Biggles_

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Hello,

So I have never built a PC before, and do not have a great deal of knowledge about PC parts. I've already got an optical drive and small hard drive (need another), though neither have any cables with them so I'm not sure.


Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next 3 weeks

Budget Range: $750 MAX ($700 preferably)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (Flight Sims, Minecraft, GTA IV, BF3), Youtube, Browsing, Movies

Are you buying a monitor: No, when I get some more money I will.

Do you need to buy OS: No.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: umart.com.au (Sunshine Coast), all from one place. Pccasegear would work, though around $70 needs to be left for shipping.

Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Parts Preferences: I'd like an i5 if my budget would allow it. Also a video card at least as good as a HD 7770. 8GB ram.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1366 x 768 (TV), upgrading to 1920 x 1080 when I have enough saved.

Additional Comments: Mainly for Realflight G4, Minecraft, Battlefield 3, GTA IV.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I want to have the experience of building my own PC. That and my current laptop is rubbish.

I understand my budget is pretty steep, Thanks in advance!

Oh, if anyone knows how to make it show least to most expensive and if there's search function on umart, it would be appreciated!
 
From Umart

AMD FX 4100 processor $127
Asus M5A97 evo motherboard $123
2 x2 gig of Gskill DDR3 RAM $30
Western Digital blue 500 gig hard drive $68
DVD drive $25
Silverstone 500 watt power suppy $61
Antec ONE case $67

That totals $501 without a graphics card

You can have a
Radeon 7850 if you want to go as high as $750 and that would be my choice since its the latest generation and cooler running

A little less will get you an nVidia 560ti

or plain Jane GTX 560
 

Biggles_

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Thanks for that. I would rather 8GB and rather an intel CPU if possible. I also already have an optical drive, though there are no cables with it. Also, is that motherboard ATX or mATX? Thanks!
 
If you can stretch your budget to $800, you could get yourself a very modest PC :)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($149.00 @ Scorptec)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($85.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.00 @ Scorptec)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($289.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Power Supply: Corsair 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($69.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Total: $785.00
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-09 16:45 EST+1000)

This or you could compromise on your GPU a little bit and go with a HD6870/HD6850

 
that is an ATX board . It wont take an intel processor of course

If you do go intel your budget will fit only a dual core processor . It would game about the same , but be a little less powerful multitasking

You do not need even 4 gig of ram for your intended usage . 8 will not increase performance unless you have 300+ browser tabs open at any one time
 

Biggles_

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Do I really need a $300 graphics card? I dont really care too much about graphics, more about frames. Do you think I should get an i5 instead?
 


Well if you don't care about your graphical settings, then you can get a cheaper graphics card. But don't go below an HD6850 as your performance will suffer GREATLY. An HD6850 will struggle with max settings @ 1080p on Battlefield 3, but if you don't mind playing on Medium/High settings, then I think it would be a suitable option for you.

However, GPU>CPU. Never compromise on your GPU to get a better CPU :pfff: :non:
 

Biggles_

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Okay, so you you don't think an i5 is worth it at all? I always though GPU = Quality CPU = Frames. Guess I was wrong. Wouldn't a better cpu help with flight sims and minecraft especially?
 

I'm not too sure about the Flight Sims, but for minecraft, a friend of mine plays it with absolutely no lag on an Athlon II X2 :lol:

Though a quality CPU is needed to support your GPU, you don't want to compromise too much on the GPU/CPU combination.

If getting an i5 means you have to compromise on your GPU to something like an HD7770, then it's a no go. i3+HD7850 would perform much better.
 

Biggles_

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Okay thanks for the advice. I couldnt find a few things on umart.com.au, so I found similar items, though I'm not sure if they're okay.

Ram: G Skill 8G(2x4G) DDR3 1600Mhz PC12800 RL 9-9-9-24(CL9D-8GBRL)
Storage: Western Digital 500G SATA3 HDD Caviar Blue
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H MB, Intel H77 Chipset, Socket 1155, 4x DDR3,
PSU: Antec VP-550P 550W Strictly PSU

Also couldnt find the 7850, if possible could you recommend something similar off umart.com.au? Can't find a search function, so it's a bit difficult..

Thanks for the help so far!
 


Of course :) I'll see what I can find.

The only concern I have is the voltage on the RAM, make sure it's 1.5v and NOT 1.65v! Otherwise I don't see an issue with the board or PSU. They're both of very nice quality.

I'll try my best to navigate this site :lol: :D

***EDIT***
http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=248&bid=6&sid=95259
http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=248&bid=6&sid=94626

 

Biggles_

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Not sure about this umart site.. No search function or product stock. Maybe pccasegear.com is better. I can find more of the stuff you listed there. Sorry to jerk you around, youve been a big help. Still not sure about $250 for a gpu though, would a HD 7770 Ghz edition suffice? Thanks heaps!
 

Biggles_

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This is what I've got on pccasgear.com:

Intel Core i3 2120
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16726

Seagate Barracuda 500GB ST500DM002
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18357

CoolerMaster Elite 430 Black with window
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14859

Corsair CX-500 V2 Power Supply
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=17373

Found tons of mothorboards and memory, I have no clue which to pick! Thanks!
 
use a mb with an H77 chipset

M-ATX or ATX will be fine

The elit 430 case is OK but totally featureless and not easy to build in thanks to no cable management system .
At only little more the Antec ONE is a much superior case and has front USB 3 ports to connect to a mb with an internal usb 3 header
 

Biggles_

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Done a bit of research myself and finished the build. If you could have a look over it, I would greatly appreciate it!


Intel Core i3 2120
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16726

Gigabyte KM6150 Multimedia USB Keyboard and Mouse
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=15324

Powercolor Radeon HD7770 GHz Edition 1GB
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20830

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

Sharkoon T28 Blue Case USB 3.0
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19843

Antec VP550P 550W Power Supply
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18877

ASUS P8B75-M-LX Motherboard
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20802

G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (2x2G) DDR3
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13105

Monitor is 1366 x 768 (TV) connecting with VGA. Also would like to know if USB 3.0 will work on the front of the case.

Thanks heaps!

EDIT: Noticed my TV only has HDMI and VGA inputs, is this an issue?