Hardware Good PC Build ? (Ver.2)

[Halo-101]

Intel Core i5 2500K Processor LGA1155 3.3GHz CPU - Casue it has IGP Intel HD 3000
$219.00

MSI H67MA-E35 (B3) - DirectX 10 and Shader 4.0 onboard ..needed to mix with cpu for onboard?
$115.00

CoolerMaster NV-692A-KWN2 CM 690 II Advanced NVIDIA edition - apparently good cooling and needed for the future upgrade of GTX 560 (non Ti)
$120.00

Corsair 4GB(2x 2GB) DDR3 Memory Kit
$60


Later upgrade :
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Video Card
$229.00

Hayy guys so would this be a good build for gaming...eg.duke nukem,cod black ops,gta4,darksiders,prototype,brink..etc?

explanation: i intend to use the good onboard gfx motherboard with the good intel hd 3000 to play games until i can afford the gtx 560 maybe...4-6 months down the track

soo wat you guys think...should i get this system?

also later upgrades:
Seagate SATAIII 1TB 7200RPM 32mb Cache
$63.00


LiteON IHAS324 SATA DVD-RW 24X Black Retail
Internet Price: $35.00
or

LG H22NS70 SATA 22X+- Super Multi DVDR Black with Software
Internet Price: $28.00


Thanks Guys

BTW This Is AUS $$


Also i already have which i shall put into the pc :
700W CoolerMaster PSU
500GB SATA DRIVE

 

[marcus134]

apparently good cooling and needed for the future upgrade of GTX 560
..erm ... well.. whatever

if you want to pay extra for the nvidia logo, it's your call.
also, the 560 isn't especially hot.

QUOTE(Halo-101 @ Jun 12 2011, 11:43 PM) Hayy guys so would this be a good build for gaming...eg.duke nukem,cod black ops,gta4,darksiders,prototype,brink..etc?
explanation: i intend to use the good onboard gfx motherboard with the good intel hd 3000 to play games

are you talking about duke nukem 3d or the ones that came before on dos?

seriously, it's apparently possible for some game to run on hd3000
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Grap...00.37948.0.html
but considering the high requirement of dnf and brink, I don't think those 2 are playable.
According to the list GTA4 is unplayable.

 

[Halo-101]

ahk so what case you recommend?

and yer dnf...

well it seems to run left4dead2 according to benchmarcks and dnf has the same specs so i assumed itd work

 

[wolffangalchemist]

you be better off getting a $70/$80 USD price range ATi card and a AMD tri core cpu for gaming than a i5.

 

[Sop]

e Description Availability Unit Price Qty Total Price
SKU: 16011370
Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Mid Tower Chassis with 450W PSU - SECC - Transparent Window - 10x 5.25" & 3.5" Drive Bays - USB 2.0, Speaker & HD Audio (VM34521W2A) Yes
Product will be
dispatched
from us
within
1 - 3 days.
$85.00
Remove
$85.00
SKU: 17040302
Lite-On iHAS324 Internal Optical Drive - 24x12x8x /24x12x6x/12x + 48x24x48x, DVD±RW, CD±RW - SATA - Retail Yes
Product will be
dispatched
from us
within
1 - 3 days.
$35.00
Remove
$35.00
SKU: 19010219
Intel Core i3 2100 Dual Core Processor - Socket LGA1155 - 3.1GHz - 2x 256KB L2 / 3MB Shared L3 Cache - Integrated Graphics - Sandy Bridge (BX80623I32100) Yes
Product will be
dispatched
from us
within
1 - 3 days.
$125.00
Remove
$125.00
SKU: 22040424
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EALX 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Yes
Product will be
dispatched
from us
within
1 - 3 days.
$59.00
Remove
$59.00
SKU: 28023520
ASUS P8H61 PRO Motherboard - B3 Stepping - Intel Socket 1155 - Intel H61 Chipset - 2x DDR3-1333 - 1x PCIe x16, 2x PCIe x1 & 3x PCI - 4x SATA2 & 2x SATA3 - 2x USB3.0 & 10x USB2.0 - Gigabit LAN - Micro ATX (P8H61 PRO REV3.0) Yes
Product will be
dispatched
from us
within
1 - 3 days.
$121.60
Remove
$121.60
SKU: 37140120
Kingston ValueRAM - Memory - 2 GB - DIMM 240-pin - DDR3 - 1333 MHz / PC3-10600 - CL9 - 1.5 V - unbuffered - non-ECC (KVR1333D3N9/2G) Yes
Product will be
dispatched
from us
within
1 - 3 days.
$24.99
Remove
$49.98
How can I make this build cheaper? It's from MWave.com.au and the most Strenuous activities I intend to use it for are gaming and music creation.

