$1500 for a New Gaming PC

[Craig_31]

Hi guys,

I would appreciate your advice on the following purchase I would like to make.

Budget: $1500 for everything, looking to purchase it at the end of May 2013

Usage: I'm going to be using it primarily for Gaming (at its highest performance option, hopefully), surfing the net and the watching of movies.

Monitor: I will not be buying one.

Parts to Upgrade: it will be everything inside and including the pc case (motherboard, cpu, ram, graphics card, ssd, case, power supply).

OS: I will not need to purchase this.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: zapsonline.com

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Parts Preferences: I'm dead set on the intel i7 3820 cpu, I would like to have the HAF912 windowed case and probably the coolermaster extreme 2 750w psu. The SSD will be the ocz 120gb vertex 4. I'm open to suggestion regarding this and the other components.

Overclocking: Maybe

Sli or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I would like the color of the system to be a black and blue setup.

Games: Hitman, Max Payne, Diablo, Sleeping dogs etc...

Reason for upgrade: I want to be playing high end games and I don't have a pc at the moment.

Selected parts:

i7-3820
http://ark.intel.com/products/63698/Intel-Core-i7-3820-Processor-10M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz

HAF912 Windowed
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=3009

Coolermaster extreme 2 750w
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=3084

Thanks in Advance,
Cheers

 

[DarkSable]

Why are you dead set on the 2011 chip? It'll be outperformed by an overclocked i5-3570k for way less money.

Also, you do NOT want that power supply. I don't know how you decided on it, but it is not reliable and should not be used. The power supply is the most important part of your computer; a cheap one can explode, set a fire, or ruin part or all of your computer. (I'm trying to help a guy right now whose video card was set on fire from a cooler master power supply delivering unclean voltage.)

 

[Craig_31]

Why are you dead set on the 2011 chip? It'll be outperformed by an overclocked i5-3570k for way less money.

Also, you do NOT want that power supply. I don't know how you decided on it, but it is not reliable and should not be used. The power supply is the most important part of your computer; a cheap one can explode, set a fire, or ruin part or all of your computer. (I'm trying to help a guy right now whose video card was set on fire from a cooler master power supply delivering unclean voltage.)

Thanks for the reply,

Wow!! Ok then scratch that power supply, I wouldn't want my whole system going up in flames. The reason I want that i7 is because of the "status" of the i7 (is the price difference of the cpu's really that big). I know I said I might do some overclocking but I doubt that I would be doing it anytime soon, as I have no idea when it comes to those sorts of things. What components would you suggest?

Thanks

 

[DarkSable]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

 

[Craig_31]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

Thanks for your help DarkSable,

I am seriously going to consider the i5 as an alternative, and yes it will be for gaming, hopefully hardcore gaming now that I'll have a few extra bucks to work with..
Thanks again

 

[scragnoff]

Hi Craig_31!

I just came by to say that I agree wholeheartedly with what DarkSable said.

i5-3570K is currently the best CPU for gaming, and will give you the most bang for you buck.

And yes, you should get a power supply from a trusted manufacturer like SeaSonic, XFX, Antec or Corsair. Check out some power supply tips.

Aslo, check out a couple of great builds.

 

[Jack Revenant]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

Thanks for your help DarkSable,

I am seriously going to consider the i5 as an alternative, and yes it will be for gaming, hopefully hardcore gaming now that I'll have a few extra bucks to work with..
Thanks again

Having just spent several minutes looking for it, I can report that zapsonline, for some strange reason, does not carry the i5 3570k. Are you willing to consider other sites?

 

[Craig_31]

Hi Craig_31!

I just came by to say that I agree wholeheartedly with what DarkSable said.

i5-3570K is currently the best CPU for gaming, and will give you the most bang for you buck.

And yes, you should get a power supply from a trusted manufacturer like SeaSonic, XFX, Antec or Corsair. Check out some power supply tips.

Aslo, check out a couple of great builds.

Thanks scragnoff, I will definitely be checking those sites for some advice.. What would you suggest with that budget in mind?

 

[Craig_31]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

Thanks for your help DarkSable,

I am seriously going to consider the i5 as an alternative, and yes it will be for gaming, hopefully hardcore gaming now that I'll have a few extra bucks to work with..
Thanks again

Having just spent several minutes looking for it, I can report that zapsonline, for some strange reason, does not carry the i5 3570k. Are you willing to consider other sites?

