Buyer's Guide II: Extreme, High-End, Mid-Range, Budget, and Entry Level Systems - Part 2

[adrianlee]

Updated on 16 November 2014

Please check Price Guides for latest prices

A PC Buyer’s Guide that is everything to everyone is simply not possible. This is a simple guide to putting together a PC with a local flavour. Be sure to read PC Buyer’s Guide from other media.

Tomshardware's System Builder Marathon, Q1 2015
Tomshardware's System Builder Marathon, Q1 2015

TechReport's February 2015 System Guide
TR's February 2015 System Guide - The Tech Report

Best Graphics Cards For the Money: March 2015
Best Graphics Cards For The Money: March 2015

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: March 2015
Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: March 2015

Best SSDs For The Money: January 2015
Best SSDs For The Money: January 2015

Best Motherboards: March 2015
Best Motherboards: March 2015

Best Computer Monitors: March 2015
Best Computer Monitors: March 2015

Best Computer Memory: March 2015
Best Computer Memory: March 2015

Guru3D PC Buyers Guide Summer 2014
PC Buyers Guide Summer 2014 - The Bit, The Nibble & The Byte

Tom's Hardware Forums' Q4 2013 BestConfigs
Tom's Hardware Forums' Q4 2013 BestConfigs

Tomshardware's System Builder Marathon, Q2 2014
Tomshardware's System Builder Marathon, Q2 2014

Bit-tech PC Hardware Buyer's Guide August 2013
PC Hardware Buyer's Guide August 2013 Bit-tech.net

TechReport's Fall 2013 System Guide
TR's fall 2013 system guide - The Tech Report - Page 1

Complete Gaming System

Extreme Systems

Intel Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition & ASUS Rampage IV Extreme ~ $1952
G.Skill RipjawsZ DDR3-2133MHz 16GB (2X8GB) Kit ~ $239
PowerColor R9 290X CrossFireX ~ $1636 or MSI GTX 780 Ti SLI ~ $
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
HDD 2TB for Storage ~ $128
HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37
Corsair Professional Series Gold AX1200 1200W PSU ~ $469
Corsair Obsidian 800D ~ $499
Total ~ $5XXX

Intel Core i7-4930K & ASUS Rampage IV Extreme ~ $1338
G.Skill RipjawsZ DDR3-2133MHz 16GB (2X8GB) Kit ~ $239
PowerColor R9 290X CrossFireX ~ $1636 or MSI GTX 780 Ti SLI ~ $
Plextor M5 Pro 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
HDD 2TB for Storage ~ $128
HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37
Corsair Professional Series Gold AX1200 1200W PSU ~ $469
Corsair Obsidian 800D ~ $499
Total ~ $4XXX

Intel Core i7 4770K & ASUS Maximus VI Extreme ~ $1035
G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3-1600MHz 16GB (2X8GB) ~ $165
PowerColor R9 290X CrossFireX ~ $1636 or MSI GTX 780 Ti SLI ~ $
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
HDD 2TB for Storage ~ $128
HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37
Seasonic X-850 850W PSU ~ $280 or Corsair HX850 850W PSU ~ $275
Corsair Obsidian 800D ~ $499
Total ~ $4XXX

High-End Systems

Intel Core i7 4770K & ASUS Z87 Deluxe ~ $865
G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3-1600MHz 16GB (2X8GB) ~ $165
PowerColor R9 290X ~ $818 or Gigabyte GTX780 Ti ~ $
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
HDD 2TB for Storage ~ $128
HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37
Seasonic X-760 760W PSU ~ $205 or Corsair HX750 750W PSU ~ $229
Cooler Master ATCS 840 ~ $400
Total ~ $3XXX

Intel Core i7 4770K & ASUS Z87 Deluxe ~ $865
G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3-1600MHz 16GB (2X8GB) ~ $165
Gigabyte R9 290 4GB ~ $599 or Gigabyte GTX 780 ~ $
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
HDD 2TB for Storage ~ $128
HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37
Seasonic X-760 760W PSU ~ $205 or Corsair HX750 750W PSU ~ $229
Cooler Master ATCS 840 ~ $400
Total ~ $3XXX

