A good computer for money
In 2019, I bought my last laptop: Legion Y540 with 9th gen i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti GPU. As a computer for an undergraduate student majoring in illustration, the performance of this laptop was sufficient. However, when it comes to the area of animation and 3D modeling, this 4-year-old Y540 can hardly afford those jobs. Before this semester started, I decided to buy a more appropriate computer. At first, I focused on researching desktops already set up because of the convenience. However, those brand desktops are much more expensive than those requiring assembly. With the demand for 3D animation, I set up a desktop for 2100 USD.
CPU
13th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors
Many 3D software, such as Maya and Blender, have render engines that rely on the CPU’s multi-core performance, so having a good(and cheap) CPU is essential. Intel i7 13700K is the best CPU for money in 2023. Compared to the Intel i9 13900K, Its performance is 25% less, but the price of this i7 processor is 30% less. It is worth choosing the i7–13700K!
ref: https://www.cgdirector.com/best-cpu-for-rendering/
GPU
Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card
This graphic card shows nice performance in most Rendering Software and Games. It features 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM, which means it can deal with more tasks than RTX 4060, which features 8GB of GDDR6X VRAM. Of course, there is a gap between RTX 4070 and RTX 4080, but depending on the price, I will choose RTX 4070(half the price of RTX 4080).
ref: https://www.cgdirector.com/nvidia-graphics-cards-order-performance/
Memory
G.Skill Ripjaws S5 64GB (2 x 2 x 16 GB) DDR5–6000 CL30 Memory
For 3D rendering, RAM capacity is also generally considered more important. So this desktop has 64GB RAM.
Storage
Samsung 990 Pro w/Heatsink 2 TB M.2–2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD
Cheap and fast! The heatsink prevents the performance drop from overheating.
Seagate BarraCuda 4 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal HHD
This drive is for not important documents and RAW photos taken by the camera.
Motherboard
Asus PRIME Z790-P WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
192GB max memory and 4 DDR5 memory slots work well with the memory I choose. Support Wifi 6.
CPU Cooler
Deepcool AK620 ZERO DARK 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler
This cooler is very quiet. This is important when you put the tower next to your bed. According to the reviews on Amazon and Newegg, this cooler does its job: it keeps the CPU cool!
Case
Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case
A big case with enough space and good design for cable management.
Monitor
LG 27UP600-W 27" 4K UHD IPS Monitor
This 4K monitor is a good choice for designers and artists. The 27-inch wide 4K display provides windows big enough to see all the details. HDR elevates picture quality. The IPS with DCI-P3 95% coverage of the color spectrum, is a great solution for photographers, and graphic designers who looking for highly accurate color.
ref: https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-27up600-w-4k-uhd-monitor
