Gaming life altering help needed

Hey guys.
I'm really eager to buy a cheap gaming rig, as ive been gaming off a bootcamped mac and while there has been no issue; one, its not that great a rig, and two, its not upgradable in future. ive recently gotten around $670 for my bday (4-20 (hitlers bday and national pot smoking day ...how lucky am i)

This seems like as good a time as any to start saving, as the mountain wont seem that hard to climb. I'm australian and all prices will be in australian when posted by me, but if its easier for you, just post in USD.

This is the issue.newegg dont ship to aus, and they have the best prices. also, easter and christmas have come and gone, and so has my bday. im too young to have a job, im not working for my parents as they give me 20 bucks a week.

So with that in mind, i put my budget to around $600-$1000. i say this because if i wait till, say, xmas, there's just gonna be more stuff that i wanna buy. more temptations, and better comp parts. the sooner i buy the better, although im willing to wait a couple of months if i really have to.

My main reason is so that i can have a dedicated work comp (mac) and a dedicated gaming comp (PC) that i CAN UPRADE.

what i ask of you is this. If you can, post some links to some aus sites or american ones that ship to aus, with links to parts that you think are good.

I have basic idea of what i want.
An ATI gfx, along the lines of a 5770.
An intel cpu, like a core 2 quad would be great.
And ariound 2gbs of ram.

If needed, i will assemble it myself if it is drastically cheaper.

Thanks so much!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE:closer the better. when i can muster up rest of money ($400AUD)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: mouse, speakers, maybe monitor, maybe OS.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: australian or ships to australia

PARTS PREFERENCES: by brand or type intel cpu, ati gfx card

OVERCLOCKING: no SLI OR CROSSFIRE: maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: no clue.....(i have an old 50 cm tv, that i remember reading acts as a monitor.)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: just a good gaming pc that can be upgraded as said above

yeah ozland is pretty sucky when it comes to that. bloody koalas.
anyway, not planning on OC'ing. i can open my mind to amd i spose. just general games. once i get my computer im planning to convert to pc gaming, so basically all pc games. atm i only own civ4, killing floor, and of course crysis.9(oh and AoM-best rts ever imo)
i just want a decent computer that can help me jump into the pc market, allowing me to play med-high graphics, that i wont have to upgrade for about a year. if you need to, post an amd build.

Ok ... best fps gaming rig for about $1K (AUS).

Can you get ASUS, GIGABYTE or MSI boards with AM3 socket and 790/890 chipset?

AMD "owns" that budget space ... InTEL can't even touch your (fps) budget.

I think you can afford a 5850 ... we should at least try to build around that ... If absolutely necessary, then, a 5770, to start with.

Sorry, but I REALLY think you are going to need 4GB of RAM, for Win7.

Any value techs feel like doing this guy a generic ball-park build ?

= Al =

well its not just fps. any pc game. and really, 4gb? you think? well if anyone would be kind to help...heres a good aus site where they'll even assemle my custom made comp for me http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/build.php
please help.

AMD CPU:
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 3.40GHz 8MB Cache (AM3) - Black Edition
AMD Motherboards:
Asus M4A77TD-PRO AMD Mainboard - 4x DDR3 / 5x Sata Raid / 1x IDE / Gigabit Lan / AM3
Desktop Hard Drives:
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM 64MB SATA 6Gbs
Optical Drives:
LG External Slim Lightscribe DVD Re-writer (8x)
Desktop Memory:
Corsair DDR3 4GB PC-12800/1600 (2x XMS3 2GB) CMX4GX3M2A1600C8 Ram
Cases (PSU included):
Antec Atlas - Black Server ATX Tower Case (550W)
Graphics Cards:
XFX ATI HD5850 xXx Edition PCI-E 2.0, 1GB, DDR5, 256bit, Dual DVI, HDMI, Display Port, DX11, Fan (HD-585A-ZNDC)

have i gone overboard?

thanks bro. um you're talking about the first yeah? im a little lost when it comes to mobo's...gimme like 10 minutes, and i'll post a fully tabooli build

Thanks...mind getting a rig from this AU site i just found:
http://www.itsdirect.com.au

if you can make them all compatible, and give me a final price, that'd be great. also, if you could do a full rig, that your would be even greater...rer.

i kind of estimated a price...with an ati 5850 sapphire from www.itsdirect.com.au , an amd athlon-II 3x cores, and 4gb corsair ram, and about a 30 dollar cooling system, for them to assemble it it should rack up to be about $1010

Well ... You are definately "well within the ball-park". this time and "all that" will work, just fine, except the PSU ...

