PC Gaming Tower for under $1000. Please Help

Lpformag on 20/02/2017 - 13:11

Hi Ozbargainerzzz

My little brother (16 years old) has a birthday coming up, and the family is pitching in to get him a gaming PC. We have a budget of $1000. Ideally I would love that to include a monitor and new keyboard and mice, but I don't think that will happen. I do have a spare monitor that I can give.

He always wanted to build his own, so this would be a perfect opportunity to get our hands dirty.

He plays FPS on PS4, such as BF1, so I would love it to be able to play those games with ease. He also plays a lot of steam games on his school laptop, but he says he can't play some of the games, due to the limit the Yoga 3 has.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated, and where is best to find these parts.

Motherboard
CPU
RAM
Graphics Card
Hard Drive
Case
Cooling
PSU

and anything I have missed

Computing

Comments

  • Axelstrife on 20/02/2017 - 13:23
    +1

    http://imgur.com/a/2Nld9
    https://www.pccasegear.com/products/37805/gigabyte-b250m-hd3…
    my bad have to change mothergboard to this one.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/292918
    ^windows 10
    something like this would be great for 1080p gaming.

    Though if you can afford another $130 for a $250gb samsung ssd or similar it would make it feel alot faster with OS bootup times.

    The stock fan with the I5 is fine i use the stock fan with my i5 6400.

    disc drive isn't needed though they are only $20 if you still want one.
    wifi cards are cheap aswell for the NON AC 5ghz wifi cards though i recommend Ethernet cable.

  • humdingaling on 20/02/2017 - 13:25
    +3

    heres a start
    http://au.pcpartpicker.com/guide/zQNnTW/entry-level-gaming-b…

    skip the cooling..budget build has no room for it. no need to OC….rather pointless now days

    probably going to need money for OS ….unless you have other ways of obtaining

    • scrimshaw on 20/02/2017 - 13:44

      edit: just realized it's Kaby lake, so nvm

  • [Deactivated] on 20/02/2017 - 14:06
    +2

    there you go
    https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/g4KxkT

    • currentfad on 20/02/2017 - 18:24
      +3

      This except I'd get an i5

      • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2017 - 07:34

        This and I don't use under 750 watt PSU in a gaming rig, even if it does not need it now - for futureproofing (extra RAM, better GPU, etc).

        • Zondor on 21/02/2017 - 10:09
          +4

          TTP's get lower with each generation, not higher. 750+ is for SLI and isn't really viable anyway.

        • Jolakot on 21/02/2017 - 12:07
          +3

          I think you're wasting your money then, a standard gaming PC will be just fine on 500W, 550W-600W if you want to be extra cautious.

        • ProjectZero on 21/02/2017 - 13:20

          @Jolakot: IMO, cutting the PSU too close has its disadvantages too.

          If you look at the efficiency graphs associated with the PSUs (mostly marketing i suppose) but the most efficient a PSU will be is around the 80% load mark. Plus I find that when the PSU runs at below 80%, the fans are a lot quieter since it is not heating up as much. Of course that is only if you care about the noise from the PSU and what not.

        • Zachary on 21/02/2017 - 18:43
          +2

          @ProjectZero: I thought the most the efficient the PSU can be is at 50% load……

        • ProjectZero on 22/02/2017 - 12:30

          @Zachary: Ops my bad, but my point still stands, having the load on PSU lower will cause less fan noise and it runs more efficiently when compared to it running at 100% load.

  • alvian on 20/02/2017 - 14:45

    A good starting point, then adjust to your own preferences: http://www.logicalincrements.com/

    Plug your list of parts into https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/ to check compatibility and obtain an estimate on PSU wattage needed.

  • MercSal on 20/02/2017 - 14:56
    +1

    www.reddit.com/r/buildapc will be super helpful if you give them a starting build on pcpartpicker.

  • jonathonsunshine on 20/02/2017 - 14:59
    +8

    Wait a month or 2 for the AMD Ryzen CPUs to come out. Even if reports are exaggerated, they are gonna be fair bit cheaper than comparable Intel chips.

    • jonathonsunshine on 20/02/2017 - 15:01
      +1

      But I guess if you are time poor what with the date of bros birthday then disregard.

    • Diji1 on 20/02/2017 - 19:52
      +1

      Seeing as AMD has overpromised and under delivered on just about every product announcement why are you expecting anything different?

