Hardware Building a PC

[kevan]

What the title says!
Only thing I'm sure of is the processor (i5 3570K)

I need advice on a good HDD (not SSD), GPU and Motherboard.

I'm buying everything from here (http://www.umart.com.au/newindex2.phtml?bid=4) and the budget is $1000 AUD.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Well since you have your CPU picked out, you should obviously get a motherboard that fits the CPU. As for HDD, get a Western Digital whatever-size-you-want. For a GPU, I suggest a Geforce 560TI or whatever the equivalent or better AMD Radeon is available. And, y'know, 4-8GB of RAM and a case if you need it. Should be around your budget I think...

EDIT: For the motherboard, it doesn't matter as much as long as you have enough slots for everything you need to fit. I suggest finding something maybe with USB 3.0 slots and try and find one from the bigger brands (like Gigabyte or ASUS or MSI)

 

[Originality]

For the motherboard, just get a series 7 chipset motherboard (e.g. X77 motherboard).

 

[kevan]

How's that?

Case: Antec One Hundred Gaming Case- Black NO PSU (have a PSU)
HDD's: Western Digital 2TB SATA3 64M Black and Corsair Force SATA3 Series 60GB 2.5 SSD
GPU: Asus GTX560TI 1GDDR5 256BIT DDR5 2DVI HDMI FAN PCIE ATX
Processor: Intel Core i5 3570K LGA1155 CPU 3.4Ghz 6Mb Cache Ivy Bridge
Mobo: ASUS P8H77-V 4 x DDR3/1 x PCI-E3.0 x 16/2 x SATA3/4 x USB3.0/HDMI/DP/DVI/D-Sub/7.1CH/GBLAN/RAID/Cro
DVD-RW Drive (don't want Blu Ray): Samsung 22X DVDRW Black SATA

 

[Originality]

That's more or less the same as my rig. It'll do great.

I recommend replacing the Corsair with a Samsung 830. They've had a price cut recently. Also maybe get a WD green series HDD instead of black series.

EDIT: you didn't mention RAM in your list.

 

[kevan]

Oops my bad. It will probably be Corsair or Kingstom ram (8gb). I'll check out the parts you recommended.

 

[Anon10W1z]

I recommend:

WD 500GB hard drive
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H motherboard
Asus Nvidia GTX 550Ti

EDIT: G-Skill Ripjaws 4GBx2 (8GB from 2 modules) memory is what I'm using. It is excellent! At only $50, it's a steal. Plus, it gets a 7.6 out of 7.9 on the Windows Experience Index!

 

[Originality]

Nearly all RAM performs equally. Corsair, Kingston, G.Skill, no difference. Just looks.

As for recommending a smaller HDD and lower model GPU... could you explain why? I don't disagree (although I went with 560 and actually wish I went with 570) but it would help users make their own choice if you explained your suggestions.

 

[Anon10W1z]

Nearly all RAM performs equally. Corsair, Kingston, G.Skill, no difference. Just looks.

As for recommending a smaller HDD and lower model GPU... could you explain why? I don't disagree (although I went with 560 and actually wish I went with 570) but it would help users make their own choice if you explained your suggestions.

Because of the cost. If he decides to buy peripherals with the computer (keyboard, mouse, monitor), it might cost well over $1027 US dollars to get everything.

If he's NOT buying an OS though...He can very well afford a 570 or even a 580, and a 1TB HDD.

And about the RAM...there's a feature called XMP on some memory that is supported by the motherboard I mentioned. I don't know if that helps, but a higher memory clock does AFAIK.

 

[Anon10W1z]

How's that?

Case: Antec One Hundred Gaming Case- Black NO PSU (have a PSU)
HDD's: Western Digital 2TB SATA3 64M Black and Corsair Force SATA3 Series 60GB 2.5 SSD
GPU: Asus GTX560TI 1GDDR5 256BIT DDR5 2DVI HDMI FAN PCIE ATX
Processor: Intel Core i5 3570K LGA1155 CPU 3.4Ghz 6Mb Cache Ivy Bridge
Mobo: ASUS P8H77-V 4 x DDR3/1 x PCI-E3.0 x 16/2 x SATA3/4 x USB3.0/HDMI/DP/DVI/D-Sub/7.1CH/GBLAN/RAID/Cro
DVD-RW Drive (don't want Blu Ray): Samsung 22X DVDRW Black SATA

If you want to overclock, then get The p8z77-v.

 

[Jan1tor]

One of the things that goes bad most often in a PC is the power supply sooooo get at least a 650watt power supply and make sure it has at least a 3 year warantee on it.
If you can try to go for an I7 900 at least for a cpu and an ASUS or ASrock motherboard. (Good quality, fairly reasonable prices)
Western digital any size HD., Geforce mid range GPU I usually go for the 3rd highest priced. Also make sure you have an extra case fan. And a very good CPU Fan with arctic silver cpu grease for heat transfer.
Try to stay from fancy lighting and the such cause it only puts more strain on the power supply.

 

[kevan]

I already have a 700 watt PSU from another pc. Also have a mouse and keyboard... And who buys OS's these days

Edit: I also have a monitor. I wanted a black series because it will be used for games a fair bit. I'm not actually planning on over locking so would the 3570 not the k model be a better choice?

