Low/Mid-range 3D modeling build

[Osmo]

Been thinking about building a new machine a lot as of late, my current one is a touch too noisy and is starting to really show its age. Current setup is:

Biostar Geforce 6100-M9 Motherboard
single core 3400 @2.31ghz (venice I think? been a long while, OC'd 5% for kicks) I got for 20$
2gb misc. memory (ebay iirc) running at a blistering 174mhz
Geforce 7600GT 256mb
2x WD Corvair SE 80gb sata in RAID 0
Enermax PSU (I hacked it up to make a bus thing while drinking.....ghetto)
matx POS case
misc. fans and whatnot

It's cranky, ghetto as hell on the inside, loud and I'm paranoid about the drives just up and dying (they're about 4 years old or more, playing with fire as is).

Mostly, I'd like to make something quiet and lower power, dual core, with similar video capabilities (I do a ton of modeling in Solid Edge). Likely can't save much of the parts, board+cpu+video+ram are going to my wife's old HP (it's sporting PCI 6200 video, not enough for her WoW playing, or if she buys the iMac she's wanted, it'll be a WC test rig)

What I was thinking of goes along the lines of this:

inexpensive matx board and Celeron or cheaper dual core cpu (something like ECS P4M900T-M2 Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Celeron Dual Core E1200 Processor 1.6GHz OEM in Canada at TigerDirect.ca maybe?)
Similar cabability video card (low profile though, Newegg.ca - ASUS EAH3450/DI/256M Radeon HD 3450 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards look ok?)
I'm partial to slim cases, the InWIN BT611T from Newegg looks really nice to me
500gb or so HDD (no more RAID, maybe later when I can afford a proper setup)
Whatever ram is on sale, 2gb would be nice

I don't game much (occasional bout of WoW with my wife, maybe some Homeworld 2 if it's a really slow day) so I'm not worried about that too much.


Is this a decent build for a cheap arse like me? It has been years since I scoured the flyers and internet for parts, very out of touch. I would love one of those ATOM machines, though I doubt it'd be enough on the medium/large Edge files. Oh well, enough dreaming from me, thanks for any help, I really appreciate it :)

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Osmo

Been thinking about building a new machine a lot as of late, my current one is a touch too noisy and is starting to really show its age. Current setup is:

Biostar Geforce 6100-M9 Motherboard
single core 3400 @2.31ghz (venice I think? been a long while, OC'd 5% for kicks) I got for 20$
2gb misc. memory (ebay iirc) running at a blistering 174mhz
Geforce 7600GT 256mb
2x WD Corvair SE 80gb sata in RAID 0
Enermax PSU (I hacked it up to make a bus thing while drinking.....ghetto)
matx POS case
misc. fans and whatnot

It's cranky, ghetto as hell on the inside, loud and I'm paranoid about the drives just up and dying (they're about 4 years old or more, playing with fire as is).

Mostly, I'd like to make something quiet and lower power, dual core, with similar video capabilities (I do a ton of modeling in Solid Edge). Likely can't save much of the parts, board+cpu+video+ram are going to my wife's old HP (it's sporting PCI 6200 video, not enough for her WoW playing, or if she buys the iMac she's wanted, it'll be a WC test rig)

What I was thinking of goes along the lines of this:

inexpensive matx board and Celeron or cheaper dual core cpu (something like ECS P4M900T-M2 Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Celeron Dual Core E1200 Processor 1.6GHz OEM in Canada at TigerDirect.ca maybe?)
Similar cabability video card (low profile though, Newegg.ca - ASUS EAH3450/DI/256M Radeon HD 3450 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards look ok?)
I'm partial to slim cases, the InWIN BT611T from Newegg looks really nice to me
500gb or so HDD (no more RAID, maybe later when I can afford a proper setup)
Whatever ram is on sale, 2gb would be nice

I don't game much (occasional bout of WoW with my wife, maybe some Homeworld 2 if it's a really slow day) so I'm not worried about that too much.


Is this a decent build for a cheap arse like me? It has been years since I scoured the flyers and internet for parts, very out of touch. I would love one of those ATOM machines, though I doubt it'd be enough on the medium/large Edge files. Oh well, enough dreaming from me, thanks for any help, I really appreciate it :)

When it comes to computer components, a mere $100 can make a big difference. If you provide me with a budget that you are working with then that would be easier.

