[AUS] Building a new PC

[Uurdz]

Hi all,

Firstly thanks for having a look at this thread. Often the information I read on these forums (and in the last hour in particular) is incredible and it's lucky I don't have to pay for any of the advice!

I've felt a bit overwhelmed with the number of parts and decisions you need to make when building a computer so I was hoping to share my needs and what i've thought would work to see if any of you can suggest improvements/better hardware or to avoid particular items.

Budget: AUD $1000-$1500. (~USD $900-$1400)
Resolution: Does this mean screen size? Just an middle range size?
Games / Settings Desired All Blizzard games, Witcher 3, CSGO, SWTOR.
I'd like to have the option available to stream and/or record gaming as I want to try this at some stage. I'm starting a new job which will make me a little time scarce. If the cost difference between two items is $20-$50 and will mean the difference between streaming/not streaming then i'd love to spend the extra money to be able to do it if I find the time. If its a difference of $100 per part or $500+ in total then I wouldn't want to do it.
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc) Nothing intensive unless I will be doing streaming/video editing in future as mentioned above.
Country Australia
Parts that can be reused None - my last PC is back in New Zealand as i've recently moved over here.
Do you need an OS? Yes I will get Windows 10.
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? I have a good keyboard back home that I will pickup at Christmas. In the mean time just a basic keyboard and mouse, no speakers as I will use headphones.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.00 @ Centre Com)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($65.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($245.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.00 @ CPL Online)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($145.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($285.00 @ Umart)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($83.00 @ IJK)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($122.00 @ CPL Online)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($17.00 @ IJK)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($49.00 @ CPL Online)
Monitor: Asus VX228H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($179.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $1605.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-26 12:04 AEST+1000

A few things i'm considering

• Marest recommended a HDD with 7200 RPM. I found most comments to say "This is good, for something thats not an SSD". I suspect I can simply grab the one i've listed and upgrade to an SSD later on when they are cheaper?
• I think I'm paying a bit for the power box, but Marest indicated that this is often overlooked. The reviews sounded good and i'll go off the advice of others rather than the advice of my bank account.
• Most of what is chosen, is based of products with a large amount of rating or feedback as I don't have much personal experience to draw on with each company/model and essentially Zero knowledge outside of what i've read (and tried to understand!)
• I do not have any knowledge of or experience with Overclocking. If, in your view, I can save money or get noticeably better performance by choosing a product which can be overclocked then mention this as I will look to learn how.

Thanks for reading

[xHardz]

I've been looking at an upgrade for the last few weeks, also in Australia.

Unless Superbiiz ship to AU, I would factor in another $100 roughly for the cheapest 4690k I've seen. It appears they only do US/CA shipping.

If you find a better price let me know

[Deleted]

There's an Australian version of PCPartpicker:

http://au.pcpartpicker.com/

[Uurdz]

With the cost of the Graphics card skyrocketing (and the power supply up 50% too) I made a few changes to build closer to the $1k mark.

Question: With the 960, I tossed up between the 2gb and 4gb versions opting to stick with the 2gb. The games I play are not overly demanding and i'll have 2 monitors max running at any time. Is my logic sound here or should I fork out for the 4gb and see a noticeable difference?

[Pterodactylus]

Its a decent build. The big red flag is the PSU. Do not buy the CX line of PSUs from Corsair. They are cheap and they are shit.

Try something from SeaSonic or this is a nice one too: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-...ply-p1650gts3x

[Vermicious]

Also, not including an SSD is really limiting nowadays.

You can get a 256GB SSD for nearly the same price as the HDD you chose. Samsung or Crucial are the best brands currently.

Believe me, you won't regret it.

PS I currently have the same case (Corsair 200R), it's very nice and easy to install parts.

[Uurdz]

Its a decent build. The big red flag is the PSU. Do not buy the CX line of PSUs from Corsair. They are cheap and they are shit.

Try something from SeaSonic or this is a nice one too: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-...ply-p1650gts3x

Thanks for the advice, I went with a SeaSonic for around the same price.
Was looking to get some "build is fine/not wasting money" advice so I really appreciate your post.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, not including an SSD is really limiting nowadays.

You can get a 256GB SSD for nearly the same price as the HDD you chose. Samsung or Crucial are the best brands currently.

Believe me, you won't regret it.

PS I currently have the same case (Corsair 200R), it's very nice and easy to install parts.

My concern is i'll max out the space of a 256GB really fast. On my old PC I had to frequently uninstall games to switch between things like SWTOR, Witcher 3 and WoW. Don't want to have a spacing issue - is the SSD just that much betteR?

Edit: I've updated my list to include the PSU and a SSD. I'll searched Youtube for the difference at it was a no brainer - will just suffer the smaller space. I've also added a Wireless Network Adapter as I live in a Flat where I can't connect a cable to the router - if anyone has an opinion or recommendation on that i'd appreciate it.

[Chickat]

Get both then?

[Gorgodeus]

Also, not including an SSD is really limiting nowadays.

You can get a 256GB SSD for nearly the same price as the HDD you chose. Samsung or Crucial are the best brands currently.

Believe me, you won't regret it.

PS I currently have the same case (Corsair 200R), it's very nice and easy to install parts.

Not having an SSD is no big deal. It doesn't affect games at all, simply makes boot times faster and such.

[Uurdz]

Just finished putting this together - still need to source an OS but have booted it up and it sounds amazing (sound or lack there-of!)

[snegro]

With the cost of the Graphics card skyrocketing (and the power supply up 50% too) I made a few changes to build closer to the $1k mark.

Question: With the 960, I tossed up between the 2gb and 4gb versions opting to stick with the 2gb. The games I play are not overly demanding and i'll have 2 monitors max running at any time. Is my logic sound here or should I fork out for the 4gb and see a noticeable difference?

the AUD is worth 0.70USD

[Deleted]

Just finished putting this together - still need to source an OS but have booted it up and it sounds amazing (sound or lack there-of!)

Always a nice feeling, good luck with the rest!

[xHardz]

Grats on new PC. Wishing the dollar would go back up to take the sting out of upgrading at the moment but not holding my breath.

Saw an invoice from a friend who bought a 4690k for $239 AUD at the start of the year. Ohhhh the burn of rising prices the longer hardware is out.

[Deleted]

dude .. wtf .. a 21,5" Monitor ? Everything under 24 is just not acceptable.

Also 250 for the Motherboard, but only getting a 960 and DDR3 RAM ?! Do yourself a favor and gat an 150$ Motherboard and DDR4 RAM, also min 16GB of RAM (2 x 8 GB)

[Pterodactylus]

Also 250 for the Motherboard, but only getting a 960 and DDR3 RAM ?! Do yourself a favor and gat an 150$ Motherboard and DDR4 RAM, also min 16GB of RAM (2 x 8 GB)

You'll not find a $150 AUS MoBo that is compatible with DDR 4 RAM. If you wanted DDR 4 RAM, then it needs a Z170 MoBo or a X99 MoBo, which means a different processor as well.