 

[Jan1tor]

Faster processer is usually the better choice. I'm just trying to get you the most bang for your buck. Here is my setup, almost 2 years ago and got it for $960 American bucks.
I7 950 cpu
Intel copper heavy duty cooling fan w/ultra 5 silver thermal compound.
ASrock Motherboard
4 gig pc3 12800 dual channel memory
Hitachi/WD 320gb hard drive
LG DVD rw cdrom drive
Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT w/1 gb DDR2 2DVI SLI PCI-EXP Video
Built on motherboard Realtek 8 channel digital sound
Built on motherboard Realtek 10/100/1000 Network
APC Turbo III Mid Towr case
Thermaltake 600 wat high perofrmance power supply.
Windows 7 64 bit
3 year limited warantee
Bought it from http://www.computerlx.com/ here in the states (custom built in Ohio)

 

[pmk010]

The best HDD's to go for are Seagate and Western Digital. In my most recent build I went for the Seagate Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s 1TB Hard Drive. If you plan to overclock you will need to buy an after market CPU cooler, otherwise the stock one will be fine. Regarding the RAM, Corsair, G-skill and Mushkin are the brands I reccomend. No more than 8GB is needed. Make sure it is compatible with your motherboard and CPU. As for video/graphics card, I would go for XFX 7850 or Sapphire 7850. As for PSU, 500W is what you should get. You probably don't want an expensive case so I've given you two options, one a mid-range, other a low-end. The low end is the In-win Griffin and the mind-range is the Zalman Z11 plus. As for the motherboard, ASUS or Gigabyte. Make sure it includes USB 3.0. Optical drive: Not that expensive unless you want blu-ray. Suggest a DVD-RW. Monitor and peripherals I leave up to you. Don't skimp on the power supply.

Here is a build I would suggest:

Intel Core i5 3570K (Ivy Bridge)

G Skill 8G(2x4G) DDR3 1600Mhz PC12800 RL 9-9-9-24(CL9D-8GBRL)
Zalman Z11-Plus Black ATX NO PSU 4x120mm FAN (overpriced on umart)

Antec VP-550P 550W Strictly PSU

Sapphire HD7850 2G.2G 256Bit GDDR5 PCIE3.0 DVI HDMI 2*MiniDSP DX11

I've left out the motherboard and hard drive for your choice. The cost of the items listed above from umart is $742. The case can be found cheaper. This is just a guide. Hope it helps. If you have anymore questions then just pm me.

 

[Anon10W1z]

I already have a 700 watt PSU from another pc. Also have a mouse and keyboard... And who buys OS's these days

Edit: I also have a monitor. I wanted a black series because it will be used for games a fair bit. I'm not actually planning on over locking so would the 3570 not the k model be a better choice?

Yes, and feel free to get the motherboard you already chose. It would also save some money for a better GPU.

 

[chains_of_androm]

560 ti is slightly outdated, it is last gen. you can get a 480 for cheaper (and it has more power), or a 7850 or above.

 

[kevan]

Nvidia doesn't make sense to me 480 more modern than 560 D: ? Why can't it be like ATI 4000/5000/6000/7000 etc in order

 

[Originality]

560 is more modern than 480, but 480 is more powerful. The 480 was a flagship graphics card where as 560 was always mid ranged.
The Hd 4870 is roughly as strong as the HD 5770 and 6770. This is because the only new technology in the HD 5 and 6 lines came from their top line, where as HD x870 and below was always mere revisions and improvements on the same designs.

If you want to know the real order of graphics cards in terms of processing power, find a benchmark site.

 

[kevan]

Samsung 22X DVDRW Black SATA
Kingston 8GB(2 X 4GB) DDR3-1333MHZ PC10600
Antec One Hundred Gaming Case- Black NO PSU
Western Digital 2TB SATA3 64M Black(WD2002FAEX)
Gigabyte ATI HD 7850 OC Edition PCI-E 3.0, 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Intel Core i5 3570K LGA1155 CPU 3.4Ghz 6Mb Cache Ivy Bridge
Gigabyte GA-H77-D3H-MVP/H77/4 x DDR3/2 x PCI-E3.0 x 16/2 x SATA3/6 x USB3.0/HDMI/D-Sub/DVI-D/GBLAN/R

This looks to be my final build. With a much better GPU in my opinion (at least I think so 0_0)

 

[FireGrey]

Samsung 22X DVDRW Black SATA
Kingston 8GB(2 X 4GB) DDR3-1333MHZ PC10600
Antec One Hundred Gaming Case- Black NO PSU
Western Digital 2TB SATA3 64M Black(WD2002FAEX)
Gigabyte ATI HD 7850 OC Edition PCI-E 3.0, 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Intel Core i5 3570K LGA1155 CPU 3.4Ghz 6Mb Cache Ivy Bridge
Gigabyte GA-H77-D3H-MVP/H77/4 x DDR3/2 x PCI-E3.0 x 16/2 x SATA3/6 x USB3.0/HDMI/D-Sub/DVI-D/GBLAN/R

This looks to be my final build. With a much better GPU in my opinion (at least I think so 0_0)

That is incredibly similar to the PC i'm building.
Mine will be about $1350 + $155 for monitor $113 for shipping + $99 for windows 7