PC I'm building Opinions Welcome

Forums › Desktop computing › PC I'm building Opinions Welcome

DrCrumbulu

9 posts

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#67552 3-Sep-2010 13:25

Hey all I'm building a new PC and have done a fare bit of reading and searching and come up with this setup, just looking to get peoples opinions before I hand over the cash for it

CPU

AMD Phenom II Quad Core 955 Socket      PBTECH Hamilton                $219.38

http://www.pbtechnz.com/?item=CPUAMD9955

OS

Win 7 64bit                             Notebook City                                    $166.42

http://www.notebookcity.co.nz/microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-64bit-oem

Video Card

Asus HD5670 1GB GDDR5                   MightyApe                               $205.99

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Asus-HD5670-1GB-GDDR5-PCIE20-Video-Card/4443352/

Motherboard

Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 (USB3,DDR3,SATA 6Gb/s)   MightyApe             $213.99

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Gigabyte-GA-870A-UD3-AMD-870-SB850-ATX-Socket-AM3-DDR3-1866-RAID-USB30-SATA3-1394-Motherboard/8145157/

Wireless Card

Asus PCE-N13 802.11 b/g/n               MightyApe                               $63.99

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Asus-PCE-N13-80211-bgn-Wireless-PCI-Express-Adapter-Low-Profile-Bracket-Support/8145094/

RAM

Crucial DDR3 PC10600/1333MHz CL9 2x2GBi                $161.10

www.ITD.co.nz

DVD Drive                                PBTECH Hamilton                             $59

LiteOn 24X SATA DVD Writer

http://www.pbtechnz.com/?item=DVWLIT2491

HDD                                        PBTECH Hamilton                             $99

WD Black Edition 500GB 32MB SATA

http://www.pbtechnz.com/?item=HDDWD1511

Case and Power Supply (Undecided)

It comes to $1188.87 , I don't want too spend much more but all opinions are welcome.

Ragnor

8279 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 585

Trusted

#376411 4-Sep-2010 02:27

If you intend to play modern games on this Starcraft II etc I'd up the video card to an Nvidia GTX 460 or Radeon 5770

I'd probably go for a 1TB Samsumg F3 HDD (I find 500GB too small these days) but you can always add more space later so take it as you will.

Otherwise looks good.

Lots of options for case and psu, I'm really happy with the Antec and Corsair ranges.. highly recommend those.

Also it's worth getting a quote from Playtech and Computer Lounge for all the parts they will often price match.

Real physical store, proven history, great service and support... no questions asked if something is faulty or goes wrong can't be beaten vs buying from the random etailers who are cheapest on pricespy with no real store running out of their mums basement who won't exist in a year or two's time.

CL have an active PC Build Forum here where you can get quickly and easy get a quote for a customer special from revo
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/forum/Default.aspx?g=topics&f=36

DrCrumbulu

9 posts

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#376599 4-Sep-2010 15:03

Cheers for the reply, yeah I agree with buying from places you trust but I've brought things of all the places I've listed ,not just doing the whole pricespy thing. Ideally I'd get everything thing from PBTech Hamilton, I'm from Hamilton and they have a nice big physical store I go to a fare bit. I'll look at computer lounge and playtech though cheers for that.
After a little bit of though I've decided to cut down the cost of the PC I'm making a fare bit. $1188.87 is before PSU/Case/Monitor, I want to get a nice big Monitor, also when it comes to games I'm a console guy anyway, so gaming isn't a priority. Heres my new setup I'm considering.

Video Card Undecided (I only want to spend around $100, Gaming isn't a big issue)

What specific Case/PSU would you reccomend?

Ram
Kingston ValueRam 2GB 1333MHz DDR3 10+ $85.00+GST ($95.63incl.)

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit - OEM Version $164.04

HDD
WD 500GB 7200rpm SATA 16MB 10+ $69.00+GST ($77.63incl.) (Also getting an external 1TB for movies etc)

DVD
LG GH22LS50 22x SATA Black LS 10+ $49.00+GST ($55.13incl.)

WIFI
Asus PCE-N13 802.11 b/g/n $63.99

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Asus-PCE-N13-80211-bgn-Wireless-PCI-Express-Adapter-Low-Profile-B.../

CPU
http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/AMD-Athlon-II-X2-255-Processor-31GHz-2MB-Cache/4443543/
$115.99

Motherboard
http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Asus-M4N68T-M-AMD-Socket-AM3-Motherboard/4443174/
$93.99

That comes to $666.4 (before case/psu/video card)

Wilstar

71 posts

Master Geek

#376773 5-Sep-2010 08:44

You really do get what you pay for though, why not get a good motherboard with intergrated graphics then add a decent graphics card down the track. Spending money on the motherboard is worth it if you expect to upgrade.

