Hi, some friends and I are going to be developing a 3D open world RPG.
We're pretty intelligent guys, but my computer sucks so I can't render certain things and when it comes to debugging, my computer would just die. That being said, I'm wanting to build a PC that can handle said features and rigors of game design. For those of you that are not familiar, developing a game is by FAR more resource intensive than any game you've ever played or will play, so I'd love to hear some advice on what to get.

Let's assume budget isn't an issue; I just want to see how much this will cost me.  

It's easier when you decide on a budget rather than leaving that open-ended. Beyond $800 and $1000 is when you start to see diminishing returns.

Based on what you've described you really don't need to deviate much if at all from a regular gaming PC build.  

quadro card??  

tell me where u live, ill send u one i have like 4 computers  

Chicago, IL. I'll give you the PO box if you're serious.  

Ok.

I am very serious.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/12/11/e2b0cd7914f23cfce04676bfe43bd98e.jpg (Unsupported image host) CyberPowerPC. Sounds good?  

Yeah man sounds legit  

Yep, send your P.O box  

Man sounding a bit suss here  

Ill have u some tips:
●for CPU,u should try i7~3.0GHz if ur very very VERY serious about ur rpg game and thinking of expanding it later.Otherwise go with i5 3.4GHz...AMDs 'APU's are also good but intel surpasses.
●for the GPU,any GTX card would work.keep in mind that it should have DDR5 and at least 2Gigs or higher.
●for the RAM,not below 4Gbs... 8GBs would be enough i think.should handle the rendering decently.
●Dont let ur system heat up...EVER!... as rendering and the AA needs loads of Working power and would increase ur rigs. Temp eventually.keep it away from dust and clean it regularly.i clean my PC almost every 15 days.
hope this helps.  

Newer 3.5GHz CPU, 8GB RAM, Radeon R9 2xx series GPU and you should be set, get some comparable parts and ther you have it. No time to go into detail right neow  

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/
Go crazy. Mainly focus on getting a good CPU.  

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7YhPhM
Here xD  

Posted by fp4

Beyond $800 and $1000 is when you start to see diminishing returns.

How noticable would you say the difference is in a rig that has a budget of $1000 dollars compared to a rig with a budget of $1200 dollars, for example. How much longer would it stay relevant assuming hardware developement continues like it has been?  

Posted by Imprint

How noticable would you say the difference is in a rig that has a budget of $1000 dollars compared to a rig with a budget of $1200 dollars, for example. How much longer would it stay relevant assuming hardware developement continues like it has been?

Between $900 and $1200 you usually choosing between things like..

Overclocking, modular PSU, bigger SSD/HDDs, nicer case, slightly better GPU.

I.e.

$930~ -- http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dXBmRB
$1100~ -- http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QT99XL

If you buy mid/high-end in the CPU department you can usually get a good 4 years out of it before you consider replacing it. When you replace your CPU you usually include the motherboard and RAM with it.

GPUs are easily replaceable every couple years although not always necessary.

SSDs, HDDs, Case, Power Supply usually aren't replaced unless they fail or you need a bigger/different one.

Hardware staying relevant is entirely based on your needs/wants. Lots of people have no issue running 4-6 year old hardware because they only play games that aren't all that demanding.

If you want your build to feel fast all the time definitely get a SSD, they do wonders for making your computer feel like a clean install of Windows all the time.