Which store should I go to?

[WebbieMonster]

Went to SLS today to check out on the prices of my build according to the stores.

CPU: i5-4670
MotherboarD: MSI B85-G43
GPU: Palit GTX760 Jetstream 2GB
HDD: WD 500GB SATA Blue
RAM: Corsair 8GB Vengeance
PSU: FSP Raider 550W Silver
Casing: Phantom 410 NZXT
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
+ Cheapest SSD they had.
So the prices I got were:

Fuwell: $1538 (Case was changed to Storm Scout II)
PC Themes: $1476
BestBuy: $1183 (No SSD, but the cheapest they had over there was $142)

The price really shocked me for Best Buy's. It was ridiculously cheap compared to others. I intend to check out Tradepac's on the day of the purchase itself.

So, which store should I buy from? Is there any particular stores I have to avoid? Is there anything I have to keep a look out for among Tradepac, BestBuy, PC Themes and Fuwell?

 

[shadow84]

Best buy may be selling parallel imports... since i kena some of their mircosd cards. make sure there is a distro sticker on each box. Tradepac should be good for advanced users, pct/mynextcom for newbies.

And, a few ppl here complained about the nzxt phantom 410 not being good with cable management. Ask around more for more user experience bah.

 

[royfrosty]

Don't bother with the nzxt phantom 410. Is nice. But wire management is almost as good as none.


For tradepac it should be

Msi b85m g43 + i5-4670 ~ $382
Corsair vengeance 8gb 1600mhz ~ $105
Adata sp900 premier pro 128gb ~ $125
WD blue 500gb ~ $70
Palit gtx760 2gb non jetstream + fsp raider 550w ~ $399
Fractal design arc midi ~ $129
Windows 7 home premium 64bit OEM ~ $115

Total $1325

About the same as best buy except for chassis.

Get the non jetstream edition. Cause the jetstream is taking 2.5 slots. But I will say the jetstream cooler is good.

 

[WebbieMonster]

Best buy may be selling parallel imports... since i kena some of their mircosd cards. make sure there is a distro sticker on each box. Tradepac should be good for advanced users, pct/mynextcom for newbies.

And, a few ppl here complained about the nzxt phantom 410 not being good with cable management. Ask around more for more user experience bah.

So... What do I have to make sure on the sticker?

 

[WebbieMonster]

Don't bother with the nzxt phantom 410. Is nice. But wire management is almost as good as none.


For tradepac it should be

Msi b85m g43 + i5-4670 ~ $382
Corsair vengeance 8gb 1600mhz ~ $105
Adata sp900 premier pro 128gb ~ $125
WD blue 500gb ~ $70
Palit gtx760 2gb non jetstream + fsp raider 550w ~ $399
Fractal design arc midi ~ $129
Windows 7 home premium 64bit OEM ~ $115

Total $1325

About the same as best buy except for chassis.

Get the non jetstream edition. Cause the jetstream is taking 2.5 slots. But I will say the jetstream cooler is good.

Well, if I'm not going to do SLI configuration, then jetstream should be fine, right?

 

[shadow84]

So... What do I have to make sure on the sticker?

The distro stickers lor... if its there, means local set. Otherwise, it could be imported and you cant claim warranty if need to RMA. But, buying from pct/mnc/tradepac should be safe...

Well, if I'm not going to do SLI configuration, then jetstream should be fine, right?

Your board dun support SLI anyway from the start.... so 2.5 slots should be fine, unless you intend to put a soundcard at the last slot in future, then it may block 1 fan of your gpu.

 

[WebbieMonster]

The distro stickers lor... if its there, means local set. Otherwise, it could be imported and you cant claim warranty if need to RMA. But, buying from pct/mnc/tradepac should be safe...



Your board dun support SLI anyway from the start.... so 2.5 slots should be fine, unless you intend to put a soundcard at the last slot in future, then it may block 1 fan of your gpu.

Probably getting an amp for that... What about a networking card? I'm thinking of getting one, or just use the USB ones.

 

[shadow84]

Probably getting an amp for that... What about a networking card? I'm thinking of getting one, or just use the USB ones.

PCI-e wireless card can be used, but it will still block the gpu fan that is the nearest to the pci covers. Also, they will be positioned at the bottom, so if your case is placed on the floor, it may not receive gd signals as compared to putting on table.

