hey guys i'm pretty new to the whole computer building deal. I bought my last computer from gamedude and it turned out to be an overpriced p.o.s that couldnt even handle bf2 properly even though the guy talked up the SLI bs which turned out to be 2 6600GTS which barely ran windows...

anyway im looking for a setup that can handle games now and not be completely useless for games that come out in 6 months time. I dont need a monitor or keyboard or any of that stuff, just the system itself. Budget is anywhere from 1G to about 1400. I don't know if that will get much but any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Thnx

http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_systems

EDIT : Fail link. wrong one.

http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_gaming_configs

edit: beaten

if you drop the monitor etc off this box, its a sick gaming rig in your price range

$2,100 ($2,550) Intel i5 (LGA1156) "Gaming Config"
(CrossfireX ready for a second ATI Radeon HD5870)
(The 8x/8x PCI-e bandwidth is of no concern)

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 $239
Mobo: Gigabyte P55-UD4P $189
RAM: G.Skill-Ripjaws 4GB DDR3-1333 $109
SSD G.Skill Falcon 128GB SSD $424
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB $95
GPU: Powercolor 1GB ATI Radeon HD5870 $535
Case: Lian Li Lancool PC-K62 $158
PSU: Corsair HX-850 $229
ODD: Sony-NEC Optiarc AD-7240S $48
CPU HSF: Noctua NH-U12P w/ LGA1156 bracket $84
Peripherals: [ 23" / G15 / MX518 / X-530 ] (+$426)

Total: $2,110 ($2,536)

last edited by tequila at 20:48:16 05/Nov/09

lol! dammit!

copied wrong bookmark

we should do something like that wikipage for gaming pcs.

any volunteers to maintain it?

do you need to be a code monkey to be able to help ?

I concur trog.

wiki.qgl.org

migrate mongies one to there... and it will prosper?

http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_gaming_configs edit: beaten if you drop the monitor etc off this box, its a sick gaming rig in your price range

$2,100 ($2,550) Intel i5 (LGA1156) "Gaming Config" (CrossfireX ready for a second ATI Radeon HD5870) (The 8x/8x PCI-e bandwidth is of no concern) CPU: Intel Core i5 750 $239 Mobo: Gigabyte P55-UD4P $189 RAM: G.Skill-Ripjaws 4GB DDR3-1333 $109 SSD G.Skill Falcon 128GB SSD $424 HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB $95 GPU: Powercolor 1GB ATI Radeon HD5870 $535 Case: Lian Li Lancool PC-K62 $158 PSU: Corsair HX-850 $229 ODD: Sony-NEC Optiarc AD-7240S $48 CPU HSF: Noctua NH-U12P w/ LGA1156 bracket $84 Peripherals: [ 23" / G15 / MX518 / X-530 ] (+$426) Total: $2,110 ($2,536)

last edited by tequila at 20:48:16 05/Nov/09

That's 2100 without including the monitors, etc. but thnx for the link anyway

I don't know, I only just invented this in my head about 10 minutes ago!

Actually I've been thinking about this for a while; looks like WP completely kicked my ass though. A wiki-style system for a few common things like what is a good gaming system, etc.

We sort of started on it last week; we have an article coming (hopefully tomorrow) which is basically a cool media-centre/HTPC thing.

Anyway, sorry to derail the thread; stay tuned :)

any thoughts on how this setup would handle games?

$1,250 ($1,550) Intel i5 (LGA1156) "Gaming Config"

