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

[royfrosty]

Hi guys,

Need some help on building a mid-high end gaming rig. Must be able to stream and play on max setting, 2560x1440 resolution.


Budget around 2200-2600 (exclude SSD and OS)

Mobo - ?

GPU - ?

RAM - ?

SSD - samsung evo 840 500gb

PSU - ?

Case - ?

Cooler - if necessary

OS - win7 oem 64 bits

Thanks!

MSI Z97S SLI Plus + i5-4690k ~ $471
GSKills Ripjaws 1866mhz 2x4gb kit ~ $117
WD Blue 1tb ~ $67
Crucial mx100 256gb ~ $143 (After 10% Mastercard Monday discount from Lazada.sg) ****
Palit GTX970 4gb Ref Card x2 SLI ~ $915 (After 10% Mastercard Monday discount from Lazada.sg) ****
Superflower Leadex 850w 80+ Gold Fully Modular PSU ~ $170 (After 10% Mastercard Monday discount from Lazada.sg) ****
Corsair Obsidian 450D ~ $159
LG DVD Drive ~ $21
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM ~ $104 (After 10% Mastercard Monday discount from Lazada.sg)****
Corsair H100i Hydro ~ $150

Total ~ $2317. Buy at tradepac unless stated. DIY

****Since you are open to purchase at lazada.sg. However the promotion using mastercard has a capped discount of not more than $50. Might wanna consider buying slowly part by part.

 

[lalafell]

Name all games that you want to play with this rig. Also, why not get a 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD combo for better cost effectiveness?

thought of that, but only after i bought the ssd
Dota2, CSGO, CoD, Diablo3

 

[ralphlauren]

i5-4460 + Asrock h81m hds ~ $300
Crucial 8gb ddr3 ~ $100
Wd blue 1tb ~ $68
Zotac gtx750ti ~ $215
Lg dvd rom ~ $21
Fsp hexa 450w ~ $59
CM n200 ~ $55
Win7 64 oem ~ $115

$932 buy and DIY @ tradepac ask for discount.

Hi, thanks for the recommendation. Is it silly if I use win7 32 bits for this setup? Thinking of cloning my current win7 32 bits for this new rig.

 

[Alternative X]

Hi, thanks for the recommendation. Is it silly if I use win7 32 bits for this setup? Thinking of cloning my current win7 32 bits for this new rig.

Yes, it is quite silly to do that as 32 bit OSes can only use up to 3GB+ of your RAM and system performance will likely suffer. Try downloading the Windows 7 64 bit iso from Microsoft's website and try to use the OS activation key for your current OS to activate the new 64 bit installation. Can always buy another license if this method fails.

 

[xlIZINOIlx]

CPU+ Mobo: ASROCK H81M-HDS + i5 4460 (319)
RAM: G.SKILL PC 12800/1600MHZ DDR3 CL11 VALUE RAM (8GB) (102)
GPU: SAPPHIRE R9 280 3GB DUAL-X (285) (lazada.com)
SSD: OCZ VERTEX 460 120GB/ADATA SP900 128GB (99)
HDD: TOSHIBA 1TB 7200RPM (69)
DVD-RW: LG 24X DVD-RW SATA OEM (25)
PSU: SUPERFLOWER HX 600M GOLD MODULAR (109)
Case: BITFENIX COMRADE (59)
OS: WINDOWS 7 HOME PREM (120)

Total cost: $1187

Hi thanks for the suggestions, just wondering i have been reading alot of good stuff of the GTX970 GPU. How is it comparable tot he one thats suggested? Cause i have always used Nvidia GPUs and dont really have much experience with Radeon.

 

[shadow84]

Hi thanks for the suggestions, just wondering i have been reading alot of good stuff of the GTX970 GPU. How is it comparable tot he one thats suggested? Cause i have always used Nvidia GPUs and dont really have much experience with Radeon.

Much much better than r9 280. But can it fit into ur budget? Thats another qn. Its at least $509 for the Zotac 970 AMP! omega, iirc.

 

[oetem]

Getting a new rig

Hi, my macbook pro is dead. Building a new rig.I will like to seek advice for from the expert regarding the combination below:


1)Crucial 256GB SSD(Transfer from macbook pro)
2)Win 7 Professional 64 bits(Transfer from macbook pro)
3)Palit GTX 970 Graphic Card~403.2 Lazada
4)Superflower LEADEX Full Modular 80+ 650W GOLD~125 Lazada
5)Asus B85 Pro Gamer(prefer asus)+i5 4690~420 Tradepac
6)G-Skill Rip Jaw X 1600 CL9 8GB~114 Tradepac
7)CORSAIR Obsidian 550D~189 Tradepac
8)1TB Harddrive~67 Tradepac
9)Lg dvd rom~21 Tradepac
10) Which Dell Monitor should I get?

