[TCPLemminks]

Hey guys,

So I've decided to build a new PC from scratch here in Brisbane, Aus.
However I have one problem. Aside from opening a PC to install a graphics card I have no idea what I need in a PC.

So I ask you, friends, to help me on my quest to build a PC so that I may rejoin my fellow Brotoss's in exploiting the latest patches.

I'm looking for the budget to be under $2000, and for the computer to be able to run current gen games. I prefer the cost to be $1,500 ± $350

Parts I need

• Processor (i7 2600k, i5-2500K, i7 2600, i5 2500)
• Motherboard (Asus P8Z68, P67, GB Z68XP-UD3)
• Graphics card (GTX 570/Radeon HD 6970 or better, Gigabyte GTX 570, 560ti 448 special edition)
• Sound card (ASUS Xonar DG Sound Card, ASUS Xonar DS PCI Sound Card, Creative PCI-E X-FI Xtreme Audio)
• SSD (Intel 320 Series 120GB SSD, OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD, Intel 520 Series 120GB SSD, Corsair Force 3 120GB SSD, Crucial m4, Corsair Force SATA3 Series 60GB 2.5 SSD )
• Hard Drive (1tb HDD, Seagate 2TB SATA HDD, Seagate SATA3 1TB 7200RPM 64mb Cache, WD 3.5" Blue 1TB WD10EALX SATA3 32M 7200rpm, WD BLUE 1tb RAID 0)
• RAM (8GB RAM, G.skill 8G Ripjaw 1333, G.Skill Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL, 1333 G-Skill Ripjaws-X)
• DVD Drive (LGE BluRay Combo, 24x CD/DVD +RW /-RW drive, )
• Case (Coolermaster 922M, Thermaltake Chaser MK-I, Overseer RX-I, NZXT Hush H2 Classic Silent Black, Corsair 600T)
• Monitor (22" LCD, anything from Dell, Ultrasharps Dell)
• Cooler (Noctua NH-D14 PWM Cooler, , Corsair H50, Tt FRIO OCK Cooler, Corsair H100, Corsair H80)
• Speakers (Altec Lansing VS2621. )
• PSU (Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775w, Thermaltake EVO Blue 750Watt APFC Gaming PSU, Corsair TX-750 V2 750W ATX Power, Corsair HX750)

Places to get them: Umart, MSY,

Current build

• Processor: i5 2500K ($229)
• Motherboard: Asrock Z77-PRO3 ($119)
• Graphics card: Gigabyte GTX 670 ($515)
• Sound card:On board is good enough since the Z77 extreme4 has Realtek
  ALC892 (Comparison)
• SSD: Intel SSD-330 Series 120GB ($152)
• Hard drive: WD 3.5" Blue 1TB WD10EALX SATA3 32M 7200rpm HDD ($99)
• Ram: G Skill 8G(2x4G) DDR3 1600Mhz PC12800 RL 9-9-9-24(CL9D-8GBRL) ($59)
• DVD Drive: LGE BluRay Combo ($54)
• Case: Coolermaster 922M ($118)
• Monitor: DellTM ST2220L ($135 (sale))
• Speakers: Altec Lansing VS2621 2.1 ($42)
• PSU: Antec HCG 520 ($79)
• Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO w Transparent 12cm ($39)
• Mechanical Keyboard: Leopold FC500R (Cherry Brown switches)($109 + $10 insurance)

Current cost: $1759 + $12 Shipping = $1,771

Recommended completed PCs: INTEL 2600K Gaming PC

P.S. I would also appreciate it if you recommend me certain brands/models for each part, as well as places near Brisbane or online where I can get them.

[TAminimat]

Im on the case.

Quick Comments

	[TA]LoSt:	lol'd
	TCPKiaSu:	LOL
	IcedTea:	I see what you did there.
	TCPLemminks:	Thou expolits in the field are well documented^^
	TheGentleman:	lol

[nicknack]

Originally Posted by TCPLemminks

• CPU (probably don't need Quad core)

Places to get them: Umart, MSY,

P.S. I would also appreciate it if you recommend me certain brands/models for each part.

