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

[batuchka]

Under $1.5k with 23" Full HD/SATA GB/s + USB 3.0 4u ^^

A2X4 630 + MSI 890GXM $345 PCT
Team Elite 2 x 2 DDR3 $158
CM 341 $53 Tradepac
Samsung DVDRW $30
Seagate 7200.12 $72
Andyson F500M $95
Sapphire HD 5850 $410
Acer P235H 23" Full HD LCD $246 MyNextCom
$1409

 

[hOp3SoT]

Under $1.5k with 23" Full HD/SATA GB/s + USB 3.0 4u ^^

A2X4 630 + MSI 890GXM $345 PCT
Team Elite 2 x 2 DDR3 $158
CM 341 $53 Tradepac
Samsung DVDRW $30
Seagate 7200.12 $72
Andyson F500M $95
Sapphire HD 5850 $410
Acer P235H 23" Full HD LCD $246 MyNextCom
$1409

hi bro, thx for the great reco! if i were to use phemon 2 x4-945 will it be better? also how much will be the increase in price?

will like to find out if i were to use i-5-750 is there any set-up that ya can suggest? thx lots!

 

[batuchka]

Can P2X4 925 with same mobo would be $400 PCT and still be at $1464

 

[ilikehandphones]

for ur ref

Intel i3-540 & Gigabyte H55-USB3.0 ~ $396
Kingston PC3-10600 DDR3-1333 4GB (2X2GB) ~ $152
HD5770 ~ $260
WD 500GB Black ~ $88
Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $30
Andyson F500M ~ $95
3R R120-V2 SE (Black) Case ~ $89l
Windows 7 Home Prem 64bits ~ $148
LG 2343T 23" ~ $288

abt $1546

just went to sim lim today..to get price list

INTEL GIGABYTE P55A UD3P + I3 530 = 468
OCZ OBSIDIAN 1600 CL9 = 169
ATI HD 5670 = 189
WD 500GB Black ~ $88
Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $30
CASING <----CAN RECOMMEND? prefer less than sgd 300
POWER SUPPLY <-----CAN RECOMMEND?
Windows 7 Home Prem 64bits ~ REMOVED..no longer an issue
17 INCH MONITOR <-----CAN RECOMMEND? prefer not too large...blind later.


is this setup ok?....if can recommend a desktop around 1.2 would be nice.

 

[temasekcity]

CM Xtreme 460 $56 Tradepac
Powerlogic Futura 220 w/o PSU $30
Sapphire 512 HD 4670 HDMI $108
Samsung DVDRW $30
Hitachi 250GB $56
AthlonII X3 425 $105
Biostar A780L3 $84 Classic Dynasty
KVR DDR3 1333 2GB $75 Video Pro
$544

if you can live with built-in vga, take out discrete vga and get additional x4 630 CPU, 500W PSU and 500GB hdd. Your rig will be better valued and better potential for upgrade.

in future, when you can afford, pop in a graphic card to optimise its performance.

 

[temasekcity]

P2X4 925 $202 Tradepac
CM 341 $53
Andyson F500M $95
Samsung DVDRW $30
Seagate 7200.12 500 $72
Sapphire HD 5850 $410
2 X 2 DDR3 1333 Team Elite $146 MyNextCom
Acer P235H 23" $246
Biostar A780L3 $84 Classic Dynasty
$1338

if want better overall performance else want native SATA/USB 3.0 change to

P2X4 925 + MSI 890GXM $400 PCT to make overall cost $1452

I think this is a better build than cnt's i3.

Photoshop needs raw power in computing and i3 loses out to x4 630. So 925 is good cos it is better than i5.

5850 maybe an overkill because 5770 is good enough. The money can transfer to get a 1.5T hdd since you need it for photoshop storage.

 

[temasekcity]

hi bro, thx for the great reco! if i were to use phemon 2 x4-945 will it be better? also how much will be the increase in price?

will like to find out if i were to use i-5-750 is there any set-up that ya can suggest? thx lots!

For performance:

i3 < 630 < i5 < 945 < i7

For pricing:

630 < i3 < 945 < i5 < i7

If you insist on i5, what do you want to compromise? No vga can?

