Gaming Computer Build Advice

Lthemadman on 27/04/2016 - 17:40
Last edited 27/04/2016 - 17:51

Just making myself a new middle of the line gaming build and was wondering about a few things. As it stands, this is what I'm considering: (NE = Newegg Australia)

CPU : i5-6500 ($275 MSY)
GPU : Sapphire Nitro Dual-X r9 380 4GB ($247 NE)
Mobo : GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 (rev. 1.0) ($124 NE)
RAM : Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2*8GB) DDR4 2400 ($78 NE)
SSD : Sandisk Plus 240GB ($85 NE)
Case : Corsair Spec-03 ($79 MSY)

Total : ~$1075 (depends on PSU, includes delivery)

I'm undecided on the PSU - my current options sit at SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ($73) and XFX TS Series 550W 80+ Bronze ($84) on NewEgg. I'm trying to minimise the budget, so is there any reason to take the XFX above the Seasonic? Testing builds online, it sounds like my system only needs ~350W, so I'm just future proofing by going >500W (I probably won't upgrade much unless something breaks). If people have better recommendations I'm open.

My other question is - prices seem unusually high compared to when I built my first system (about 4 years ago). Z boards used to be available for ~$100, now the cheapest I can find at MSY is $150. Is it worth waiting a few months on this, or will the difference be insignificant? Same goes for processor (I got a 3570k back in the day for ~$210! Now the 6500 is closer to $300 and it's not even OC'able!)

I went with the case because it's fairly cheap and has USB 3 headers. Not sure if my mobo supports USB 3 headers though? Anyone know?

Any ideas for cutting price? My ideal is ~$1000. I didn't want to go with a H board incase I change my mind or see a good deal on the 6600K while the other parts are in the post (plus it gives me the option to potentially OC the 6500 if people find a long-term hack around the microcode). Newegg prices seem pretty fantastic to me, but bear in mind there's another $118 in delivery, so basically add ~$25 to each NE product price.

Computing

Comments

  • tyb1987 on 27/04/2016 - 18:58

    Why you need to purchase a Z170 board since you cant OC your processor?

    I heard great thing about COrsair PSU, you may put it into consideration.

    • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 19:00

      "I didn't want to go with a H board incase I change my mind or see a good deal on the 6600K while the other parts are in the post (plus it gives me the option to potentially OC the 6500 if people find a long-term hack around the microcode)." Plus, looking on MSY most H170 boards are about the same price. Figure I might as well go with a lower end Z170 than a middle of the line H170. I don't really need all the extra features…?

      And I've heard horrendous things about the budget Corsair CX series (http://www.overclock.net/t/1431436/why-you-should-not-buy-a-…), which is a fairly low series and even slightly more expensive than the Seasonic?

    • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 19:03

      I based PSU quality off this, btw: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list…

      Aiming for tier 2.

      • Bacons on 27/04/2016 - 20:07

        https://freeshippingtech.com.au/index.php?z=p&p=PSUEVG12750&…

        I have this and it is pretty good. I paid 150 for mines from this website. Postage is fast and well packed too.

        And yes your motherboard does have USB 3.0 headers. In fact it has 2 USB 3.0 headers for a maximum of 4 USB 3.0 ports at the front of your PC.

        • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 21:54

          Mmm, not keen to spend much more than ~$80, plus 750W seems like utter overkill?

          Thanks for the clarification. :)

  • donnot on 27/04/2016 - 20:59

    Build looks good. For the power supply, the Seasonic is probably the better unit. If you can, I'd recommend spending the extra $12 to go for the 620W unit to allow for further expansion in the future and overclocking if needed, with a bit of headroom.

    • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 21:50

      Cheers for that! Just curious - if I'm only using 350-400W now, will I realistically need another 200W extra? I get the benefit of 100W extra for future growth, but surely nothing will need 200W more, with the way efficiency is going (SLI/Crossfire is highly unlikely for me). Outside of that, what would possibly need so much extra power?