Everything is quad-core these days
Intel or AMD?
Do you need a case?

Something like this would be fine, http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/...9.html?sort=2a

[[TA]LoSt]

Bro, for 2k you can get a TOP of the range PC, and you'll definitely want a quad-core. You can even chuck in an SSD with that budget and your PC will be beast. ^_^

I'll let the smart people give you specifics, but aim for
An i7 of some kind
GTX 570/Radeon HD 6970 or better, you could maybe even get two depending on your other specs
Don't know about sound cards.
Get a 60/120gb SSD as well as a 1tb HDD. The 1tb HDD doesn't cost much more than like 250gb so it's definitely worth it for the extra space, and the SSD speed is noticeable.
Just get 8GB RAM, it's easily within your budget and it's better to get 8GB as in the long run newer games will still run even when your PC is getting old.

EDIT: If you build it yourself you can get it for even cheaper, therefore you can buy an extra monitor etc. as 2+ monitors is always useful. Man with that budget you can even throw in gaming mouse/keyboard/headset. :P

EDIT2: Since nicknack posted a complete suggestion, I'll do one as well. It's from an online ebay store but I got my computer from them and I can definitely vouch for speed/service/helpfulness if you have any problems. For your budget, I'd suggest this computer with some upgrades: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/INTEL-Cor...t_11046wt_1397

* You can upgrade the cooling fan/heatsink if you wish, but I don't think its necessary, my computer doesn't really overheat with similar specs.
* Upgrade to P67 or Z68 Motherboard (+$39)
* Extra 60/120gb SSD (+$109/$189)
* Extra 22" LCD (+$139)

End PC:
i7 2600k @ 3.4GHz (able to be overclocked)
GTX 580 Graphics Card
8GB RAM
120gb SSD + 1tb HDD
22" LCD Monitor (the extra one assuming you already have one)
Z68 Motherboard
24x CD/DVD +RW /-RW drive (24x Dual Layer DVD burner)
Onboard 7.1 CH High Definition Audio

Total Cost: $1696, so you can still afford a liquid cooler if that's what you're after.

Above is just a suggestion of a recommended setup for your budget, you can find it cheaper if you wish to buy the parts yourself but anything worse than the above setup and you're being ripped off. GL

Quick Comments

TCPLemminks:

[Churlz]

My brother is selling his PC its a beast you want to buy it 2nd hand I can get you the specs. Also he is selling his monitor which is like 26 inchs I THINK I will let you know.

[pX.ToRDarKnoob]

i built my computer can sc2 ultra 50 frames for 500$

[TCPLemminks]

whoops, perhaps my budget is a little too high, I'm sure my parents don't mind^^.

Would there be anything else that I need to add to the list of parts I need?

And yes I am planning to build it myself, that being said are there any good tutorials on building a PC online or anywhere?
However if someone does recommend me a good completed PC I might just be lazy and get that .

edit: Updated the OP with recommendations made by above guys (thx lost)

[breadfan]

Originally Posted by TCPLemminks

whoops, perhaps my budget is a little too high, I'm sure my parents don't mind^^.

Would there be anything else that I need to add to the list of parts I need?

And yes I am planning to build it myself, that being said are there any good tutorials on building a PC online or anywhere?