Hey jack, thanks for the response. I am very open to other sites as I was only using that site as a reference. I have a friend who will be buying me the parts from a dealer as he has some sort of buyers license with them

 

[Jack Revenant]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

Thanks for your help DarkSable,

I am seriously going to consider the i5 as an alternative, and yes it will be for gaming, hopefully hardcore gaming now that I'll have a few extra bucks to work with..
Thanks again

Having just spent several minutes looking for it, I can report that zapsonline, for some strange reason, does not carry the i5 3570k. Are you willing to consider other sites?

Hey jack, thanks for the response. I am very open to other sites as I was only using that site as a reference. I have a friend who will be buying me the parts from a dealer as he has some sort of buyers license with them

My pleasure. Does this license give you any sort of discount, or are you at fairly average prices for South Africa? Also, does he have access to a reasonable selection of parts? On both the South African sites I'd checked, I had noticed a very limited inventory.

Edit: Also, are prices just generally higher in South Africa than in North America and the EU? Because I was noticing prices 25-66% higher than what I'm used to, once I converted from rands to USD.

 

[Craig_31]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

Thanks for your help DarkSable,

I am seriously going to consider the i5 as an alternative, and yes it will be for gaming, hopefully hardcore gaming now that I'll have a few extra bucks to work with..
Thanks again

Having just spent several minutes looking for it, I can report that zapsonline, for some strange reason, does not carry the i5 3570k. Are you willing to consider other sites?

Hey jack, thanks for the response. I am very open to other sites as I was only using that site as a reference. I have a friend who will be buying me the parts from a dealer as he has some sort of buyers license with them

My pleasure. Does this license give you any sort of discount, or are you at fairly average prices for South Africa? Also, does he have access to a reasonable selection of parts? On both the South African sites I'd checked, I had noticed a very limited inventory.

Edit: Also, are prices just generally higher in South Africa than in North America and the EU? Because I was noticing prices 25-66% higher than what I'm used to, once I converted from rands to USD.

Hey jack,
My buddy has reassured me that the price will be a bit less than what it states online. He has also told me that he can get just about anything that I need (not too sure if he can live up to that as certain parts could be hard to get a hold of).. Basically he has told me to just let him what I want and he's going to try and get it...
Thanks for the reply

 

[Jack Revenant]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

Thanks for your help DarkSable,

I am seriously going to consider the i5 as an alternative, and yes it will be for gaming, hopefully hardcore gaming now that I'll have a few extra bucks to work with..
Thanks again

Having just spent several minutes looking for it, I can report that zapsonline, for some strange reason, does not carry the i5 3570k. Are you willing to consider other sites?

Hey jack, thanks for the response. I am very open to other sites as I was only using that site as a reference. I have a friend who will be buying me the parts from a dealer as he has some sort of buyers license with them

My pleasure. Does this license give you any sort of discount, or are you at fairly average prices for South Africa? Also, does he have access to a reasonable selection of parts? On both the South African sites I'd checked, I had noticed a very limited inventory.

Edit: Also, are prices just generally higher in South Africa than in North America and the EU? Because I was noticing prices 25-66% higher than what I'm used to, once I converted from rands to USD.

Hey jack,
My buddy has reassured me that the price will be a bit less than what it states online. He has also told me that he can get just about anything that I need (not too sure if he can live up to that as certain parts could be hard to get a hold of).. Basically he has told me to just let him what I want and he's going to try and get it...
Thanks for the reply

My pleasure. I can't put anything together at present due to a busy schedule, but I should be able to put together a design at some point in the next 12 hours or so.

 

[Craig_31]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

Thanks for your help DarkSable,

I am seriously going to consider the i5 as an alternative, and yes it will be for gaming, hopefully hardcore gaming now that I'll have a few extra bucks to work with..
Thanks again

Having just spent several minutes looking for it, I can report that zapsonline, for some strange reason, does not carry the i5 3570k. Are you willing to consider other sites?

Hey jack, thanks for the response. I am very open to other sites as I was only using that site as a reference. I have a friend who will be buying me the parts from a dealer as he has some sort of buyers license with them

My pleasure. Does this license give you any sort of discount, or are you at fairly average prices for South Africa? Also, does he have access to a reasonable selection of parts? On both the South African sites I'd checked, I had noticed a very limited inventory.

Edit: Also, are prices just generally higher in South Africa than in North America and the EU? Because I was noticing prices 25-66% higher than what I'm used to, once I converted from rands to USD.

Hey jack,
My buddy has reassured me that the price will be a bit less than what it states online. He has also told me that he can get just about anything that I need (not too sure if he can live up to that as certain parts could be hard to get a hold of).. Basically he has told me to just let him what I want and he's going to try and get it...
Thanks for the reply

My pleasure. I can't put anything together at present due to a busy schedule, but I should be able to put together a design at some point in the next 12 hours or so.

