New PC with $1K Budget

[funz11]

Expert Bros here,

Need some recommendations for a "future-proof" (at least 5 yrs) PC with best possible configuration for web surfing, office work, movies downloading and light gaming (Football Manager etc.) on a $1K budget.

No need for monitor, keyboard+mouse as will be reusing current.

Please include casing as well.

Thanks!

 

[Alternative X]

CPU+ Mobo: ASROCK H81M-HDS+ i3 4150 (224)
RAM: 2X G.SKILL PC 12800/1600MHZ DDR3 CL11 VALUE RAM (4GB) (106)
GPU: LEADTEK GTX 750 TI 2GB O.C (225)
SSD: ADATA SP900 128GB (99)
HDD: TOSHIBA 1TB 7200RPM (69)
DVD-RW: LG 24X DVD-RW SATA OEM (25)
PSU: SEASONIC S12II-Non MODULAR 520W (85)
Case: AEROCOOL V3X ADVANCE (45)*
OS: WINDOWS 7 HOME PREM (120)

Total cost: $998

*Price is estimated, item not on pricelist.

Buy at PC Themes, #04-15, and ask for discounts. DIY yourself. If you can't into DIY, go to PC Care & Solution at #02-32 and ask Nigel to help you assemble for a fee.

 

[funz11]

Thanks Bro, just wondering, is i3 and 8GB RAM really enough to "future-proof" the PC? Can these specs run Windows 8.1 as I have already purchased a copy via the student offer?

 

[Alternative X]

Thanks Bro, just wondering, is i3 and 8GB RAM really enough to "future-proof" the PC? Can these specs run Windows 8.1 as I have already purchased a copy via the student offer?

Well, if you are only playing similiar games like what you are playing now, an i3 is more than enough and games generally do not use more than 8GB of RAM unless the game has memory leak issues. However, if you want futureproofing, you may use the money saved from buying Windows 7 and get an i5 4460 + Asrock H81-HDS for $310 as games generally are more demanding on GPUs than CPUs and thus the CPU will be relevant for quite a few years.

And yes, you can run Windows 8.1 on this rig.

 

[Jian19]

1k ~

i5-4460 + Asrock h81m hds ~ $310
Crucial 8gb ddr3 ~ $110
Plextor m6s 128gb ssd ~ $104
Wd blue 1tb ~ $67
Zotac gtx750 1gb ~ $175
Seasonic g360 ~ $84
Lg dvd rom ~ $21
Sharkoon ms140 ~ $56
Win7 64 oem ~ $115 (Can consider get from g2a if u wan to use win 8.1, google it, very cheap online ~)

$1042 buy and DIY @ tradepac ask for discount ~ if not sure how to DIY can bring to gs shop ask him help u assemble @ a fee.

 

[funz11]

May I know how much difference in performance is this rig compared to Asus M70AD i7-4770S selling at $1399 during Comex?

1k ~

i5-4460 + Asrock h81m hds ~ $310
Crucial 8gb ddr3 ~ $110
Plextor m6s 128gb ssd ~ $104
Wd blue 1tb ~ $67
Zotac gtx750 1gb ~ $175
Seasonic g360 ~ $84
Lg dvd rom ~ $21
Sharkoon ms140 ~ $56
Win7 64 oem ~ $115 (Can consider get from g2a if u wan to use win 8.1, google it, very cheap online ~)

$1042 buy and DIY @ tradepac ask for discount ~ if not sure how to DIY can bring to gs shop ask him help u assemble @ a fee.

 

[Alternative X]

May I know how much difference in performance is this rig compared to Asus M70AD i7-4770S selling at $1399 during Comex?

Lots, for these reasons:

1) The i7-4770S will not improve your gameplay by much as games generally do not benefit from hyperthreading.

2) No SSD in the M70AD, so you get a much slower system and get slower loading times.

3) At a price of $1399, you are likely to get a system with a GT 630/640, a far inferior card when compared to the GTX 750. You may have to game at lower settings or get slideshow like performance with more graphics intensive games.

4) You will get a lower quality PSU that will generally die on you in 2 years time.

5) You will not benefit from having 16GB RAM as games do not use that much RAM unless the game has memory leak issues.

In conclusion, if you have brought the Asus M70AD, you are getting ripped off as the components generally cost a lot less than $1399 and you get far inferior gaming performance than the $1042 rig.