 

[ralphlauren]

i5-4460 + Asrock h81m hds ~ $300
Crucial 8gb ddr3 ~ $100
Wd blue 1tb ~ $68
Zotac gtx750ti ~ $215
Lg dvd rom ~ $21
Fsp hexa 450w ~ $59
CM n200 ~ $55
Win7 64 oem ~ $115

$932 buy and DIY @ tradepac ask for discount.

Hi, do u think I should take a higher w psu? In case I need to upgrade to a more powerful graphics in the future, so that I do not need to change psu.

 

[xlIZINOIlx]

Much much better than r9 280. But can it fit into ur budget? Thats another qn. Its at least $509 for the Zotac 970 AMP! omega, iirc.

Yea after doing some reading online, it seems like the gtx970 is the value GPU for now. Is it worth it to delay making my cpu till i am able to fit the 970 into my budget. Maybe another month or two and also will the parts provided be compatible with the gtx970?

CPU+ Mobo: ASROCK H81M-HDS + i5 4460 (319)
RAM: G.SKILL PC 12800/1600MHZ DDR3 CL11 VALUE RAM (8GB) (102)
GPU: SAPPHIRE R9 280 3GB DUAL-X (285) (lazada.com)
SSD: OCZ VERTEX 460 120GB/ADATA SP900 128GB (99)
HDD: TOSHIBA 1TB 7200RPM (69)
DVD-RW: LG 24X DVD-RW SATA OEM (25)
PSU: SUPERFLOWER HX 600M GOLD MODULAR (109)
Case: BITFENIX COMRADE (59)
OS: WINDOWS 7 HOME PREM (120)

Total cost: $1187

Also another question, whats the advantage of getting both a SSD and a HDD? I assume that i will install my operating system in the SSD and leave all other programs for the HDD?

 

[Jian19]

Hi, do u think I should take a higher w psu? In case I need to upgrade to a more powerful graphics in the future, so that I do not need to change psu.

Fsp aurum s 500w ~ $89

 

[Alternative X]

Yea after doing some reading online, it seems like the gtx970 is the value GPU for now. Is it worth it to delay making my cpu till i am able to fit the 970 into my budget. Maybe another month or two and also will the parts provided be compatible with the gtx970?

Also another question, whats the advantage of getting both a SSD and a HDD? I assume that i will install my operating system in the SSD and leave all other programs for the HDD?

1) The parts won't suddenly become incompatible just because you did not buy them immediately. However, if you delay your purchase, prices are likely to change in the future, especially if you delay your purchases long enough for AMD to bring out new GPUs into the market and resulting in the suggested build to not be cost effective. In fact, from the build that you have picked, the Vertex 460 120GB is highly likely to be already OOS at PC Themes. Can consider the Plextor M6S for $99. However, if you are serious about delaying your purchases for the future, do ask for another build in the future so that a cost efficient build based on future prices can be recommended to you.

2) If you install your OS in the SSD, you can enjoy 10s boot times instead of 5-10 mins boot times from a HDD. If you install programs into the SSD, loading times of games will be greatly reduced. The HDD is there to negate the lack of storage in the SSD due to high SSD prices for higher capacity SSDs. You can install games that does a lot of loading within the game into the SSD to enjoy reduced loading times. There is little point just using the SSD as a container for the OS, otherwise you might as well just buy a 32/64GB SSD and use the $$$ saved to get a large capacity WD Black/Velocirapter HDD.

 

[Alternative X]

Hi, my macbook pro is dead. Building a new rig.I will like to seek advice for from the expert regarding the combination below:


1)Crucial 256GB SSD(Transfer from macbook pro)
2)Win 7 Professional 64 bits(Transfer from macbook pro)
3)Palit GTX 970 Graphic Card~403.2 Lazada
4)Superflower LEADEX Full Modular 80+ 650W GOLD~125 Lazada
5)Asus B85 Pro Gamer(prefer asus)+i5 4690~420 Tradepac
6)G-Skill Rip Jaw X 1600 CL9 8GB~114 Tradepac
7)CORSAIR Obsidian 550D~189 Tradepac
8)1TB Harddrive~67 Tradepac
9)Lg dvd rom~21 Tradepac
10) Which Dell Monitor should I get?

1) Your build is fine. However, do take note that the prices you are stating from lazada.com assumes that you will be paying with a Mastercard and if you do not have a Mastercard, multiply the Lazada prices by about 110% to get the true price of the parts.

