Hey everyone! Hope you guys have had a great festive season and New Year's.
I'm looking to build my second gaming rig at the beginning of February 2014, and have been researching parts for a couple of months now. Since I haven't built a gaming rig for a while (my last build was 2006!) I'm a bit out of the loop and therefore am sitting on the fence in regards to a few components. I'd love any advice, comments or tips on the build!
So here's how I'm thinking it'll roughly pan out:
Processor - Intel Core i5-4670K ($268AUD)
CPU cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO/212 X ($37/$39AUD)
- Preferably something that's low form here so it doesn't get in the way of my RAM or any other component.
Motherboard - MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming($259AUD)
OR
- ASUS Maximus VI Hero ($305)
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws-X\Ares\Sniper 8G Kit 2133Mhz. ($100\$100\$104AUD) OR
- G.Skill Ripjaws-Z 8G Kit 2400 Mhz ($109AD)
Graphics Card - Gigabyte OC Windforce Radeon R9-290 ($622 AUD)
OR
XFX Double dissipation Radeon R9-290 ($589 AUD or $599 AUD for the black edition)
OR
Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X OC 4GB ($579)
SSD - Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD ($105AUD)
OR
SanDisk SSD Ultraplus SATA3 128G ($95AUD)
OR
Sandisk Extreme II SATA3 120G ($129AUD)
Hard Drive - Western Digital Black 1TB 7200 RPM HDD ($95AUD)
Power Supply - Thermaltake SmartPower 80Plus Bronze 750W ($109AUD)
Case - No idea. Maybe one of the following:
- Corsair Carbide CC400R ($125AUD)
- Thermaltake A41 ($119AUD)
- I really just need a suggestion of a mid-full tower with good airflow, dust management and cable management for up to $125AUD
Optical - Don't worry about it I can figure this one out on my own. Probably a blu-ray drive from LG or Pioneer for about $50-70 AUD
TOTAL : Roughly $1600-$1700AUD
In order to help comments and any advice, here are my general usage and also details of the retailers I'll be purchasing my parts from.
1. MSY (http://www.msy.com.au) - I'll be hoping to buy most or all of my parts from here. If you don't mind, they have a parts pricelist on the front page of their website, and an online order page to check stock. Check out their parts.pdf to get an idea of Australian prices, and to see what products they offer.
2. PC Case Gear (http://www.pccasegear.com/)
I may consider getting my graphics card here, because they have 2 out of the 3 non-reference 290's in Australia that I've seen.
Before I go on, I apologise if I have inserted the links incorrectly. If all else fails just copy and paste the URL.
3. I'm wanting to play games like BF4, Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite etc on ultra settings with AA etc crancked up at 60FPS. I have pondered the 280x as a cheaper alternative (roughly $399AUD). The 280x has quite a few more non-reference models available in Australia. The reason I opted for the 290 is because I'm wanting a bit of future-proofing with this build (Yes, I know you can't "truly future-proof"). I may potentially put two 280x's in crossfire in the future. But I've seen non-reference cards that are "two-slot". Does this mean that if I buy one 280x that it will take up the adjoining slot and I won't be able to fit another in later?
4. Can I get some advice on open air cooling vs normal reference blower fans on graphics cards? I know blower fans exhaust the air out the back (still don't know how lol) where as open-air coolers dump hot air inside the case, thus making it harder for the case to manage heat levels.
5. I am wanting to do some mild overclocking on the i5-4670K. Probably up to around 4-4.2GHz is good enough for me. What's your take on the need for a CPU cooler here?
I'm open to any suggestions for parts that aren't listed here! I reaally just want the best build for around 1600-1700AUD. The only thing I probably won't budge on is the processor.
The parts I do need the most help with would be the motherboard, CPU cooler and case.
Sorry for all the questions!! If anything needs clarifying please comment on the thread and I'll do my best to be as informative as I can. Thanks in advance for advice, comments, tips.