Wow!! Thanks a lot man.. Please keep in mind my blue/black theme that I want and I also love that HAF912 windowed case.. But thanks again.. I really appreciate it..

 

[Jack Revenant]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

Thanks for your help DarkSable,

I am seriously going to consider the i5 as an alternative, and yes it will be for gaming, hopefully hardcore gaming now that I'll have a few extra bucks to work with..
Thanks again

Having just spent several minutes looking for it, I can report that zapsonline, for some strange reason, does not carry the i5 3570k. Are you willing to consider other sites?

Hey jack, thanks for the response. I am very open to other sites as I was only using that site as a reference. I have a friend who will be buying me the parts from a dealer as he has some sort of buyers license with them

My pleasure. Does this license give you any sort of discount, or are you at fairly average prices for South Africa? Also, does he have access to a reasonable selection of parts? On both the South African sites I'd checked, I had noticed a very limited inventory.

Edit: Also, are prices just generally higher in South Africa than in North America and the EU? Because I was noticing prices 25-66% higher than what I'm used to, once I converted from rands to USD.

Hey jack,
My buddy has reassured me that the price will be a bit less than what it states online. He has also told me that he can get just about anything that I need (not too sure if he can live up to that as certain parts could be hard to get a hold of).. Basically he has told me to just let him what I want and he's going to try and get it...
Thanks for the reply

My pleasure. I can't put anything together at present due to a busy schedule, but I should be able to put together a design at some point in the next 12 hours or so.

Wow!! Thanks a lot man.. Please keep in mind my blue/black theme that I want and I also love that HAF912 windowed case.. But thanks again.. I really appreciate it..

My pleasure. I'm going to be defaulting to the prices on http://www.rampage-gaming.co.za/ and using http://www.landmarkpc.co.za/ and http://www.rebeltech.co.za/ as fallbacks when a product is not on Rampage or is very oddly priced. I'm working on the build presenly and will edit it into this message when I finish.

Edit: Okay, finished. No links because you said you were planning to acquire through a friend. I'm afriad that I went slightly over budget, so you may need to cut the 7970 Vapor-X down to a 7970 OC edition if your friend's discounts aren't enough.

GPU: Sapphire Radeon 7970 Ghz. Edition 3 GB: US$610
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570k: US$282.96
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo.: US$43.28
Case: Cooler Master Haf 912: US$88.77
Motherboard: ASRock Extreme6 LGA1155 Z77: US$233.02
PSU: Antec EA-550 Earthwatt Platinum, 550w 80 Plus Platinum: US$107.08
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LP CML8GX3M2A1600C9B 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 1600: US$: 97.65
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive 64MB cache SATA 6 Gb/s: US$88.77
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS324-98 (C) SATA 24x DVD Writer (Black): US$21.42
Total: US$1,572.95 (approximate)

 

[DarkSable]

Here you go man, black and blue:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.61 @ Outlet PC)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $802.52

Two things to consider. The first is your choice of graphics cards:

I'd go with either a MSI 670, which has a black and blue shroud, or the EVGA FTW 670, which is a considerably better card, but isn't black and blue. That being said, the PCB of the EVGA is black, and looks very good; and since that's what will be visible anyways, as the fans face down...

Second thing to consider, which I left a little room in the budget for, is a better case. You like the look of the HAF cases, but there are much better quality cases in the HAF lineup... for example, the HAF X Blue, which is considerably more expensive, but built very very well, and would look perfect with your color scheme.

 

[Jack Revenant]

Here you go man, black and blue:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.61 @ Outlet PC)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $802.52

Two things to consider. The first is your choice of graphics cards:

I'd go with either a MSI 670, which has a black and blue shroud, or the EVGA FTW 670, which is a considerably better card, but isn't black and blue. That being said, the PCB of the EVGA is black, and looks very good; and since that's what will be visible anyways, as the fans face down...

Second thing to consider, which I left a little room in the budget for, is a better case. You like the look of the HAF cases, but there are much better quality cases in the HAF lineup... for example, the HAF X Blue, which is considerably more expensive, but built very very well, and would look perfect with your color scheme.

Having just spent an hour and change paging through a few South African sites for my own build, I'm pretty sure most of those cost a lot more over there. The prices are terrifying.

Edit: Not to say that I don't like the build. Just pointing out that the prices will be quite different for him.