DrCrumbulu

9 posts

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#376855 5-Sep-2010 12:54

The $94 mobo price tag does seem very cheap but it is an AM3 socket (meaning it can upgrade to Phenom II X6) and DDR3 though and that's what matters. Sata 6Gb/s and USB3 aren't really important. Does the fact it has a 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector instead of an 8 pin matter? I'm not 100% with what they do exactly. Yeah I danno about integrated graphics they have such a bad rep,even a 512mb DDR3 video card would be significantly faster right?. What AMD mobo around the $150 mark would you go for?

Wilstar

71 posts

Master Geek

#377065 6-Sep-2010 09:38

You said above that gaming wasn't a priority, does this mean that the pc might still be used for games sometimes?
Integrated graphics are capable of HD playback and basic photoshopping and the like. If you're not playing games or graphic intensive software, then you have little need for 'faster' graphics.
I can't recommend a mainboard at this time as I'm not as well read now as I was 6 months ago.

Lias

5655 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3978

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#377072 6-Sep-2010 10:00

Have you considered just buying one of PBTech's pre assembled system ?

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup. Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Mighty Ape

Shop now at Mighty Ape (affiliate link).

powerforce

162 posts

Master Geek

#377136 6-Sep-2010 14:33

good choice going for the value ram to save some $.

I reaslise you want to keep the cost down but think you would be better off going with the first processor you mentioned (the X4)
you dont want to go building a whole new system to find the CPU is not up to par for the sake of saving a mere $75.

Its the heart of your PC, it can/will make or break your system. In the scheme of things $75 is a very small price to pay for the extra future proofness and power it will offer you.

DrCrumbulu

9 posts

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#377951 8-Sep-2010 17:55

Lias: Have you considered just buying one of PBTech's pre assembled system ?

I've been looking forward to doing it myself.

powerforce: good choice going for the value ram to save some $.

I reaslise you want to keep the cost down but think you would be better off going with the first processor you mentioned (the X4)
you dont want to go building a whole new system to find the CPU is not up to par for the sake of saving a mere $75.

Its the heart of your PC, it can/will make or break your system. In the scheme of things $75 is a very small price to pay for the extra future proofness and power it will offer you.

Your'e probably right but I think my eyes where bigger than my wallet and I will need to tone it down. I've changed the setup again though, I'll be getting a Pentium Dual Core E6500 processor.
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42805&processor=E6500&spec-codes=SLGUH
It came out late last year which sounds old but I've looked at some benchmarks and it actually out performs a dual core Phenom II i was considering and of course the Athlon II X2 i mentioned.

Pentium Dual Core E6500 Benchmark
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Pentium+Dual-Core+E6500+%40+2.93GHz

AMD Phenom II X2 550 Benchmark
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X2+550

Athlon II X2 255 Benchmark
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+II+X2+255

It also means i can get a motherboard with an LGA775 socket (instead of the more expensive motherboard socket needed for i3,i5,i7 processors)
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3248#ov

It's still DDR3 , this setup definitly is'nt as cool as my first post but it leaves more money for my video card, and monitor which is more important to me. Haven't decided on my video card it'll depend what my bank account looks like.

Then the DVD, HDD I've already mentioned.

I've decided on a Gigabyte Luxo M1000 case and Cooler Master 500W PSU too, managed to not give in to the temptation of getting any cheap questionable brands but still have an solid affordable pc, I'm pretty happy with it, opinions welcome.

DrCrumbulu

9 posts

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#380592 16-Sep-2010 12:15

Well I've finally made a final decision and brought most of it, totally blew my budget.

Brought

Motherboard
Asus M4A87TD/USB3 (DDR3, SATA 6Gb/s , USB 3, Crossfire Compatible)

Cas/PSU/Fans
Coolermaster Gladiator 600 , 500W CoolerMaster PSU , and additional CoolerMaster fans.

Video Card
Sapphire HD5670 GDDR5 1GB
http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?psn=0001&pid=310

RAM
2GB Kingston Value ram

HDD
1TB Western Digital Black Caviar 6GB/s

TPLink WiFi PCI card

DrCrumbulu

9 posts

Wannabe Geek
Inactive user

#380624 16-Sep-2010 13:18

HDD
1TB Western Digital Black Caviar 6Gb/s (hate it when people make that mistake)

CPU
AMD PhenomII X4 QC 925 2.8GHz