Building first gaming PC with ~1700 AUD budget!

jaxluna · Apr 15, 2015

Hiya guys!

I've been looking into building my own custom gaming PC for a while now and I'd really appreciate any help cos I'm a tech noob!

I'm aiming to play lots of games like ARMA II, Day Z, DA:I, CS:GO, league etc and hopefully get into streaming some time soon. I already have a gaming mouse, keyboard and headset but will need to buy a monitor as well as a windows o/s! I'd probably prefer to buy from centrecom.com.au purely because they possess the option of assembling it for me and it's a close pick up for me!

I also don't require an SSD because I've been putting up with a 2008 aluminium macbook and that start up time is like 9000 years so anything will be a drastic improvement :")

I probably would go over this budget to have a good gaming set up that lasts a while however I'd love if it didn't get much higher

bicycle_repair_man · Apr 15, 2015

This is what I would recommend:

http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/HJqHD3

There aren't any prices listed for the SSD and PSU, but the total cost should still be close to your budget.

NA_xGG · Apr 15, 2015

Hello Jaxluna,

Streaming requires heavy CPU processing, so I recommend the following build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.00 @ Centre Com)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($113.00 @ PLE Computers)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.00 @ Umart)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($505.00 @ Umart)
Case: NZXT H230 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.00 @ PLE Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($128.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Monitor: Asus VX228H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($179.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1708.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-15 23:28 EST+1000

The Xeon is a quad-core, 8 hyperthread CPU. It has the power of an i7 without an iGPU. You won't be able to overclock it, but I promise it's fast enough to do everything you need & more. It will be a HUGE upgrade coming from that Macbook

You said you don't care about an SSD, but I recommend you get one. A 250GB Samsung 850 EVO (or 840 EVO) will really put the icing on the cake for this build for an additional $140 AUD.

What do you think?

bicycle_repair_man · Apr 15, 2015

NA_xGG :

Not necessarily; Nvidia ShadowPlay is surprisingly light on system resources, and most other streaming programs don't require anything more than a Core i5. Fraps is rather heavy on resources, mind you.

NA_xGG · Apr 15, 2015

bicycle_repair_man :

You're right about ShadowPlay.. I believe it just streams directly from the GPU, so it doesn't cause much stress. However, if he were to use something like OBS, depending on the game he is playing, it's going to require high CPU encoding.

Either way, I was just giving him another option

bicycle_repair_man · Apr 15, 2015

Believe me, I wasn't deriding your post at all, it's good to see another sensible contributor.

That Xeon is a great processor and it makes a lot of sense in a gaming build, seeing as the iGPU is almost always worthless.

NA_xGG · Apr 15, 2015

bicycle_repair_man :

I didn't take offense, no worries. Just striking a convo.. I have nothing else to do when it's slow at work except browse one of the only websites my company doesn't block

lol All good my friend.

bicycle_repair_man · Apr 15, 2015

NA_xGG :

Funnily enough, that's the position I'm in now! The only difference is that I'm the network admin and can access whatever I want.

LucoTF · Apr 15, 2015

Center com only build, includes windows and a monitor. i even snuck as SSD in there, you can thank me later when you see how quick your boot times are:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($269.00 @ Centre Com)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PERFORMANCE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.00 @ Centre Com)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Crucial M550 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($95.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($479.00 @ Centre Com)
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.00 @ Centre Com)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($115.00 @ Centre Com)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.00 @ Centre Com)
Monitor: BenQ RL2455HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($229.00 @ Centre Com)
Total: $1725.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-16 00:22 EST+1000

NA_xGG · Apr 15, 2015

bicycle_repair_man :

You, sir, are lucky

LucoTF · Apr 15, 2015

I'm also network admin, hi fives all round lol

I have to add that shadowplay and the amd equivalent (gamedvr?) are pretty much dismissed by the streaming community as they're very basic and lack a lot of features that you'd find in software like OBS.

NA_xGG · Apr 15, 2015

LucoTF :

So basically I need to become a network admin.. lol

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Building first gaming PC with ~1700 AUD budget!

jaxluna

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NA_xGG

bicycle_repair_man

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NA_xGG

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bicycle_repair_man

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NA_xGG

Reputable

bicycle_repair_man

Splendid

NA_xGG

Reputable

bicycle_repair_man

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LucoTF

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NA_xGG

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LucoTF

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NA_xGG

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