What if I understand nothing? Making/buying a rig
#1
Hello all,

So, here is the thing: I just started learning PT beside my actual study (medicine) and find it very interesting. I made/grabbed different types of hashes and now would like to see them cracked and after research it turned out that hashcat is the best option. However, my laptop is so slow and I need a faster computer so I thought I will go for a cracking rig, since cracking is why I decided to buy it for! However, I know literally nothing about hardware. I tried to grasp things but the deeper I get the more complicated it seems with all this stuff of cooling and speeds. I learned, however, that I should not buy a gaming PC. I wanted to buy a rig from sagitta but their prices are way too much for me. I only have around 3000$. BTW: I live in Europe at the moment. 

My question is, how can I get started? Could you please help me here? Basically I want to focus on cracking NetNTLM2 after converting it using this script: https://github.com/ins1gn1a/NetNTLM2Hash...hashcat.py

I know all of you hate it when people ask and seem like they are not willing to read themselves, I tried! But how can I determine which size do I need? What CPU is best used in combination with GPU in my price range? Cooling? Right case? Power [it is paid by someone else but Jeremi said to take into consideration because of heat]? SSD or HDD? And many other aspects that a newbie like me will probably not take into consideration and waste the money, that's why I am asking! Normally the answer is: it depends. So here I will try to list some information:

Budget: around 3000$ 
Purpose: only cracking
Type of hashes: NetNTLMv1 converted from NetNTLM2 using the aforementioned tool, might hack other types later
Multiple or single: Single
Power: not paid by me, idc.
Heat: My apartment is normally around 24C thanks to central heating system
Have I ever collected a PC? Never. always bought it assembled. I would take it to a shop to assemble it unless I figure it is easy.

Others: every two/three months I can afford to buy additional GPU (around 600$) and would like to do so. Thus, probably I will have to buy a big case from the beginning and a very good cooling system that can be upgraded also?

Thanks in advance and forgive my noobiness.
#2
I have recommended this in the past as a nice barebones system: https://www.supermicro.com/products/syst...8GR-TR.cfm
For about $3k USD without the GPUs, you can spec it out with a nice set of dual Xeons, 32GB RAM, redundant power supplies, and a couple of SATA HDDs in a RAID (you could always add more RAM and HDDs later if needed), and it comes pre built for you. And it houses up to 4 founders edition cards.
As for GPUs, I would recommend the GTX1080FE or 1070FE. The 1080Ti I believe has just been confirmed to be coming from Nvidia, but no idea when.
One thing I would recommend, if possible, is if you are able plug each power supply into different wall outlets that are not on the same circuit. If you are on 220, it should be very efficient compared to 110 but you wouldn't want to overload any power outlets at your apartment.