PC Gaming Build - Need Advice ($2,000 AU+)

[AusTrent]

Hi Community I'm looking at building a new high end Gaming PC which offers bang for buck. Any help, or advice would be extremely appreciated. I've asked the local PC shop for a quote on the parts below and they replied saying I may have a problem getting some of the components to fit/work with one another. As far as I'm aware it should be all good and am concerned they are just trying to get me to pay them to build it.

I've tinkered with PC's for years, but have never built one from scratch (Normally just add and upgrade components). The assembly side doesn't phase me, but component selection obviously does with how quick everything always changes it's hard to stay up to date.

Anyhow please review the info below and provide any insight you can provide. All opinions and suggestions will be most appreciated.

Approximate Purchase Date: Eager to get sorted as soon as possible.

Budget Range: $2,000 - $2,500 AU

System Usage from Most to Least Important: This is a gaming build, but will obviously use for all normal home PC uses and video streaming etc.

Parts Not Required: I'm only looking to build the tower and required internal components as I already have all the other parts I need (i.e. monitors, keyboards etc).

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Not fussed, but given I'm in Western Australia have used a local firm here austin.com.au I'm happy to look elsewhere if great savings or other benefits can be sort. I just like the idea of a local supplier for warranty purposes.

Country: Australia, Western Australia

Parts Preferences: Ok I'm definately attached to the Intel Sandy Bridge CPU's and at this stage am pretty set on the i5 core intel 2500K.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe (Only looking to run one monitor initially, however want to be able to run Battlefield 3 on full graphics) I'm happy to spend a little on the GPU end to ensure I'm getting the best output display I can.

Monitor Resolution: (1920x1080 and 1920x1200)

Additional Comments: The primary focus here is a great gaming PC. I want bang for buck for most components, but am prepared to go a little higher end on the GPU setup.

So here is what I've come up with, please review and provide advice?

GAMING PC BUILD

Motherboard:

Asus P8Z68 DELUXE-GEN3 MB, Socket 1155, Intel Z68 Chipset, 4x DDR3 Slot, CrossFire/ SLI, RAID, SATA3, 2x GbLAN, 8CH Audio, Firewire, USB3.0, ATX

http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/MBASP8Z68DELUG3/Default.aspx


CPU:

Intel Core i5 2500K Unlocked Processor, 3.30GHz, 6MB Cache, Socket LGA1155 Over Clockers Model

http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/CPU-INT-I52500K/Default.aspx

CPU Cooling
CoolerMaster V8 180W Cooling Solution for Intel LGA775 /1155/1156/1366 and AMD 754/939/940/AM2 (comes will clip for LGA1156), packed separately!

http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/CLCMRRUV8XBU1/Default.aspx

(Note: I've read these take up a bit of room so not sure if it will fit, does anyone know whether this is the best option?)


RAM:

Corsair 8GB (2x Vengeance 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Unbuffered DIMM Memory for AMD, Intel Dual Channel DDR3, and upcoming 2nd Generation Intel Core platforms. (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9)

http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/RD316008GC9/Default.aspx


Storage

Hitachi 2TB Deskstar 7K3000 7200rpm HDD - SATA 6.0Gbs, 64MB Cache, 24x7 Availability, 3 Years Warranty ( 0F12115 )


Corsair Force Series 3 120 SSD: Step Up To The Latest Solid-State Speed with Force Series 3 SATA 6Gb/s. R/W: 500/510 MB/s
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/H2S120CSSDF1203/Default.aspx

O/S

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit English OEM with SP1 $209


PSU:

Cooler Master 1000W Silent Pro GOLD
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/PSU-CMRSA0080GA/Default.aspx

Note: From my research this should be enough to power the rig without issue. Although I've not got a lot of knowledge as far as selecting PSU's go, so wouldn't appreicate if anyone with great knowledge in this area can confirm or recommend what I should have here.