[Osmo]

Hmmm ya forgot about the budget part. I'd like to stay around the 300$ mark, plus or minus 40$ or so. Doing overtime and selling my old compound bow to help fund it, so money is tight sadly.

Thanks for your help!

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Osmo

Hmmm ya forgot about the budget part. I'd like to stay around the 300$ mark, plus or minus 40$ or so. Doing overtime and selling my old compound bow to help fund it, so money is tight sadly.

Thanks for your help!

That's a big challenge and I wouldn't know what to suggest but hopefully someone can.

I will tell you that the case choice is a big mistake. The fan is noisy and the case does not utilize a standard size power supply.

Personally...at minimum:

-Asus M2A-VM Excellent budget motherboard - $80.00
-AMD Athlon 64 x2 4850E performs better then the celeron you were looking at. $55.00 at Newegg.ca
-Enlight EN-PA411613 ATX Mid Case with 400W powersupply $70.00
-Ram- G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) for $55.00
-Harddrive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 - Hard drive - 640 GB $99.00
-Asus GeForce 8800GS 550MHZ 384MB at NCIX for $98.00


$450+tax. At least I tried. You can also look in the Buy and Sell section...lots of good deals that you can compare with on what you are looking for.

[Osmo]

That's quite the setup, I like the decent price of the 4850E, and seems a bit more robust than the celeron. The board seems to have all the options I'd require as well, curious though why you picked this one and not another? I've no idea really, just asking.

I may have to do a bunch more overtime it seems to afford something with some lasting ability, ty for your help so far, i appreciate it greatly.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Osmo

That's quite the setup, I like the decent price of the 4850E, and seems a bit more robust than the celeron. The board seems to have all the options I'd require as well, curious though why you picked this one and not another? I've no idea really, just asking.

I may have to do a bunch more overtime it seems to afford something with some lasting ability, ty for your help so far, i appreciate it greatly.

I've used this motherboard/cpu combo a few weeks ago and it worked like a charm. I'm also a big fan of FOXX and Asus motherboards. You can get closer to your price by selecting a smaller sized harddrive but I would not go below 7200rpm. Keep in mind that the savings is at best $20-$30. You can also save money on the videocard but that's one hell of a deal at NCIX for $98.00 after the mail in rebate. At this point it's just nickles and dimes savings - $300 would be too much of a compromise and a very frustrating set of annomalies will most likely be part of that parcel. I would rather spend the extra $150 and be more trouble free in my opinion.

Good Luck

[Squeetard]

You earn a living with this computer?

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Squeetard

You earn a living with this computer?

No, I built if for my sister. On occasion I would build a gaming rig for a few customers but the demand isn't' there - most of them are satisfied with a notebook and a console game. Sometimes I would build one as a small server or a video surveillance system for clients. I was thinking of marketing my gaming rig but I don't know...it's not a very pleasant market out there these days.

[3.0charlie]

Originally Posted by Osmo

Hmmm ya forgot about the budget part. I'd like to stay around the 300$ mark, plus or minus 40$ or so. Doing overtime and selling my old compound bow to help fund it, so money is tight sadly.

Thanks for your help!

With such a budget, I would definitely take a look at the Buy/Sell section. No way I would cheap out on components, to simply meet a budget. Chances are that they will die faster.

I'd stay away from ECS and Inwin too... Mark managed a pretty good system for the price, and choosing AMD over Intel in your budget bracket is a viable solution.

[Osmo]

Originally Posted by 3.0charlie

With such a budget, I would definitely take a look at the Buy/Sell section. No way I would cheap out on components, to simply meet a budget. Chances are that they will die faster.

I'd stay away from ECS and Inwin too... Mark managed a pretty good system for the price, and choosing AMD over Intel in your budget bracket is a viable solution.

Ya it looks like a pretty good setup, over my budget but I guess I can buy in stages (like HDD first) and work my way up. I wish I had kept up with the scene, things are so different. Only thing I didn't like what the case, but those are easy enough to find. Video card looks awesome, likely more than I need, price is better than this 7600GT I bought years back.

I may hit up the FS/FT section to lessen the bill, or pray for more overtime :P