 

[temasekcity]

just went to sim lim today..to get price list

INTEL GIGABYTE P55A UD3P + I3 530 = 468
OCZ OBSIDIAN 1600 CL9 = 169
ATI HD 5670 = 189
WD 500GB Black ~ $88
Samsung SATA 22X DVD Rewriter ~ $30
CASING <----CAN RECOMMEND? prefer less than sgd 300
POWER SUPPLY <-----CAN RECOMMEND?
Windows 7 Home Prem 64bits ~ REMOVED..no longer an issue
17 INCH MONITOR <-----CAN RECOMMEND? prefer not too large...blind later.


is this setup ok?....if can recommend a desktop around 1.2 would be nice.

you are a good customer to Intel. A rig of S$750 (1/2 your price tag) with x4 630 and old HD4850 discrete beats your system flat.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2010/01/04/intel-core-i5-661-core-i3-530-cpu-review/7

 

[ilikehandphones]

you are a good customer to Intel. A rig of S$750 (1/2 your price tag) with x4 630 and old HD4850 discrete beats your system flat.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2010/01/04/intel-core-i5-661-core-i3-530-cpu-review/7

Intel Core i5 750 = 678
ASUS P7H55 = 370
4GB Kingston Value RAM DDR3-1333 (2 x 2GB) = 330
XFX HD5770 1GB DDR5 - RM544
Lite-On 24X SATA DVDRW = 79
Samsung 1TB SATA HDD = 260
FSP Saga 450W = 180
GigaByte GZ-X series ATX casing= 99
Viewsonic VX2423W 23.6" widescreen LCD monitor = 619
Total: RM3159 / SGD1362.21

is this rig ok?...my plan is to get the main item good one...while the rest i upgrade gradually...me not really intel supporter...any Amd equivalent is ok also...just that i wanna build a pc which i can upgrade if i want to.

 

[cnt]

Intel Core i5 750 = 678
ASUS P7H55 = 370
4GB Kingston Value RAM DDR3-1333 (2 x 2GB) = 330
XFX HD5770 1GB DDR5 - RM544
Lite-On 24X SATA DVDRW = 79
Samsung 1TB SATA HDD = 260
FSP Saga 450W = 180
GigaByte GZ-X series ATX casing= 99
Viewsonic VX2423W 23.6" widescreen LCD monitor = 619
Total: RM3159 / SGD1362.21

is this rig ok?...my plan is to get the main item good one...while the rest i upgrade gradually...me not really intel supporter...any Amd equivalent is ok also...just that i wanna build a pc which i can upgrade if i want to.

u buying from malaysia? anyway similar performance intel n amd price diff is usually abt $100

 

[temasekcity]

Intel Core i5 750 = 678
ASUS P7H55 = 370
4GB Kingston Value RAM DDR3-1333 (2 x 2GB) = 330
XFX HD5770 1GB DDR5 - RM544
Lite-On 24X SATA DVDRW = 79
Samsung 1TB SATA HDD = 260
FSP Saga 450W = 180
GigaByte GZ-X series ATX casing= 99
Viewsonic VX2423W 23.6" widescreen LCD monitor = 619
Total: RM3159 / SGD1362.21

is this rig ok?...my plan is to get the main item good one...while the rest i upgrade gradually...me not really intel supporter...any Amd equivalent is ok also...just that i wanna build a pc which i can upgrade if i want to.

Your system is good to go except:

1) 450W? If you want to upgrade graphic, your power system may fail you.

2) IMO, 5770 1G is overkill. 512M is good enough. Use this money to get 5850 instead. Your 5770 barely win the good old 4850.

3) Buy all parts in Singapore. Malaysia price is more expensive with tax.

 

[SgtHunter]

Hi. Would like some advice on this. My PC of 4yrs died yesterday, and I have been out of touch with the hardware world for 4years. I use my computer mainly for movies, web development (adobe creative suite). Have not been gaming for some time, but I would like a setup that can deal moderately well with games. Would need just the following as I can recycle my monitor, and DVDrw:

Mobo + CPU: What is good here? Gone are the simple days, I see so many different Intel and AMD chipsets that I dont know which is ideal.

PSU:

Gfx Card: nvidia or ATI? Something mid range would do.

RAM: Would prefer to go 4gig

HD: 500gb minimum. Probably SATA to replace my IDE antiques...

