Gaming and home entertainment for au$2200

[Gubnams]

Approximate Purchase Date: Early May 2013

Budget Range:
au$1900-$2200 after rebates and shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
1. Max settings gaming
2. Home Entertainment - movies, music(HDTV, Surround Sound System etc)
3. Web surfing

Are you buying a monitor: not within this budget


Parts to Upgrade: start from scratch build so need at least the following within this budget - case, CPU, mobo, gpu(s), RAM, ssd and/or hdd, sound card(if required), psu, cooling, optical drive and anything else I may have missed.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.pccasegear.com.au

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Parts Preferences: I'm open to best bang for buck within my set budget and good warranties help too.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: If not now, then in future

Your Monitor Resolution: 2560x1440 & HDTV @ 1920x1080 (although not allowed for in this budget some recommendations on 55-60in models available in oz with quick responce time and low input lag would be appreciated)

Additional Comments: performance comes first however given that this unit will be in my living room some consideration to noise levels are important. Also a sexy, not flamboyant, streamlined case ala the corsair graphite 600t - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_547&products_id=17793

And Most Importantly, Why am I upgrading: New House nearly finished so I can finally dedicate a whole room for my new toy

 

[Gubnams]

So that's the template done, thanks in advance for any contributions.

I initially started getting a parts list together after reading many threads here at TH, however with my very limited experience I thought it best to ask here with a clean slate.

Looking forward to the input

Cheers

 

[bigcyco1]

CPU http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_346_1184&products_id=20140
Motherboard http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_1183&products_id=19884
Memory http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_912&products_id=19475
GPU http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_876&products_id=20326
Case http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_961&products_id=17793
SSD http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_902_1376&products_id=19790
Hard Drive http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_344&products_id=19554
Optical Drive http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=658_667&products_id=21346
PSU http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_995&products_id=15350
CPU Cooler http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_845&products_id=20458
OS which ever you prefer
The high end gaming PC is going to be something that can run everything at 1080P at high to ultra settings. This machine will burn through any game on the market, and will have plenty of room for expansion as well.http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/asus_p8-z77v_pro_sandy_bridge_review/1 <--- review w/benchmarks http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/ASUS-P8Z77-V-PRO-Motherboard/1529 <--- review w/benchmarks

 

[tomate2]

there are many ways to hook up speakers
taking the motherboard recommend above as an example
the ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Motherboard
for the best surround sound experience i recommend using an amplifier
simply connect the hdmi cable from the video card to the amplifier of your choice
then connect your surround sound and tv to the amplifier
no need for a soundcard
another way would be connect your tv to your video card
and connect the pc to the amplifier through the spdif out of the motherboard but it can only give up to 5.1 channel
anything above like 7.1 or 7.2 etc you need to connect through hdmi

 

[Gubnams]

CPU http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_346_1184&products_id=20140
Motherboard http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_1183&products_id=19884
Memory http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_912&products_id=19475
GPU http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193_876&products_id=20326
Case http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_961&products_id=17793
SSD http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_902_1376&products_id=19790
Hard Drive http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_344&products_id=19554
Optical Drive http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=658_667&products_id=21346
PSU http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_995&products_id=15350
CPU Cooler http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_845&products_id=20458
OS which ever you prefer
The high end gaming PC is going to be something that can run everything at 1080P at high to ultra settings. This machine will burn through any game on the market, and will have plenty of room for expansion as well.http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/asus_p8-z77v_pro_sandy_bridge_review/1 <--- review w/benchmarks http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/ASUS-P8Z77-V-PRO-Motherboard/1529 <--- review w/benchmarks

bicyco1, thanks for your time and suggestion,

Is the Realtek alc892 on the motherboard inferior to the 898 to an extent worth noting? And will this impact the home hifi aspect of the build I'm going for?

And also will that cooler fit the 1155? The specs mention the 1156 but not the 1155.