Intel Core i7 4770K & ASUS SABERTOOTH ~ $831
G.SKILL RipjawsX DDR3-1600MHz 16GB (2X8GB) ~ $165
Gigabyte R9 280X 3GB Winforce OC ~ $449 or Gigabyte GTX 770 2GB ~ $599
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
HDD 2TB for Storage ~ $128
HP dvd1270i SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $37
Superflower HX 600 ~ $110
Cooler Master CM690 ~ $129
Total ~ $2XXX

Mid-Range Systems

Intel Core i5 4670K & ASUS Z87 Plus ~ $594
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $77
Gigabyte R9 280X 3GB Winforce OC ~ $449 or Gigabyte GTX 760 2GB Winforce OC ~ $409
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
HDD 2TB for Storage ~ $128
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Superflower HX 600 ~ $110
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
Total ~ $22XX

Intel Core i5 4670 & Gigabyte H87-D3H ~ $457
or AMD FX-8350 & ASUS M5A97 PRO ~ $476
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $77
Gigabyte R9 280X 3GB Winforce OC ~ $449 or Gigabyte GTX 760 2GB Winforce OC ~ $409
Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB or Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB or OCZ Vector 150 240GB
HDD 2TB for Storage ~ $128
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Superflower HX 600 ~ $110
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
Total ~ $21XX

Intel Core i5 3570 & Asrock B75 PRO3 M ~ $364
or AMD FX-8350 & ASUS M5A78L-M LX3 ~ $399
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $77
Gigabyte R9 270X~ $309 or Gigabyte GTX 660 Ti ~ $
Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120GB or Crucial M500 120GB or Intel SSD 530 120GB
HDD 1TB for Storage ~ $82
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Superflower HX 500 ~ $90
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
Total ~ $14XX

Intel Core i5 3470 & Asrock B75 PRO3 M ~ $345
or AMD FX-8150 & ASUS M5A78L-M LX3 ~ $348
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $77
Gigabyte R9 270X~ $309 or Gigabyte GTX 660 ~ $
HDD 1TB ~ $82
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Superflower HX 500 500W ~ $90
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
Total ~ $11XX

Intel Core i5 3470 & Asrock B75 PRO3 M ~ $345
or AMD FX-8150 & ASUS M5A78L-M LX3 ~ $348
G.Skill DDR3-1600MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $77
Gigabyte R9 270 ~ $289 or Gigabyte GTX 660 ~ $
HDD 500GB ~ $68
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Superflower HX 500 500W ~ $90
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
Total ~ $8XX

Intel Core i3 3220 & Asrock B75 PRO3 M ~ $251
or AMD FX-6100 & ASUS M5A78L-M LX3 ~ $255
G.Skill DDR3-1333MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $60
PowerColor HD7770 1GB ~ $158 or Palit 650 1GB ~ $155
HDD 500GB ~ $68
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Antec Neo Eco 450W PSU ~ $69
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
Total ~ $6XX

Intel Pentium G2120 & Asrock B75 PRO3 M ~ $190
or AMD FX-4100 & ASUS M5A78L-M LX3 ~ $229
G.Skill DDR3-1333MHz 4GB ~ $30
PowerColor HD7770 1GB ~ $158 or Palit 650 1GB ~ $155
HDD 500GB ~ $68
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Antec Neo Eco 450W PSU ~ $69
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
Total ~ $5XX

Budget Systems

Intel Pentium G2120 & Asrock B75 PRO3 M ~ $190
or AMD FX-4100 & ASUS M5A78L-M LX3 ~ $229
G.Skill DDR3-1333MHz 4GB ~ $30
PowerColor HD5750 1GB ~ $135 or Sapphire HD 5670 512MB ~ $120
HDD 500GB ~ $68
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Antec Neo Eco 450W PSU ~ $69
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
Total ~ $5XX

