Help a beginner build a Gaming PC

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Marundanation

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Hello,

Before I ask, I am new to this site and I am not an educated person in terms of hardware, though I have experience studying software for 4-5 years in high school. However I would not understand the different jargons or names such as “Radeon 7000 series” or “2GB vRam” but I am more than happy to learn more about PC hardware.

Sorry if this thread already exists but I would like some advice of building a Gaming PC, more specifically a PC that cost less than $700 Australian Dollars that can output 1080p and 60FPS. I have been a console gamer since the original Xbox and the PS3, I am stuck at sub-720p and 30FPS ever since. Because of the new games demanding powerful hardware I was considering buying a PS4 ($550 AUD), but as I find out the next-gen home consoles are considered mid-range or even entry-level hardware (eg laptops) and will soon be stuck at 30FPS and be disappointed again at the advancement of PC hardware but what is stopping me from buying a PC in the first place is I easily get discourage of price and shopping online which I have never done before outside of the PlayStation Store (and Dominoes Pizza), but I will now give it a shot.

First of all – Outside of graphic cards I really do not know what is required to build a PC!

To make things easier I would use BF4’s recommendation as a starting point:
http://bf4central.com/battlefield-4-system-requirements/
And peripheral devices such as monitor, speakers, etc is already covered and not included in $700.

As I am more familiar with AMD and Intel we will stick with that unless there are better options for me. As a newcomer I do not expect my PC to be outputting 1080p at 300FPS on BF4 Ultra setting, I am happy with Med-High range at 60-80FPS.

Secondly, do I have to pay for OS separately? Laptops already has the OS included, however I do not wish to own a laptop as I may want to make modification to my rig in the future. I will use Windows 7/8.

I would like some advice, lists of requirements, cost price, guides and links to help me, whose knowledge in hardware is limited, to build a PC. Also a thing to know is I will not build the PC myself, I will have a service to do it for me, which could be considered in the $700 unless it is free.

Checklist
Graphic Card - AMD ???
Sound Card - ???
Motherboard - ???
Hard Drive - ???
(This is all I know of and will be updated)

*If possible can we use Australian price and location/site as a priority. If not, please state the shipping cost, tax, etc.
*Just a note, consoles are highly optimised hardware, if I build a PC that has very similar specs to a console despite its flexibility PC is considered unoptimised machines as it relies on drivers and post-patches to able to run properly, if I cannot build a PC more powerful than consoles then there is no point as I will be hampered by performance issues.
[To moderators, sorry if this thread is in the wrong section of the forum]

Thank you for your assistance!
 
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mmedeiro

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Get yourself an i5 2500k $199, GTX 660ti $220 each, ASUS pci 8 x 8 motherboard $130, WD green 1tb HD $120, Antec 300 two case $60 and decent CPU cooler corsair h55 is sufficient $60, a 80gb SSD $120... $700 for 60 fps is a stretch. Get the PS4 unless youre willing to shill out at least $850 Usd to get 60fps.
 
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Marundanation

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Thanks for the advice. Can we also compare the specs of the next-gen console in a table?
For example:

Console
RAM: 8GB GDDR5
Graphic Card: AMD (?)
CPU: AMD (?)
Hard Drive: 500GB

Custom PC:
RAM:
GRaphic Card:
CPU:
Hard Drive:
Motherboard:
Cooler:
etc.
 
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Kurifox

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.00 @ PCCaseGear)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($39.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($72.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($219.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.00 @ PLE Computers)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $770.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-17 18:44 EST+1000)

A bit over budget, but definitly worth it.
I'll bet my hat that this build will run most next-gen games at med/high settings 60fps.
 
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Marundanation

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Thank you, thats very detailed. I will have to save $770 until November, we'll see how I do. I'll use your combination for now until there is a better solution.

EDIT: How much typically do PC workshops charge to build these PCs for you?
 
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Kurifox

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Oh i wasnt taking in acount the build part (mostly ppl here build it themselvs)
It depends but here were i live they chrge around 10 15% of the total part costs, depending on how much they can profit. So i cant tell you exactly
 
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Marundanation

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This may be over simplifying but how well would an Intel i5 + 7850 would do on Ultra Settings of recent games? (eg BioShock, Borderlands 2, Mass Effect 3, etc). According to the BF4 Alpha Ultra setting benchmark the i7 + 7850 on 1080p with HIGH anti-aliasing on average do 22 frames per second. I assume that on 720p (i5 + 7850) it can atleast do 30FPS on Ultra with some tweaking to AA and shadow resolution. If it does or comes close then I also assume it can do 60FPS on the games I mentioned earlier.
 
