Need A new computer for collage im doing an IT multimedia and games dev course and have a 550 euro price mark can anyone help me?
thanks niall
The PC build is going to depend on a few things. I would recommend an APU build that you can upgrade the GPU later. This way you can have a more complete build. Here are some questions though:
- Do you already have a monitor?
- Do you already have a mouse and keyboard?
- Do you have a copy of windows or other OS you plan to use?
- Do you have old HDD's you can use for the system?
Its a bit of a tight budget for game development, so I am hoping you have a mouse, keyboard, and monitor you can use already. Here are a couple builds based on those assumptions:
**I am using france as a price location because I don't know what country you are in.
The APU build that you can upgrade with a better GPU later:
http://fr.pcpartpicker.com/p/1zruR
The Complete build you wont be upgrading later:
http://fr.pcpartpicker.com/p/1Ajlz
The graphics card here is exceptionally cheap right now. An excellent deal that might not be around for long. It is already a little over budget, but this is a very good build for the budget. 6 core CPU with a good graphics card. The case is a simple but very functional design. I have the original antec 300. You can put 3 more 120mm fans in there to increase the cooling quite a bit. or put 2 in the front and block off the side vent to manage the dust.
**updated ram on second build because the precious ram wasn't available anymore.
This is not really the build subforum you know. 500 dollar could get you a 7790 maybe which is quite nice actually. i'd go intel i3 + 7790 + 8gb ram+ 60 dollar mobo+400 watt PSU+ case you like+HDD.
I am going to be sincere with you, with this kind of money would be a waste of money buy a PC like the one Ribozyne mentioned.
I am 24, studying Computer Science and I am a Law graduate (Which is pointless).
In the UK, things here are more expensive than countries that use Euros, also 550 euros = 730 USD.
First thing first what softwares are you going to use? If you are going to develop games YOU NEED a good CPU and GPU mainly for 3d modeling.
And no an i3 will not make the cut neither a 7790, that is a bad advice. Your development machine is not your test machine. Your development machine should fully facilitate your development. Also, matching the specs for your game is not sensible because you need to debug. That takes more memory and more CPU space. When you get a developer kit from console makers, they ship you hardware with more memory, and for a good reason.
Some softwares can't make full use of SLi or crossfire (Like CAD), if you are not going to game you should get quadro cards.
Second thing, you need a big storage, and SSDs really help you a lot and save you a lot of time.
Another thing, you need a good cooling performance, so add 130 euros for a h100i or something similar, because your pc will be running cpu intensive stuff for a long time.
Now, for the PC specs:
I would recommend:
i7 4770k
a 780 gtx
2 x TB WD RED, Raid 1
a SSD to install the relevant software.
16gb to 32gb
Corsair H100i
750w gold psu
You are going to run most if not all softwares with 0 lag.
Also It isn't necessary that you have the hardware for game production the first year. Most unis (at least mine) have multiple labs for you to access the software and hardware you need to get started.
I am not an intel fanboy, but AMD would suck for game development IMO.
In general Nvidia has better/more stable drivers and proprietary features which help with high-end gaming, while AMD offers higher bang/buck in most price brackets.
You can get a 6950 used for very cheap nowadays. I'd say use that with something like a 6300/Asus(or assrock, whatever floats your boat) Mobo, with 8 gigs of ram ( which can be used aswell, especially if you can find something like geil locally, those have lifetime transferable warranty )
I would seriously avoid an APU config. It'd be better to go H61/G2020(Or whatever the haswell variant is) and a faster GPU.
I agree this system is ideal, it is way beyond the budget.
chrome implemented spell check in whatever the hell code the site uses, just right click, the right click button on the keyboard does not appear to give the same effect though
ahem
*college
The A10-5800k is faster than the g2020. It also scales very well with faster ram. Hence 2100+ ram which I included. This way he gets usable performance until he could upgrade the graphics card.
The biggest thing here is that he needs a bigger budget. For game development I would do something similar to bear virus which has several things similar to my APU rig, but obviously not the GPU and CPU.. but its in budget. Though I wouldnt get an h100. I would get a cheaper air cooler and get case fans that would keep the entire system cool. The h100 is really only necessary for extreme overclocking.
Oh please stop giving advice like this since you barely know what you're taking about.
Your advice is awful.
Nvidia drivers are not more stable at all, this is a myth that I think would be a very good subject for Logan and Wendell to cover.
On top of that, Nvidia's proprietary features do not help with high end gaming at all nor with games design. The only proprietary things from Nvidia are physx and apex and neither of them are used much at all, never mind to the extent that you need an Nvidia GPU to do so.
We need more info to really say but something like feralshadows second build would be a decent system. I would go with 16gb of memory though and you probably could go with a lesser gpu then the 7950 or cut the ssd if you need to cut the cost a bit.
you are are just going to post random "your stupid" comments, then you should probably add something to back it up. otherwise it makes you sound like the stupid person. Post a better build and give a reason why.
Thanks you so much..
So many people spell it wrong. It's not even hard to spell and collage is when you stick magazine bits and paper and stuff together.. Jesus people.
Here would be my suggestion, or maybe just something along these lines.
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/FwG
I thought it wasn't bad for being just under $700 or 550 euros. Obviously the oddity is that I chose a 6970 as opposed to something newer. I currently run an unlocked 6950 in my system and it's been more than capable for gaming as well as OpenCL acceleration and working in CryEngine and UDK. It's just a lot of raw power for the money. I'll be honest it's more of a placeholder because It is just an eBay link.