 

[Halo-101]

yer but i like intel..theyve always given me results :/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlfyoBGTScs - Left 4 dead 2 on i5 maximum settings intel hd 3000

Left 4 Dead 2 System Requirments:
Intel Processor - Core 2 Duo E4600 2.4GHz
Nvidia Graphics Card - GeForce 7600 GT 256MB
RAM (Memory) - 2 GB
Hard Disk Space - 7.5 GB
Direct X - 9

Duke Nukem Forever Minimum System Specifications

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.0 Ghz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 @ 2.0 Ghz
RAM: 1 Gb
HDD: 10 Gb free
GFX RAM: 256 MB
GFX: nVidia GeForce 7600 / ATI Radeon HD 2600 or better
Audio: DirectX Compatible

So i assume it would be playable

so good intel pc for price range?

 

[marcus134]

ahk so what case you recommend?

well, you can always go with the non-nvidia one if you like the design, else it's a matter of preference.

if you want me to give you recommendation, i'm going to give you less pricier case to match your set-up

antec three hundred
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K57
SilverStone Precision Series PS05
Antec Sonata Proto
thermaltake V4 or V6
NZXT M59

with the exception of the sonata, they all have overkill ventilation.
the sonata is made for quiet computing.

 

[Halo-101]

ahk thnx very much marcus also do you noe the difference between intel hd 3000 and Intel GMA 350M ...and is the hd 3000 better? thnx for the info in advance

 

[PettingZoo]

Intel Core i5 2500K Processor LGA1155 3.3GHz CPU - Casue it has IGP Intel HD 3000
$219.00
good

MSI H67MA-E35 (B3) - DirectX 10 and Shader 4.0 onboard ..needed to mix with cpu for onboard?
$115.00
pretty nifty, consider a MSI P67A-G43 instead if I were you though though


CoolerMaster NV-692A-KWN2 CM 690 II Advanced NVIDIA edition - apparently good cooling and needed for the future upgrade of GTX 560 (non Ti)
$120.00
I've done a build with this case, very nice airflow, very nice tool-less design with their drive bays. I strongly recommend this case.

Corsair 4GB(2x 2GB) DDR3 Memory Kit
$60
Okay choice, you could consider saving about $15 by getting some cheaper G.Skill RAM that performs the same (G Skill 4G(2x2G) DDR3 1333 PC10600 (F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT))

Later upgrade :
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Video Card
$229.00
I'd consider saving up for your card to get alongside your build, and for about $10 more you can get a 560 Ti that shows a great improvement in performance (eVGA GTX560 Ti)

explanation: i intend to use the good onboard gfx motherboard with the good intel hd 3000 to play games until i can afford the gtx 560 maybe...4-6 months down the track
All your decisions made so far are fantastic, just take on board what I've said. You also wont be able to play those games well at all with the integrated graphics, do yourself a favor and save up just a bit more it will be well worth it.



also later upgrades:
Seagate SATAIII 1TB 7200RPM 32mb Cache
$63.00
I usually recommend a (Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F3 SATA II 7200RPM 32M) or a WD Caviar Black for a boot disk, although you've made a good choice with that Seagate drive with its SATA III technology (and of course drive speed).


LG H22NS70 SATA 22X+- Super Multi DVDR Black with Software
Internet Price: $28.00

This is fine enough, it's only an optical drive I have the same drive as that and it performs fine. Good price as well.




