Best-bang-for-the-buck computer and monitor

I posted here because it's all about computers, but this may not be the correct section to pose this question. If it's not, I apologize and will understand and appreciate your moving it mods.

More and more I've been contemplating buying a new system and monitor, and today I was given all the incentive I need to go ahead and buy them when I was gifted with the Maya program and license. I'll be running other graphics and desktop publishing programs as well, and I'm starting my shopping experience by asking for suggestions from other modellers and animators who read this forum.

Thanks for your help.

I'm not a modeller or animator but the best bang for your buck in computers is to build your own.
www.newegg.com
www.tigerdirect.com

I see everyone saying ''Build your own'', yes, this is the BEST bet, but you guys have to realize that not everyone knows everything about computers, nor has the skill to successfully build one without frying something out. So It'd be nice to see less of these posts, just my two cents on that. *Shrugs* Free will for everyone though.

I'll try and dig up some things, but you should also check out the sites posted above, they have some decent offers on there I believe, not sure about any offers *with* monitors though.

Price range? Obvously your looking for a system with a good graphics card, sufficient RAM and a large monitor with a high resolution if you're going to model and animate. It also depends if you're going to build your own system or not.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 9300 ($289.99)
HSF: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle ($36.99)
Mobo: EVGA 750i SLi FTW ($189.99)
GPU: (2) EVGA 8800 GT SSC in SLi ($379.98)
HDD: (2) Seagate 500GB in RAID0 ($259.98)
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ($169.99)
RAM: CORSAIR Dominator 2x2GB ($179.99)
Case: Antec 182 ($199.99)

Grand total: $2086.89 USD!

Not bad!

QFT
NOT bad

My suggestion to that would be to use:

This ram:
OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2N800SR4GK (122.00 for 8 gigs after rebate.)

This psu:
ABS Tagan ITZ Series ITZ800-V2 ATX12V / EPS12V 800W Power Supply (149 after rebate)

Monitor: HP w2408h Black 24" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ Height & Pivot Adjustments. (400-500)


add in vista ultimate

about 2500.00 w/ monitor

I don't know about the OP but I don't really consider $2,500+ bang-for-the-buck...

It would be good to give us some kind of budget to work within...

Try this for a mid-range setup:

Dell OptiPlex 755
C2D E6550 2.33GHz, 4MB L2, 1333MHz FSB
512MB DDR2
XP Pro
DVD/RW
80GB HDD
19" UltraSharp Dell LCD
$972

Buy separately @ newegg:
Corsair 520HX 520W PSU - $125
Sapphire HD3870 - $165
G.SKILL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2800 - $75
Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB - $110 (faster than Raptors in most situations)

This setup will be under $1500 and includes a 3-year warranty

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate your taking the time to help me out with this. All good suggestions and helpful.

To answer your questions and otherwise fill in the blanks, I don't really have a budget. I'm basically looking for the best build at the lowest price.

I'll be wanting to look at the models on a large display... probably about 24"... maybe a little bigger since I'll most likely use it for home entertainment as well when I'm not modelling. And that would mean of course I'll need a good upconverter (I'll pass on a Blu-Ray player since I suspect it will become obsolete before it becomes a mainstay... streaming ftw).

Right now the best Flatscreen monitor ive seen is one I got from tigerdirect

HP 22 inch, LCD: price 250.00

says they will sellout soon

and ive shopped around this same monitor at many sites is: 350.00 or more

I cant wait till it comes to my door

Holy smokes... I just ordered a Dell XPS M1730 gaming laptop with these specs for about $2400:

-Intel Core2Extreme X9000 2.8ghz (OC's to 3.4ghz stable)
-Dell WUXGA 1920x1200 LCD
-4 gigs DDR2-667 RAM
-Nvidia 8800GTX SLI 1gig DDR3
-200gig 7200rpm HD with freefall sensor
-remote
-DVD-Burner/BluRay ROM
-802.11 a/g/draft-n wifi
-BlueTooth module
-Windows Vista Premium (will be replaced)

It arrives next week from the Dell Outlet...

My post was included with admael's post directly above mine.

And well the dell is ok for a laptop.
I suggested faster and more ram than the laptop above. As OP said "I was gifted with the Maya program and license. I'll be running other graphics and desktop publishing programs as well." OP needs lots of ram and fast ram.

BTW - laptops are neat but buying 1 now is not recommended, as the new Airbooks are coming/here and it will only be a matter of time before this technology is applied to the PC world laptops.

Vista/ Windows 7 is the future, since all up coming software is headed that way not to mention NEXT April (just over a year) Windows 7 is said to be launching, Xp goes end life 6 months after that.

My suggestion is to build a "near" state of the art computer that can run vista ultimate with all the bells and whistles, as when it is time to upgrade to Windows 7, the hardware should run that as well both are 64 bit as far as I know. I don't understand the logic of getting an XP machine at this point other than to pirate software, music, and movies. Build a system for the future not a 3 year old dieing vid game lol.

I don't think any of the slim-line air laptops will have sufficient cooling to handle high end GPU's anytime in the near future, let alone an SLI rig. However, I do agree that newer, better stuff will always come along. At some point, you have to commit to the current hardware available and hope it's sufficient for your given application.

I'm not bashing laptops, so consider this my only disclaimer

Desktops will always be superior to laptops in terms of performance. If you don't necessarily need the portability, then go for the desktop, you'll be spending less money for something that's faster.

I mean, compare the build earlier (mine with a few of zamial's suggestion) to the this lord_shar's gaming laptop. I mean he got it for 2400, but it's 5000 standard right? But for ~2500 USD you can get something that has

« 5x more space and faster drive (2x500GB in RAID0 vs 200GB)
« More bandwidth and faster RAM ([email protected] vs 4GB 667Mhz)
« It's a damn quad (C2Q9300 vs C2DX9000; The Q9300 are the newer 45nanometer chips, while their multiplier remains locked, unlike the extreme series, their overclocking cability is superior to the 65nanometer predecessors)
« Graphics are about the same, you really won't know with the laptop since you're playing at set resolutions anyways.
« Godly chipset (the 750i FTW from EVGA uses all solid state capacitors, meaning less energy leak blah blah blah)

Note: The Corsair Domainators listed in my original post are 2x2GB 1066Mhz, that's why they're more expensive than the 8GB 800Mhz OCZ.

So unless portability is a must/bonus, then go with the desktop, don't it cloud your judgment

I completely agree with the above. Desktops will always outperform laptops given identical budgets, no space restrictions, no size restrictions, etc. However, once the mobility factor spoils ya, you'll find it very difficult to move back to the boat anchor.

I used to build full tower FPS-tuned gaming rigs. That all changed when 3G cellular broadband became available in my area. Once I realized I could get internet broadband through my cell phone carrier for $40/month, I migrated to a gaming laptop. The performance difference isn't that bad given the titles available today... this is includes UT3, GW, HGL, etc. Latency is stil a problem for FPS through 3G broadband, but MMO's like GW, HGL, and WoW work perfectly fine.

My buddies did a compromise to the above with Shuttle PC's. These lunchbox-sized systems can stilll pack the latest desktop hardware while still being fairly portable. They're still not laptops, but they are much easier to transport to other destinations like LAN parties (my 2nd favorite passtime).

EDIT: BTW, x9000 Core2Extremes are 45nm chips... http://processorfinder.intel.com/Lis...x9000&OrdCode=