First build - Parts picked out, are they suitable? - New Build

October 4, 2012 8:36:04 AM

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month.

Budget Range: New Zealand, approx. $2,000. $2,500 max. (after shipping)

System Usage: Gaming, surfing the net.

Are you buying a monitor: Not yet.

Do you need to buy OS: No, have Windows 7 64-bit

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.ascent.co.nz/category.aspx

Location: Central Wellington, New Zealand

Parts Preferences:
I am looking to get an Ivy-Bridge CPU, but probably don't need a high-end one.

For a video card, I want to get one at least the level of a GTX 660 Ti or Radeon HD 7870

For a case, I want one that is easy to build in, has a good default air cooling set up, and is very good at dealing with dust (e.g easily cleanable dust filters)

Overclocking: No

SLI/Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024, but planning to upgrade to 1920x1080 in the near future.

These are the parts I have picked out so far. I am looking to build a system that should me keep playing at 1920x1080 with decent graphics settings in games for a couple of years. Do you think these parts should do the job? Can you think of better alternatives? Am I going overboard with some parts, or spending too little on some other parts?

i5-3570 3.4 GHz, Ivy Bridge CPU
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

HIS 7870 IceQ X, Radeon HD 7870 Video Card
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Gigabyte GA-H77-D3H Motherboard
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, CPU Cooler
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

A-Data 1x8GB, DDR3-1600, PC3-12800, CL9
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

FSP Aurum CM 750, 750W ATX PSU
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Silverstone Raven RV02 Evolution USB3.0 Full Tower Case
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 Hard Drive, 1000GB, 7200rpm, 64MB Cache, SATA 6 Gb/s
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

A-Data Premier Pro SP900 Solid State Drive, 128GB, SATA 6 Gb/s, 2.5"
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

LG GH24NS90 DVD Writer
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Any advice anyone could give me would be much appreciated, thanks!

More about : build parts picked suitable

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jrunv

October 4, 2012 10:14:45 AM

uncalibrate said:

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month.

Budget Range: New Zealand, approx. $2,000. $2,500 max. (after shipping)

System Usage: Gaming, surfing the net.

Are you buying a monitor: Not yet.

Do you need to buy OS: No, have Windows 7 64-bit

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.ascent.co.nz/category.aspx

Location: Central Wellington, New Zealand

Parts Preferences:
I am looking to get an Ivy-Bridge CPU, but probably don't need a high-end one.

For a video card, I want to get one at least the level of a GTX 660 Ti or Radeon HD 7870

For a case, I want one that is easy to build in, has a good default air cooling set up, and is very good at dealing with dust (e.g easily cleanable dust filters)

Overclocking: No

SLI/Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024, but planning to upgrade to 1920x1080 in the near future.

These are the parts I have picked out so far. I am looking to build a system that should me keep playing at 1920x1080 with decent graphics settings in games for a couple of years. Do you think these parts should do the job? Can you think of better alternatives? Am I going overboard with some parts, or spending too little on some other parts?

i5-3570 3.4 GHz, Ivy Bridge CPU
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

HIS 7870 IceQ X, Radeon HD 7870 Video Card
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Gigabyte GA-H77-D3H Motherboard
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, CPU Cooler
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

A-Data 1x8GB, DDR3-1600, PC3-12800, CL9
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

FSP Aurum CM 750, 750W ATX PSU
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Silverstone Raven RV02 Evolution USB3.0 Full Tower Case
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 Hard Drive, 1000GB, 7200rpm, 64MB Cache, SATA 6 Gb/s
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

A-Data Premier Pro SP900 Solid State Drive, 128GB, SATA 6 Gb/s, 2.5"
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

LG GH24NS90 DVD Writer
http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemI...

Any advice anyone could give me would be much appreciated, thanks!

hey there im from nz too

i recomened using this site instead www.alphacity.co.nz they have great prices and costumer service they are very trustworthy and the shipping is pretty quick

here is my build that i have made using this site:

cpu: i5 3570k-$316.19
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

gpu: Gigabyte hd 7950-$477.79
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

mobo: asrock z77 Extreme4-$202.8
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

cpu cooler: cooler master hyper 212 evo-$49.63
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

ram: Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL8 Unbuffered Venge Memory-$92.32
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

psu: fsp aurum series 600w gold certified psu -$122.79
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

case: Corsair Obsidian 650D-$271.94
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

hdd: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1000GB (1TB) SATA3 642MB Cache 7200RPM-$106.94
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

ssd: OCZ Agility4 128G-$139.56
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

optical drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBS 22x SATA DVD-Writer BULK O-$34.73
http://www.alphacity.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_...