 

[DarkSable]

I was trying to keep that in mind a little - with the graphics card, it comes in at $1200 or so.

How bad is it?

 

[Jack Revenant]

I was trying to keep that in mind a little - with the graphics card, it comes in at $1200 or so.

How bad is it?

Ah. Seems reasonable, that will (hopefully) keep it under budget.

It's pretty scary. Some of the stuff was more than 40% more than in the US. Overally, between the lack of deals and the price increases, I believe that that $1,570 build was more than $400 more than it would have been in America, though I don't still have my price sheet for an exact check.

 

[DarkSable]

Fourty percent more? Jeeze, that's kind of scary...

 

[Jack Revenant]

Fourty percent more? Jeeze, that's kind of scary...

No kidding. I rechecked the price three times to make sure I wasn't misreading.

 

[DarkSable]

Heck, at that point it might be cheaper to pay someone in the US to smuggle a computer over. 😛

 

[Jack Revenant]

Heck, at that point it might be cheaper to pay someone in the US to smuggle a computer over. 😛

If you're offering, I'm sure he won't mind. 😛

 

[DarkSable]

Hell, I know people going on an activism project to South Africa this summer... but I think they're going to Johannesburg.

 

[Jack Revenant]

Hell, I know people going on an activism project to South Africa this summer... but I think they're going to Johannesburg.

So close, and yet so far.

 

[Craig_31]

The i5-3570k is $220, and will run beautifully with a $140 motherboard.

The i7-3820 is $290, and requires a motherboard that ranges from $200-500 for basic but reliable boards.

I highly suggest you don't worry about bragging rights until later and focus on what's going to get you the best performance.

I'm about to head to bed, but I'll give you a parts list in the morning. This is for gaming, correct?

Thanks for your help DarkSable,

I am seriously going to consider the i5 as an alternative, and yes it will be for gaming, hopefully hardcore gaming now that I'll have a few extra bucks to work with..
Thanks again

Having just spent several minutes looking for it, I can report that zapsonline, for some strange reason, does not carry the i5 3570k. Are you willing to consider other sites?

Hey jack, thanks for the response. I am very open to other sites as I was only using that site as a reference. I have a friend who will be buying me the parts from a dealer as he has some sort of buyers license with them

My pleasure. Does this license give you any sort of discount, or are you at fairly average prices for South Africa? Also, does he have access to a reasonable selection of parts? On both the South African sites I'd checked, I had noticed a very limited inventory.

Edit: Also, are prices just generally higher in South Africa than in North America and the EU? Because I was noticing prices 25-66% higher than what I'm used to, once I converted from rands to USD.

Hey jack,
My buddy has reassured me that the price will be a bit less than what it states online. He has also told me that he can get just about anything that I need (not too sure if he can live up to that as certain parts could be hard to get a hold of).. Basically he has told me to just let him what I want and he's going to try and get it...
Thanks for the reply

My pleasure. I can't put anything together at present due to a busy schedule, but I should be able to put together a design at some point in the next 12 hours or so.

Wow!! Thanks a lot man.. Please keep in mind my blue/black theme that I want and I also love that HAF912 windowed case.. But thanks again.. I really appreciate it..

My pleasure. I'm going to be defaulting to the prices on http://www.rampage-gaming.co.za/ and using http://www.landmarkpc.co.za/ and http://www.rebeltech.co.za/ as fallbacks when a product is not on Rampage or is very oddly priced. I'm working on the build presenly and will edit it into this message when I finish.

Edit: Okay, finished. No links because you said you were planning to acquire through a friend. I'm afriad that I went slightly over budget, so you may need to cut the 7970 Vapor-X down to a 7970 OC edition if your friend's discounts aren't enough.

GPU: Sapphire Radeon 7970 Ghz. Edition 3 GB: US$610
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570k: US$282.96
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo.: US$43.28
Case: Cooler Master Haf 912: US$88.77
Motherboard: ASRock Extreme6 LGA1155 Z77: US$233.02
PSU: Antec EA-550 Earthwatt Platinum, 550w 80 Plus Platinum: US$107.08
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LP CML8GX3M2A1600C9B 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 1600: US$: 97.65
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive 64MB cache SATA 6 Gb/s: US$88.77
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS324-98 (C) SATA 24x DVD Writer (Black): US$21.42
Total: US$1,572.95 (approximate)

WOW!!! Thanks a million man.. I felt like I had no idea with what i was going to do with regards to this purchase, but you have shown me the way lol.. Thanks again I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to help a stranger... [I feel like I'm in so much more control right now,
Thanks