I/O DVD DRIVE ETC:

Samsung SH-B123A/B123L 12x Blu-ray/DVD Combo Drive - 5.25" internal SATA, Blu-ray Reader & DVD Burner, Multi-format $79
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/OPT-BSH-B123/Default.aspx

Video Card (GPU):

Gigabyte GF GTX 590 PCI-E 2.0 3GB DDR5 768 bit, 607MHz / 3414MHz, 3x DVI-I, 1x Mini DP, Nvidia 3D Vision, 40nm
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/GCGTX590GA/Default.aspx

Note: I'm not neccessarily stuck on this card. I did consider the GTX580 but noticed it wasn't providing a solid 60FPS for Battlefield. I've also considered going 2 GTX580's but that proves more expensive than the GTX590. It's only going to be a single monitor display setup and I'm happy to add a second card latter as required if I can get away with one card now etc. I'm prepared to spend a little on the GPU set up, as long as it's not going to be over kill, as a cheaper option allows an additonal card to be added later as needed.

CASE:

Antec Nine Hundred Two (Version 3) - The Ultimate Black Gaming Case with additional USB3.0 port and bottom-mounted 2.5"SSD drive support, No PSU
http://www.austin.net.au/ProductList/ProductDetail/tabid/104/ProductCode/CAS-AN900-2-V3/Default.aspx

Well that's what I have so far. Please share your thoughts as any advice would be much appreciated, especially if a component I've selected isn't any good or won't be compatible with something else. Thanks in advance.

 

[azeem40]

The HAF 912 also includes a 2.5" mounting bracket for SSD and has better cable management.

 

[Tavo_Nova]

I'm not sure about cooler master psu's but I do suggest seasonic psu

for the GPU the GTX590 is great but not that great, but it's your call but I do suggest going for a single gtx680 from asus/msi/zotac as they perform close to gtx590(they are dual gpu) while the gtx680 is a single gpu

for HDDin my case seagate/samsung/western digital are my kind of hdd

If budget allows go for crucial m4 128gb or intel 510 120gb (I have corsair force 3 120gb gb on a lot of my system and so far things are great, but had a problem with their GT counterpart having 4 dead at the same time don't know what happened, got them back through rma and things are sweet with them.

I would say for you to stay away from corsair vengeance ram as they are not really friendly with air coolers (most of them)

stick with g.skill rams or corsair vengeance LP (Low profile those small ones)

everything else is great

 

[azeem40]

Stick with Crucial RAM.

 

[AusTrent]

Thanks for the input guys, am definatley checking out the ram and cases you mentioned.

I'm looking at a crossfire Radeon 7970 setup now as the GTX was quite expensive for what it is.

 

[constepatdyak]

Thanks for the input guys, am definatley checking out the ram and cases you mentioned.

I'm looking at a crossfire Radeon 7970 setup now as the GTX was quite expensive for what it is.

If you do look at GTX 590, go to pccasegear.com (australian). They're 590 is only 749 AUD...so much cheaper than austin .net whatever

 

[Formata]

Definitely 2nd the call to check out PCCaseGear:
http://pccasegear.com/

OR if you live near an MSY.. You can save some money at one for sure:
http://msy.com.au/

Website is ugly... but I just download the pdf pricelist and call my local to check stock

If you can wait a month or so... Ivy Bridge processors will be released supported by a whole new Z77/Z75 platform. By then hopefully we'll also start seeing gtx 680 GPUs in stock.

For your budget, I'd be waiting.

Majority of other parts look ok:

RAM: with Corsair Vengeance get the low profile version.
PSU: that CM gold is pricey. It's your money but something like:

Corsair TX-850 V2
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=17210

Case: The 902 isn't quite a long (deep?) as a lot of other Mid Towers are now getting some of the larger GPUs in there can go into the HDD Bay space

Options:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_31&products_id=18722

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_31&products_id=15892

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_1055&products_id=17053

 

[Why_Me]

Ivy Bridge is due out April 29th.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5166/ivy-bridge-overview <----- complete line-up of Ivy Bridge cpu's.

Z77/Z75 motherboards (Panther Point chipset w/native USB 3.0) and PCI-E 3.0

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/PCIe3/overview.html <----- Quick and brief rundown of Ivy Bridge, PCI-E 3.0 cards and the new gen boards.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/index.asp?s=1155 <---- Asrocks Z77 and Z75 boards to date. They all get released with Ivy Bridge.

http://usa.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/Intel_Z77 <---- Asus Z77 board lineup to date.