BTW This Is AUS $$


Also i already have which i shall put into the pc :
700W CoolerMaster PSU
500GB SATA DRIVE

I've made some suggestions to what you've said you're buying. You should really take these into account, that PSU you already have should be fine enough it has a great deal of leeway and CM do made some alright PSUs. It'd be best though to save up just a bit more and purchase those 'later upgrades' with your build as they're quite a necessity. You should also save up to buy your Graphics Card alongside all your other components, and I can't stress enough getting a 560 Ti over a regular 560.

The CM 690 II is an unbelievable case for both its price and functionality, literally there are 2 cases that I recommend for a build like this and it's either a CM 690 II or a Lian Li k60/58 (k60 comes with extra fans for $7~ more). Don't ever, ever think about touching a disgustingly old Antec 300. Believe me, stick with that CM 690 II.

If you're buying this in AUS (I'm not sure where abouts in AUS you are) but you should take a look into Umart (http://umart.com.au/) as they have stunning prices and all that you need.

 

[Halo-101]

Case Which One Have Best Airflow?

NZXT Guardian 921 Black Case with Blue LED
Internet Price: $89.00

Thermaltake V4 Mid Tower Case Black Edition with 450W PSU
Internet Price: $77.00

Thermaltake BlacX Edition V6 (With HDD Dock)
Internet Price: $82.50

NZXT Vulcan Micro ATX Case
Internet Price: $87.00

Antec Three Hundred Tower Gaming Case- Black NO PSU
Internet Price: $59.00

& fit the GTX560?

BTW i already have a 700W PSU i plan to install into this machine

 

[PettingZoo]

Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Mid Tower Chassis with 450W PSU
$85.00

Alright case for a budget build, although regardless of it being Thermaltake I wouldn't necessarily trust a bundled PSU as they're usually of terrible quality and I wouldn't run the risk of ruining your components.

Lite-On iHAS324 Internal Optical Drive
$35.00
That's fine as a cheap optical drive

Intel Core i3 2100 Dual Core Processor - 3.1GHz
$125.00
If you're intending on saving money it'd make sense going for an AMD build, i3 processors are.. uhh...

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB SATA 6.0Gb/s
$59.00
Caviar Blue drives aren't geared toward boot drives, WD Caviar Blacks are. Try changing that to a Samsung F3 Spinpoint 1TB 7200RPM, as it's on par with the Caviar Black but at only $59~

ASUS P8H61 PRO Motherboard
$121.60
An alright board for a budget build.

Kingston ValueRAM 2 GB - DDR3 - 1333 MHz
$24.99
ehh, for about $20 more you can pick up some cheap a 2x2GB G.Skill RAM (4GB) that'd give you far better performance than 2GB. 4GB is pretty much standard nowadays and allows you to run a 64bit OS and enjoy all its wonder.

How can I make this build cheaper? It's from MWave.com.au and the most Strenuous activities I intend to use it for are gaming and music creation.

I don't know what gaming you intend to do but without a suitable graphics card (or any graphics card atleast) then.. uhh, not much. Consider getting this from Umart (even though I don't know what part of Australia you're in) as I've mentioned in another post, they're selling these parts cheaper than Mwave.

The best thing for you to do is save up some more money to build a nice mid range - high end computer rather than blowing all your money on a low end PC

QUOTE(Halo-101 @ Jun 13 2011, 03:46 PM) Case Which One Have Best Airflow?

NZXT Guardian 921 Black Case with Blue LED
Internet Price: $89.00

Thermaltake V4 Mid Tower Case Black Edition with 450W PSU
Internet Price: $77.00

Thermaltake BlacX Edition V6 (With HDD Dock)
Internet Price: $82.50

NZXT Vulcan Micro ATX Case
Internet Price: $87.00

Antec Three Hundred Tower Gaming Case- Black NO PSU
Internet Price: $59.00

& fit the GTX560?

BTW i already have a 700W PSU i plan to install into this machine

For what you're intending to put together worrying about airflow isn't necessary as pretty much anything will have suitable airflow as well as any case will be able to fit a gtx 560 it's not a particularly large card. Just stick with that CM 690 II, it's fantastic, it's wonderful that and get a 560 Ti for only $10 more. And don't ever touch an Antec 300 with a stick, it's outdated and hideous.

