hardware - Building A Computer Specifically for Graphic Design, 2K Budget

I've looked around for a good desktop rig to suit a 2K budget computer focused on graphic design/ rendering capabilities, but I'm have trouble finding exactly the type of setup that I'm looking for. If anyone is a hardware guru and has a great understanding of how to extract the very best GPU power and Display quality from a budget, and don't mind throwing it into a new egg wish list for me, I'd truly be grateful. Here is the setup I'm looking for:

• Triple, high quality monitor display


• Performance based on the idea that I'll need to handle high resolution and many layered images within photoshop


• Performance based on the idea that I'll be using Blender to render 3-D Designs, which is able to use GPU to render 3D models.



• Performance based on the idea that I will likely have 30+ browser tabs open, be running text editors in the background, and be doing all of these things at once, and need the setup to be able to handle it all with no sweat.

I have a TB of external memory, so that should save some cash on memory that doesn't need to be accessed with a great amount of speed, but the 2K does need to cover the three high quality monitors, a large tower with room for upgrade, a disk drive, a mouse, keyboard, and USB ports.

*Edit:

I think the builds suggested here will be helpful many users seeking rendering machine setup suggestions. I hope this fit's the format, and of course, isn't a duplicate question. I've looked and not found a satisfactory answer anywhere on StackOverflow! I thank you all ahead of time for your suggestions!

New: Thanks for the suggestion to move this to superuser.com! I reposted it here: https://superuser.com/questions/601279/building-a-computer-specifically-for-graphic-design-2k-budget

Thank you for your answers everyone, I was able to change the terms of what I needed to search for to meet the 2K budget thanks to all of your helpful advisories. The user-base here is far beyond the quality and knowledge level of any website in the world, in my opinion. Thanks again!

Answer

As many have mentioned, it's going to be pretty difficult to build a great machine for under $2,000. But it really does depend on what you want in it.

What you should care most about is RAM, your video card, and the processor (at this is the 'meat' of your machine. Everything else you could get something cheaper (assuming it's compatible).

I would recommend this video. It's a video series where a guy builds a great machine for video editing. It's also nice because the parts he chose are compatible with OSX, meaning you can use a Windows or Apple operating system (or anything else) on the computer.

If I remember correctly he built his set-up (not including monitors/keyboard/mouse) for around $2,200. but it could be more/less expensive depending on where and when you buy the parts. I personally usually wait for Black Friday, here in the US, for buying all my electronics (or Cyber Monday). This usually saves me a couple hundred dollars.

To summarize his build, it's 32GB of RAM, 12 core 3.2 GHz processor, a 2GB video card, and a three raid-0 array of 128GB SSDs.

Here is a list of the components he used:

Things to note about this build are:

• You don't need 3 SSDs, it's just what he chose and you could omit one or two and still have it function (though of course you'd want a back-up/storage drive to accompany it).


• You don't need a 1000W PSU, you could buy the bare-minimum needed to run the set-up and still have it function.


• You can find a cheaper case.

These things will bring the price down a bit.

Most of these parts are also available on newegg and some are less expensive while other are a bit more expensive, so it definitely helps to check everything out.

Keep in mind this does NOT include any displays, so that'll cost extra. But if you want a nice machine, you'll have to pay for it.