Help me build a Zombie computer please!

[Frandesktop]

I've been watching computer building videos for a long time for fun (many of those were by Linus of course) and it made me want to build my own PC. I've been reading here for quite some time, however this is the first time I actually registered. I never built a PC. The last desktop I had was a pre-built desktop with Intel Core i3 (1st or 2nd gen) many years ago which also broke many years ago. I've been using laptops ever since. Now I want to try and build my own desktop, however my budget is limited, so I want to build a desktop for a fun experience, and to watch all those old parts come to life as a working workstation. My primary use is going to be rendering and modelling using Autocad / 3ds Max (of course if it would work for gaming that would cool)

Now I haven't decided my budget yet, but it's limited, so you can just be creative and make builds with pricing steps = 200$, 300$, 400$.. etc (If you have time )

The PC can be made of mix of new and old parts 

 

Expectations: That the system would be significantly better than what I'm using now for those softwares: A laptop with Intel i7-8550U, 8GB DDR4 2400Mhz RAM and no GPU. (Enough for it to be worth the money to build this desktop I guess)

 

**Important: I am no expert in what components are needed for using Autodesk softwares (mostly viewed gaming rigs videos). So if you suggest a build, I'd like you to explain a little bit why you chose this part and why it's good for those softwares (For example I don't know if Xeons can do a better job than the Core lineup for that purpose)

 

*I am not from USA, but Amazon and eBay ship here so it's OK!

*I want older parts because I think that you can build nice machines with older parts that are more powerful than today's new parts with the same price (but you can correct me if I'm mistaken)

*The monitor and peripherals should not be included, only the desktop

 

[Radium_Angel]

1 minute ago, Frandesktop said:

pricing steps = 200$, 300$, 400$

 

2 minutes ago, Frandesktop said:

Autocad / 3ds Max

These two things do not go together.

 

All the same, for 200$, buy a system on Craigslist, some desktop that no one wants anymore (at least around here they are all laptops for sale), or look in their parts section and buy a 4th gen Intel and board for 50$, ddr3 for 25$ and a video card for 75$ (GTX 970 era) and spend the rest on an SSD, 19" LCD (25$) keyboard and mouse, and go to town

[Frandesktop]

Yes I guess 200$ was too low, but you know those cool videos you see: "Gaming PC for ...250$!" I remember a video that Linus made using a few old Xeons which ran quite nicely (forgot the Xeon model)

[Radium_Angel]

Just now, Frandesktop said:

"Gaming PC for ...250$!"

Yes, by getting a pre-built HP system and upgrading to the max. Still don't think Maya will run for shit on those old systems, but YMMV.

Now moving up to 400-500$ starts to open all kinds of possibilities.

Still used, of course, but that price tag will put you in Ryzen territory.

 

[berberries]

3 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

 

These two things do not go together.

 

All the same, for 200$, buy a system on Craigslist, some desktop that no one wants anymore (at least around here they are all laptops for sale), or look in their parts section and buy a 4th gen Intel and board for 50$, ddr3 for 25$ and a video card for 75$ (GTX 970 era) and spend the rest on an SSD, 19" LCD (25$) keyboard and mouse, and go to town

i agree, 3d software and low prices do not go together. There's Good Cheap Fast, choose 2. Buy a complete used system, lowball someone with an i7-3770 or 4770 based system and then swap the gpu with something like a gtx 1050. That should run somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-400

[Frandesktop]

400-500$ is also acceptable, I guess I should've removed the 200$ part

You're saying that I better off actually building a rig from new components (Ryzen, etc) instead of building a zombie pc? I just wonder if you can make those old parts still kick today, for example, I think the i5-2500k overclocked would still do nicely.. or not? (The question is, will the 2500k perform better than a new generation product of the same price, this is why I want your experienced opinion)   I'm new to the world of Autodesk stuff I'm still using the basic options there

[Radium_Angel]

5 minutes ago, Frandesktop said:

i5-2500k overclocked would still do nicely.. or not?

Performance is highly subjective.

Case in point, I run twin Xeons with 20 cores and 40 threads. But I don't game much, so for my needs (photographer) it's perfect. I'm sporting a whopping GTX 660 2GB video card which is fine for LightRoom/PhotoShop, but kinda naff for modern games.

 

So whether an i5-2500k will work for you, or not, depends on what your expectations are 

[Frandesktop]

I guess my expectations are that it would run significantly better than my laptop with Intel i7-8550U and 8GB 2400Mhz DDR4 RAM and no GPU. (And I also edited the main post for that, you're right, I should have provided a system to compare to)

[Radium_Angel]

19 minutes ago, Frandesktop said:

I guess my expectations are that it would run significantly better than my laptop with Intel i7-8550U and 8GB 2400Mhz DDR4 RAM and no GPU. (And I also edited the main post for that, you're right, I should have provided a system to compare to)

Ok,

 

Let's do this: I dunno where you are, but I'd look at CraigsList if you have one, and look for a GTX 970, then compare to a (USA-only, assuming you are in the USA) GTX 970 from eBay and see what you could reasonably expect to pay for a used one.

Once you have the video card in mind, we can move on to other options.

 

Also, what games do you want to play

[Frandesktop]

I'm not from the US, I don't have CraigsList, sorry for that, updated the topic again! but eBay and Amazon should work

[Radium_Angel]

In addition, assuming you are in the USA, I have a free AMD Ryzen 3 2200g and 8GB DDR4 I can ship to you, to get you started, if you wish to go the Ryzen route (this offer is for you only, others reading this post are not valid)

It's not a super duper CPU, but a nice AMD board should set you back around 80$, and I can throw in a pair of 120GB SSDs to help too.

 

EDIT:

 

Ok, not from USA, then you pay for shipping and boxes, etc. Offer still stands

 

EDIT 2:

 

www.pcpartpicker.com might help you as well

 

EDIT 3: (typos, because I'm braindead today)

[Frandesktop]

 I didn't expect that. Thank you! I just don't want to be taking free stuff if it's not really necessary or cause a hassle for you. Do you think this is going to be better than my i7-8550u?