 

[marcus134]

ahk thnx very much marcus also do you noe the difference between intel hd 3000 and Intel GMA 350M ...and is the hd 3000 better? thnx for the info in advance

Where did you find a gma 350m, cause i think your mixing-up some things.

gma 3000: dx9 shader 3.0
gma 3500: dx10 shader 4.0 ( updated version of the gma 3000)
nvidia 350m : dx 10.1 shader 4.1 (midrange mobile graphics)
hd graphics 3000: (integrated in core i5-i7 sandy bridge (k) package) shader 4.1, dx 10.1

 

[Halo-101]

ahk ill stick with my case thnx and oh i was just looking up some gampelsy videos of DNF and one was played on a 350m ...so it would play it good....on the same note would gameplay vids being played with a intel gm 4500m work the same as or better than a hd 3000 ..thanks very much guys

and the difference in prixing here in AUS between a 560 and 560 ti is

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti Video Card - DDR5 1GB 256 Bit VRAM - Core Clock 900 Mhz - Memory Clock 4000 Mhz - PCI-Express 2.0 - 2 x DVI - 1 x Mini-HDMI - HDCP - SLI Ready - DirectX 11 (GV-N560OC-1GI) - $282.50

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Video Card - GDDR5 1024MB 256Bit VRAM - 830 / 4008MHz Clock - PCIe 2.0 - 2x DVI & 1x Mini HDMI - PhysX & SLI Ready - DirectX 11 (GV-N56GOC-1GI) - $229.00

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti Super Overclock Video Card - GDDR5 1024MB 256Bit VRAM - 950 / 4580MHz Clock - PCIe 2.0 - Dual Link DVI & Mini HDMI - PhysX & SLI Ready - DirectX 11 & OpenGL 4.1 (GV-N560SO-1GI-950) - $299.00

 

[Halo-101]

Or Should i go with this case and save $40? ...would it be sufficient /do the job for what i want?


NZXT Vulcan Micro ATX Case
Internet Price: $87.00


thnx in advance

 

[marcus134]

Case Which One Have Best Airflow?

NZXT Guardian 921 Black Case with Blue LED
Internet Price: $89.00

Thermaltake V4 Mid Tower Case Black Edition with 450W PSU
Internet Price: $77.00

Thermaltake BlacX Edition V6 (With HDD Dock)
Internet Price: $82.50

NZXT Vulcan Micro ATX Case
Internet Price: $87.00

Antec Three Hundred Tower Gaming Case- Black NO PSU
Internet Price: $59.00

& fit the GTX560?

BTW i already have a 700W PSU i plan to install into this machine

the gtx 560 should be able to fit in any of those, as for the airflow, it's pretty hard to say, but considering that tomshardware was able to make a cool and quiet build with a gtx 480 ( one of the hottest card ever created, 250W TDP) with the sonata wich has only 1 120mm fan, i'd say that you don't have to worry about that with any of those case.

on the other side, I know some people who would say that over ventilated case are worse in terms of airflow because it doesn't allow convection current to work normally.

 

[Originality]

When I woke up and saw this thread on my iPad, it gave me a headache. Now that I've had breakfast and turned on my comp.... let's get started.

Fun lil fact: the Intel HD 2000/3000 is not supposed to be labelled an IGP anymore, it's supposed to be an APU (accellerated processing unit), keeping in line with AMD Bobcat and basically trying to remove the stigma that's been attached to the acronym IGP. The difference is that the HD 2000/3000 can actually play games at a decent rate, whilst an IGP would be lucky to even launch modern games, let alone play them without a string of problems.
FYI: Intel graphics in order of newest/best to oldest: Intel HD 3000, HD 2000, GMA HD, GMA 4000 HD, etc... only the ones mentioned really stand a chance in playing modern games, and each step doubles in performance. Older ones just aren't really worth talking about.

@Halo-101, you seem to have put a lot of thought into your build, and in general you've made a good choice deciding to go for a good CPU with integrated graphics first and saving up for a graphics card later. What I will say is that the cheaper DVD drive is better value, and don't get the Seagate SATA3 HDD. You're paying more than you need to for the capacity, when it only gives a SLIGHT performance boost, and Seagate as a brand are not very reliable. I just don't think it's worth the tradeoff.

ref: L4D2 performance: bit-tech review. It can play it very well. As for DNF, the reqs don't mention Intel graphics, and the internet is a bit scattered for information at this point, so I can't answer.