Cheers

 

[Gubnams]

there are many ways to hook up speakers
taking the motherboard recommend above as an example
the ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Motherboard
for the best surround sound experience i recommend using an amplifier
simply connect the hdmi cable from the video card to the amplifier of your choice
then connect your surround sound and tv to the amplifier
no need for a soundcard
another way would be connect your tv to your video card
and connect the pc to the amplifier through the spdif out of the motherboard but it can only give up to 5.1 channel
anything above like 7.1 or 7.2 etc you need to connect through hdmi

tomate2, thanks for the tips,

I do want to achieve 7.1 sound so looks like the hdmi through the amp is the go, however would this provide more input lag to the tv for the monitor use?

Cheers

 

[bigcyco1]

Yes that aftermarket cpu cooler is compatible.If you do not like it get http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_23_845&products_id=18670 If you want to add sound card and speakers that's fine.Sound cards can be a great purchase for sound enthusiasts and hardcore gamers. They help eliminate interference and similar problems that degrade sound quality. I'd recommend Creative Sound Blaster Z. It’s an SBX PCIE gaming sound card that comes with a beamforming microphone for crystal clear voice communication. It has a cool looking red enclosure, plus it’s very affordable.

The Creative Sound Blaster Z includes an external high quality dual microphone. It features a quad core Sound Core3D audio processor, 116dB signal to noise ratio, SBX studio technologies, crystal clear communication, built for advance home entertainment audio, and features high fidelity surround sound. http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=211&products_id=22196

 

[Gubnams]

That does look like an impressive card for the money. I think a sound card is a good option for making this build what I want it to be, a solid gaming and complete home ent. unit.

Taking on board your suggestions I've come up with the following:

Corsair Graphite 600TM case

Intel i7 3770k - I intend to oc (knowing me ill go pretty hard just for fun)

MSI z77 MPower - cheaper than the asus and seems to have all I need, happy for more advice here

G.Skill Sniper F3 8gb (2x4gb) - will this be enough given the multimedia components I've added?

Radeon Sapphire hd7970 vapor-x 3gb - best bang for buck at the top end that I can see and good for ocing

Samsung 840 Series 120GB SSD - I hear better things about Samsung over SanDisk

Seagate Barracuda 2TB

LG Blu-ray DVD Combo Drive - forgot to mention I have blurays to play

Cooler Master 240 - I think I'd prefer this over a fan given my intent to oc (neater finish too)

Corsair ax860 - a bit of future proofing here so I can crossfire

Sound Blaster Z - I can't find a card that offers 7.1 outputs, would like too tho

A tv tuner - very green in this regard so keen to get some advice

Total: $2100-$2200 approx inc tv tuner

Be great to get some feedback/suggestions on this now it's taking some shape

Cheers

Edit: the sapphire gpu i included is from a different supplier for $470

 

[bigcyco1]

That sounds good. The motherboard switch up is fine.I did a build for my cousin recently using MSI z77 MPower and hes had no issues.I think it has a nice bios as well.For memory 8gb is fine for gaming if your going to be doing video editing/rendering i would get 16gb the power supply is very good and should last you for many years to come.As far as a t.v. tuner goes i have no advice as i don't use one lol sorry.The Radeon HD 7970 GHz SAPPHIRE Vapor-X is a very strong card i see no reason not to get it.

 

[Gubnams]

Thanks bigcyco, i very much appreciate your help

Time for me to get educated on the tv tuner/surround sound side of things.

Looks like i only need to decide on 2 more aspects of this build. Just to clarify I am looking at running my large screen HDTV and 7.1 sound system through this rig (which is also being designed to game at max settings).

I am currently king of the noobs when it comes to sound cards and tv tuners, so have at me.

Any info on recommended 7.1 output sound cards and easy to use quality tv tuners with record functionality and a remote control is much appreciated.

 

[bigcyco1]

No problem.Your welcome!You might want to start a new thread for those questions as i know very little about tv tuners and remote controls.

 

[Gubnams]

Good idea. Thanks again