself am not very knowledgeable about the hardware so I want to ask if someone else could tell me what they would do for a setup if you had 3000$ to spend.

note: I can go over 3000 but only by about 200$, the rest of my money is bills and rent.
note: note: I don't know how to build a computer but if it's easier than I think it is, go ahead and assume I'm building it as well.

Answer 1

i will build a setup on ibuypower for references, within 10-15 mins, then you can compare and choose if you like or not, during that time post the specific programs and areas you deal with, also what monitor you like(if you do graphics, a professional monitor is in check ofc. 22-27" and highest res possible i believe is best suited)



Here it is. Its just a guide line, look for the major components, processor,gpu,ram,mobo.power supply.



Case 1 x Azza Spartan Gaming Case-Black

Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i7-2700K Processor (4x 3.50GHz/8MB L3 Cache)

Motherboard 1 x [SLI] ASUS P8Z68-V -- 3x PCI-E 2.0 x16, On-Board Bluetooth, Lucid Virtu Technology

Memory 1x 16 GB [4 GB X4] DDR3-1600 Memory Module-Corsair Vengeance

Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 - 1.2GB-Single Card(This can be GTX 580 if you go with 2500x1600 res, or HD 6970 if you go with dual monitor setup,I strongly advise against SLI with professional graphics, since driver support for Production 3D applications with SLI is not very good and will give more trouble than gain,If you go single monitor stick with NVIDIA since they implement better with Photoshop, and maya's physx plugin responds much better with it)

Case Lighting None

Power Supply 1 x 850 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2

Processor Cooling 1 x Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1155]-[Free Upgrade] Standard 120mm Fan

Video Card Brand 1 x Major Brand Powered by AMD or NVIDIA

Primary Hard Drive 1 x 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s-Dual 1TB Drives (2TB Capacity) - RAID 0 High Performance

Data Hard Drive None

2nd Optical Drive None

Optical Drive 1 x 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black

Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

Speaker System 1 x Logitech Z506 5.1 Surround 3D Sound Speakers + Subwoofer-Black

Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Monitor None

Keyboard 1 x iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard

Mouse 1 x iBUYPOWER Internet Mouse

Operating System 1 x None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only

Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service

Rush Service 1 x Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee)-No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days

Video Camera None

Meter Display None

Flash Media Reader / Writer None

2nd Monitor None

Free Stuff 1 x [Free Software Download] - Cyberlink Triple Play (Power Director 9, MediaEspresso 6.5, Photo Director 2011)-Free with Purchase of Intel Core i7 Processor

Free Stuff 1 x [Free Game Voucher] - Batman Arkham City-Free with Purchase of NVIDIA GeForce 5 Series Video Card

Free Stuff 1 x [Free Game Download] - Just Cause 2-Free with Purchase of NVIDIA Video Card

iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction None

iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion 1 x [6-Port] NZXT Internal USB Expansion System + Bluetooth & Wireless N Modules

iBUYPOWER PowerDrive None

USB Expansion None

Intel Smart Response Technology None

Case Engraving Service None

Subtotal $2,062.00



Also i agree with the one below me, with one exception, Avoid the 3D monitor at all costs. Get a 2D one, since you will be spending a lot of time on it and 3D are known to cause nausea and pain in the eyes, also they dont get the colors right a thing i believe is important to you.

Answer 2

3000 lmao man you can get everything you need for less than or around 1000-1400 thats with a 32 inch monitor. Check out Newegg get a decent desktop minus the monitor then max out your ram and buy a 32in High def tv or monitor and upgrade the video card to something you want with hi-def port......seriously 3000 I'm running a quad core processor with 12 gigs of ram and an amazing video card for 1200 and I'm plugged into my 50 inch plasma....don't let people talk you into spending the whole amount on a bunch of stuff you'll just have to upgrade in six months anyways......New Egg and Tigerdirect are going to be your best friends lol

Answer 3

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Answer 4

I consider myself cheap. I am the type of person who want the best performance for every money i spent. For example: i would choose i5-2400 over i7-2600 cause i5 can be overclock to match i7.