@wolffangal, if he's interested in saving money, sure he can get an AMD CPU. If he's after gaming performance and has an upgrade path, he's better off with his choice of Sandy Bridge CPU.

@Sop, apparently you can save a bit on the DVD drive, but you can also save a lot on the motherboard. I don't recommend cutting back on the motherboard though, because if you use cheap parts there, you can bet that the lifespan will be affected.

@PettingZoo, in your recommendations you made a fairly obvious mistake: recommending the MSI P67A-G43 for a system that intends to rely on integrated graphics. P67 is the only Sandy Bridge chipset that CANNOT use the integrated graphics. For those curious, P67 and Z68 are the only two that allow serious overclocking of the K series chips. Also, Antec 300 is still a good case, even though it's been superceded by the Antec 200 then the Antec 100. The most powerful home PC in the world was build with an Antec 300 and a Core i7-980X. Water cooled of course.

For the case, it's recommended to have at least one intake fan (usually at the front), and at least one exhaust fan (usually at the back, sometimes at the top too). For reference, my Antec 1200 case has three 120mm intake fans stacked on the front, two 120mm exhaust fans at the back, a 200mm exhaust fan at the top and a side-mounted 120mm fan sucking air away from the graphics. This design allows for constant airflow and, importantly, prevents the system from being suffocated (a symptom of cases with only one exhaust fan and no intake fans). Even fancy looking Lian Li cases have literally cooked the parts inside from inadequate air circulation (naturally I had to clean out the insides). For the rest, it's about looks, design and functionality. Rather than the Antec 300, I'd recommend taking a look at the Antec 100 if you want a cheap case, or the Antec 902 if you want a bigger case with better cooling. Of course, CM cases are mostly good (I'd say around 30% of their range are rubbish, but the rest are alright). There are also some amazing Lian Li cases, although they tend to come at higher prices.

For the NZXT Vulcan case... it is freakin' ugleh (or just fugleh). That aside, it has one intake fan and two roof-mounted exhaust fans with space for a big side-fan and a tiny rear exhaust fan. I just can't get over how fugleh it is.

 

[meornot0]

yer but i like intel..theyve always given me results :/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlfyoBGTScs - Left 4 dead 2 on i5 maximum settings intel hd 3000

Left 4 Dead 2 System Requirments:
Intel Processor - Core 2 Duo E4600 2.4GHz
Nvidia Graphics Card - GeForce 7600 GT 256MB
RAM (Memory) - 2 GB
Hard Disk Space - 7.5 GB
Direct X - 9

Duke Nukem Forever Minimum System Specifications

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.0 Ghz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 @ 2.0 Ghz
RAM: 1 Gb
HDD: 10 Gb free
GFX RAM: 256 MB
GFX: nVidia GeForce 7600 / ATI Radeon HD 2600 or better
Audio: DirectX Compatible

So i assume it would be playable

so good intel pc for price range?

look at the resolution hes running l4d at. Unless your planning on running games at crappy 800 * 60, get an amd phenom 2 and use the money you save to get an amd 6770/6750/6790, or nvidia equivalent

 

[Originality]

look at the resolution hes running l4d at. Unless your planning on running games at crappy 800 * 60, get an amd phenom 2 and use the money you save to get an amd 6770/6750/6790, or nvidia equivalent

Or... OR, you could play 1280x800 at 'medium' graphics and still get 42 fps minimum. Source. Please don't be ignorant.

 

[meornot0]

look at the resolution hes running l4d at. Unless your planning on running games at crappy 800 * 60, get an amd phenom 2 and use the money you save to get an amd 6770/6750/6790, or nvidia equivalent

Or... OR, you could play 1280x800 at 'medium' graphics and still get 42 fps minimum. Source. Please don't be ignorant.

Thats still a horrible resolution for gaming. Edit: and no AA? The game would look horrrible.

 

[Halo-101]

http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.p...5&sid=76669 - Video Card

http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.p...5&sid=76795 - Video Card 2


..Is There Much Difference? And Which one should i purchase down the track?