altogether thats:$1814.69

becareful when browsing the site all the prices are listed without included gst but the price i made is including gst any way you end up saving a tonne of money and getting a faster system

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excella1221

October 4, 2012 1:21:13 PM

Here you go,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($316.24 @ PB Technologies)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($56.35 @ PB Technologies)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($215.00 @ PC Force)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($80.68 @ Ascent Technology)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.00 @ Computer Lounge)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($517.39 @ Aquila Technology)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($199.00 @ Computer Lounge)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($218.31 @ Ascent Technology)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($35.42 @ Aquila Technology)
Total: $1747.39
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

You can add another card for Crossfire whenever you want and you won't need to upgrade PSU with this setup.

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Wisecracker

October 4, 2012 3:27:41 PM

Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 AM3+: $217 inc GST

AMD FX-8120: $224 inc GST

Gigabyte HD 7950: $484 inc GST

Make sure that HD7950 will fit in your case!

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jrunv

October 5, 2012 3:12:15 AM

excella1221 said:

Here you go,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($316.24 @ PB Technologies)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($56.35 @ PB Technologies)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($215.00 @ PC Force)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($80.68 @ Ascent Technology)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.00 @ Computer Lounge)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($517.39 @ Aquila Technology)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($199.00 @ Computer Lounge)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($218.31 @ Ascent Technology)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($35.42 @ Aquila Technology)
Total: $1747.39
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

You can add another card for Crossfire whenever you want and you won't need to upgrade PSU with this setup.

you forgot the ssd and all the prices i listed is cheaper and i wouldnt trust some of those places pb tech is ok but i dont know about the others

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excella1221

October 5, 2012 4:14:34 AM

Yes, apparently I forgot the SSD. Will add one later when I get home.

"all" is such a strong word. Please take another look since I'm not the one who suggested a more expensive RAM, an overpriced mid tower, and an SSD that doesn't have very good performance.

I'd also like to point out that it's either the -K version of the 3570, or not the 3570 at all since the only point of getting it is for the unlocked multiplier and you're better off with a 3450 or a 3470 instead of paying alot of dollars for 0.1GHz.

Regarding the stores, I doubt pcpartpicker would recommend unworthy retailers. And even so, I included a link with a price breakdown if he wanted a single merchant.

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uncalibrate

October 5, 2012 11:52:35 PM

@jasonnt78: Thanks for that, was wondering about the ram and whether I should get 2x4GB instead of 1x8GB, nice to know for sure now. Same with the PSU, good to know I don't need too much grunt. I used to live on the Gold Coast, so I know what you mean about the prices, they are way better over there.

@jrunv: Thanks for the recommendation about Alpha City. I know someone who mentioned them also, but was going to go with Ascent as they are just around the corner from where I work, but on the other hand that's not really that big a deal, cheaper prices sound good!

@excella1221: Thanks for the link to PC Part Picker, looks like a VERY useful website, can't wait to check it out properly.

@Wisecracker: Thanks for the recommendations. I'm pretty keen on an Ivy Bridge, so I think i'll skip on the FX-8120, though my Phenom II 945 has served me well.

A few more things I wanted to know if someone can help me:

- FSP, does anyone know if they are a quality PSU brand? Or am I probably better off going for a more expensive, but well known brand?

- What are the best RAM brands? I've heard corsair are pretty decent, what others are good?

- Same as the above with SSDs? Which are the brands that are the best?

Thanks everyone for your advice!

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excella1221

October 6, 2012 2:34:23 AM

I don't actually know FSP, nor have I seen anyone else recommend it save this thread. The FSP is actually overpriced as well, Corsair has a 600w that goes for $85, Antec has a 650w for $90. So yes, you can do better, but I won't recommend a 600-650w PSU since they are overkill for your current build, and will be insufficient if you add another GPU since a 750w will be in order by then.

Best RAMs IMO will either be from Corsair or G.Skill.

For SSDs, there's Samsung, OCZ, Sandisk.

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jrunv

October 6, 2012 5:27:18 AM

actualy the fsp aurum series psus are a lot cheaper in nz than the us and there gold certified which means they are really efficent and my friend has a 600w one and he says its pretty good

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excella1221

October 6, 2012 5:50:10 AM

Ah, alright then. If your friend is really sure, then I guess FSP can be considered.

Btw, the Antec and Corsair prices I gave were actually NZD.
Bronze certifications are all you need, the difference to Gold aren't that big compared to the price they charge for it.