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Kurifox

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The 7850 being the equivelent of my 650ti bosst (if not mistaken) In those games i high/max settings i get 60fps no problem with my FX8350, the only game i havent maxed out so far is AC3.
7850 + i5 should be a beast for gaming.
 
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Kurifox

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The fx6300 is one of the best budget CPU out there, yes the intel is better, but FX6 has a better value.
In a real world performance there probably isnt much FPS drop in having an fx6300, maybe 10 15fps (depending on games, some games that take advantage of its 6cors may see FPS increse)

My advice is if you have the money go for the i5, if you want to save get an FX6300.
You will be well served either way.
 
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Marundanation

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Thank you for your suggestion. For now i5/FX6300 + 7850 is the best option value wise. I tried swapping the FX6300 for an i5 on the link you gave me (http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/1EJcx) to see the cost difference but the i5 is incompatible with the motherboard you have originally choosen, could you help me on which motherboard should be approperiate?

Is there any more combination you could think of within the $700-750 or less bracket. How well does the 7850 hold up with similar Nvidia cards out there? I haven't looked at the prices of GTX 480 and GTX 570 but would you recommend those too, value wise?
 
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Marundanation

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Ok I have finally come to a conclusion. But there is still some questions...

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 2GB
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory [I could go for 1333 Memory edition]
Storage: Toshiba 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive [I could go for 320GB or even less since I won't be using much space for the first 6 months, plus I already have external hard drives at home]
Power Supply: Anything that is 350W under $40
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer [alternatives around $20]
Case: Any, can have one for $15 (Is it actually possible not to have a case at all?)
Motherboard <--- I need help with this one. I do not know how to narrow down a motherboard that is compatible with the parts I listed.
OS: I really do not want to dish out $100 just to have Windows, there must be somewhere cheaper or even free. I'm not sure but if you bought Windows on disc, is it legal to install it on all of your computers at home?
 
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Kurifox

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Ok for the MOBO get an asus m5a97 evo r2.0 its around 70 75$ and is a very good price for a mobo.
Has 2x 3.0 + 4x usb ports
4ram slots
Goes up to 32gb
If you have a copy of windows i am almost certain you can do what ever you want with it, and instal it in whatever machines you want.
 
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Marundanation

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That MOBO on average costs $130 but I still have to keep digging until there is a shop that sells it cheaper. The only thing I think I am missing out are network card and sound card. Do I need those?
 
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Kurifox

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The only reason you ever need a sound card is if you have an amazing sound system that can take advantage of it, if not forget about it.
And if the mobo doesnt come with a utp slot (it ussualy does i think?) You can buy a cheap card for 5$, anything works really.
 
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Marundanation

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EDIT: Does that mean the computer can already generate sounds? I didn't know that since I always assume in order to have graphic you need a GPU/CPU, I guess the same for audio.

Thank you for your assistance today, Kurifox.

I guess what I have to now is find the best places to buy these parts. I did some extremely quick Google search on each of these parts (ignoring bargin sites for now) and came in conclusion that all of these (excluding the OS) costs ~$760. Once I have the time to dig in the internet tomorrow I might cut the cost by $30 then I am ready for some Christmas shopping. I however question my Storage and Optical Drive if they are even any good but it will suffice for now.

Thank you again, after finalising the price tomorrow I might conclude this thread.
 
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Kurifox

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Np, anytime and Good luck.
 
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Marundanation

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Ok here is my shopping list (mostly from Amazon):

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS M5A97 R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard, Windows 8 READY [$88]
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-M5A97-R2-0-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B008V9959O/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379460559&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+m5a97+r2.0+windows


CPU: AMD AM3+ x8 FX-8350 4.0Ghz/8Core/16M/125W [$180]
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009O7YUF6/?tag=pcpapi-20

GPU: AMD Gigabyte GV-R785OC-2GD 2GB 7850 PCI-E VGA Card [$180]
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-mini-Displayport-PCI-Express-Graphic-GV-R785OC-2GD/dp/B007PJTNYS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379459987&sr=1-1&keywords=AMD+Gigabyte+GV-R785OC-2GD+2GB+7850+PCI-E+VGA