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 $239
Mobo: Gigabyte P55-UD3 $139
RAM: G.Skill-Ripjaws 4GB DDR3-1333 $109
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB $95
GPU: Powercolor 1GB ATI Radeon HD5850 $348
Case: Lian Li Lancool PC-K62 $158
PSU: Seasonic M12 500W $119
ODD: Sony-NEC Optiarc AD-7240S $48

i rkn i'd get the i7-860 over the i5 750 with a mobo that supports a 1156 pin connection (asus p7p55d-deluxe or something)- mainly because the processor is quite good! (that'd prob add another 250 to your rig)

msy

i7-860 346
asus mobo - 299

a suggestion for your media pc thing

build an intel box with reasonable spec (blu-ray capable), run osx on it & run plex

i've done the soft/hard mod on both xboxes, ps3, store 'bought' media pcs, custom built etc
nothing beats plex on an intel box with decent hardware, especially if you just go the mac mini

with the mac mini IR remote, you can control the whole lot and it will play *anything* you throw at it
just for a laugh we copied a blu-ray to the drive, opened it in plex (27gb file) and it just worked flawlessly over HDMI @ 1080p

also i was wondering if i could sub my current RaidMax Samurai 908 with the Lian Li Lancool PC-K62 case or is there a huge difference?

http://www.fixya.com/support/p14972-raidmax_samurai_908_yellow_mid_tower_atx

thnx

err.. find out dimensions and compare?

we should do something like that wikipage for gaming pcs.

any volunteers to maintain it?

Why bother when whirlpool has one? Even if we had our own no one would bother reading it and just end up posting their own question thread anyway or post asking whether the system is still current or should they upgrade the ram etc. Hell, doesn't CA have a bunch of different systems for game, home, office, students on their site? I know one or two online stores have such a list.

Whirlpool is the best one. Umart and CA systems are a bit outdated/overpriced.

Why bother when whirlpool has one?

Well, firstly, cuz I believe we could do it better!

Secondly, I think that an anonymous whirlpool thing isn't that useful. I don't know who wrote that wiki page; my big thing at the moment is all about who provided that info and who is prepared to stand by it. Hence this mediaPC thing. Anyway I'll explain more about that later.

Even if we had our own no one would bother reading it and just end up posting their own question thread anyway or post asking whether the system is still current or should they upgrade the ram etc.

Keeping it current is the main thing, I agree.

Secondly, I think that an anonymous whirlpool thing isn't that useful. I don't know who wrote that wiki page; my big thing at the moment is all about who provided that info and who is prepared to stand by it

But to a person who has no posts on here and no previous lurking time ours would seem anonymous to them and they would be just as bewildered about the people posting that info. You might trust joe bloggs because you know he's done you right in the past but how is newby mcnewb meant to know that?

also i was wondering if i could sub my current RaidMax Samurai 908 with the Lian Li Lancool PC-K62 case or is there a huge difference?

ATX form factor is a standard, if your motherboard fits in one brand of ATX case it should fit in another. The problems usually come from power supply placement (I had to rip some sound deadening foam out of one of my cases else it would block the fan on the PSU) and over sized video cards hitting on hard drive bays.

What do you deem 'handles properly'?

Do you mean all setting at highest and expecting smooth FPS? Or do you mean medium graphics settings and smooth FPS?

$1400 should easily get you a PC that can do medium to high graphics on most games now and in 6 months.

My PC runs current games at high levels of detail and I bought most of the parts around 2 years ago with a video card about 1 year ago. Spent maybe $700 all up.

edit: My main issue is with loading times, I always skimp on buying fast HDD's. Next time I'm getting a smallish SSD for gaming and a normal HDD for storage.

Buying mid-range stuff is best, high end parts cost too much and are not worth it bang for buck. Sometimes doing a bit of research and finding when to buy is also a good thing. There are times when 'The Next Big Thing' is released and the previous big thing reduces in price considerably.



last edited by Tollaz0r! at 22:17:12 05/Nov/09

I just finished building an i7 rig with an ASUS P6T mobo that recommended not using anything less than a 600w power supply to run a system with it. Seasonic was a recommended brand though.

Also, not sure about the prices on the 1156 processors but the 1366 models have sky rocketed in the last couple of weeks due to shortages. If you wait another few weeks the prices should come down again.

SLI bs which turned out to be 2 6600GTS which barely ran windows...

hahaha

I'm about to get a new rig as well.

I'm trying to decide between 2 x 4890's or 1 x gtx285, any experiences?

