Prebuilt Customization Advice Needed

[xtongx]

Hi, I'm trying to build a $1000 gaming PC. I found an online store which offers pre-built with customization at a rather reasonable price so there are some upgrade options that I'd like to get advice on. Hope you guys can help.

Approximate Purchase Date: within 2 weeks

Budget: $1000 (could stretch a bit if the upgrade is totally worth it)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, internet, and a bit of simulation software and video encoding

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speaker, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.mwave.com.au

Country: Australia

Overclocking: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920*1080


Here's the specs of the prebuilt system:

Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-II 500W
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-16011616

Processor: Intel Core i5 3450 Quad Core 3rd Gen Processor
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-19010248

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68P-DS3
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-28023682

RAM: Kingston ValueRAM 8GB (2x 4GB)
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-37140364

VGA: Gainward GeForce GTX 550 Ti
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42050986

HDD: OCZ Petrol 2.5" 64GB SSD
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-22140619

Optical drive: LG GH24NS90 Internal SATA 24x Dual Layer Super Multi DVD Burner
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-17040389

Power supply: Thermaltake TR2 Bronze 500W
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-34040725

Total price: $856.95


So here's the upgrade options that I'm considering:

Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K (maybe not necessary?) +$30
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-19010218

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB(2x 4GB) DDR3 Memory Kit - PC3-12800 +$10.01
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-37140823

VGA:
-option 1: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 +$62
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42051021
-option2: ASUS GeForce GTX 560 DirectCU +$70
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42051028
-option 3: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti +$114
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42050905
option 4: ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II +$140
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42050908
option 5: Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7850 Overclocked +$150
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42060860
option 6: Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7850 Overclock +$154
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-42060863

PSU: Thermaltake TR2 Bronze 600W +$20
http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-34040726

Cooling fan: Cooler Master X Dream i117 (+$15) or Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (+$39)

I'll most likely add a 500GB or 1TB hdd later.

I'm planning to spend my money on the more important upgrades and throw the rest into VGA. So here are a few questions that I hope you guys can help me with:
1. Is it necessary to get the cooling fan and PSU upgrade?
2. Any need to upgrade the mobo? I don't really know the differences between different models.
3. Is the CPU and RAM upgrade worth it/necessary?
4. I've read that the GTX 560 Ti is not worth the money since spending a bit more could get me the HD7850 which performs a lot better. But judging from the prices, if I upgrade the PSU and cooling fan, getting the HD7850 would totally overshoots my budget. Would there be any problem if I run the system with HD7850 without those upgrades? Or should I just upgrade the PSU and cooling fan then get a cheaper VGA?
5. Any other comments or suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[cliffro]

I don't see any issues, Though with the 7850 and the Hyper 212 Evo it works out to $1,049.96. 39.99 of it being the cooler.

I'm planning to spend my money on the more important upgrades and throw the rest into VGA. So here are a few questions that I hope you guys can help me with:
1. Is it necessary to get the cooling fan and PSU upgrade? With a single GPU? No on the PSU, and I personally detest stock cooling...so I'd say yes to the CPU Cooler.
2. Any need to upgrade the mobo? I don't really know the differences between different models. Not really, unless there is a specific feature you are looking for that the Gigabyte doesn't offer, like UEFI which the Gigabyte Z68's don't have.
3. Is the CPU and RAM upgrade worth it/necessary? Not really, but with a max turbo speed of 3.5GHZ that CPU is kinda slow, but you may be able to raise the Turbo speed a little bit
4. I've read that the GTX 560 Ti is not worth the money since spending a bit more could get me the HD7850 which performs a lot better. But judging from the prices, if I upgrade the PSU and cooling fan, getting the HD7850 would totally overshoots my budget. Would there be any problem if I run the system with HD7850 without those upgrades? Or should I just upgrade the PSU and cooling fan then get a cheaper VGA? Get the 7850, keep the original 500w PSU or upgrade to next one up the Antec 520w as I'd trust it more than the Thermaltake.
5. Any other comments or suggestions?


Thanks in advance.

Actually my price was using a mechanical Hard Drive, as 64GB isn't enough realistically, unless you have some older mechanical HDD's you could throw in.

 

[xtongx]

I don't see any issues, Though with the 7850 and the Hyper 212 Evo it works out to $1,049.96. 39.99 of it being the cooler.