Cheers!
I'm looking to build my second gaming rig at the beginning of February 2014, and have been researching parts for a couple of months now. Since I haven't built a gaming rig for a while (my last build was 2006!) I'm a bit out of the loop and therefore am sitting on the fence in regards to a few components. I'd love any advice, comments or tips on the build!
So here's how I'm thinking it'll roughly pan out:
Processor - Intel Core i5-4670K ($268AUD)
CPU cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO/212 X ($37/$39AUD)
- Preferably something that's low form here so it doesn't get in the way of my RAM or any other component.
Motherboard - MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming($259AUD)
OR
- ASUS Maximus VI Hero ($305)
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws-X\Ares\Sniper 8G Kit 2133Mhz. ($100\$100\$104AUD) OR
- G.Skill Ripjaws-Z 8G Kit 2400 Mhz ($109AD)
Graphics Card - Gigabyte OC Windforce Radeon R9-290 ($622 AUD)
OR
XFX Double dissipation Radeon R9-290 ($589 AUD or $599 AUD for the black edition)
OR
Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X OC 4GB ($579)
SSD - Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD ($105AUD)
OR
SanDisk SSD Ultraplus SATA3 128G ($95AUD)
OR
Sandisk Extreme II SATA3 120G ($129AUD)
Hard Drive - Western Digital Black 1TB 7200 RPM HDD ($95AUD)
Power Supply - Thermaltake SmartPower 80Plus Bronze 750W ($109AUD)
Case - No idea. Maybe one of the following:
- Corsair Carbide CC400R ($125AUD)
- Thermaltake A41 ($119AUD)
- I really just need a suggestion of a mid-full tower with good airflow, dust management and cable management for up to $125AUD
Optical - Don't worry about it I can figure this one out on my own. Probably a blu-ray drive from LG or Pioneer for about $50-70 AUD
TOTAL : Roughly $1600-$1700AUD
In order to help comments and any advice, here are my general usage and also details of the retailers I'll be purchasing my parts from.
1. MSY (http://www.msy.com.au) - I'll be hoping to buy most or all of my parts from here. If you don't mind, they have a parts pricelist on the front page of their website, and an online order page to check stock. Check out their parts.pdf to get an idea of Australian prices, and to see what products they offer.
2. PC Case Gear (http://www.pccasegear.com/)
I may consider getting my graphics card here, because they have 2 out of the 3 non-reference 290's in Australia that I've seen.
Before I go on, I apologise if I have inserted the links incorrectly. If all else fails just copy and paste the URL.
3. I'm wanting to play games like BF4, Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite etc on ultra settings with AA etc crancked up at 60FPS. I have pondered the 280x as a cheaper alternative (roughly $399AUD). The 280x has quite a few more non-reference models available in Australia. The reason I opted for the 290 is because I'm wanting a bit of future-proofing with this build (Yes, I know you can't "truly future-proof"). I may potentially put two 280x's in crossfire in the future. But I've seen non-reference cards that are "two-slot". Does this mean that if I buy one 280x that it will take up the adjoining slot and I won't be able to fit another in later?
4. Can I get some advice on open air cooling vs normal reference blower fans on graphics cards? I know blower fans exhaust the air out the back (still don't know how lol) where as open-air coolers dump hot air inside the case, thus making it harder for the case to manage heat levels.
5. I am wanting to do some mild overclocking on the i5-4670K. Probably up to around 4-4.2GHz is good enough for me. What's your take on the need for a CPU cooler here?
I'm open to any suggestions for parts that aren't listed here! I reaally just want the best build for around 1600-1700AUD. The only thing I probably won't budge on is the processor.
The parts I do need the most help with would be the motherboard, CPU cooler and case.
Sorry for all the questions!! If anything needs clarifying please comment on the thread and I'll do my best to be as informative as I can. Thanks in advance for advice, comments, tips.
Cheers!