      • jonathonsunshine on 21/02/2017 - 14:53

        I hadn't heard of them being competitive on anything but price in 10 years or more. I can't believe you're not at least a little excited. I don't see how the rumore mill could be saying half the price and then in reality have them not be at least /somewhat/ cheaper

      • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2017 - 16:15
        +3

        AMDs latest round of GPUs left NVIDIA in the dust as they absolutely dominated price/performance in the $150-$300 market which 90% of people purchase and their roadmap always said they were sacrificing performance early for better gains in the long run.

        I will always get the best gaming CPU between $200-$300 and it has been Intel lately but I think the winds are changing.

        • misu p on 22/02/2017 - 16:31
          -4

          haha, absolutely dominated, that is funny :).

          AMD has made bad products that they just fit in between overpriced Nvidia products where they should be in price to performance ratio. if they would make half decent product all the prices would come down. Remember the times where with 400-500$ you would get the top of the line? Now it is what 1200$? This is what actually proves AMD is not competitive right now. Lets hope that changes soon.

          Also lets remember they have nothing for 1440p or 4k.

          Do not get me wrong, I want AMD to be competitive, I want Freesync to be a success (it kind of is), I want the prices to come down, I want more innovation from companies (look at the pathetic Intel improvements while AMD could not compete).

        • [Deactivated] on 22/02/2017 - 18:06
          +1

          @misu p: You're right AMD isn't competitive above $300. I'm just saying they are the best choice for the 90% that don't purchase above $300 graphics cards. If they are getting 90% of the market share I can't see how NVIDIA is beating them.

    • Zondor on 21/02/2017 - 10:13
      +1

      Problem is, it's wait 2 months for this, then wait 2 months for that.

      In the end, for a gaming rig it's the GPU that's important anyway.

  • jonathonsunshine on 20/02/2017 - 15:08
    +1

    Digital Foundry did a write up of the new Intel Pentium g4560. It's punching above its weight and you can get one for $78 AUD. I didn't shop around though, maybe you can find it cheaper again.

    https://youtu.be/TtpSiYFFjbI

    • misu p on 22/02/2017 - 16:32

      More on this, you can pair it with a RX 470 for an almost perfectly balanced PC.

  • pformag on 20/02/2017 - 15:15

    Hay all, thanks for all the builds. This pcpartpicker is amazing. I think I might need to convince more family to chip in to get an even better system. Any thoughts on running the system on the Intel HD 630 inbuilt graphics? Will this be enough for now, and he can upgrade the graphics card later on.

    His birthday is in 2 weeks.

    • MercSal on 20/02/2017 - 15:43

      It depends on the game. I wouldn't recommend it. humdingaling posted a solid build up above that should handle most things on lower settings.

    • Godric on 20/02/2017 - 16:32
      +1

      never go with onboard gpu… unless you are purely only using it for web surfing or fhd youtube

    • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2017 - 07:35
      +5

      NOpe … just nope to onboard graphics and gaming.

  • uzz30 on 20/02/2017 - 16:10
    +6

    I just built this system with the intention of running the latest titles in maxed out ultra settings at 1080p with frame rates no less than 60fps. So far I'm very pleased with the results. At $919 priced from pcpartpicker you don't get enough change for monitor/mouse/keyboard but these are quite personal preferences for the gamer.

    The system is based on the latest generation i3 processor teamed up with the great bang for buck GeForce GTX 1060. There's room for future expansion / performance improvement with a free M2 storage interface and 2 x free DIMM slots.

    EDIT: A goal of this system was low power usage and at an estimated 266W it's pretty good. Less noise, less heat, less cost.

    The motherboard is a very nice design with some pretty nice red LED light effect, looks the business, does the job.

    https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/pVYhd6

    CPU - Intel Core i3-7100 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor - $155.00 Shopping Express
    Motherboard - MSI B250M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard - $144.00 Shopping Express
    Memory - Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory - $88.00 Umart
    Storage - Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive - $99.00 Shopping Express
    Storage - Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive - $62.00 PLE Computers
    Video Card - Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB Windforce OC Video Card - $289.00 Shopping Express
    Case - Antec VSK4-500 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500W Power Supply - $82.00 Shopping Express

    TOTAL $919

    • humdingaling on 20/02/2017 - 17:27

      ^^ you can get a really good bang for your buck setup on 1080p

      which is the most likely the setup your going for if you are getting a run in the mill (single) monitor

    • pformag on 20/02/2017 - 18:58

      Thanks, would it be better to go to the i5 7400? Also, is 8BG enough memory?