Casing::

OS: Will probably get Win 7 to replace my XP.

Budget: $700 dollars possible? Not sure whats the pricing like now, my duo core cost me a bomb 4yrs ago.

 

[batuchka]

if you can live with built-in vga, take out discrete vga and get additional x4 630 CPU, 500W PSU and 500GB hdd. Your rig will be better valued and better potential for upgrade.

in future, when you can afford, pop in a graphic card to optimise its performance.

IGP could see him game 1024 x 768 low whereas a HD 4670 would be good to go 1280 x 1024 // 1366 x 768 // 1440 x 900 mid/high so negative on pumping into CPU for his budget unless TS ok with IGP 1st

5850 maybe an overkill because 5770 is good enough.

Full HD HD 5770 could struggle liao so definitely pump into GPU for best gaming experience ^^

 

[batuchka]

Hi. Would like some advice on this. My PC of 4yrs died yesterday, and I have been out of touch with the hardware world for 4years. I use my computer mainly for movies, web development (adobe creative suite). Have not been gaming for some time, but I would like a setup that can deal moderately well with games. Would need just the following as I can recycle my monitor, and DVDrw:

Mobo + CPU: What is good here? Gone are the simple days, I see so many different Intel and AMD chipsets that I dont know which is ideal.

PSU:

Gfx Card: nvidia or ATI? Something mid range would do.

RAM: Would prefer to go 4gig

HD: 500gb minimum. Probably SATA to replace my IDE antiques...

Casing::

OS: Will probably get Win 7 to replace my XP.

Budget: $700 dollars possible? Not sure whats the pricing like now, my duo core cost me a bomb 4yrs ago.

At your budget range you could

1. Hit IGP/get a quad (if gaming needs not a.s.a.p)
2. Let us know what resolution games are to be played so can balance out

 

[SgtHunter]

At your budget range you could

1. Hit IGP/get a quad (if gaming needs not a.s.a.p
2. Let us know what resolution games are to be played so can balance out

May I know whats IGP? My monitor is a 19" LCD Samsung Sync Master (the hi-color one used in WCG 2006).

I believe the max reso is only 1280 x 1024. Some of the games I intend (have intended to for the past 1yr) to play are Fallout 3, Dragon Age, Empire:total war/napolean, mass effect 1 & 2, upcoming Superior Commander 2. I may upgrade to a widescreen LCD in the near future however.

 

[batuchka]

Ok for 1280 x 1024

P2X4 925 $202 Tradepac
Sapphire HD 5670 $146 or PC HD 4770 $149 or PC HD 4850 HDMI $156
Team Elite 2 x 2 1333 $158
Seagate 7200.12 500gb $72
Andyson F500M $95
CM 341 $53
Biostar A780L3 $84 Classic Dynasty
$726
Edit: Some data at a higher resolution i.e 1680 x 1050 but even playable at those so at 1280 x 1024 no worries

 

[ilikehandphones]

Your system is good to go except:

1) 450W? If you want to upgrade graphic, your power system may fail you.

2) IMO, 5770 1G is overkill. 512M is good enough. Use this money to get 5850 instead. Your 5770 barely win the good old 4850.

3) Buy all parts in Singapore. Malaysia price is more expensive with tax.

any recommendation what should i get? i am getting it in sg...the list is just what my fren in malaysia recommend.

 

[SgtHunter]

Hi batuchka. Thanks for the quick help! Just to clarify, Tradepac and classic dynasty are the names of the shop right? Cos I dun recognise them as brand names hehe. 4 years never go SLS already...paiseh.

 

[batuchka]

Yes

Tradepac
#05-18

Classic Dynasty
#06-24

You are welcomed ^^

 

[SgtHunter]

Yes

Tradepac
#05-18

Classic Dynasty
#06-24

You are welcomed ^^

Great to know. But I can take the CPU from tradepac to classic dynasty and ask them to fix it for me as well right if I buy the rest from them? Not sure what's the practise now as I usually do it myself..but 4yrs rusty already scared I spoil the whole thing.

Secondly, for the gfx card which is your recommendation? was doing some reading, 4850 is the old card, though some say it outperforms the 5670 even tho the new card supports DX11.