Helping a mate build a rig

[jerdvproductions]

Approximate Purchase Date: ~ October 10th.
Budget Range: $575USD ($600AUD, I'm based in Australia).
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Case, DVD Drive, HDD, OS.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.centrecom.com.au/ OR http://msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf
Country of Origin: Australia.
Primary Use: Gaming! Battlefield; Bad Company 2, World of Warcraft, other FPS games, should they arise.
Parts Preferences: Asus by brand, Intel CPU, any reliable GPU brand, Corsair RAM.
Overclocking: Maybe.
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe ~ 2 months after purchasing.
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 @ 60Hz, Asus VE246H dual monitors.
Additional Comments: I'm posting this to get a gauge on how overpriced http://centrecom.com.au/ is for the most part, but also to see if it's possible to get a PC to run BFBC2 at around ~ 50FPS for the aforementioned price.

I also FRAPS A LOT, so if being able to FRAPS means spending an additional ~ $100, I'll probably do it.

This PC is not for -me-, but I'm building it on someone else' behalf, as they cannot afford to go 'all out' and build a beastly rig just yet.

So far I've come up with the following; I know it's over my budget, but I seriously can't think of any other options if I want to reach my goal, other than waiting another month for more funds.

CPU: this @ $229.00AUD ($219.5423 USD).
MOBO: this @ $118.80AUD ($113.89356 USD).
RAM: this (x2) @ $257.40AUD ($246.76938 USD) OR this @ $209AUD ($200.3683 USD) (in conjunction with this @ $247AUD ($236.7989 USD).
GPU: this @ $224.40AUD ($215.13228 USD).
PSU: this @ $89.10AUD ($85.42017 USD).

Total(s) :: $918.60 AUD or $998.50 AUD(if I chose the secondary RAM & Mobo) ($880.66182 USD or $957.26195 USD).

For RAM, I'd prefer a triple kit @ 7-7-7-20, assuming it's going to be possible to find a Triple Channel MOBO & ~ 4-6GB of DDR3 (7-7-7-20) RAM.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jerdvproductions]

Also,

- I have two spare 1GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 5-5-5-18 sticks if you think they'd suffice for the rig posted above, though personally I highly doubt it, heh.
- If anyone knows where I can find a brand new one of these in Australia, Melbourne, VIC - let me know please.

Thanks.

 

[jerdvproductions]

I stumbled upon this - I'm willing to use AMD & ATi parts if it means I'll reach my goal for the $~600 I mentioned in my first post.

The reasoning for wanting to stick to Intel and Asus respectively, is based on personal experience only. The only ATi card I ever had (Sapphire X800), died on me the same week I bought it, just started tearing and glitching hard. >.>

To repliers; if you feel it's necessary, feel free to go completely off-track and list and/or recommend parts that are out of my comfort zone, so to speak, as long as you can provide a good reference or review, I'm willing to give it a stab.

 

[jerdvproductions]

Added an additional PC hardware website, they have slightly cheaper hardware.

Also contemplating this (1GB one, not the 768MB), so I can later buy another, and setup SLi. If I did end up buying a second GTX460, I'd also be purchasing this.

Would buying the 1GB version cause problems whilst gaming if I used 1920x1080 @ 60Hz if AA was enabled?

 

[jerdvproductions]

this @ $229.00AUD ($219.5423 USD). vs. this @ $209.00AUD ($200.3683 USD).

I know it's only a $20 difference, but chopping and changing across the board could save upwards of ~ $80.

 

[jerdvproductions]

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/1729/budgetrig2.png

That's the best I could do - seeing as 99.99% of you will be from the USA, I'll whip up some quick price conversions.

CPU: $209 Australian dollars -> $219.5423 U.S. dollars.
PSU: $89.10 Australian dollars -> $85.42017 U.S. dollars.
MOBO: $103.40 Australian dollars -> $99.12958 U.S. dollars.
RAM: $128.70 Australian dollars -> $123.38469 U.S. dollars
GPU: $261 Australian dollars -> $250.2207 U.S. dollars.

Total :: $791.20 AUD, which is $758.52344 USD.

If I chose this instead of the 1GB GTX 460, the total would then come to $745.80 AUD ($714.99846 USD).

