First Computer Build - could use some advice, please.

[wolvenhold]

Hi everyone,

I am a disillusioned Mac user planning on building a new desktop computer for myself. It will primarily be for productivity and gaming purposes. I am on a budget- I would like to keep the whole system, including peripherals, below $1000. Any advice on compatibility, or different parts that I would be better off substituting for what I have got, would be greatly appreciated. I am planning to dual boot it Windows7 (for gaming) and Linux Mint (for working).

CPU: Intel Core i3 3220 - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=21350

GPU: ASUS Radeon 7750 1GB - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19724

Motherboard: ASUS P8H61-MX-USB3 Motherboard - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=21281

RAM: G.Skill (2x4GB) DDR3 - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16930

SSD: Plextor PX-128M5S 128GB SSD - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?
main_page=product_info&products_id=21542

HDD: Western Digital WD Blue 1TB - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=21231

Case: Antec One Gaming Case - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19320

PSU: Antec VP450P 450W Power Supply - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18878

Disk Drive: Lite-On 24x DVDRW - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=11487

Wireless Card: TP-Link 300Mbps Wireless N PCI Adapter - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=17622

As you can see, I am sourcing all my parts from pccasegear.com, as I am in Australia and they offer the best prices.

 

[excella1221]

You can do much better than that.
Here's my suggestion:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: ASRock B75 PRO3-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($70.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($90.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($309.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($75.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Other: TP-Link 300Mbps Wireless N PCI Adapter ($21.00)
Total: $982.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[wolvenhold]

Wow, thanks for the help there. Even if I don't use all the parts you suggest, as I would like to stay under my budget if I can, there are some great alternative picks there that I will use. One question I did have, I was thinking of dropping the SSD and changing the 1TB Caviar Blue to a 1TB Caviar Black. This would bring my total spend down quite a bit, but how adversely would it affect performance?

 

[wanderer11]

Wow, thanks for the help there. Even if I don't use all the parts you suggest, as I would like to stay under my budget if I can, there are some great alternative picks there that I will use. One question I did have, I was thinking of dropping the SSD and changing the 1TB Caviar Blue to a 1TB Caviar Black. This would bring my total spend down quite a bit, but how adversely would it affect performance?

The ssd will only affect loading time. If loading time is important to you then get the ssd if not then you can skip it. excella has a good build and you could just drop the ssd to save money. You may also want a modular psu, but your case doesn't have a window so it's not a huge deal.

 

[mohit9206]

may i know whats the difference between black, blue and green variants of wd caviar hdd models ? it confuses me a lot

 

[wanderer11]

may i know whats the difference between black, blue and green variants of wd caviar hdd models ? it confuses me a lot

Green is the slowest and supposed to be energy efficient, black is the high performance, and blue is in the middle. Black generally have a 5 year warranty I believe, while blue has 2 or 3. I don't know about green. I bought a blue because I didn't think the price difference for a black was worth it.

 

[wolvenhold]

Best answer selected by wolvenhold.

 

[wolvenhold]

Could I also ask how much thought I should put into my power supply? I have mainly been looking at Antec ones. Are they considered reliable? Are there any noticable problems with the Antec VP450P 450W Power Supply?

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=18878

 

[excella1221]

Antec is a reliable brand, yes.
That PSU you linked though kinda sucks. Dual +12v rails @ 360w/30amps.

Other reputable PSUs I consider are Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Rosewill, Seasonic, and XFX.

I'm not sure what GPU you'll be getting but let's get 500-550w to be safe.
Here's a few better ones:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=15135
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=16290
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_972&products_id=14393
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=21569

 

[wolvenhold]

Okay, thanks so much for your help. I think I will go with the 520w Neo Eco.