Oh, and if the rig develops a fault, do not expect first class aftersales service. Paging Ark Law to tell horror stories of Asus aftersales service.

 

[duffie]

Fully agree, definitely better build your own rig.

 

[jerome1470]

Lots, for these reasons:

1) The i7-4770S will not improve your gameplay by much as games generally do not benefit from hyperthreading.

2) No SSD in the M70AD, so you get a much slower system and get slower loading times.

3) At a price of $1399, you are likely to get a system with a GT 630/640, a far inferior card when compared to the GTX 750. You may have to game at lower settings or get slideshow like performance with mour graphics intensive games.

4) You will get a lower quality PSU that will generally die on you in 2 years time.

5) You will not benefit from having 16GB RAM as games do not use that much RAM unless the game has memory leak issues.

In conclusion, if you have brought the Asus M70AD, you are getting ripped off as the components generally cost a lot less than $1399 and you get far inferior gaming performance than the $1042 rig.

Oh, and if the rig develops a fault, do not expect first class aftersales service. Paging Ark Law to tell horror stories of Asus aftersales service.

Actually the GPU worse than that. GT625M. But I think they typo the M. Anyway the GT625 is horrible entry level from previous generation.

 

[Alternative X]

Actually the GPU worse than that. GT625M. But I think they typo the M. Anyway the GT625 is horrible entry level from previous generation.

Nope, that 'M' is not a typo. Any GPU with a 'M' suffix indicates that the GPU is a laptop use GPU. Laptop GPUs are usually optimised for energy efficiency at the expense of performance and thus the GT625M is likely to perform far worse than the GT625.

 

[funz11]

Just wondering, is it absolutely necessary to get a separate GPU or onboard graphics will work just fine? Also, what's the difference between the B85 chipset compared to H81 other than price? Seen rigs proposed with both but not sure which to choose...

 

[ykgoh]

-snip-

3) At a price of $1399, you are likely to get a system with a GT 630/640, a far inferior card when compared to the GTX 750. You may have to game at lower settings or get slideshow like performance with more graphics intensive games.

-snip-

I wonder how come hardcore gamers who unknowingly bought pre-built PCs never kpkb about their FPS with GT630/640 when they turn everything on ultra on AAA games and playing on 1080p or higher resolution?

 

[deepblue_82]

Just wondering, is it absolutely necessary to get a separate GPU or onboard graphics will work just fine? Also, what's the difference between the B85 chipset compared to H81 other than price? Seen rigs proposed with both but not sure which to choose...

it all depends on what games u intent to play.
dota,cs onboard ok.
but diablo 3 no.

 

[yusoffb01]

Anyway get 250gb ssd and forgo 1tb HDD. 128gb is not enough

 

[ZawLee]

I wonder how come hardcore gamers who unknowingly bought pre-built PCs never kpkb about their FPS with GT630/640 when they turn everything on ultra on AAA games and playing on 1080p or higher resolution?

Because they can't tell. - -"

 

[kimaking]

I wonder how come hardcore gamers who unknowingly bought pre-built PCs never kpkb about their FPS with GT630/640 when they turn everything on ultra on AAA games and playing on 1080p or higher resolution?

Maybe certain games doesn't require good cards but need abit of tweaking ingame/driver settings, so they just need to type their cheat codes in the console hahaha.

 

[funz11]

Sorry Bros, question on the memory...I have installed Windows 8.1 Pro on my new rig but the usable is only 3.xxGB when I have 8GB memory installed. Is this normal? If so, then wouldn't my other 4GB be wasted?

 

[Alternative X]

Sorry Bros, question on the memory...I have installed Windows 8.1 Pro on my new rig but the usable is only 3.xxGB when I have 8GB memory installed. Is this normal? If so, then wouldn't my other 4GB be wasted?

Oh no, is your Windows 8.1 Pro the 32 bit version? 32 bit OSes generally can only use up to 3+GB of RAM and you need the 64 bit version of Windows 8.1 to fully utilise the 8GB of RAM.

 

[Jian19]

Most likely ur OS only 32 bit

64 bit then support 4gb above

 

[royfrosty]

IIRC for Windows 8.1 it comes in both 32bit and 64bit in 1 disc. Might wanna check what have you selected during the initial setup.