New PC build revised [Australian]

[Bloodlight]

Hey guys, I posted a while back about buying a new PC from the website www.computeralliance.com.au with a budget of around $1800. It was a bit early back then, as I didn't have anywhere near the amount of money I needed to be secure.

So! I went back and now that I am secure, I have raised my budget to around $2500. I do want it to be a high end gaming PC and I am pretty happy with the parts I have chosen, but I do want your feedback to reassure me/advise me on better parts.

Note: I do need some form of wireless capability. The Motherboard I chosen does have that, but if you guys think I should get a better Motherboard and get a wireless usb (being cost effective though, unless the Mobo is bad), I will change it.

This is the quote I got from Computer Alliance:

System Configuration:

Intel S1155 Core i7 3770 3.40Ghz Quad Core CPU - $325
Gigabyte S1155 ATX GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB Motherboard with Dual Band Wireless & Bluetooth - $295
DDR3 8GB (2x4G) Corsair 1600MHz Vengeance CL9 RAM Kit - $65
1TB Western Digital 3.5" 7200rpm Black Edition SATA 6Gb/s PN WD1002FAEX - $139
NVIDIA GTX680 2GB Gigabyte PCIe Video Card (PN N680D5-2GD-B) - $695
Thermaltake Full ATX Level 10 GT Gaming Station Black (No PSU) - $289
750 Watt Aywun MEGA POWER PRO A1-750-PRO 80PLUS Power Supply - $109
DVD Writer LG 24x SATA Black OEM - $29
Integrated Sound Card
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM - $109
Zalman CNPS9900NT 120mm Green LED CPU Cooler (PN CNPS9900NT) - $59

GST Inclusive Price: $2331

The case is a want, whilst I know it is pretty overkill.
Also, I am not sure what to do about the PSU. I couldn't find any reviews on that one, nor do I know how much will this PC will require.

My biggest problem is the build/warranty cost, which I have emailed them about. I added up the hardware cost and it came to $2114 so it's $217 in building fees. It seems to vary for no apparent reason so I am going to find out why.

I do not have any experience with building a computer, nor do I know where I would purchase the parts and all that jazz. Whilst I am sure I could save (not only the $217) a deal of money buy doing it myself, I am not sure how comfortable I am with building, especially with such expensive parts.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Bloodlight

[BicycleMafioso]

http://www.computeralliance.com.au/p...x?qryPart=9201 Get that, rather
Do you really need the Thermaltake Level 10 GT? Consider http://www.computeralliance.com.au/p...?qryPart=13397 ?
What games do you intend to take on? Do you plan on doing anything else than gaming? Because for just gaming, surfing and watching movies, the i5 3570K will save you a bit of money for no cost in performance.

Building a computer is "easy". It should save you a lot of money.
Use these two sources and you have it easy. Guide in text

Guide in video.

[Bloodlight]

Alright, good to know that this won't take a lot of power.

As for the the case... it's definitely not a need. More of a "damn that thing looks awesome, but completely unrealistic". I'll talk myself out of it when it comes to paying $150 more than Fractal Design case.

The main usage will be Guild Wars 2/WoW, aiming for max settings. No video editing or anything like that, so I will change it.

I have considered learning how to build, I actually have 4 old computers sitting behind me that I have pull apart and put back together. Maybe for the next build, whenever that is.

Thank you for the quick reply, Tetrisgoat!

[BicycleMafioso]

GW2, I assume, works similiarly to Wow and other MMOs (the only thing I know about GW2 is that the graphical motor was supposed to be based on GW, but that may be outdated info by now), you likely won't need very much more than a GTX 560 Ti/HD6870 when it comes to GPU. You don't need a GTX 680 for anything as CPU-heavy as these MMOs.
CPU, i5-2500k or i5-3570k.
I won't keep pressing on that building is like lego, but watch the movie at least, and you go with what you feel comfortable with.
A less expensive case, the PSU I listed (with a GTX 680, you could easily get away with a 520w PSU even, but to pull it super-duper-overkill safe, 650w is fine)
And that's it.

[Bloodlight]

Oh okay then.. all that could save me a decent amount of money.

I'll watch the video, see how it goes and I'll surf the web for individual parts and see what happens.

Alright, good to know that I don't have to change everything. Thanks for that Tetris.

