Finally, I get to make one of these 'help me spec my new PC' threads!

 

I was hoping to find a recent thread along the same lines, and pretty much copy the specs, but the two recent ones I found seem over-priced to me, so I thought I'd start my own.

 

So...

 

Budget:

$1000 NZD (Give or take 50%)

 

ie. I'm looking for a bang-for-buck reasonable gaming machine, and i do NOT need a top of the line oct-core i9 uber machine with 7 x sssd ramdrive extenders!

 

I'm pretty sure I can get what I want for $1000, but I know I will get pushed up and up and up...

 

 

Use Case / Key applications:

- MS Office

- Arma-II / Arma-III / PR:Arma

- Notepad++

 

 

- I suspect an SSD might be in order for for optimized Arma.

- I have three new LED monitors to plug into it (See here and here) - so I obviously need three outputs on the gfx card.

- Keyboard & Mouse required (Although, I have an MX518 already which will be fine I suppose)

- Headphones optional

- OS: Optional (I have Win7-64 already)

 

 

Oh, and I'm in a bit of a hurry

(My HP TX2 tablet got stolen the other day, so I'm feeling a wee bit... computerless)

 

I know it would be a good idea if I had 'starting specs', but I don't really.

I already have my HTPC system with 2TB of storage (See here).

 

 

OK final note...

If there is a huge benefit, I would consider doing some manual labour, and using some of my 'bits' from my HTPC machine.

My current plan is to basically leave it alone, and it will be an over spec'd HTCP. I'm fine with that... but just in case i should reconsider...

CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 550

GFX: ATI Radone HD5770 (or is it 5700?)

HDD: 2TB (2 x 500G + 1 x 1TB) <-- Will probably steal a 500GB HDD

Psyrus! Come baaaaack!!

Give or take 50%? LOL

 

Using an SSD will hurt if you really need only a $1K machine.

 

At PCcasegear prices, I'd go something like:

Case ~$100 - completely your choice. Some decent models coming out with USB3 I/O

Core i5 2500K CPU $230

Corsair 8GB DDR3 RAM 1600mhz- $89

mobo - Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3R-B3 $175

SSD - Corsair Force Series 3 120GB SSD $240

HDD - Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB HD103SJ $60

GFX - Gigabyte Radeon HD6950 1GB Overclocked $270 or if you're an nvidia fan: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC 1GB $270

PSU - Corsair CX-600 V2 Power Supply $100

DVD - $40

keyboard - Logitech g110 - $65

= $1380

 

You could save cash by ditching the SSD (obviously) and/or scaling back the cpu, using Asrock mobos or a cheaper brand PSU. You'll need a good gfx card to run 3xmonitors, unless you're only gaming on one?

Edited August 6, 201115 yr by McCloud

Thanks for the starting spec Wok!

 

I will start researching those bits now...

 

Re: SSD; I just remember Psyrus, many moons ago, saying that Arma + SSD =

 

Re: Case: I don't really 'get' cases, but I'd like a nice sexy one, with good cooling. (So tempting to get a water cooled case - but i'll save that for next time)

 

Re: 8GB RAM - really? Wot on earth is going to use 8GB of RAM? I woulda thought that 4 or 6 would be plenty?

 

Re: Overclocking... I'm a bit scared of overclocking, but I could be convinced

 

Re: Headphones... OK, Lets take headphone off the list for now. They will push the price up and complicate things unnecessarily.

 

edit: I will quite possible use these guys: http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/combobuilder.asp

Ram is cheap (except perhaps at that store of yours!) - 8gb is just future-proofing it a bit.

 

SSD + anything = They are awesome, but still a bit expensive. Worth it for a $2K+ computer, a $1K computer budget won't allow for it.

That site of mine is Kiwi $ remember ($1000 NZD = $800 AUD)... They will also generally price match any other new parts place in NZ.

 

I'll have to do some more research on SSD, but I'll probably just give the SSD a special budget dispensation as well.