Hope this helps. Sorry for all the edits, this is my final 'design', if you will. Looks like I'm either going to have to get a cheaper GPU or wait another month or so before building. The only other thing I can think of is removing the Antec PSU from the equation and using his PCs current 450W Ritmo piece of ***.

 

[mosox]

Asus M4A87TD-USB3
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=45410
Athlon II X4 Quad Core 640
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=47786
Kingston DDR3 2GB PC-10600/1333 CL9
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=35103
(you add one more stick later)
Corsair CX-400 400W
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=37275
Gigabyte NVIDIA N460OC-1GI GTX460, 1GB
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?sort=3a&products_id=47187

$618.80

No SLI or crossfire in your budget but the video card is powerful enough.

 

[mosox]

OK, you increased the budget so you can get this CPU and 4G of RAM for a total of $716.80

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=42900

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=40283

 

[jerdvproductions]

According to Centrecom; Memory]http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=45410

Memory

4 x DIMM, Max. 16 GB, DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 ECC,Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel memory architecture
* DDR3 Memory Ultra Low Voltage support
** Due to OS limitation, when installing total memory of 4GB capacity or more, Windows® 32-bit operation system may only recognize less than 3GB. Hence, a total installed memory of less than 3GB is recommended.

And also, is it worth buying the Phemon 965 if I'm going to get the 955, or not?

The RAM you listed is 9-9-9-24. How much difference is there going to be in games like BFBC2?

 

[jerdvproductions]

One more thing.

Why this(the one you listed) @ $264 and not this(the one I listed in my last update) @ $215.60? or even this? Not disagreeing, just wondering why you chose that card and not the 768MB one @ $215.60, or the other 1GB one @ $261.00.

 

[mosox]

The 965 is the 955 clocked a little higher. You can do that to the 955 in the BIOS in 2 seconds, it's a black edition and extremely easy to overclock but you don't need that the CPU is fast enough.

No difference, only in benchmarks.

his is CL8 but isn't worth the difference.

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?sort=3a&products_id=40282

With the difference you can get this PSU:

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?sort=3a&products_id=33851

but the 400W one is OK for that rig.

 

[jerdvproductions]

Corsair DDR3 4GB PC-10600/1333 (2x XMS3 2GB) TW3X4G1333C9DHX Ram

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=30041

EVGA NVIDIA GTX460 PCIE 2.0, 768MB, DDR5, 192bit, DVI-I, DVI-I, Mini-HDMI (768-P3-1360-KR)

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=47043

Asus M4A87TD-USB3 AMD Mainboard - 4x DDR3 / 6x Sata Raid / Gigabit Lan / AM3

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=45410

Corsair CX-400 400W ATX Power Supply

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=37275

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 3.20GHz 8MB Cache (AM3) - Black Edition

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=42900

::

Total: $687.10

How would that run?

 

[mosox]

That RAM is the same only it has some fancy heat spreaders. Stick with the 1GB video card for your resolution and the 400CX is very good for your system.

 

[jerdvproductions]

That RAM is the same only it has some fancy heat spreaders. Stick with the 1GB video card for your resolution and the 400CX is very good for your system.

Ima' use the RAM that I listed in my previous reply.

Does it matter which 1GB GTX 460** I get, or should I just get the $264 one you listed? I was thinking of getting the ASUS one for $261. Just better luck with ASUS, is all.

 

[jerdvproductions]

Kay, ima' buy it next week then.

Thanks a lot for the help. I'll be ordering it on Oct 4th, and collecting it on Oct 6th.

Lemme know if you think I should change anything prior to the 4th.

 

[mosox]

Get the Asus then. Or get this:

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BD11303&pagetitle=XFX%20HD-585X-ZAFC%20Radeon%20HD%205850%201GB%20256-bit%20GDDR5%20PCI%20E

 

[jerdvproductions]

Get the Asus then. Or get this:

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BD11303&pagetitle=XFX%20HD-585X-ZAFC%20Radeon%20HD%205850%201GB%20256-bit%20GDDR5%20PCI%20E

Can't, I'm in Australia remember.

And I was going to get the Gigabyte one, but if there's no real difference, I'll get the ASUS one. Hah.