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/list.aspx?s=42&jid=2&p=2&v=24 <----- Gigabyte Z77 board lineup to date.

http://us.msi.com/product/mb/#/?sk=Socket%201155%20(Intel%20i3/i5/i7) <----- MSI Z77 board lineup to date.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5626/ivy-bridge-preview-core-i7-3770k/9 <---- Ivy Bridge cpu review with benchmarks

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-680-overclock-guide/ <----- Overclocking the gtx 680 w/benchmarks

http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-16011485-Corsair_Carbide_Series_500R_Mid_Tower_Case_4x_5_25%22_&_6x_3_5%22_2_5& $155.00 inc. GST
Corsair Carbide 500R Case - Black

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_995&products_id=13278 $159.00
Silverstone Strider Plus 850W ST85F-P 100% modular 80 PLUS Silver

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1183&products_id=19867 $165.00
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5166/ivy-bridge-overview $215 AUD should be a close guesstimate
Intel i5-3570K Ivy Bridge CPU 3.4Ghz

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_1300&products_id=18670 $39.00
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-BladeMaster-Silent-R4-BMBS-20PK-R0/dp/B0030DL37I/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1333152946&sr=1-5 $11.99 USD <--- ships to Oz ($2.59)
Cooler Master BladeMaster 120mm PWM High Air Flow Silent Case Fan (R4-BMBS-20PK-R0)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_912&products_id=19632 $55.00
G.Skill Ares F3-1600C9D-8GAO 8GB (2x4GB)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_344&products_id=19747 $109.00
Seagate Barracuda 1TB ST1000DM003

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_902_1161&products_id=19744 $159.00
Patriot Pyro SE 120GB SSD

http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42051144-EVGA_GeForce_GTX_680_Video_Card_2048MB_256_Bit_GDDR5_RAM_GPU_Clock_1006MHz_(GPU_ $627.10 inc. GST
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB (02G-P4-2680-AR)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=658_667&products_id=17834 $19.00
Sony AD7280SGB DVDRW OEM

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=375_974&products_id=17003 $95.00
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit with SP1 OEM

Total: $1,809 AUD

http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-500r-mid-tower-case.html <---- a better look at that case

 

[azeem40]

I agree with the above except for the case fan. The 500R already comes with great cooling, so no need to waste $ on a case fan.

 

[Formata]

Great list as always by Why_Me.

The only thing I'd mention I'd for some reason Corsair cases (500R included) are priced comparatively higher in Aus. When you see in the US it's in a similar range to many CM, Fractal, Antec etc cases over here the 500R is $30-$40 more expensive than the competition. Not saying its a bad case by any means, infact it does have an awesome list of features, and great cooling by all reports. Just saying you could possibly get similar for less with CM, Fractal, Antec cases.

 

[Why_Me]

I agree with the above except for the case fan. The 500R already comes with great cooling, so no need to waste $ on a case fan.

That fan is a 120mm "Blademaster" which is meant for the CM 212 EVO cpu cooler. It's the fan that matches that cooler for a "push - pull" effect to help bring the temps down even more. That fan isn't available in Oz, hence the reason I linked it to Amazon which ships that fan to Oz for $2.49 USD...which is roughly about $2.65 AUD. The OP lives in Western Oz...I'm going to guess Perth, and it gets hotter than h*ll over in those parts hence the reason that fan I linked for the CM 212 EVO.

 

[Why_Me]

Great list as always by Why_Me.

The only thing I'd mention I'd for some reason Corsair cases (500R included) are priced comparatively higher in Aus. When you see in the US it's in a similar range to many CM, Fractal, Antec etc cases over here the 500R is $30-$40 more expensive than the competition. Not saying its a bad case by any means, infact it does have an awesome list of features, and great cooling by all reports. Just saying you could possibly get similar for less with CM, Fractal, Antec cases.

I looked at that CM Storm Trooper ...I think thats what it is. It's fairly new on the market and has those 140mm fans, but it was pretty much the same price as the Corsair 500...in fact it was $30 dollars more on pc casegear. The one thing I like about that 500R is it allows for 2x140mm fans up top, and it comes with 2x140mm fans in front and that 200mm side fan. Also it has the multiple fan controllers...which are nice for noise, and of course the dust filters, cpu h/s knock out and the front SSD with 3.0 USB ports.

 

[azeem40]

Oops, I totally forgot about push-pull.