(at this rate I'll be buying a $1000 case with $4,000 worth of 'dispensations').

Hey Ed, check out the Coolermaster HAF series of cases for excellent cooling, heaps of upgrade space and at least in my opinion, ruggedly good looks.

Post on Computer Lounges forums with what you are after and see what they come up with.

 

I think it will be hard for you to get an SSD with the budget you have. You will also find a hard time getting enough graphics power to run ARMA on 3 monitors with any decent level of detail.

Hmmm... ok, maybe I need to start pushing up my budget a bit...

 

I think I fall into that horrible trap of knowing too little about anything, and not really knowing how to bridge the gap. Maybe I'll just walk into computer lounge and let them sell me something...

 

I really want to find some intelligent comment about SSD.

Hmmm... ok, maybe I need to start pushing up my budget a bit...

 

I think I fall into that horrible trap of knowing too little about anything, and not really knowing how to bridge the gap. Maybe I'll just walk into computer lounge and let them sell me something...

 

I really want to find some intelligent comment about SSD.

 

 

SSD = fast loading

Fast loading = OM NOM NOM

 

I couldn't live without my SSD, it's so useful to whack all your programs and windows onto it.

SSD for gaming is not the 'be all, end all.' To be honest, you would probably notice more of a difference with a faster GPU (especially if you're running eyefinity) and better CPU. SSD can be added later on for a performance boost, because it only really reduces loading times.

 

The reason ARMA is good on an SSD is because it is constantly fetching data from your HDD, rather than the RAM like other games and stuff. (I'm pretty sure that's correct).

OK, I think the SSD can wait for now.

 

I'm pretty sure I won't know what I'm missing, and everything will run just fine without it...

Hmmm... here's a preliminary spec...

 

Prices are in NZD - subtract 20% to get AUD.

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Coolermaster_912_cart_th.jpg CoolerMaster HAF 912 Plus High Air Flow Mid Tower $189.00 $189.00

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/combo_cart_th.jpg http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/cart-sysicon.gifCombo Deal: $773.22 $773.22

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Gigabyte_GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3_cart_th.jpg Combo: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Intel Z68 DDR3 USB3+SATA3 Raid SLI+ CrossFire LGA1155 PCI-E

 

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Inteli5NewGen2300_cart_th.jpg Combo: Intel Core i5 2500 Sandy Bridge 3.30GHz 6MB 95W LGA1155

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Kingston_HYPERX-2X2GB-DDR3_cart_th.jpg Combo: Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 Kit CL9

 

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Combo_check_cart_th.jpg Combo: Motherboard CPU Memory Combo PreCheck

 

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Gigabyte_GV-R695OC-1GD_cart_th.jpg Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD6950 OC 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E (GV-R695OC-1GD) $398.95 $398.95

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Corsair_CS600V2_cart_th.jpg Corsair CS600 V2 Builder Series Power Supply $129.00 $129.00

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Asus_DRW-24B1LT_cart_th.jpg ASUS DRW-24B3LT 24X DVD Writer LightScribe SATA $59.00 $59.00

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Samsung_SpinpointF31TB_cart_th.jpg Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 32MB 7200rpm SATAII $79.95 $79.95

 

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/products/Cart_thumb/Logitech_G110_cart_th.jpg Logitech G110 Gaming Keyboard $98.00 $98.00

 

Applied Reward Dollar$ -$0.10 6 -$0.60 http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/spacer.gif

 

Includes savings of $102.24 Reward Dollar$ 168 http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/images/cart-footer.gif

 

TOTAL inc GST $1,726.52

 

You could fit in an SSD, you could pick up a 60Gb for about $140/150. You wont have as much space as the 120 obviously but you could still load the OS and a few games/apps. Would be my recommendation.

If I got an SSD, it would be for Arma.

I don't consider the OS to be something that needs speeding up.

 

Boot time is not an issue for me, and the few milliseconds it takes to open windows explorer, Notepad++, Firefox and Excel aren't all that concerning for me... and correct me if wrong, but even if I did have my OS on the SSD, none of those things would be directly sped up anyway?

