Blender on a Teacher's Budget

[lee_mackey]

I'd love to get some feedback on this lower-end ($1500) Blender workstation. I'm a teacher and hobbyist, I teach coding to kids but recently started teaching them Blender too. We're working on Ryzen 3 laptops w/8 GB so it won't be hard to see some major improvement

CGDirector.com Parts List: https://www.cgdirector.com/pc-builder/?=6NZjL

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 4.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($349.00)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 ($89.90)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650-P WIFI ATX AM5 ($188.26)
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3070 8GB - MSI Gaming X Trio ($339.99)
Memory: 64GB (2x32GB) TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan DDR5-5200 CL40 ($143.99)
Storage PCIe-SSD: Crucial P5 Plus 2TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive ($97.99)
Power Supply: Seasonic Focus GM-650, 650W 80+ Gold Power Supply ($128.64)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($125.99)
Total: $1463.76

**The main problem with this build is that the GPU linked here is pulling a USED card from Amazon, which I don't want.** A search for this card ("RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio") at Amazon shows a retail price of $499. How about swapping out the RTX 3070 for a 3060 Ti? There are many different versions of this card but it's generally around $350.

On the low-budget front, I'm considering dropping RAM down to 32 GB, and the SSD down to 1 TB to save $100 total. (I have an extra 500 GB SSD that I'm going to use for the OS.)

Finally, although the price checks link to Amazon as a vendor, are there any advantages (e.g. price) to be gained by using a custom PC builder instead of a general retail vendor like Amazon? Thanks for the great site!

 

[Jerry James]

How about swapping out the RTX 3070 for a 3060 Ti?

Yep, that's perfect. Also, try looking for an RTX 4060 Ti at around that price if you can find one. It's a good pick for Blender.

On the low-budget front, I'm considering dropping RAM down to 32 GB, and the SSD down to 1 TB to save $100 total. (I have an extra 500 GB SSD that I'm going to use for the OS.)

Yep, this is a good tweak as well. Go for it.

are there any advantages (e.g. price) to be gained by using a custom PC builder instead of a general retail vendor like Amazon?

The advantage would just be convenience. But if you can build your own machine, it'll be cheaper to get more powerful hardware compared to what most system integrators would offer. We have several guides on how to build your own, including a step-by-step guide (if you decide to build yourself)

CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 ($89.90)

Switch out this cooler for a Thermalright Phantom Spirit instead. Can save some money there without losing any cooling performance.

 

[lee_mackey]

Thank you Jerry! I think I'll go ahead and pull the trigger.

 

[lee_mackey]

Just want to follow up on this. I put together my first build thanks in large part to the information gathered here. My rig is working great for Blender! I installed Debian Linux for maximum speed (and to save on Windows licensing ). There was a little extra work to get the Nvidia drivers and CUDA/Optix support working in Linux, but not too bad. Final build:

cpu: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
mobo: Asrock B650 PG Lightning
gpu: MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
ram: 32GB (2x16GB) TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan DDR5-5200
storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1TB NVMe M.2
cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120
psu: Seasonic Focus GM-650
case: be quiet! Pure Base 600 Black

Final price tag was a mere $1,054. Way under budget.
THANKS GUYS!
** SUPER HELPFUL SITE **

 

[Jerry James]

Just want to follow up on this. I put together my first build thanks in large part to the information gathered here. My rig is working great for Blender! I installed Debian Linux for maximum speed (and to save on Windows licensing ). There was a little extra work to get the Nvidia drivers and CUDA/Optix support working in Linux, but not too bad. Final build:

cpu: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
mobo: Asrock B650 PG Lightning
gpu: MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
ram: 32GB (2x16GB) TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan DDR5-5200
storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1TB NVMe M.2
cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120
psu: Seasonic Focus GM-650
case: be quiet! Pure Base 600 Black

Final price tag was a mere $1,054. Way under budget.
THANKS GUYS!
** SUPER HELPFUL SITE **

That's awesome to hear! The build should last you quite a while

Happy...Blending?