• Building PC for a friend
    29 replies, posted
Hey. My friend is looking for a decent gaming PC, so i offered to build one for him and he agreed. Ive researched some parts and here's the list: CPU: i3-540 (3.1 GHz)-$159 Motherboard: GB-H55M-S2H$100. Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper TX3 $27 RAM: 4G Kit ddr3 1333 Kingston $124 Graphics: Gainward 1GB 9800GT $119 HDD: Seagate SATA 500G $55. Optical: SATA LG $32 Case: CoolerMaster RC-690 $146 PSU: RC-690 comes with PSU . Screen: 20” Asus VH202T $158 OS: Windows 7 Home premium 32-bit $108 Wireless card: same as below $25 Price: $1053 ATI/AMD setup: Processor: AM3 x4 630 $119 Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper TX3 $27 Mobo: Asus M4A78LT-M-LE $72 RAM: 4GB Kit ddr3 1333 Kingston $124 GPU: Gigabyte 1GB 5670 $127 HDD: Seagate SATA 500G $55 Optical: SATA LG $32 Case: CM RC-690 $146 OS: Windows 7 Home premium 32-bit $108 Screen: 20” Asus VH202T $158 Wireless Card: D-Link PCI DWA-510 $25 Price: $993 Some parts recommended by bladerunner. cheaper and hopefully better. If you have any suggestions, please suggest. Thanks Prices are Australian Dollars. the max price is $1100 Australian Could you give me some advice on areas of improvment or better parts. Also, I'm looking for a wireless network card too, so if you have a good one please recommend it. If your going to post parts, dont post URL's, because im getting the parts from my local computer shop. He's probably going to use it for Source games and Gmod, and maybe Bad Company 2. Probably wont overclock, but i have the aftermarket cooler so the processor doesnt overheat during gaming, which is a problem that i faced. Thanks
You can get a 21.5" acer 1920x1080 LCD from [url]www.umart.com.au[/url] for 170 AUD. 16" widescreen LCDs look very short, far too short for web browsing with ease. Why are you getting a 9800GT? a 5670 or 5770 is only 150 to 180 dollars. At your price range, going for an AMD Athlon II X4 630 @ 120 dollars and a Asus M4A78LT-M-LE at 70 dollars, you'll have enough money to buy a decent power supply like OCZ StealthXstream 500W, 80 bucks and its going to be better then any power supply that comes with a case. with that you can get the same case without PSU for around 100 bucks for wireless cards, grab any D-link one, they have drivers for windows 7 and all my computers use them, never a problem with connectivity also your going to pay a fair bit extra if you buy from your local computer shop
[QUOTE=Bladerunner1;21645930]You can get a 21.5" acer 1920x1080 LCD from [url]www.umart.com.au[/url] for 170 AUD. 16" widescreen LCDs look very short, far too short for web browsing with ease. Why are you getting a 9800GT? a 5670 or 5770 is only 150 to 180 dollars. At your price range, going for an AMD Athlon II X4 630 @ 120 dollars and a Asus M4A78LT-M-LE at 70 dollars, you'll have enough money to buy a decent power supply like OCZ StealthXstream 500W, 80 bucks and its going to be better then any power supply that comes with a case. with that you can get the same case without PSU for around 100 bucks for wireless cards, grab any D-link one, they have drivers for windows 7 and all my computers use them, never a problem with connectivity also your going to pay a fair bit extra if you buy from your local computer shop[/QUOTE] Thanks for the advice. By 'Local Computer shop', i mean my Local MSY. i compared prices and their about the same as Umart. I prefer to shop at MSY because I've been there alot. MSY have the mobo you suggested and they do have the processor. I was going with a 9800GT because I dont really know what ATI cards are good, and ive heard good things about the 9800GT. A Gigabyte 5670 is $127 from MSY, so now im doing another possibility with that card and the processor you suggested. The reason I'm getting the case is because 2 of my friends have it and they say its very good. one of my friends is running an i5 setup with a GTX260 and the power supply that came with it runs it fine. Also, MSY dont have the case without the PSU. As for the wireless card. is the D-Link PCI DWA-510 good for $27, and will it be able to connect to any wifi network? Do you know if the Asus 20" VH202T is any good for $158? And also thanks for your advice. Updated OP with possible rig
from the benchmarks I've seen the 9800gt is actually better than the HD 5670.
[QUOTE=Makol;21646466]from the benchmarks I've seen the 9800gt is actually better than the HD 5670.[/QUOTE] So my ignorance to ATI cards is alright?
see if you can find a 5750 for a good price since it would better, but if you have keep within the budget then I guess the 9800gt is ok. [editline]03:47AM[/editline] and you do know you can mix AMD with Nvidia and Intel with ATI? [editline]03:51AM[/editline] holy shit, both come out to $993 and when mixing the parts around they still come out to be $993... wtf?