USB wireless card do work as well... Can get the ASUS USB-N53 for mid-high end.

 

[royfrosty]

It should be fine if you don't intend to sli and add sound card or a network card.

 

[WebbieMonster]

PCI-e wireless card can be used, but it will still block the gpu fan that is the nearest to the pci covers. Also, they will be positioned at the bottom, so if your case is placed on the floor, it may not receive gd signals as compared to putting on table.

USB wireless card do work as well... Can get the ASUS USB-N53 for mid-high end.

Read the review on Phantom 410 again...
NZXT Phantom 410 Case Review | Overclockers

They actually said the cable management was good. Regardless, is there any other case in mind with good cooling / cable management? Fractal Design Arc Midi was listed down by another poster.

 

[Ark Law]

Best buy may be selling parallel imports... since i kena some of their mircosd cards. make sure there is a distro sticker on each box. Tradepac should be good for advanced users, pct/mynextcom for newbies.

And, a few ppl here complained about the nzxt phantom 410 not being good with cable management. Ask around more for more user experience bah.

Best Buy Sandisk microSD PI meh? Is get from Kaira one de mah?

And I'm one of those who complained about the Phantom 410. Seriously, it's a bit of a rubbish case (considering there are other better built at that price point). The rubber grommets are for gimmicky show to give people the false impression of "good cable management features". In fact, I started to hate it so much that I sold it.

IMO, the plastic that NZXT use is considerably inferior compared to say Fractal or Corsair when at similar price points

 

[Ark Law]

USB wireless card do work as well... Can get the ASUS USB-N53 for mid-high end.

Read the review on Phantom 410 again...
NZXT Phantom 410 Case Review | Overclockers

They actually said the cable management was good. Regardless, is there any other case in mind with good cooling / cable management? Fractal Design Arc Midi was listed down by another poster.

As an ex P410 user, I beg to differ regarding the P410 having anywhere near good cable management. I would say even the silence-optimised Fractal Design R4 will still provide you with pretty good cooling as long as you get good (albeit expensive) fans a'la Noctua

 

[shadow84]

Best Buy Sandisk microSD PI meh? Is get from Kaira one de mah?

And I'm one of those who complained about the Phantom 410. Seriously, it's a bit of a rubbish case (considering there are other better built at that price point). The rubber grommets are for gimmicky show to give people the false impression of "good cable management features". In fact, I started to hate it so much that I sold it.

IMO, the plastic that NZXT use is considerably inferior compared to say Fractal or Corsair when at similar price points

I used to buy from them, one of them dun hav the vector pte ltd sticker, and turns out that it is parallel imported based on reviews here.... Although haven spoil yet..

 

[WebbieMonster]

As an ex P410 user, I beg to differ regarding the P410 having anywhere near good cable management. I would say even the silence-optimised Fractal Design R4 will still provide you with pretty good cooling as long as you get good (albeit expensive) fans a'la Noctua

So... Any other alternatives other than Fractal Design R4?

 

[shadow84]

Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 or Arc Mini R2 (wait for it to launch in sg)

 

[Ark Law]

I used to buy from them, one of them dun hav the vector pte ltd sticker, and turns out that it is parallel imported based on reviews here....

Check again, warranty should be with Kaira (no sticker whatsoever). Can give Kaira a call if in doubt.

Even Bizgram who used to carry Sandisk Vector Magnetics stock now switched to Kaira. Vector isn't the only Sandisk distro in SG (afaik, Vector, Kaira, Ingram)

 

[shadow84]

Check again, warranty should be with Kaira (no sticker whatsoever). Can give Kaira a call if in doubt.

Even Bizgram who used to carry Sandisk Vector Magnetics stock now switched to Kaira. Vector isn't the only Sandisk distro in SG (afaik, Vector, Kaira, Ingram)

I see.... too long nvr buy sd cards le... too many at home.... lol... I thought they still continue doing it...

 

[Ark Law]

So... Any other alternatives other than Fractal Design R4?

Shameless-own-rig-self-promo

 

[WebbieMonster]

Shameless-own-rig-self-promo

So what does the case comes with?

 

[shadow84]

That's Antec P280... http://www.antec.com/product.php?id=706292&fid=6

Try setting a budget for case, and look through pct pricelist for cases which fit your budget. Go to youtube and watch unboxing videos. That will give u a rough idea of it. If you can increase ur budget, got more variety to choose from.