Building my first computer

[ccchew1986]

Hi all

I am intending to build my first computer and budget around 1K. The purpose of the computer is used for surfing net, typing as well as occasional gaming. My requirement is that the motherboard must have allowance for future expansion in which I can to upgrade my specs in the future (in terms of RAM , graphics card...).

As I am doing occasional gaming, I do not need my specs to be exceptionally good else the cost will be too high. However since I am building my own computer and able to customise, I do not want to miss out the fun of the latest games. I do not think I will overclock.

I did some research and came to a list of some parts which would like to hear advise from everyone.

Processor --> Core i5 3570K
Memory --> 8GB
Motherboard --> maximus V gene
Graphics --> XFX Radeon HD 7870 Core
Harddrive --> Any recommendation
Optical Drive --> any recommendation
PSU --> any recommendation
Case --> any recommendation

From what I understand, the above seems to be for someone who would like to overclock. Please advise if I can choose other parts since I am not overclocking. I might end up spending less.

As I am building my first computer, will appreciate if I can hear your advise?

Thank you.

 

[undead102]

CPu change to i5 3470 ? 3570k is for ppl who overclock. 3470 for gaming is enough if you are not overclocking.

 

[foo9883]

A maximus V motherboard is already half your budget gone lol

 

[nippp0n]

CPU & Mobo: i5-3450 & Asrock B75 Pro 3M @ $328
Ram: Kingston 1600mhz value ram 8GB @ ~$72
ODD: HP DVD RW @ $25
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 500GB @ ~$60
GPU: Powercolor 7870 Myst @ $311
Performance is close to 7950 but at the expense of high power consumption.
Case: Asgard Pro @ $68
PSU: Seasonic S12 520W @ $78
OS: Windows 7 Home 64 bit OEM @ $110

Total: $1052
Buy and build at Tradepac.

Stay firm with your decision and don't be swayed to upgrade to higher end components by their sales assistants unless the items you want are OOS in SLS.

 

[ChandlerBing]

Like what the rest of the guys said, a Maximus V board is definitely an overkill if you have no intentions to overclock. And yes it takes up half your 1k budget too.

In that case, my suggestion is that you get another ATX board that has the a decent number of PCIe and PCI slots + SATA 3 and SATA 2 slots for your future expansion(s).

Any of the other ASUS P82Z77 boards (if you're only looking at ASUS, that is) will suffice actually. And most of them are only half of the cost of a Maximus V.

Use the savings from your board to spend a bit more on your graphics card since you mentioned that you do not want to miss out the fun on future games.

 

[terryhoho]

if you know how to assamble yourself. can just buy parts from people in this forum offering parts with warranty..
can take out the optical drive. not much people still buying Porn DVD in street nowadays..lol.

personally i stick video card to Nvidia which specialise in something they do. Rather than diversifying R&D on both GPU & CPU. Maybe Next time AMD going to come out with a motherboard line to cover up their incompetency.

 

[m3 th3 last]

CPU & Mobo: i5-3450 & Asrock B75 Pro 3M @ $328
Ram: Kingston 1600mhz value ram 8GB @ ~$72
ODD: HP DVD RW @ $25
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 500GB @ ~$60
GPU: Powercolor 7870 Myst @ $311
Performance is close to 7950 but at the expense of high power consumption.
Case: Asgard Pro @ $68
PSU: Seasonic S12 520W @ $78
OS: Windows 7 Home 64 bit OEM @ $110

Total: $1052
Buy and build at Tradepac.

Stay firm with your decision and don't be swayed to upgrade to higher end components by their sales assistants unless the items you want are OOS in SLS.

This should be good enough for you
Plus you don't have to assemble manually your PC, let the guys at tradepac do it for you. Btw do you need a wireless adapter or you planning to use lan cable?

 

[m3 th3 last]

CPU & Mobo: i5-3450 & Asrock B75 Pro 3M @ $328
Ram: Kingston 1600mhz value ram 8GB @ ~$72
ODD: HP DVD RW @ $25
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 500GB @ ~$60
GPU: Powercolor 7870 Myst @ $311
Performance is close to 7950 but at the expense of high power consumption.
Case: Asgard Pro @ $68
PSU: Seasonic S12 520W @ $78
OS: Windows 7 Home 64 bit OEM @ $110

Total: $1052
Buy and build at Tradepac.

Stay firm with your decision and don't be swayed to upgrade to higher end components by their sales assistants unless the items you want are OOS in SLS.

This should be good enough for you
Plus you don't have to assemble manually your PC, let the guys at tradepac do it for you. Btw do you need a wireless card? or you planning to use lan cable?

 

[ccchew1986]

This should be good enough for you
Plus you don't have to assemble manually your PC, let the guys at tradepac do it for you. Btw do you need a wireless card? or you planning to use lan cable?

Hi all, thanks for the advise. i will probably require a wireless adapter as well. Does anyone know if the price will be lower from tradepac if I wanted to build the computer myself?

 

[Maeda_Toshiie]

Tradepac charge a fee for assembly, and their assembly sucks (cable management). Plus, they are known to jiak extra cables, screws, etc. Assemble on your own.

 

[nippp0n]

Tradepac charge a fee for assembly, and their assembly sucks (cable management). Plus, they are known to jiak extra cables, screws, etc. Assemble on your own.

How much do they charge for assembly? I always thought they don't charge any assembly fee. Did the assembly charge just started not long ago?

 

[foo9883]

Want to assemble and better cable management I suggest PC Themes. Fuwell not bad also in terms of cable management coz I bought my rig (3 years ago though) there can vouch for them.

 

[Maeda_Toshiie]

How much do they charge for assembly? I always thought they don't charge any assembly fee. Did the assembly charge just started not long ago?

Hmm, maybe I am mistaken:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/hardware-clinic-2/need-some-help-here-cd-dvd-rom-4158751.html

$35 installation charge + diagonsis problem.

Not sure what the break down is.

In any case, doesn't look like Tradepac is going to take the time to do cable management, especially if assembly is free.

 

[Neekaluz]

I sugguest PC Themes!
Just got my rig done up on Saturday(30th March)
Price difference with Tradepac was $101 more but i still went to PC themes because in the end i chose quality service over shady service. Cheers

Always remember theres a saying, it's too good to be true