Building My First Desktop (system builds)

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MisterDang

Junior Member
Aug 5, 2012
4
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Triple monitor setup


1. Used for: Rendering software for designing and testing loads on bridges. 3D rendering, casual gaming, multitasking, and general everyday use.

2. Price range: below $800 if possible, no more than $1000

3. I am willing to buy from any country online if the price is cheaper, most likely it will be from the US.

4. I am an Intel and nVidia fan but if there is something better for cheaper I will not complain.

5. I do not have any current parts.

there was no 6. on the sticky

7. If overclocking is a viable and safe option sure but else I will probably just run it on default.

8. Resolution: best for the price of the monitor i guess? not really sure about this.

9. When: within the next few months if possible hoping things will go on sale.

X. Software: I might need to purchase Windows.


Thanks
 
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mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
If I'm understanding your post correctly, you need the three monitors and a Windows license within the $800-1000 budget. Can you confirm?
 
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azeem40

Senior member
Mar 11, 2012
244
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You won't be able to make full use of eyefinity at such a low budget. 3 1080p monitors will take up a lot of your budget.
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
I'd recommend gaming on one monitor, multitasking/working on three, that way you don't have to spend a lot on the GPU just to get playable framerates.
 
Ken g6

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
16,696
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OK, let's assume you get three of the cheapest 1080P monitors possible. That's $360 already.

Now, you cannot get a computer that is good at both gaming and 3D design for $640. You'd be lucky to build one that's good at triple-screen gaming. I would consider the build linked on HardForum barely adequate at 3D design, and terrible at triple-screen gaming, even three years ago.

But let's try following the original build methodology. First, you need a cheap desktop, preferably with a Sandy Bridge or later processor. In general, you'll be looking for a refurb. Here's the first thing I found on Amazon under $350.

Now for the good news. The best video card you can be sure that just about any computer's power supply will support is a Radeon 7750. And none of them costs much more than $100. Here's a pre-overclocked one for $110.

You're now at slightly over $800. What did this get you? An average processor, low-end RAM, HDD, three cheap 1080P monitors, and a low-to-average gaming card not really suited for triple monitor gaming.

Now, if you're aiming mostly at gaming, I could select a better video card and power supply for you within $1000. That wouldn't help your 3D design work one bit. Or, assuming you pay for Windows separately, I could build you a nice little system for 3D rendering (though without SSD), and you could stick with that 7750 GPU, within $1000. That wouldn't help your gaming much if at all. Or you could stick with one (slightly better) monitor, and get both a better GPU and a better built system.

What are your priorities?
 
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
lehtv said:
3x Acer 21.5" $360

Asrock B75M $65
Xeon E3-1230 V2 $236
2x4GB 1333 $35 AP (today)
XFX 7770 $105 AR
Samsung F3 1TB $75 AP (today)
Rosewill R218 $25
DVD-RW $17
Corsair CX430 V2 $25 AR

= $943 AR AP + shipping

Best I could do :O
Click to expand...

Not going to be doing much triple-screen gaming on that, but overall not bad IMHO.

Overall though, I disagree with the entire concept of this build given the budget. I'm not convinced of the utility of three screens over two for most productivity applications (stock trading and systems monitoring being two exceptions). For just about the same price (AR), you could get two of these ASUS 24" 1080p MVA panels instead.
 
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