2) I would suggest that you do a clean reinstall of the Win 7 Professional when building your new rig as I have concerns that you may get driver conflicts if you simply transplant your SSD from the Macbook to your new rig due to the differences in the hardware used in both systems which requires the use of very different drivers.

3) Get the Dell S2340L from Tradepac for $198.

 

[oetem]

1) Your build is fine. However, do take note that the prices you are stating from lazada.com assumes that you will be paying with a Mastercard and if you do not have a Mastercard, multiply the Lazada prices by about 110% to get the true price of the parts.

I have actually bought the Palit GTX 970 last tuesday from Lazada.

2) I would suggest that you do a clean reinstall of the Win 7 Professional when building your new rig as I have concerns that you may get driver conflicts if you simply transplant your SSD from the Macbook to your new rig due to the differences in the hardware used in both systems which requires the use of very different drivers.

Yup. What I meant is to transfer the items to the new rig and reformat the SSD and reinstall Win OS

3) Get the Dell S2340L from Tradepac for $198.
What about U series?

 

[taytehni]

Hi I'm using pc with i5-2320/asrock u61m u3s3, 8gb gskill ram, wd blue 500gb, and a palit gtx560 oc 1gb. Im looking to upgrade my pc with ssd, probably the samsung evo or the intel 530 240gb. However, for just normal usage and occasional gaming, is the graphics card sufficient, do i need to upgrade it? Also, Im facing some blue screens nowadays so i plan to reformat the com and use the ssd as the boot drive so any suggestions would be really helpful, thanks a lot in advance

 

[Alternative X]

3) Get the Dell S2340L from Tradepac for $198.
What about U series?

The U series are rather expensive with the cheapest U2414H being priced from $359. Not sure if there are any advantages in paying more money for a more expensive 1920X1080 monitor. Can go to SLS to take a look at the monitors being displayed before buying.

 

[shadow84]

The U series are rather expensive with the cheapest U2414H being priced from $359. Not sure if there are any advantages in paying more money for a more expensive 1920X1080 monitor. Can go to SLS to take a look at the monitors being displayed before buying.

More connections for other purposes like consoles, can tilt, swivel, pivot, height adjustment, VESA mount onto walls or dual/triple monitor setup,up, looks god damn chio, thin bezel, matte screen (not as grainy as U2312HM).

 

[Alternative X]

Hi I'm using pc with i5-2320/asrock u61m u3s3, 8gb gskill ram, wd blue 500gb, and a palit gtx560 oc 1gb. Im looking to upgrade my pc with ssd, probably the samsung evo or the intel 530 240gb. However, for just normal usage and occasional gaming, is the graphics card sufficient, do i need to upgrade it? Also, Im facing some blue screens nowadays so i plan to reformat the com and use the ssd as the boot drive so any suggestions would be really helpful, thanks a lot in advance

1) Name all games that you are playing.

2) Download and run BlueScreenView and see which system processes are causing the BSOD.

3) Name the PSU and casing that you are using.

 

[taytehni]

1) Name all games that you are playing.

2) Download and run BlueScreenView and see which system processes are causing the BSOD.

3) Name the PSU and casing that you are using.

Battlefield and maybe fifa at times only, don't mind playing not at max graphics. Using a seasonic s12II 520w bronze, and sharkoon ms120. Okay will go test asap, thanks!

 

[lalafell]

MSI Z97S SLI Plus + i5-4690k ~ $471
GSKills Ripjaws 1866mhz 2x4gb kit ~ $117
WD Blue 1tb ~ $67
Crucial mx100 256gb ~ $143 (After 10% Mastercard Monday discount from Lazada.sg) ****
Palit GTX970 4gb Ref Card x2 SLI ~ $915 (After 10% Mastercard Monday discount from Lazada.sg) ****
Superflower Leadex 850w 80+ Gold Fully Modular PSU ~ $170 (After 10% Mastercard Monday discount from Lazada.sg) ****
Corsair Obsidian 450D ~ $159
LG DVD Drive ~ $21
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM ~ $104 (After 10% Mastercard Monday discount from Lazada.sg)****
Corsair H100i Hydro ~ $150

Total ~ $2317. Buy at tradepac unless stated. DIY

****Since you are open to purchase at lazada.sg. However the promotion using mastercard has a capped discount of not more than $50. Might wanna consider buying slowly part by part.

Would you recommend to get i7 4790k if i have additional 100 to spare? If yes, which model will fit in?

 

[Alternative X]

Would you recommend to get i7 4790k if i have additional 100 to spare? If yes, which model will fit in?

Games generally do not benefit from hyperthreading and there is very little additional benefit from getting an i7 instead of an i5. I would rather keep the $100 for a rainy day.