[Gouca]

Case: Your own choice, I would go for Fractal Design Define R3
PSU: Either Antec HCG 620W or Corsair TX650
HDD#1: Crucial M4 128 Gb
HDD#2: Seagate Barracuda
Media: Samsung X

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V-LX
RAM: G.Skill DDR3 1600 MHz
CPU: Intel i5-3570k
CPU-FAN: Thermaltake Frio
GPU: Gigabyte GTX670 Wf3x

Some explanations: the PSU you've chosen is a complete bomb. Bear in mind, PSU has to be high quality, because it shatters other components if it explodes, and no insurance helps in that situation. Antec 620W and Corsair TX650 are both capable of running dual GTX670 in future, but they are also the only quality-PSUs listed in that shop. Definitely take either of them.

You also see that I've taken two hard-drives. SSD is IMO the biggest upgrade in computer technology within the last years. Having an SSD as a drive for OS (Windows 7) and your most important games, speeds up the loading times to instant, instead of the usual 10-20 seconds map loading times. It's a must in a higher budget rig!

M/B: Go for the Z77- series. Compared to Z68 you get Lucid Virtu MVP- technology and several other increases. No point in going for anything more expensive.

CPU: There is no actual gaming performance difference between the $220 i5-3570k and $325 i5-3770. i5-3570k instead can be overclocked in the future.

GPU: GTX 670 has 95% the performance of a GTX 680. The price difference instead is over a hundred bucks. Definitely go for 670 if your primary style of games is MMO - it will do fine for the next 3-5 years.

[BicycleMafioso]

Both the PSUs Hirv3s adviced is out of stock.
The CPU-heatsink is poor at best.
The rest are good calls, however.

[Gouca]

Both the PSUs Hirv3s adviced is out of stock.
The CPU-heatsink is poor at best.
The rest are good calls, however.

Rather wait - taking a Chinese bomb would risk the whole system completely.

[BicycleMafioso]

Rather wait - taking a Chinese bomb would risk the whole system completely.

.. which is why the http://www.computeralliance.com.au/p...x?qryPart=9201 I linked more than suffice.. :P

[Bloodlight]

In regards to the CPU fan...
If the fan Hirv3s suggest is poor at best - is the one I have chosen worth buying? Or is there another CPU fan that you would recommend?

[BicycleMafioso]

In regards to the CPU fan...
If the fan Hirv3s suggest is poor at best - is the one I have chosen worth buying? Or is there another CPU fan that you would recommend?

Hmm, their selection was rather poor. I rescind my comment on the Frio. Might as well take it. It's okay in the price/performance there, at least. Will be rather loud.

[n0cturnal]

Edit: Actually never mind, go for the Frio.

[Gouca]

Haha, I was also shocked for the storage of CPU-coolers they offer. . . everyone of them appears to be some random never-heard model -.-

[hapylol]

You could ditch the CPU cooler and stick with the stock one. OP has never even built a computer so I doubt he has plans to overclock and if he plans to do so he can just install it at a later date when he is comfortable.

[Gouca]

You could ditch the CPU cooler and stick with the stock one. OP has never even built a computer so I doubt he has plans to overclock and if he plans to do so he can just install it at a later date when he is comfortable.

i5-3570k with the stock cooler is a suicide mission. The differences to i5-2500k are:

• Greater performance at factory clocks
• A lot higher temperature
• Slightly higher TDP

[hapylol]

i5-3570k with the stock cooler is a suicide mission. The differences to i5-2500k are:

• Greater performance at factory clocks
• A lot higher temperature
• Slightly higher TDP

............... what are you talking about. There is nothing wrong with using the 3570k @ stock with the stock cooler.

It doesn't have a higher temperature then the 2500k. This only happens when you are forced to increase the volts.

Stop being so dramatic. Almost every one of your PSU/cooling posts talks about blowing up or disasters happening.

[Gouca]

............... what are you talking about. There is nothing wrong with using the 3570k @ stock with the stock cooler.

It doesn't have a higher temperature then the 2500k. This only happens when you are forced to increase the volts.

Stop being so dramatic. Almost every one of your PSU/cooling posts talks about blowing up or disasters happening.

Good luck with the lifetime when your CPU runs 80 degrees while watching a movie.

[n0cturnal]

i5-3570k with the stock cooler is a suicide mission. The differences to i5-2500k are:

• Greater performance at factory clocks
• A lot higher temperature
• Slightly higher TDP

http://ark.intel.com/products/65520/...to-3_80-GHz%29 3570k TDP 77W
http://ark.intel.com/products/52210/...to-3_70-GHz%29 2500k TDP 95W

Also the 3570k only gets hotter than 2500k when overclocked with increased voltage.

[Dristereau]

If you don't know how to build your own computer I'd advise you to watch these Newegg TV series of videos. They are a bit long, but they are very informative IMO. I plan to build a computer over the next month after watching these videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw (Newegg TV Part 01)