 

[jerdvproductions]

How much should I sell this for?

CPU: i7 920 (2.66GHz x4, 8MB cache).
Case: Thermaltake Xaser V 6000A Full ATX case.
Mobo: Asus MAXIMUS-III-EXTREME MOBO - 4x DDR3, 6x Sata2, Gigabit Lan, LGA 1156.
RAM: Corsair DDR3 8GB PC-10600/1333 (4x XMS3 2GB)
GPU(s): GTX295 SLi - 1792 MB GDDR3 per card, total of 3584 MB.
Monitor: 24" Asus VE246H 2MS, 50000:1 CR HDMI HD LCD.
PSU: Corsair HX-750 750W Modular-PSU.

??

 

[mosox]

Oops, wrong site. Yep, the HD 5850 is more expensive:

http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42060444-HIS_Radeon_HD_5850_iCooler_Video_Card_-_1024MB_256-bit_GDDR5_RAM_-_725___4000MHz

You can get it if you buy only one stick of RAM now. Get the cheaper RAM though, the tall one might prevent you from installing a CPU aftermarket heatsink in the future.

You have that rig and you sell it? Why not keep 4G of RAM and sell the rest?

Look around here how your components go:

http://www.ebay.com.au/?_js=OFF

 

[jerdvproductions]

Yeah, the rig I've built in this thread is for a mate. I built my PC just under 2 years ago, looking at rebuilding altogether for Medal of Honor in November.

I've heard the 1GB GTX460 is better than the HD 5850 - also heard that the 5850 is a lot more power hungry.

Your thoughts?

 

[mosox]

Nope, HD5850 is better and has about the same power consumption, cooler too. But probably isn't worth the price difference.

Wait, is this the Asus?
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?sort=3a&products_id=48226

Something wrong with it, in the title it says 1GB, in the specs it says GDDR5 768MB.

Here are the two of them:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121391

Yep, the blue box is 768, the green box is 1GB.

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?sort=3a&products_id=46447

But at that price get the HD 5850 IMO.

 

[jerdvproductions]

My options are;

this in a week or so.
or
this in 3 weeks, as I'd have to get a bigger PSU (I think?).
or
this, which is just a voltage tweaked 1GB GTX 460, right?

If I'm going to get the GTX 465, I'll probably use this anyway.

 

[jerdvproductions]

I found a shitload of 1GB GTX 460 ranging from $250-$260 AUD.

this @ 255. Brand = ECS.
this @ 257. Brand = Amaze.
this @ $259.46. Brand = Galaxy.
this @ $258. Brand = Gigabyte.
this @ $251.90. Brand = LeadTek.
this @ $254.00. Brand = Gigabyte.

I've only ever had good experiences with ASUS and Gigabyte cards, but if you can find anything else at a cheaper price, that you would buy yourself, let me know.

You can assume this is a firm tentative "Screw the 5850!"

At a $50 difference, I assume even you'd go with the 1GB GTX 460 > 1GB HD 5850 if you were on a similar budget? Another thing, the HD 5850 you listed says "Chipset (GPU): ATI Radeon™ HD 5800", is this right? Or another cheap ass Australian sales method?

 

[mosox]

Sorry about that, it seems they don't have the Asus 460 1Gb in there I was looking for a green box. The 465 (i linked thinking it was the 460) are no good, stay away from them.

The Gigabyte should be this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333

The HIS is this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161330&cm_re=his_hd_5850-_-14-161-330-_-Product

Read the customer reviews. That corsair CX400 should do but if you can get the VX450 it's even better (the VX 450 is a Seasonic 500W so more room for future upgrades). The 5850 consumes a tad less power than the 460 1GB in full, the 465 is very power hungry.

 

[jerdvproductions]

Using http://msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf - I built the exact same PC as the one we've discussed in this thread, for $715.00 AUD.

The only thing I changed was the PSU, I chose the Corsair VX450 instead.

CPU = AM3 x4 Phemon 955 @ $159.
MOBO = Asus M4A87TD-USB3 @110.
GPU = 1G GTX460 Asus @ $262.
RAM = 4G Kitddr3 1333 Kingston @ $98.
PSU = Corsair VX450 @ $85.

Total of $715.00 AUD.

Thoughts?