... Still ... these are all rather pricey premium parts and I think I can shave your budget and get a bit more balance and longevity out of the build, if the parts are available ...

Let me play around on this site, for 20 minutes, and see what worthy tweaks I can find.

You are gonna want a 650W Corsair or Earthwatts or SeaSonic PSU, for up to TWO 5850s, in the future.

... I may post some alternative product links, in some several minutes.

= Al =

GPU: This will perform identically and is $36 cheaper ...
... It is out of stock (because good and cheap) but worth waiting up to 2 weeks.
... XFX (same spec) will also do fine. (is comparable but costs $20 more).

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] tegory=188


CPU: This Athlon-II x2 Core @ 3.2GHz is actually significantly better for gaming performance than the 3x at 2.9GHz.

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] 8mb_Cache_

MOBO: I like this mobo better ... a few $ cheaper and also has USB3/SATA3 ports

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] otherboard

This Antec 300 is a great case at just over half the price ... plenty good !

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] 2C_No_PSU_



That is the 1st half of the changes ... stay tuned for the rest. ... !

= Al =

-RAM: A little cheaper and a WHOLE LOT BETTER

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] _i7___AM3_

PSU: My preferred (corsair 650Watt) PSU is out of stock ... worth a 2 week wait.

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] ategory=52

Antec Earthwatts 650Watt PSU ... very good PSU at a very good price !

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] upply_Unit

OCZ as a distant 3rd choice, for PSU (650W)


ASUS SATA DVDR (This may be the one you picked)

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] _RW_Writer

I believe you left the HDD out of your last build iteration ...
This SAMSUNG f3 is not just an arbitrary pick ... It is hands down the best, fastest, cheapest drive on the market.

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] ategory=31

... OR ... this Seagate 500GB drive is "just as good" for $35+ dollars cheaper.
(one of the two best drive series on the planet ... the 7200.12)

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] ategory=31


COOLER/HSF: I like the cooler you chose ... see if it comes with paste ...

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] pound__4G_

This is the really good thermal paste.

= That's It ! = ... I'm pooped .... g'nite!

thanks dude. im going by your list to a tee. looks like ive got a bit of saving to do....but you helped a freaking lot!! im buying everything on your list

yep. tallied it up and with freight, delivery, and with them to build it, it will total at $1400. oh well. soon enough. any adjustments you can make to lower that price?

Well ... Generically, is sounds fairly good (except the mobo chipset is OLD and that mobo does not even have a 2nd GPU slot AND you are not reading the fine print that they reserve right to make "like" substitutions ... Sounds like they are gonna use some crappy BIOSTAR micro-ATX POS mobo ... The RAM is "slowish" ... God only knows who made the GPU card.

The problem is that, let's say 90% of customers returned that brand of GPU because the fan sounded like a jet turbine ... SO ... some "build-a-buddy" supplier buys a truckload of those noisy GPUs and (the specs look great) is able to unload them because they are being sold in a less stringent market-place (Austrailia Online!) ...

Just think on it ... HOW can THEY (POSSibly) make ANY money (over your DIY build) other than to shop hard for grey-market surplus parts and piecemeal "over-runs"? Volume discounts do not cover the gap. These guys have servers to maintain and phone bills and operator's, to pay ... They have to deal with shipping and RMA and returns .... How can they possibly make a decent buck?

They have to find unusually good deals on parts and that usually means "less popular" parts or older parts or parts that have marginal technical issues or even buying refurbished and returned parts and recertified parts ... There is no way you can know ...

... Oh, yeah ... They also MUST have lawyers and those lawyers wrote all those "agreements" and caveats, so ...

ANY-WAY ... I object (stridently) to that poc mobo ... it is worse than worthless (I'm guessing/betting).

Control your build ! ... I was never real big on "school lunches", either. ...

Contractor food ... lowest bidder ... is there any way the food quality won't suffer ?


AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 3.4Ghz Processor
Memory Corsair 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC-10600/1333Mhz DDR3

Hard Drive 1TB 7200rpm SATA 64Mb Hard Disk Drive
Optical 22x/8x Dual Layer SATA DVD Writer
Graphics ATI Radeon HD5850 1GB DDR5 (PCIE)
Case Antec VSK-2000 Tower Case
Power Supply Minimum 650W Modular PSU
Input Devices Not included

Speakers Not included
Monitor Not included
Chipset AMD 770 / SB710

Frontside Bus 5200 MT/s
Memory 4 x DDR3 Ram Slots

AGP/PCIE 1 x PCI Express x16
PCI 4 x PCI Express x1, 2 x PCI
USB 6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 on front of case)
IDE/SATA 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33, 6 x SATA with RAID
Audio 7.1-channel High Definition Audio
Network Gigabit Lan 10/100/1000 RJ45 Ethernet
Accessories Driver CD included
Notes An alternative board of similar or greater specifications may be substituted in case of lack of supply.
260907
(Picture provided for illustrative purposes only, actual product

As a build? ... couldn't be more perfect or better balanced ... as a PURELY gaming rig ... And I think we found the absolute optimum value/performance/longevity yeild.

I want to see any benchmarks you might be talking about ... What proc would you like to compare the 555 against? ... I can use the (fantastic) CPU benchmark comparison tool at anandtech.com to compare a wide number of benches on any two procs.

HERE IS THe GREAT THING about that AM3 socket ... You can "limp" (if you will) on the 555 until the hex cores push pricing down on the x4 Core procs ... Imagine being able to get a 965 x4@3.4GHz for like, $140 ! ... In ... say, ~12-14 months ... If you wait two whole years, You'd be lookin at ~$110 for a 965 ... I'd bet your lunch money on it!

= Al =

Lemme check those benches ... BRB ... whooooSH !

Huh ... They don't have that AMD proc on the list but other "family" procs that run at same clock are showing the i3 having a 10% to 20% advantage in "games that count"

Here is where it gets very interesting, though ...

I compared the 965BE and the 965 edges out the i3 in most all games and totally trounces it in media apps (not a surprise to me).

So what are you paying for the 555? (BTW ... It can be up-clocked by ~10%)

... you are contemplating paying $126 AUD for the 555 and the 965BE would be ?

... $218 AUD for 965 ... Hmmmm ...

All I can say is that I am DAM-GLAD you went with the 5850 ! ! ! Huh?

Were it ME ... right now ... PURELY GAMING? ... RIGHT? ... We tore it up with this build and, price/performance/longevity/upgrade-path ... You are SO SET !

Upgrade to the 965BE, if you are feeling flush !

Oh, yeah ... Since the RAM and cooler would be essentially identical, why not cost out the i3 (MOBO + PROC) against the AM3 (MOBO + PROC) .... What would be the cost difference and what would be the upgrade path ??????? upgrade path ????? upgrade path ????? .... etc.

I'm not even going to get into the differences in the south-bridge and cardbus but, here is a hint ... 890 has NATIVE SATA3 on southbridge ... INTEL does not.
... That is only the beginning of my "rag list".

= Al =

Nope ... It is married to the Mac.

Get a copy of Win7-64 (OEM or Academic) ... I think all you need is a school ID for Academic. ... I forget what proof is required ... it might be an academic email account (.edu). I should know that ... I need to find out pretty quick.

= Alvin =

What is the current total ??

If you REALLY do some VERY SERIOUS homework, and talk to the right folks (gKay or techmo "GI-Joe" ) on this forum, they might-could find you a fairly decent PSU for up to half the cost ... Some generic 1333Cas9 memory would save you $18~$20 ...
... You could downngrade TO the (smaller capacity) Spinpoint F3 @500GB and knock off almost $40

... Those are the only "shave-points" that I can identify.

=Alvin =

the current total is $1400 with them assembling ($70)and shipping ($60). so how about the 64 bit?

Good-to-Go, then.

= Al =

what updates? can i find techmo or gKAY just to talk to them?

haha cool.......in motion

hmm...well no one really responded...so i guess thats cool. ill just save some money

http://www.itsdirect.com.au/com_pr [...] __HD502HJ_

like this one?