 

Seems to me that Arma is the one thing that could really use a 'lift', and...

 

I am, of course, happy to be convinced that an uberfast OS, as the base platform for everything, makes everything else quicker. Just thinking out loud, but it would seem to make sense to put your swap file on an SSD.

I'm wavering, but at this moment in time, I'm already way over what I thought I needed to spend, and SSD is an uncecessary luxury.

i aint no guru,but i splerged on an ssd,seems to make everything faster for me...u can get a cheaper version that uses flash built in to do a similar job but u get the size benifits still,nfi what its called though soz...thier called hybrid drives,similar in price to a small ssd,but much bigger and are said to be compairable to a point

Edited August 6, 201115 yr by martha price

Welcome to the forums, and congrtulations on making your very first post!

I've also heard that a HDD with a half decent cache (32/64MB) will help Arma a lot...

Thanks.

dude im just going to post my specs as i play arma perfectly well on high settings with no prob at all

 

AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE

GB GA-880GA-UD3H

8gb Ram (cheap as chips ram i might add)

Amaze 1GB HD5770

Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB HDD (peice of Store High In Transit HDD really but hey when i got a TB for $50 on sale i dont give a Store High In Transit.)

 

My build cost me under AU$1000 all up as i had to meet a budget aswell and i play every game on the highest of settings.

Just though id post this as everyone seemed to forget that you wanted a build under $1000

Hope this gives you some ideas and NO i am not recommending that you buy the same parts but just have a look around and keep in mind that you can build a decent computer on a budget.

Cheers bro, your specs seem a lot like my HTPC, which also plays Arma fine.

 

CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 550

GFX: ATI Radone HD5770

Mob: GA-MA78G-DS3H

 

To be fair on them-udder-fullas, I have said that I'm somewhat blurry on budget, although I would prefer to spend as little as possible, and end up with a good - not great machine. (ie. the 75th quartile).

 

I'm not exactly the easiest person to spec a machine for because i'm a bit too wishy washy - ie. very few non-negotiables (just 3 x monitors, and I want to play Arma).

SSDs are generally good all over imo. You will notice better boot times (mine goes from BIOS to login in around 10s. If your app accesses the HDD a bit then you'll see big benefits, otherwise its a quick app start time. give you an (overthetop) idea of the speed boost...

 

i aint no guru,but i splerged on an ssd,seems to make everything faster for me...u can get a cheaper version that uses flash built in to do a similar job but u get the size benifits still,nfi what its called though soz...thier called hybrid drives,similar in price to a small ssd,but much bigger and are said to be compairable to a point

 

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_267&products_id=14722

 

You mean those? The Seagate Momentus? I looked at them, however they came out a few years ago, and are 2.5inch disk-drives made for laptops, however, I'm sure they would fit in the PC case with a bracket. Maybe someone with a bit more knowledge in this area could shed some light...

If I was going to get get an SSD I'd get only the latest Sata 3 ones rather than first or second gen drives, unless you can pick one up cheap. The new Corsair 3 drives or even better (and pricier), the Intel models seem well regarded. Price is still the killer though.

Post on Computer Lounges forums with what you are after and see what they come up with.

 

Do this.

Do this.

 

Yup, i'm actually gonna go and see them on Monday.

Do this.

 

Here's a great one

 

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/7?&g=77

Thanks for the advice lads.

 

AS it turned out the original spec that Wok gave me was pretty dam close to what I was fated to have...

 

I almost managed to squeeze into to $1,000 (AUD) - depending on how you do your numbers .

 

I'm mildly concerned about that PSU, and I might just give them a call, but they seemed happy, and they are the professionals. I would also have liked to get a sexier case... and 8GB RAM... and an SSD... and... and... and... but i decided to stick to a pretty low budget for now.

 

 

I've paid for it, and its being built by the professionals as we speak...

 

 

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j391/EdwoodScissorHands/new-pc.png?t=1312837016