If you are really interested, and willing to spend the time, you can get utterly fabulous perf/$ You can google the specifics, but you can build a powerful and

If you are really interested, and willing to spend the time, you can get utterly fabulous perf/$ You can google the specifics, but you can build a powerful and stable system for about 300-400 dollars (a WHOLE system, including a CUDA compatible GPU, not just the GPU) ALL of the following parts can be purchased from ebay(The minimums are taken from actual lists I've taken down while writing this post. There might be some errors - you have been warned, so don't blindly hit purchase if you're not sure. So if anyone has the patience please correct me) {{Stuff}} are alternatives CPU: Xeon - $12 - $50 Motherboard: $35-$60 RAM (24 gigs): $35-$50 Power supply: $40-$60 (don't skimp on this. Buy namebrand. Trust me on this one.) Case: $34-$80 (Funny how this might cost more than any of the other parts I've listed until now. Protip - I made builds without a case, so this is optional, if you want to save $50 and buy a little bit better parts.) GPU: GTX 1050 :$110-$120 (brand new!) {{GTX 970 : $160-$180}} HDD 320GB: $20 {{HDD 1TB: $40 SSD 128GB: $41}} So adding up all the minimum prices minus case and including GPU: It's around $250. I don't think you can buy a good phone for around that price (Nexus 5x goes for around $270) The above build price minimums are pretty absolute (with links below as proof) but I'd suggest spending around $250 for everything minus the GPU, since some parts might bottleneck performance of the GPU if you're handling lots of data. A single processor Xeon which doesn't have problems (google processor model number to see if there are any) with Ubuntu server 16.04.1 would be rock solid. Don't ever listen to ANYONE saying install arch linux,centos, etc. The community + commercial recognition of Ubuntu for LTS version is unparalleled. (Redhat/Centos beats Ubuntu in commercial support but regular community support on stackoverflow and debugging using google? Ubuntu's for you) Once you get comfortable with your device, get comfortable with Ubuntu (Install Xubuntu-desktop if you want to attach a physical keyboard+mouse), then get the GPU when you think you are almost ready to handle coding for CUDA and linux tools. Links for verification here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-Match-Pair-E5620-Quad-Core-CPU-2-40Ghz-12M-5-86-GT-s-SLBV4-LGA1366-/222355437700?hash=item33c56ab884:g:eJMAAOSw-0xYO7Qe http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-Match-Pair-E5620-Quad-Cor... http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-01012MT00-000-G-N83VF-Server-Motherboard-Intel-2x-LGA-1366-DDR3-B2159-/232165101037?hash=item360e1e4ded http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-01012MT00-000-G-N83VF-Server-Mo... http://www.ebay.com/itm/EVGA-80-PLUS-600W-ATX-12V-EPS-12V-Power-Supply-Black-CERTIFIED-REFURBISHED-/381585246566?hash=item58d840c966:g:OWkAAOSwyjBW7VVL http://www.ebay.com/itm/EVGA-80-PLUS-600W-ATX-12V-EPS-12V-Po... http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIVO-ATX-Mid-Tower-Computer-Gaming-PC-Case-Black-4-Fan-Mounts-USB-3-0-Port-/381324925710?hash=item58c8bc9b0e:g:6ooAAOSwT5tWHw0A http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIVO-ATX-Mid-Tower-Computer-Gaming-P... http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-GeForce-GTX-1050-DirectX-12-GTX-1050-2G-OC-2GB-128-Bit-GDDR5-PCI-Express-3-0-/302169753448?hash=item465ab88768:g:fmgAAOSwux5YVpkl http://www.ebay.com/itm/MSI-GeForce-GTX-1050-DirectX-12-GTX-... http://www.ebay.com/itm/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-970-04G-P4-2978-KR-4GB-FTW-GAMING-w-ACX-2-0-/332112724147?hash=item4d537600b3:g:F0EAAOSwo4pYk~hd http://www.ebay.com/itm/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-970-04G-P4-2978-KR-... PS: Here's a recent post that's a great read. I suggest checking out the comments too: https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/5r1zg2/plex_server_build_recommendation_350_12core_24/ https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/5r1zg2/plex_server_bu...