MEMORY (RAM): 8GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz CL11 NT Series Desktop memory module [$67]
http://www.amazon.com/G-Skill-PC3-12800-1600MHz-Desktop-memory/dp/B009V55V68/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379460070&sr=1-1&keywords=G.Skill-NT+4GB+Single+DDR3+1600+F3-1600C11S-4GNT

STORAGE: Seagate Barracuda ES ST3500630NS - Hard drive - 500 GB - internal - 3.5" - SATA-300 - 7200 rpm - buffer: 16 MB [$41]
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-ES-ST3500630NS-internal/dp/B000R2GC08/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379460288&sr=1-4&keywords=3.5%22+Barracuda+500GB

POWER SUPPLY: Antec VP-450 450 Watt Energy Star Certified Power Supply [$38]
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-VP-450-Energy-Certified-Supply/dp/B004IZN3K2/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379460670&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Aerocool+VP450+450W

CASE (w/ PSU): SHAW GT-DF3 GT-Defence-Three USB3.0 Gaming Tower Case with EVO-775Max PSU [$37]
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=9806

Total: $631

Did I miss anything? I tested these on PCPartPicker so I guess they are all compatible. The price is $631 so I am abit skeptical, still needs some checking just in case. Not really sure what Case to get, I prefer a case that already has a PSU in it so I can drop the price of a seperate PSU. All of these are American prices, not sure what it will cost in AUD but it shouldn't be far off aslong the shipping fee is mininum.
 
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Marundanation

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Do I also need a cooler? Because I left that one out too.

Amazon does not ship to Australia, here is a new shopping list that is within my city.

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS M5A97-R2 970 AM3 DDR3 Motherboard, Windows 8 READY [$120]
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=9651

CPU: AMD AM3+ x8 FX-8350 4.0Ghz/8Core/16M/125W [$230]
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=9742

GPU: Sapphire SA-7870-2GD5-OC-V2 2GB 7870-OC PCI-E VGA [$225]
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=8937#

MEMORY (RAM): G.Skill-NT 4GB Single DDR3 1600 F3-1600C11S-4GNT [$41]
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=9823

STORAGE WD 3.5" WD5000AAKX "Blue" SATA3 500GB 7200rpm 16M Cache [$56]
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=7112

POWER SUPPLY: Aerocool VP450 450W True Power Supply Unit PSU [$50]
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=10873

*May drop Power Supply ^ for built in-PSU case.

CASE (w/ PSU): SHAW GT-DF3 GT-Defence-Three USB3.0 Gaming Tower Case with EVO-775Max PSU [$37]
http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=9806

Total: ~$750
 
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Kurifox

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I recommend a cooler, its not like you need one now since you are probably not overclocking, but i recommend one becouse the stock cooler that comes with the FX series is not very good, it runs very loud and mostly on full power.
And a good cooler increses the lifespan of your pc.
You can just order everything now, and buy a cooler couple weeks later from any local shop.
Just make sure, when you do buy it, that it will fit the case/mobo. I.E: Cooler master 212 evo.

Aerocool are BAD PSU'S DO NOT GET ONE, they are tier 4 psu's wich is the second lowest ranking.

For that system i recommend you spend more on th PSU, saving on the Power supply is the worst thing you can do.
I sugest you get a XFX, CORSAIR, ANTEC,SEASONIC , with at elast 600w for that system, trust me on this, you dont want a bad psu that will destroy yout system in a few weeks.
 
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Marundanation

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Ah I actually put the Corsair VS450 in the first place but I swapped it because I found something cheaper, so I guess I'll use the Corsair VS450 again. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/310710498777?lpid=87
Though I have to check if it can fit the motherboard, but I can always ask around shops to tell me what they recommend. I might even underclock the system just in case though not necessary.

Now lastly, is it true that my motherboard includes Windows 8 with it? If thats the case then I probably don't need to buy Windows.

Thank you for the tips.
 
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Kurifox

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If you are asking about "Windows 8 ready" it refers that the mobo suports windows 8 and NOT that it includes a copy.
You can buy a copy of w7 (i honestly dont like 8 as a personal preference) for around 80-100$
 
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Marundanation

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Hmm, I might try to get a copy of Windows 7 disc install from a friend who uninistalled it and has moved to Windows 8. There are also free official version of Windows from Microsoft themselves but I do not what disadvantages I might get, could just be free monthly trial, but I can always sort out these small isues afterwards. I think my dad still has Vista on disc somewhere but it will only utilise half the cores instead of the full 8 cores. But we'll see.
 
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