      • donnot on 27/04/2016 - 22:08

        Just my opinion-worth it for the long run. It's a half decent power supply and should outlive most of the other components and only an extra $12 for an extra 100W. Efficiency of the Seasonic is also very good at low load. You could push (with the current specifications) into the 400-450W range if you decide to apply a small overclock to your GPU.

        Also, are you able to wait another month or two for the next-gen GPUs to come out- and live on your old GPU or the integrated graphics (which are half-decent for gaming, albeit at lower settings)? The 380 is based on quite old and power hungry architecture and there will likely be better options in your price range.

  • ItsMeAgro on 27/04/2016 - 21:12

    No offense to the many great PC builders here, but we're never going to be able to give you as good or as specific advice as one of the communities of thousands of people specifically around this exact kind of advice like www.reddit.com/r/buildapc etc

    Also have you tried PCPartpicker? Their Australian retailers mode should be a bit better these days, I'd have thought…

    • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 21:57

      Thanks for the advice! I was kind of keen to get an Aus perspective with what's available and prices etc. I notice a lot of American products aren't even easily available around Australia, and you guys would have a better perspective of where the bargains lie in Australia.

      Yep, I've used PCPartPicker (It was where I got the power draw). Didn't have half of the parts listed, unfortunately. Plus all the Australian stores listed are waaay more expensive than Newegg and MSY…

      http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/Zm6xLk

  • ItsMeAgro on 27/04/2016 - 21:19
    +1

    Isn't the i5-6500 a downgrade from your 3570k…?

    http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i5-6500-vs-Intel-Core-i5-…

    You've checked benchmarks on the i5-6500 right? It's certainly not a noticeable upgrade from your 3570k:

    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html

    CPUs have not improved much in years. Why not just buy a stronger GPU for your old rig?

    • donnot on 27/04/2016 - 21:39
      +2

      I'd also advise just upgrading your GPU if you've still got the 3570k system as there isn't any tangible benefit in going for the 6500 outside the slight decrease in power consumption. Could apply a small overclock to it and it'll trample the 6500.

      • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 21:48

        Good thinking, however I don't still have the old rig, alas! I did actually have it overclocked too…

        • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 21:53

          Wooowww, what are they really doing with new CPU's?! How can my 3 years older, cheaper CPU be more powerful than the latest gen?! I honestly now feel like all Intel improvements in the last few years are just hype, haha. They're doing an amazing job of selling reduced power consumption as a "must have".

        • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 22:01

          Hmmm…..You have got me thinking. I passed the other rig on to a friend because I wasn't using it at all and it was going to waste. Might be able to reclaim, hehe. It had a 3570k + Hyper 212 Evo + HD7850 2GB.

        • chinezejew on 27/04/2016 - 22:09
          +1

          @jakem742:

          i've paired a 780ti with i7 860.
          why did u let go of the 3570k?

        • donnot on 27/04/2016 - 22:09
          +1

          @jakem742:

          That is a very solid build…apply an overclock to it and you've got a heap of money to spend on a GPU!

        • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 22:21

          @donnot: Yeh, might chase it up. Should be able to reclaim, as I gave it to them for free, haha. I was kinda just looking forward to putting something together, to be honest! Maybe I'll make a basic one from scratch for someone else sometime…

        • donnot on 27/04/2016 - 22:28

          @jakem742:

          :O

          Check some of the benchmarks comparing it to an i7 6700K, like here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lCq8Qk9wjY

          If you're able to get it back, maybe see if you can overclock a little and performance won't be too far off a newer CPU. Not sure if the Hyper 212 Evo will get you too far though.

        • themadman on 27/04/2016 - 22:56
          +2

          @donnot: Haha, wow. Much higher temps obviously because each cores under more load, but still super impressive! The individual I gave it to is understandably dismayed, but I should have it back in the next few weeks, so I might save my cash and work with this beast. I'm actually shocked at just how well these computers hold their value! I half expected it to have depreciated to nothing in the last 3 years, but obviously tech improvements aren't what I assumed them to be. Hurrah!

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