LoSt gave pretty good advice. Bear in mind software costs if you are buying it legally. - that will take it up. With that budget, here's some of my personal picks for you (this is what I'd get in your situation) - all from Umart

Hardware

• i7 2600k $315
• Asus P8Z68 $197
• G.skill 8G Ripjaw 1333 $48
• Gigabyte GTX 570 $369
• Noctua NH-D14 PWM Cooler $94
• LGE BluRay Combo $64
• Seagate 2TB SATA HDD $144
• *Intel 320 Series 120GB SSD $215
• **Coolermaster 922M $118

Total: $1564 w/ SSD
($1349 w/out SSD)

*SSDs I feel are optional and don't make that big of a difference for most of my gaming, but I don't play the real latest releases etc. also I go for a 2TB HDD coz I need space man - I'm a media fiend!. Sure SSDs are great, but there's a good chance you won't really need it depending what you're playing. For me, it's something I'd leave out of the initial build and maybe get one later down the track as an upgrade. Same for a 2nd video card (was disappointed that the improvement from SLI wasn't as big as I hoped)

**Don't know that the case will fit the Noctua cooler, I am going from memory but when I bought my Antec 902 it was a tossup between it and a Coolermaster that I think was the 922M. I regretted my decision of the Antec (which didn't fit most coolers). Do some research before choosing this please

Most of the time when it comes to brands for things like video cards and mother boards, I couldn't care less. Some people do. Adjust as you wish

Windows, you have options:
OEM
Home Premium 64bit OEM from Umart: $94 (look at the difference in versions, Home Premium is probably fine)
Full Version
Home Premium from Microsoft.com $299

I think when it comes to Operating System software, you're probably better off paying and not worrying about anti-piracy rubbish if you can find a cheap option. Even the expensive options are well within your budget.

Do whatever you want with Office

If you work or go to uni, it might be worth checking if they have any deal with microsoft. I've bought Office for $15 through a partnership program and Windows for like $100 through uni before)

I just buy my monitors from Dell.com because they are cheap and come with good Dell warranty, and I don't place much importance on having refresh rate <5ms. I have friends that do in which case, look for that

If you go with an SSD in your initital build, you'd spend $1564 on hardware, $94 on OEM windows leaving $312, which could go to your monitor. If you don't skimp on it, you'll use your budget. I'd go without the SSD to start with though, save some money, then add one later if/when you need

Quick Comments

TCPLemminks:

thx this is brill

[TCPLemminks]

Huge thanks to Breadfan, took a lot of his recommendations into my current build.

Updated the OP with a current build, also added speakers because I forgot about them X_X.

Are there any other parts that I need to build a computer? If not I'll go shopping about for prices tomorrow and tell you guys what I find

[AxS.Antel0pe]

hmm... you won't need an i7 if you're going to be gaming. you only need the i7 if you want multi thread rendering. get an i5 2500k and bump your gtx 570 to 580. or get like a corsair h100 for cooling .

Quick Comments

	NOM:	i have a 2500k soo good <3 If you want physics use a i7 but most people don't bother
	TCPLemminks:

[NOM]

awww yeaaaaaaaa

Altec Lansing VS2621
$42 bucks at u-mart & MSY
These are so nice. the bass is strong but not muddy and the speakers are really clear for the price.

Quick Comments

TCPLemminks:

These look sweet, pretty decent price too

[Crixx]

Pretty much everything above this post I can agree with ^_^.

One thing to consider though is that Ivy bridge is due for release at the end of april (month and a half away), so if you're not in a huge hurry it may be worth the wait.

Other than that, maybe upgrade those G.Skill ripjaws to the 1600Mhz model? I know RAM clock speed doesn't make a huge difference with sandy bridge, but the price difference is minimal and 1600 is pretty much the norm at the moment. And lastly, perhaps consider a better SSD. Read/write speed is ~250MB/s, whereas for a small price increase you can snag an SSD of the same capacity with a read/write speed of ~500MB/s. My suggestion would be this (or the Intel equivalent here).

Quick Comments

TCPLemminks:

[breadfan]

Originally Posted by Crixx

Pretty much everything above this post I can agree with ^_^.

One thing to consider though is that Ivy bridge is due for release at the end of april (month and a half away), so if you're not in a huge hurry it may be worth the wait.