Entry Level Systems


Intel Pentium G2120 & Asrock B75M-DGS ~ $153
or AMD Athlon II X2 250 & ASUS M5A78L-M LX3 ~ $163
G.Skill DDR3-1333MHz 4GB ~ $30
HDD 500GB ~ $68
Samsung SATA 24X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
Antec Neo Eco 450W PSU ~ $69
Casing ~ $40
Total ~ $3XX

 

[adrianlee]

Power Supply Buyer's Guide
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=2034606

Choosing a Gaming CPU: Single + Multi-GPU at 1440p, April 2013
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6934/choosing-a-gaming-cpu-single-multigpu-at-1440p

TSSDR Top SSD Recommendations for May 2013
http://thessdreview.com/daily-news/latest-buzz/tssdr-top-ssd-recommendations-for-may-2013/

Best Motherboards for US$100-US$200, April 2013
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6903/best-motherboards-for-100200-april-2013

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: July 2013
Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: July 2013

Best Graphics Cards For the Money: July 2013
Best Graphics Cards For The Money: July 2013

Best SSDs For The Money: July 2013
Best SSDs For The Money: July 2013

Gaming Shoot-Out: 18 CPUs And APUs Under $200, Benchmarked
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-processor-frame-rate-performance,3427.html

Guru3D PC Buyers Guide Winter 2012
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/pc_buyers_guide_winter_2012,1.html

Small Form Factor Buyer's Guide
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6490/small-form-factor-buyers-guide

The Best Graphics Cards: Nvidia vs. AMD Current-Gen Comparison
http://www.techspot.com/review/603-best-graphics-cards/

AMD Trinity Buyer's Guide
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6449/amd-trinity-buyers-guide

TechReport's Windows 8 System Buyer's Guide
http://techreport.com/review/23814/tr-windows-8-system-guide

All Core i7 Models
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/All-Core-i7-Models/708

All Core i5 Models
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/All-Core-i5-Models/943

Best Budget AMD Gaming PC Build Under US$800 [October 2012]
http://www.custompcreview.com/compu...gaming-pc-build-under-800-october-2012/16159/

Roundup: Intel Core i5 Processors with Ivy Bridge Microarchitecture
Roundup: Intel Core i5 Processors with Ivy Bridge Microarchitecture - X-bit labs

AnandTech - Fall Midrange System Buyer's Guide
AnandTech - Midrange System Buyer's Guide

AnandTech - Fall Budget System Buyer's Guide
AnandTech - Fall Budget System Buyer's Guide

TechReport's back-to-school 2012 system guide
TR's back-to-school 2012 system guide - The Tech Report

TechSpot's PC Buying Guide
TechSpot's PC Buying Guide

Tomshardware's System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013
System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013:

Building an AMD A8-3870K Llano APU System For Under US$300
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/2019/1/

Build It: Picking Parts For Your Kid's Entry-Level Gaming PC
Build It: Picking Parts For Your Kid's Entry-Level Gaming PC : Build A PC For Your Kid

AMD Llano HTPC Builders Guide
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5906/amd-llano-htpc-builders-guide

Sandy Bridge Buyer’s Guide
AnandTech - Sandy Bridge Buyer

 

[hwzadmin]

This is a continuation thread, the old thread is here

 

[WhatsYourWish]

Any recommends build for gaming rig for $900-$1000
Diablo 3 Mw2 BO L4D2 Dragon Nest

Need OS, Keyboard and/or Mouse?

 

[Felfirez]

Actually, I was comparing it with Asrock P67 Pro3 though. it is slightly cheaper. So maybe it has some flaw or something???

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?267709-MSI-Active-Phase-Control-blowing

 

[ZrE0_Cha0s]

Hoping to get this soon!!!