[QUOTE=Makol;21646539]see if you can find a 5750 for a good price since it would better, but if you have keep within the budget then I guess the 9800gt is ok. [editline]03:47AM[/editline] and you do know you can mix AMD with Nvidia and Intel with ATI?[/QUOTE] Yes I do. Checking price on the 5750, then will compare it to 9800GT. I might go with the AMD mobo and processor, and a Nvidia card. Will update OP when complete
ok.
[QUOTE=MikesaLemon;21646382]As for the wireless card. is the D-Link PCI DWA-510 good for $27, and will it be able to connect to any wifi network? Do you know if the Asus 20" VH202T is any good for $158? And also thanks for your advice. Updated OP with possible rig[/QUOTE] Yes, it will be able to connect to any wireless network, 20" widescreen is good, its got enough height to make it easy to browse. Also thank you for not being ignorant like half the people who come here asking for help then ignore everything that they get reccomended.
the 5750 is like 50 bucks more expensive. I'd rather stick with the 9800GT or the 5750. Im also considering upgrading MY mobo/CPU/RAM and getting windows 7. then ill be able to build a second computer from parts that i have lying around and the parts i'll take out. now all i need is $478
Don't do the 5750, get the 5770 even as it's more expensive. Otherwise go with a 48** card. I've looked up benchmarks, and in some tasks the Propus 630 is faster than the i3, due to "real" quad-core instead of Hyper-Threading. On a other note, get the 64-bit win7, since you with a 5770/4850/70/90 only will be able to use 3GB RAM, with 32-Bit.
[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;21647576]Don't do the 5750, get the 5770 even as it's more expensive. Otherwise go with a 48** card. I've looked up benchmarks, and in some tasks the Propus 630 is faster than the i3, due to "real" quad-core instead of Hyper-Threading. On a other note, get the 64-bit win7, since you with a 5770/4850/70/90 only will be able to use 3GB RAM, with 32-Bit.[/QUOTE] Im still leaning towards the 9800GT, because its cheaper and from what i heard, runs source engine games on full with decent framerates. Also, i3 is dual core
[QUOTE=MikesaLemon;21647595]Im still leaning towards the 9800GT, because its cheaper and from what i heard, runs source engine games on full with decent framerates. Also, i3 is dual core[/QUOTE] Well, I knew that, and that's why I said that the Propus is a "real" quad-core, where the i3 is not. It uses hyper-threading to simulate a extra core in each core, thereby being a "fake" quad-core. Link to benchmarks for GFX's: [url]http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Crysis-v1.21,749.html[/url] The 4870 512mb get's o.1 FPS less than the 9800GTX(s)...
4870
[QUOTE=derlicious;21650344]4870[/QUOTE] Thanks for the backup!
[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;21650359]Thanks for the backup![/QUOTE] No. A 4870 would be a horrible choice. 4870s are ~$180 right now. Why would you get one when the 5770 performs the same and is $30 cheaper?
Oh didnt realise it was so high at the moment The 4890s are only 200$ if you want to spend that and i think they would be better than a 5770 i believe, appart from DX version
[QUOTE=ghostofme;21650472]No. A 4870 would be a horrible choice. 4870s are ~$180 right now. Why would you get one when the 5770 performs the same and is $30 cheaper?[/QUOTE] Maybe some time ago:[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121376&cm_re=4870-_-14-121-376-_-Product[/url] But now they're at 160$, which is about the same as the 5770, and from what I've seen, the 4870 outperforms the 5770... Quick add-on to the text: In some games, for example, Crysis.
If it was me: On the Intel I'd get the 530, you are going to overclock this anyways right? Might as well save $20 (newegg price, don't know if it's the same there). Ati 4850 would be an alternative to a 9800GT. It's a bit faster, but will likely also be more expensive. For a 20" 16x9 monitor, a 4850 or 9800GT is all you need. A 5670 would do fine on Source games, but struggle with newer games a bit. A 5670 is not really enough for DX11 games either. A 5xxx series card would put much less stress on the powersupply. I sank a lot of money in my Lian Li case. Looking back, I wouldn't do it again. I'd concentrate on a quality powersupply and get a basic case. I'd rather put the money in a faster vidcard and CPU first, a fancy looking case second, but that's just me. I'd rather get the 630 if it's much cheaper, $20 or more, than the Intel 530. Factoring in the resolution you plan, Source games you mention, and overclocking, I don't think you'll see a big enough difference in performance to justify the increased cost. And I think BFBC 2 will use the extra cores.
