i want to build my own pc i have good knowledge of parts and assembly but no idea what board, cpu, gpu etc work together can anyone point me to a good site to help me choose parts, got a budget of $1500 and want something fast and able to play top end games on my 24" monitor ive currently got a dell 545s, 7 ultimate, which is great but the gpu and psu are just not up to it. thanks in advance
It may help for recomendations of you specify what country your located in due to shipping options.
Hi novice and welcome to a groovy forum.
It's difficult to ask advice like this as it involves a lot of consideration and one of them is how much is your budget.
I built my own and one of the methods used was to look at specialist pc builder websites and the configurations they were offering.
I note you are in the antipodes but here's a british firm that builds pcs : PCSPECIALIST.CO.UK - Custom PCs, Custom Computers, Custom PC, Desktop PC, Custom Built Computers, Gaming PC
You may have similar companies near you.
If you look at that page you will see three gaming pcs built to a certain budget, if you go into the page with the budget that's just over your's you will see that you can alter your choices of GPU or CPU, RAM etc and how that affects the cost.
As this company has got to build that pc they will only offer you upgrades in the drop down menus that are compatible with the mobo and the rest of the rig.
Using their components list as a guide, price up the parts locally to you and see what you can build it youself for.
This will take some time and you should end up with two or more lists of pc components that suit your needs and your pocket.
Personally I would also read reviews of each of the components and see, for example, whether tech sites say that one motherboard is better than another, or one HSF etc
Eventually you will have a good idea of your choices and alternatives.
Then post it on here and invite comment.
This is a lot of work but well worth it.
Let us know how you're getting on, John:)
Hi novice13 :) If you want to go over the top have a look at this UK firm (may give you some ideas) ... BEAST Computers, Gaming PCs with Bite!
Ok let's see what i can do with a 1500$ budget. (since i'm not aware of your location, i'm just going to give you Newegg's prices.)
AMD
CPU: Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDE00ZFBR BOX 239.99$
MoBo: Newegg.com - ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 AMD Motherboard 99.99$
RAM: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8 139.99$
Video Card: Newegg.com - HIS H697F2G2M Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity 359.99$
SSD: Newegg.com - Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAA064MAG-1G1 1.8" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 129.99$
HDD: Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 64.99$
Case: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case 189.99$
PSU: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply 139.99$
Thermal Compound: Newegg.com - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease 19.95$
Heatsink/Fan: Newegg.com - CORSAIR CAFA70 120mm Dual-Fan CPU Cooler 46.24$
TOTAL PRICE: 1431.11$
The Intel one could be exactly the same but different CPU/MoBo/Video Card, the rest wouldn't change at all.
For Intel one, you'd have to wait until the revised chipset motherboard arrives to the market, probably in april.
If you want a dual video card rig, you'll need to change the motherboard because that model only has 1 PCIe 2.0 @ x16 slot, so.. no crossfire/SLI.
If you want a better audio experience, then you'll need to add an aftermarket sound card.
That PSU will handle crossfire/SLI easily. Do you don't need to worry about upgrading it.
Let's seee?that's it. hehe
Hope my info helps.
great starting to get someware now, can anyone recommend a reputable online store in australia
I can't but I know someone who can. We have lots of Australian members. I'll pm one and see if they can recommend anywhere:)
Been dealing with PCCG for years and NEVER had a complaint, ever.
To us James (owner), has done a magnificent job, and recommend them highly.
Of all the $$$ we spent building our comps, more than half the money was spent at PC Case Gear.
You haven't stated where in Aus you are, but if you are in WA, i could link you to a few more stores with good pricing.
Once you know what parts you wish to buy, try here and here for price comparisons.
We have saved a lot of money going that way.
Jon
im near brisbane, i dont mind paying postage, its better than dealing with some of the con artists ive dealt with in the past
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