Other than that, maybe upgrade those G.Skill ripjaws to the 1600Mhz model? I know RAM clock speed doesn't make a huge difference with sandy bridge, but the price difference is minimal and 1600 is pretty much the norm at the moment. And lastly, perhaps consider a better SSD. Read/write speed is ~250MB/s, whereas for a small price increase you can snag an SSD of the same capacity with a read/write speed of ~500MB/s. My suggestion would be this (or the Intel equivalent here).

I'm guessing he's not planning on overclocking his CPU therefore won't get any benefit from anything above 1333 (unless this changed with Sandy Bridge or will with Ivy Bridge, but to my knowledge standard un-overclocked core i7 won't utilise memory clock over 1333), so it's a redundant cost

Quick Comments

TCPLemminks:

[[TA]LoSt]

Originally Posted by Antelope

hmm... you won't need an i7 if you're going to be gaming. you only need the i7 if you want multi thread rendering. get an i5 2500k and bump your gtx 570 to 580. or get like a corsair h100 for cooling .

For his budget, he can afford to upgrade to a 580 without dropping to i5. Again, the difference is minimal and you personally won't notice it unless you're doing a lot of shit at once, but I'd recommend sticking with the i7 regardless. ^_^ Your current build is fine, really similar to the one I suggested and will be a beast PC.

Quick Comments

TCPLemminks:

[TCPLemminks]

Thx for the replies so far guys. I'm planning to go price shopping tomorrow at the umart and MSY near my place.

As a side note, I'm a complete noob at hardware (in case that isn't evident) so I'll most likely not be overclocking or making any other alterations unless you guys would advise it.

Quick Comments

NOM:

i won't be overclocking my rig till quite some time.

[TCPLemminks]

Right updated the OP with lowest prices I could find from MSY vs Umart and added a link to the model because I don't know if they're the ones you guys were talking about (there were so many ).

one dilemma I currently have is with the sound card. I also found this one and I'm not sure if it's better than the one I've chosen.

Also the speakers say 2.1-5.1 only, while the sound card is 7.1. Should I be worried about this? does this mean it's better to get a 5.1 sound card instead?

[VB_WhiplashJC]

I don't know if that's an issue (I doubt it), but Whirlpool recommends the DG, which is 5.1 so it isn't an issue.

Review

If any dedicated sound card makes a difference vs onboard depends on what you listen to, the speakers you use, and yourself.

Quick Comments

TCPLemminks:

Thx for recommendation

[Cordance]

Originally Posted by TCPLemminks

Also the speakers say 2.1-5.1 only, while the sound card is 7.1. Should I be worried about this? does this mean it's better to get a 5.1 sound card instead?

7.1 sound has 7.1 out ports (the .1 is the sub). The set up is then 1 under or above the viewed object and Front left/right, center left/right and rear left/right. If you only have 5.1 sound you simply dont use the 2 center channels. 2.1 sound does not have rear or 1 at the object. Basically number of speakers determine how many channels you can use.
Long and short of it you will have out put you dont have enough speakers to plug into all the ports. How ever if you get more speakers later you can use them perhaps. Some speakers will come with an amp like set up so they only have a front rear cable you plug in via the sub woofer as in you will need a new set up to make use of all your sound card can do. I think the price difference is about $30 so I would just get the 7.1 sound card.

Quick Comments

TCPLemminks:

thx for clarifying

[AxS.Antel0pe]

you don't need an i7 2600K if you're not overclocking, get the i7 2600. The only difference is the overclocking. BUT you might want to keep the i7 2600k if you want to overclock later when it might be neccesary.

Quick Comments

	breadfan:	I didn't realise this, but looked it up and you're absolutely right
	TCPLemminks:	Thx for saving me $22, which in today's economy roughly translates to 1 up rep :3

[TCPLemminks]

Thx for the answers so far guys. Just calculated all my parts in and it came up to $1683.

Any recommendations on getting this around $1500 (+/- $50).