I'm planning to spend my money on the more important upgrades and throw the rest into VGA. So here are a few questions that I hope you guys can help me with:
1. Is it necessary to get the cooling fan and PSU upgrade? With a single GPU? No on the PSU, and I personally detest stock cooling...so I'd say yes to the CPU Cooler.
2. Any need to upgrade the mobo? I don't really know the differences between different models. Not really, unless there is a specific feature you are looking for that the Gigabyte doesn't offer, like UEFI which the Gigabyte Z68's don't have.
3. Is the CPU and RAM upgrade worth it/necessary? Not really, but with a max turbo speed of 3.5GHZ that CPU is kinda slow, but you may be able to raise the Turbo speed a little bit
4. I've read that the GTX 560 Ti is not worth the money since spending a bit more could get me the HD7850 which performs a lot better. But judging from the prices, if I upgrade the PSU and cooling fan, getting the HD7850 would totally overshoots my budget. Would there be any problem if I run the system with HD7850 without those upgrades? Or should I just upgrade the PSU and cooling fan then get a cheaper VGA? Get the 7850, keep the original 500w PSU or upgrade to next one up the Antec 520w as I'd trust it more than the Thermaltake.
5. Any other comments or suggestions?


Thanks in advance.

Actually my price was using a mechanical Hard Drive, as 64GB isn't enough realistically, unless you have some older mechanical HDD's you could throw in.

Thanks a lot for your reply. I'm gonna throw in a mechanical hdd in a few weeks and use my external hdd for storage for the time being so I might just stick with the SSD. Anyway, it turns out that the store actually charges $99.99 for assembly so I think I'm just gonna buy the parts, assemble it myself and spend the 99 on better parts.

So based on your suggestions, I'm gonna go for the following upgrades:
1. Hyper 212 Evo cooling fan.
2. Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7850 Overclock
3. Antec 520W PSU

After these upgrades and deducting the assembly fee, the system's total price is ~$961 so I have another ~$40 to spare. That brings me to another few questions:
1. What should I spend them on?
2. Will upgrading the RAM show any improvement? I think I've read somewhere that the Kingston valueRAM's performance isn't very good for gaming.
3. Is the 3450 any better than 2500k in terms of performance or any way?

I look forward to your reply. Thanks.

 

[cliffro]

You're Welcome.

RAM is RAM, especially when your not overclocking it or tightening the timings. Though I found better for less http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-3714101...GB)_DDR3_Desktop_Memory_1600MHz_(PC3_12800)_9

The 2500K would be the better of the two, it's honestly not bias talking, the 2500K is unlocked, and can very easily even on Stock Cooling hit 4ghz(or higher) with a simple change of CPU Ratio in Bios or you can just change the turbo multiplier/setting to run that speed.

And you wouldn't notice any difference in games between Kingston Value(or Corsair or Gskill) and their more expensive version. But I linked to some faster Geil sticks that are still cheaper and actually in stock where as the KVR was out of stock.

I also noticed that Mwave.com.au's logo looks an awful lot like mwave.com's (it's a US store)

 

[xtongx]

You're Welcome.

RAM is RAM, especially when your not overclocking it or tightening the timings. Though I found better for less http://www.mwave.com.au/sku-3714101...GB)_DDR3_Desktop_Memory_1600MHz_(PC3_12800)_9

The 2500K would be the better of the two, it's honestly not bias talking, the 2500K is unlocked, and can very easily even on Stock Cooling hit 4ghz(or higher) with a simple change of CPU Ratio in Bios or you can just change the turbo multiplier/setting to run that speed.

And you wouldn't notice any difference in games between Kingston Value(or Corsair or Gskill) and their more expensive version. But I linked to some faster Geil sticks that are still cheaper and actually in stock where as the KVR was out of stock.

I also noticed that Mwave.com.au's logo looks an awful lot like mwave.com's (it's a US store)

Thanks a lot man. You've been a great help. I guess I'll go for the 2500K and the cheaper RAM.
Yeah, the only difference is the color of the logo. I suppose they're the same company. It's so hard to find a store with wide range of choices and reasonable price here in Australia. mwave(au) is one of the few, it may not be the cheapest but it's not overpriced as well. some online stores here don't even offer delivery. I'm so envious of you guys who live in US (

 

[xtongx]

Best answer selected by xtongx.

 

[cliffro]

You're welcome. I come here to help others, I also learn new things myself.