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;21657220]If it was me: On the Intel I'd get the 530, you are going to overclock this anyways right? Might as well save $20 (newegg price, don't know if it's the same there). Ati 4850 would be an alternative to a 9800GT. It's a bit faster, but will likely also be more expensive. For a 20" 16x9 monitor, a 4850 or 9800GT is all you need. A 5670 would do fine on Source games, but struggle with newer games a bit. A 5670 is not really enough for DX11 games either. A 5xxx series card would put much less stress on the powersupply. I sank a lot of money in my Lian Li case. Looking back, I wouldn't do it again. I'd concentrate on a quality powersupply and get a basic case. I'd rather put the money in a faster vidcard and CPU first, a fancy looking case second, but that's just me. I'd rather get the 630 if it's much cheaper, $20 or more, than the Intel 530. Factoring in the resolution you plan, Source games you mention, and overclocking, I don't think you'll see a big enough difference in performance to justify the increased cost. And I think BFBC 2 will use the extra cores.[/QUOTE] Thanks for the advice. I'm not actually planning on overclocking, expecially since i haven't done it before, and im building for a friend. I am leaning towards the 630. the case I'm getting has a power supply that runs a GTX260 with an i5, so im pretty sure it will run the i3/630 and a 9800GT fine. The final setup im leaning towards is the 630 and the 9800GT. [QUOTE=ghostofme;21650472]No. A 4870 would be a horrible choice. 4870s are ~$180 right now. Why would you get one when the 5770 performs the same and is $30 cheaper?[/QUOTE] I'm going for the 9800GT, as MSY dont have a 4870 and the 5770 is $168
The 4970 doesn't exist. And get a 5750 instead of the 9800GT.
[QUOTE=ghostofme;21659189]The 4970 doesn't exist. And get a 5750 instead of the 9800GT.[/QUOTE] GB 5750 is $168. still prefer the 9800GT
[QUOTE=MikesaLemon;21659382]GB 5750 is $168. still prefer the 9800GT[/QUOTE] You just said the 5770 was 168.
5770 is 169 [url]http://msy.arpatubes.net/display.php?type=product&query=35107[/url]
[QUOTE=MikesaLemon;21657820]Thanks for the advice. I'm not actually planning on overclocking[/QUOTE] Then why are you blowing $30 on a thirdparty cooler? The retail CPU of your choice should come with one that will work fine if no overclocking is involved. That's $30 that could go to something useful, like a better GPU or CPU.
If his friend isnt very tech smart, i doubt he would bother checking temps of things frequently. so spending 30 dollars on a cooler which will make sure it wont overheat, is a good idea. I know when i build computers for the... non-techsmart type, i usually find cases with dust filters and use aftermarket coolers
[QUOTE=Bladerunner1;21661006]If his friend isnt very tech smart, i doubt he would bother checking temps of things frequently. so spending 30 dollars on a cooler which will make sure it wont overheat, is a good idea. I know when i build computers for the... non-techsmart type, i usually find cases with dust filters and use aftermarket coolers[/QUOTE] That makes no sense. If his friend isn't tech smart, and didn't check temperature, it wouldn't matter to get a aftermarket cooler. Stock coolers are fine; the CPU won't overheat. Dust filters add another level of complexity to your case. If not cleaned, they increasingly restrict airflow; not to mention dust will get past. Dust filters are not substitute for regular dusting, in fact, they just add another chore to do (taking out the dust filters and cleaning them).
[QUOTE=FHamster;21661573]That makes no sense. If his friend isn't tech smart, and didn't check temperature, it wouldn't matter to get a aftermarket cooler. Stock coolers are fine; the CPU won't overheat. Dust filters add another level of complexity to your case. If not cleaned, they increasingly restrict airflow; not to mention dust will get past. Dust filters are not substitute for regular dusting, in fact, they just add another chore to do (taking out the dust filters and cleaning them).[/QUOTE] my current case is an antec 902. the dust filters do restrict airflow if you dont clean them, but they make cleaning the entire PC alot easier because less dust gets in also the cooler is a 'just in case' thing. because my CPU overheated without overclocking and i had to get a new motherboard and cpu. back on topic, anyone have any advice on the build?
[QUOTE=MikesaLemon;21661627]my current case is an antec 902. the dust filters do restrict airflow if you dont clean them, but they make cleaning the entire PC alot easier because less dust gets in also the cooler is a 'just in case' thing. because my CPU overheated without overclocking and i had to get a new motherboard and cpu. back on topic, anyone have any advice on the build?[/QUOTE] How can it make cleaning easier? Dusting the case is the easiest thing with a can of air, but taking out the dust filters and wiping them takes more work, especially with some cases that take a lot of work to remove the fan and the dust filter. You either installed the cooler wrong, or your cooler was defective to the point where you should have noticed. Both are possibilities with aftermarket coolers, especially since aftermarket coolers are more complex to install.
Is that deal for the 2x 8800gt still for 90$ still up?
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