Intel Core i5 2400 & BIOSTAR TP67B+ ~ $360
or Intel Core i5 2300 & BIOSTAR TH67+ ~ $350
or AMD Phenom II X4 955 & Biostar A880G+ ~ $265
Kingston DDR3-1333MHz 8GB (2X4GB) ~ $56
Sapphire HD 6950 1GB ~ $319 or Palit GTX 560 Ti 1GB ~ $300
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB ~ $66
Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $24
FSP Aurum AU-500W ~ $115
Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
Total ~ $9XX

 

[pengkui13]

Yes. I need a gaming rig around $900-$1k that has wins 7 pre 64 bit with mouse keyboard
Dragon nest mw2 blackops l4d2

 

[strife2]

currently, I am thinking of getting the below (big thanks to felfirez for helping!):

CPU+MB: Intel Core i5-2500k + Asrock P67 Pro3 $455
HSF: Xigmatec Gaia $39
RAM: G.skill 1333mhz CL9 Black PCB 2x4GB $56 (upgrade to 16gb later maybe)
GPU: Sapphire HD6950 Dirt 3 Edition 2gb $357 (what's the diff btwn this and toxic?)
HDD: Hitachi 7K1000.C 1TB $64
ODD: Sony 24x DVDRW $29
PSU: FSP Aurum 600W $135
CASE: Lancool k62wb $169
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit [OEM] @ $112
DSP: Dell U2311h x 3 $747 (alt is samsung led 22'' x 3 $750)
Sound : Creative X-Fi Fatality Pro $209 (how is this compared to the tita series?)

Est Total : $2375

would it do any good for me to have SSD installed in my rig?

also i am thinking about including a tv tuner + recorder inside my pc.

any advice will be appreciated!

 

[WhatsYourWish]

Yes. I need a gaming rig around $900-$1k that has wins 7 pre 64 bit with mouse keyboard
Dragon nest mw2 blackops l4d2

CPU+MB: Intel Core i5-2310 + ASRock H61M/U3S3 ~ $339 (Tradepac)
RAM: Kingston ValueRAM DDR3-1333 4GB x2 ~ $52
GPU: MSI HD 6870 Twin Frozr 2 ~ $255
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 1TB ~ $64
ODD: Lite-On 24X CD/DVD Writer ~ $26 (Tradepac)
PSU: FSP Hexa 400W ~ $59
CASE: Ikonik EN2 ~ $55
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit ~ $112

Total: $962. (PC Themes)

$38 for KB & Mouse.

 

[Vostro1200]

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?267709-MSI-Active-Phase-Control-blowing

I see, thanks for the link bro!

 

[Felfirez]

currently, I am thinking of getting the below (big thanks to felfirez for helping!):

CPU+MB: Intel Core i5-2500k + Asrock P67 Pro3 $455
HSF: Xigmatec Gaia $39
RAM: G.skill 1333mhz CL9 Black PCB 2x4GB $56 (upgrade to 16gb later maybe)
GPU: Sapphire HD6950 Dirt 3 Edition 2gb $357 (what's the diff btwn this and toxic?)
HDD: Hitachi 7K1000.C 1TB $64
ODD: Sony 24x DVDRW $29
PSU: FSP Aurum 600W $135
CASE: Lancool k62wb $169
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit [OEM] @ $112
DSP: Dell U2311h x 3 $747 (alt is samsung led 22'' x 3 $750)
Sound : Creative X-Fi Fatality Pro $209 (how is this compared to the tita series?)

Est Total : $2375

would it do any good for me to have SSD installed in my rig?

also i am thinking about including a tv tuner + recorder inside my pc.

any advice will be appreciated!

Toxic is much faster and has a bios switch for HD6970 bios flash. That's a more recommended buy.

SSD will make your system snappier. Youtube SSD VS HDD.

What speaker/headphones are you using?