Just an idea.
The comment wasn't random, and I didn't say anything about stupid.
Since you brought stupidity up though, don't you realise that it's actually "you're" and not "your"?
It's meant to mean "you are".
That aside, the guy's claims are so ridiculous that I didn't feel the need to actually back it up as I thought it was plainly clear that it was ridiculous.
Since you're acting butthurt over it though, I'll point out just why it's rubbish.
"In the UK, things here are more expensive than countries that use Euros, also 550 euros = 730 USD."
This is BS. Most of the time when people see US prices they are ignoring any local sales taxes. UK prices always include VAT. If you actually look the pre-tax prices the costs of computer parts is largely a direct currency conversion.
"First thing first what softwares are you going to use? If you are going to develop games YOU NEED a good CPU and GPU mainly for 3d modeling.And no an i3 will not make the cut neither a 7790, that is a bad advice. Your development machine is not your test machine. Your development machine should fully facilitate your development. Also, matching the specs for your game is not sensible because you need to debug. That takes more memory and more CPU space. When you get a developer kit from console makers, they ship you hardware with more memory, and for a good reason."
This bad information based on bad assumptions. It is not known what sort of games development will be done, it however won't be mega serious development that will require the debugging he's talking about. It appears that he's recently learnt what debugging is on this supposed computer science course and has felt the need to shoe-horn it in to his "advice".
A good CPU and GPU is also not "NEEDED" for 3D modelling. It helps loads and makes it a more pleasant experience but it's definitely not needed. I have been doing 3D modelling for quite a number of years across multiple different PCs. How does he think games development was done in the past?
When Crytek developed the original Crysis, they weren't using CPUs with the performance of an i7 4770K or a GTX780 with 3GB of RAM. No chance the OP is going to doing anything near that on a games development course, they typically cover what people in the industry would call the basics.
"Some softwares can't make full use of SLi or crossfire (Like CAD), if you are not going to game you should get quadro cards."
This is also BS. Yes, CAD software typically doesn't make use of more than a single GPU, however the recommendation to get a Quadro card is just ludicrous. They are NOT worth the asking price for the vast majority of people who are interested in 3D modelling. In the past, they typically excelled compared to desktop gaming GPUs because most design software used OpenGL and they catered their drivers and software to that. Modern software isn't reliant on OpenGL any more, so the advantage that Quadros may have had has vanished. That aside, a low end quadro is never going to realistically compete with a decent gaming graphics card.
"Second thing, you need a big storage, and SSDs really help you a lot and save you a lot of time.
Another thing, you need a good cooling performance, so add 130 euros for a h100i or something similar, because your pc will be running cpu intensive stuff for a long time."
This is also nonsense. A H100i is simply not needed, it would be better of course but he doesn't seem to understand that the OP is on a budget and dedicating a quarter of the budget which is already low isn't at all sensible.
Additionally, yes an SSD will help with performance and will be nicer to use, they are however not a must.
"Now, for the PC specs:I would recommend:i7 4770k
a 780 gtx
2 x TB WD RED, Raid 1
a SSD to install the relevant software.
16gb to 32gb
Corsair H100i
750w gold psu"
None of this is at all necessary, he doesn't actually know what he's talking about, and I'd bet money on him not knowing why he actually chose those specs outside of them being the highest end ones he knows.
A 4770K is NOT necessary at all. People have been doing games development on much lesser hardware for years, it's nicer to have more power available it isn't a necessity though.
Recommending a GTX780 is even more bizarre. On what planet is a 780 actually necessary? GTX780s are more costly than the whole of the guy's budget, and will not provide any benefits inline with their pricing.
A 7790 would work fine for 3D design/CAD, it of course wouldn't be the best but to jump to a 780 is just madness when a 7950 would provide the same CAD performance for a third of the price.
"You are going to run most if not all softwares with 0 lag.Also It isn't necessary that you have the hardware for game production the first year. Most unis (at least mine) have multiple labs for you to access the software and hardware you need to get started."
This kinda tops it off. He claims to be doing computer science, then starts using the L word. Anyone studiying computer science should know full well what lag is, and what it isn't and the recommendation that it will run most if not all software with "0 lag" is just nonsense, aside from not actually meaning much.
As for the recommendation of not having a computer at home to do work on, that has to be some of the worst advice he's given, considering how important it is for people who want to move in to games development to actually do work in your own time for yourself to further your skill set and develop yourself outside of the structured learning environment.
What DOES top it off is the way he's went for a high budget set up and recommended the money be spent in the way he has. Ditching the GTX780, getting something like a 7950 and going for an X79 set up with a 3930K would make much more sense as a development workstation is exactly where X79 excels and actually cost slightly less over all despite offering more performance where it supposedly matters.
well. I never said you were stupid or anything, but it wasn't as clear as you thought. You also need to consider who is reading this. Not everyone is as experienced or tech savvy. Post something useful so the OP can use the information. I really wasn't "butthurt" but I can tell by the length and "you're" comment that someone else might be... Anyway I agree with the rest of your post.
Whether you intended it or not, your original post came off a bit on the troll side. With a little bit of examples and support you make your case and people don't just think your are hating.