I'm trying to decide between 2 x 4890's or 1 x gtx285, any experiences?

remember that ATI now have the 5xxx series.
5770
5750
5870
5850

I just picked up an i7 920 rig for about $1400 with a GTX 275, 6gb DDR3 RAM, Asus PST-SE motherboard... runs games sweet.

the company i got it from was called arc computers, google'em.. service was pretty good...

the 5870 is a step up in price even from the gtx295 but lacks on the performance by the look of it

5870 does directx 11

that is where its at!

You said you are deciding between a 285 and 2x4890s... Well if you are thinking about that you should defs look at the 5850. I think 285 is roughly the same price, maybe even more expensive.

I got the 5850, haven't used it yet but bought it on the basis that it's faster and cheaper then the nvidia 285 and although 2x 4890's would be faster I didn't see a point in spending more money for old tech when I can get the 5850 now and crossfire it latter with a second card if and when I need more frame rates.

The real decision was between a card that supported DX11 and one that supported Physx. If nvidia had something new on the market ATi wouldn't have even been a factor.

Does anyone know if there is much of a difference between gettin 4GB DDR RAM or 6GB DDR?

...2 gig difference?

...2 gig difference?

yeh no shit. I meant would having 2 gig less RAM make a game like crysis run less smoothly on medium settings?

Yes. Dunno how it goes with performance. But 6gig and 4gig you are looking at could be for different sets. Maybe.

For Intel 1366pin Motherboards - 6gig,12gig etc
For Intel 1156pin Motherboards - 4gig,8gig etc

MSY has them under different headings http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

Someone correct me if im wrong here.

this is a lot harder than i thought it would be :p

its not, really

just buy this;

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 $239
Mobo: Gigabyte P55-UD3 $139
RAM: G.Skill-Ripjaws 4GB DDR3-1333 $109
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB $95
GPU: Powercolor 1GB ATI Radeon HD5870 $535
Case: Lian Li Lancool PC-K60 $125
PSU: Seasonic M12 500W $119
ODD: Sony-NEC Optiarc AD-7240S $48
CPU HSF: Noctua NH-U12P w/ LGA1156 bracket $84

alternatively just walk into the umart store and sit down with one of the sales guys there, they're really helpful and they know their shit
the benefit is they will sell it to you on the spot and you walk out with your equipment (if you are building it yourself)

otherwise come back a day or two later and they've built it for you

www.umart.com.au

Got my new PC today,

I7 860
p7p55d mobo
ripjaw 4gig ddr3 1600 (was gunna get 8 gig but went over budjet getting a better psu)
WD 1 gig sata2 7200rpm
2 x gigabyte 1gb 4890's
antec nine hundred two case
thermaltake 850w toughpower supply
windows 7 pro

Only just got it all together and OS / drivers on - sorting out some games now to give it a run.

let me know how it goes defi!

i'm built a spec list for my mate and i recommended the same mobo and cpu.

thnx for the input guys

Its very very fast, I didnt expect windows 7 to be as quick as windows xp was on my old machine but wow. Loading times are almost non existent and everything runs so clean.

Only issue was when i was copying 80gig over from my old machine and tried to run borderlands, it locked up for a sec. Other then that its awesome.

Got my new PC today,

I7 860
p7p55d mobo
ripjaw 4gig ddr3 1600 (was gunna get 8 gig but went over budjet getting a better psu)
WD 1 gig sata2 7200rpm
2 x gigabyte 1gb 4890's
antec nine hundred two case
thermaltake 850w toughpower supply
windows 7 pro

Only just got it all together and OS / drivers on - sorting out some games now to give it a run.

How much did that end up costing you?

We sort of started on it last week; we have an article coming (hopefully tomorrow) which is basically a cool media-centre/HTPC thing.

Where is this article?

mulza - think it was 1800 @ CA

We sort of started on it last week; we have an article coming (hopefully tomorrow) which is basically a cool media-centre/HTPC thing.

Where is this article?

I didn't get it up :( THATS WHAT SHE SAID! Aiming to have it online in the next few days.