 

[strife2]

noted on ssd and difference between toxic + dirt 3.

i'm using a very old creative 4.1 speaker. planning to get new ones.

headset wise i have a creative x-fi hs1000 (comes with usb instead of normal earphone jack)

any recommendations?

thinking of being able to watch tv + record stuff on my hd too

 

[Felfirez]

currently, I am thinking of getting the below (big thanks to felfirez for helping!):

CPU+MB: Intel Core i5-2500k + Asrock P67 Pro3 $455
HSF: Xigmatec Gaia $39
RAM: G.skill 1333mhz CL9 Black PCB 2x4GB $56 (upgrade to 16gb later maybe)
GPU: Sapphire HD6950 Dirt 3 Edition 2gb $357 (what's the diff btwn this and toxic?)
HDD: Hitachi 7K1000.C 1TB $64
ODD: Sony 24x DVDRW $29
PSU: FSP Aurum 600W $135
CASE: Lancool k62wb $169
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit [OEM] @ $112
DSP: Dell U2311h x 3 $747 (alt is samsung led 22'' x 3 $750)
Sound : Creative X-Fi Fatality Pro $209 (how is this compared to the tita series?)

Est Total : $2375

would it do any good for me to have SSD installed in my rig?

also i am thinking about including a tv tuner + recorder inside my pc.

any advice will be appreciated!

noted on ssd and difference between toxic + dirt 3.

i'm using a very old creative 4.1 speaker. planning to get new ones.

headset wise i have a creative x-fi hs1000 (comes with usb instead of normal earphone jack)

any recommendations?

thinking of being able to watch tv + record stuff on my hd too

You are bursting your budget by alot. Don't need that sound card. You can use this instead.

http://sg.store.creative.com/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-x-fi-surround-5-1-pro/1-20055.aspx

Tv tuner I don't really know much so i guess that have to wait for someone.

 

[strife2]

o i've already got one of those... bought it cuz my current rig doesn't have any sound cards.

my budget is still ok, seeing that i allocated 2750 for the entire rig, with monitors included ^_^

hehe cheers

 

[pengkui13]

Can I get i5-2500k and geforce graphic card I don't want ati

 

[WhatsYourWish]

Can I get i5-2500k and geforce graphic card I don't want ati

You intend to OC ah?

 

[WhatsYourWish]

Between Gigabyte Z68A-D3-B3 Xfire /U3S6/GB board and Gigabyte Z68XP-UD, isnt Z68P better bargain? Its only 10$ expensive but has LucidLogix Virtu GPU Virtualization technology which can effectively shut down the external GFX card and use the onboard GPU when not doing any graphics heavy activity like browsing. Will save a lot of power and noise !

You are talking about Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 or gigabyte z68xp-UD3-issd?

Using a program or a switch to shut down the external GPU?

 

[rahul49]

You are talking about Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 or gigabyte z68xp-UD3-issd?

Using a program or a switch to shut down the external GPU?

Both have it.

http://www.gigabyte.us/WebPage/-32/images/mb-z68-models.html

lucid Virtu

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4199/...egrateddiscrete-gpu-on-sandy-bridge-platforms

 

[Felfirez]

Both have it.

http://www.gigabyte.us/WebPage/-32/images/mb-z68-models.html

lucid Virtu

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4199/...egrateddiscrete-gpu-on-sandy-bridge-platforms

Its not a matter of switching off the gpu. Its more of putting it into sleep mode. Current GPUs have idle profile that uses very little power in normal usage. People who use Virtu are most like to make use of quicksync than to save power.

 

[WhatsYourWish]

Both have it.

http://www.gigabyte.us/WebPage/-32/images/mb-z68-models.html

lucid Virtu

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4199/...egrateddiscrete-gpu-on-sandy-bridge-platforms

So is using a program or is a switch/button to off the external GPU??

@FelfireZ, Good To Go?

CPU+MB: Intel Core i5-2500k + Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3
HSF: Xigmatec Gaia
RAM: Kingston ValueRAM DDR3-1333mhz 4GB x2
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 1TB
ODD: Sony 24x DVDRW
PSU: FSP Aurum 700W
CASE: NZXT Lexa S
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Will be using the onboard till early-november then get HD6950 Dirt3 1GB CrossFireX.