1500 gaming pc *Aus*

[BeardOfFury]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within 2 weeks

Budget Range: 1500 aud

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf, http://www.cplonline.com.au/

Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 24 inch HD

Additional Comments:

Hey guys here is my current thoughts on a setup

Core i7-3820 - 289
AsRock X79 Extreme 4 - 236
2G GTX670 Gigabyte - 449
8G Kit 1866 Kingston HyperX - 69
Kingston SVP200S3 120G - 98
Acer S240HLbd - 165
total: - 1306

I'd like to know peoples thoughts on this, how can I save money? or get better value? etc. What's left is a mid range case and power supply which I am currently looking at Thermaltake. I could pilfer the power supply from my old rig which was a 700W Thermaltake but it is currently 5 years old. I am also considering using my old case which is a Thermaltake Kandalf. I'd also prefer an nVidia card as a few games I have now and some I plan on getting use PhysX (Some use it quite heavily) although I may be swayed by a good value ATI setup.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My whole rig is 5 years old and is starting to struggle with newer games. And with the upcoming release of Planetside 2 I figured it was perfect timing for a new rig. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Formata]

Hey there. I will list prices from MSY, but link from PCCaseGear because they have better detailed info. With a $1500 budget, your just not going to see any performance benefit building on an x79 platform for gaming. Going with an unlocked i5 on z77 will give you the required CPU performance for gaming, and free up your budget to allow for serious GPU performance with a gtx 670 (which is what counts for most games).

CPU - Intel 3570K $235.00
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=20138

CPU Cooler - CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO - $36
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=18670

MOBO - Asrock z77 EXtreme4 - $145
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=19867

RAM - G.Skill Ares F3-1600C9D-8GAO 8GB - $55
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=19632

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 1TB - $89
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_344&products_id=19747

SSD - SanDisk Extreme Solid State Drive 120GB - $99
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=19790

GPU - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB - $469 (unsure if this is the exact model MSY stock... thinking it could be the reference card not OC model)
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_1387&products_id=20209

CASE - Coolermaster HAF RC-912A - $99
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=15892

PSU - Antec High Current Gamer 620W - $93
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.ph [...] s_id=15134

OPTICAL - Samsung SATA DVDRW Drive - $19
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=658_667&products_id=19482

$1339

Additional for monitor:

Screen - 24” 2ms Asus VS248H - $195
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=558_1087&products_id=16558

 

[bigcyco1]

Here is my suggestion if you don't like it no worries it's all good just showing you another option.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.00 @ Mwave Australia)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($36.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($159.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.00 @ Scorptec)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($469.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($118.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Power Supply: Antec 620W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($95.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Monitor: Asus VE248H 24.0" Monitor ($195.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Total: $1480.00
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-09 15:10 EST+1000)

 

[BeardOfFury]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. So far it seems like the base agreement is:

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB
Intel i5-3570K
Antec 620w PSU
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Are most Gigabyte GTX 670s overclocked?

 

[bigcyco1]

I am not sure the Windforce is though i am not aware of any other Gigabyte 670's you can compare here with the 670's listed:

10.0 Rating Asus 670 TOP
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_670_Direct_Cu_II/33.html

9.8 Rating Gigabyte Windforce OC
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GeForce_GTX_670_Windforce/33.html


9.7 Rating MSI PE Twin Frozr IV
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_670_Power_Edition/33.html

9.7 Rating NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670/

9.6 Rating Zotac AMP 670
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Zotac/GeForce_GTX_670_Amp_Edition/33.html

 

[BeardOfFury]

Thanks for the help guys. So far It's looking like:

Intel 3570k - 235
AsRock z77 Extreme 4 - 145
2G nVidia GTX670 - 469+
G.Skill Ares F3-1600C9D-8G - 55
Sandisk SDD Extreme 120G - 99
Antec HCG 620W - 93
CoolerMaster Hyper 202 EBO - 36
Samsung S24A450BW - 229

total - 1361

Decided to up the screen to a 16:10 Samsung. For the case I'll just use my old Kandalf case as it is a beast of a case with great cooling. Still need to decide if I'll get another HDD as I've got 3 sitting in my other rig, although I don't believe they are SATA3. Is there are huge difference between SATA2 and 3?

 

[tuganu]

for gaming lga 1155 so get 3570k. you dont need any x79 cpus unless you are going crazy with video editing. I MEAN CRAZY. and if you want i7 get i7 3770K. I think you should wait untill 660 Ti comes out. It is rumored that when that happens all other prices will drop

 

[Formata]

That list is looking good.

The GPU they picture on their website for the Gigabyte card is the 'windforce' model for the gtx 670. The price looks more like it would be in line with the reference model but who knows???

http://www.msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=9107

Not sure I'd trust it though.... I'd give your local a call to double check.

If you've got those HDDs to spare, I would use one for now. You've got the SSD for when speed is required. One happy day Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB HDDs might become available in Aus again... and maybe they will be $60 (which is what you used to pay for them) Ha

 

[BeardOfFury]

Is there a big difference between the AsRock z77 Extreme 4 and the Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155? From what I can tell AsRock has a better power delivery system but the Asus has better software/features. Leaning towards the AsRock. Also I can get the Gigabyte nVivida 670 OC from my local CentreCom which is good news.

 

[Formata]

Yeah, doesn't look like too much difference... better power phase config with the Asrock, extra SATA 6 ports, extra USB 3, haven't heard much about that Asus Mobo.

Good news on that GPU, it's an awesome card.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217.html

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GeForce_GTX_670_Windforce/

Just don't pay too much. If its a lot more than what MSY are selling, might not be worth it.

 

[BeardOfFury]

This is the one from CentreCom

http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/n670oc-free-shipping-gigabyte-nvidia-gtx670-p-58115.html?sort=2a

So only 15 more than the MSY one. I think we have a good build here.