CPU+Mother board combo:$366.98 (excluded $20.00 Mail In Rebates)

Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz + GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.777666



Ram: $84.99

Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RFBIUU/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=08CBXKZXA16KP2BG54R6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846



GPU: 2 X $324.99 after mail-in rebate card (using SLi)

GIGABYTE GV-N570OC-13I Rev2.0 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125384



SSD for window:$169.99 after mail-in rebate card (a must have, take 2 and raid 0 them if you need more speed)

OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706



HDD for storage only:$124.99 (exclude $20 off w/ promo code EMCJHHC32, ends 1/2/12 )

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697



PSU: $129.99

Rosewill BRONZE Series RBR1000-M 1000W Continuous@40°C, 80Plus Bronze

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182188



Casing: $49.99 (this is where i'm cheap, to me, casing is no more than case as long as it provide good ventilation)

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233



HSF: $29.04 (cheap disease struck me again, this is the best budget hsf)

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065



Casing fan: 2x$5.99

COOLER MASTER R4-L2R-20AC-GP 120mm Blue LED Case Fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103060



Blueray rom: $69.99

LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136239



PC-only total : $1687.92





You will need keyboard, mouse and 3 identical monitor for eyefinity

I can't include them since they totally depend on your taste

Answer 5

Do you want a laptop or desktop? That is the most important question.

Answer 6

First Get a nice 27 inch 3D Monitor that is nvidia 2 certified that has the glasses kit such as

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=65348&vpn=VG278H&manufacture=ASUS



(The person above me is wrong about the 3D monitor, it does not hurt at all since it uses 3d glasses and there is no drop in color of quality as all 3d is is a higher frame rate)

(But if you don't want 3d you could get TCL L40FHDF12TA 40-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV for 300 which is about half the cost of the 3d monitor kit)



Next, Get the newest 8 core processorAMD FX-8150 FX 8-Core Black Edition Processor



Next, Get the EVGA GeForce GTX 580

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Mini-HDMI-Lifetime-Warranty-015-P3-1580-AR/dp/B004B8VL64/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325038492&sr=1-1



Next, get a SILVER STONE ST1500 1500W power supply

http://www.amazon.com/SILVERSTONE-ST1500-CrossFire-Certified-Modular/dp/B002BH3Z84/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325038592&sr=1-1



Next, get 16 GB of ram of Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Channel-Memory-CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B/dp/B004RFBIUU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325038634&sr=1-1



Next, get GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD7 AM3+ motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GA-990FXA-UD7-990FX-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B0055QYKRI/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325038828&sr=1-3



Next, get LG Super Multi Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD-ROM Drive

http://www.amazon.com/LG-Super-Blu-ray-DVD-ROM-GGC-H20L/dp/B000ZEBOFG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325038888&sr=1-1



Next, get Western Digital Caviar Green 1 TB SATA

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Intellipower-3-5-Inch-Internal/dp/B0053YKMGA/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325038957&sr=1-3



Next, get Corsair Hydro Series H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Extreme-Performance-Liquid-CWCH100/dp/B0051U7HMS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325039069&sr=1-1



Next, get a Logitech Gaming Keyboard G510

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-920-002530-Gaming-Keyboard-G510/dp/B003VAK16O/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325042082&sr=1-3



Finally, get Thermal-take Level 10 GT Super Gaming Modular Tower Computer Case VN10001W2N

http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Gaming-Modular-Computer-VN10001W2N/dp/B004K1ELF0/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325039381&sr=1-5



For a mouse, you could get Logitech Wireless Performance Mouse MX for PC and Mac but it would be $80, so i will let you choose on that or if you want to get a low end simple mouse like Logitech Optical Gaming Mouse G400 with High-Precision 3600 DPI Optical Engine for $35.





And it all equals to $2920($2620 if you get the 40 inch non 3d)

And you get a system absolutely no one you know will be able to beat. These are suggestions and if you want the GTX 590 which costs 1000 instead of the GTX 580 which is 500 be my guest.

You can change a few things around but KEEP the ram and the processor as they will certainly wow you.