      • Diji1 on 20/02/2017 - 19:53
        +2

        The new i3 is a staggeringly good budget processor. 8GB is enough.

      • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2017 - 07:36
        +2

        8gB is enough, 16 is good, 32 is awesome, 64 is hard to fit on an average PC mobo.

      • Zondor on 21/02/2017 - 10:19
        +1

        Nothing wrong with the new i3 at all for gaming.

        99% of games are GPU intensive, not CPU.

  • pformag on 20/02/2017 - 18:50

    OK, so Amazon seams to be the cheapest for almost everything. And shipping to Aust in free. Thanks to @alvian for showing me http://www.logicalincrements.com/, which linked me to Amazon

    This is what I am thinking based on everyone's builds.

    Intel i5- 7600 7th Gen Core Desktop Processors by Intel  - $229.99 
GIGABYTE LGA1151 Intel H270 2-Way Crossfire Micro ATX DDR4 Motherboards (GA-H270M-DS3H) by Gigabyte - $87.99 
MSI GAMING Radeon RX 480 GDDR5 4GB CrossFire VR Ready FinFET DirectX 12 Graphics Card (RX 480 ARMOR 4G OC) by MSI - $184.99
Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB DDR4 DRAM 2400MHz C16 Memory Kit, Black by Corsair - $57.99 x 2
SanDisk SSD Plus 240GB 2.5-Inch SDSSDA-240G-G25 (Old Version) by SanDisk - $82.02
WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Desktop Hard Drive (WD10EZEX) - $49.99
EVGA 600 B1, 80+ BRONZE 600W, 3 Year Warranty, Includes FREE Power On Self Tester, Power Supply 100-B1-0600-KR by EVGA- $49.99
Antec One Computer Case by Antec - $50.90  
LG Electronics Internal Super Multi Drive Optical Drives GH24NSC0B by LG Electronics - $18.99 
Redragon S101 Vajra USB Gaming Keyboard with Centrophorus USB Gaming Mouse - $26.14

    Total: $896.98. Leaves me room to at a monitor or possible changes that you guys might suggest?

    • Diji1 on 20/02/2017 - 19:54
      +1

      Make sure you check MSY and staticice (which has MSY) prices if you haven't already.

    • EnterTheShiftKey on 20/02/2017 - 20:30
      -1

      Looks good to me. But I'd spend bit more and get GTX 1060 instead.

      • currentfad on 21/02/2017 - 00:07
        +1

        Why?

        • EnterTheShiftKey on 21/02/2017 - 01:41

          Cos 1060 is more powerful than RX 480…

        • currentfad on 21/02/2017 - 02:48
          +5

          @EnterTheShiftKey: So they should also get the 1070? Why not go all out and get a TitanX?? They're more powerful right? The guy is building for 1080p gaming. Literally no reason to spend any more. Even the RX470 is perfectly capable.

        • EnterTheShiftKey on 21/02/2017 - 10:18

          @spaghettiman: He said he has a budget of $1000, I'm just suggesting he can beef up his GPU to me more powerful. No reason to be an overreacting drama queen about this.

        • Zondor on 21/02/2017 - 10:20
          +3

          @EnterTheShiftKey:
          480 is arguably on the same tier. Whatever is cheapest is fine.

    • currentfad on 21/02/2017 - 00:04
      +1

      You don't need a 600W power supply. I'd also get one here just for the right plug :P Also do you really need the optical drive? If you do then fair enough I guess, but haven't seen many in builds these days.

    • B-Rad on 21/02/2017 - 04:16
      +3

      I'd personally opt for the Intel 600p Series 256GB M.2 80mm SSD which is ~$20 more but offers a substantial increase in speed. Btw, is that price in USD coz you'll need to convert it to AUD. Also, buying locally would be beneficial if you need to return a part under warranty.

    • [Deactivated] on 21/02/2017 - 07:38
      +2

      That would likely be in USD - so convert and add another 3-5% for fees and worst scenario conversions with your bank.

    • Avacardooo Rayy Mee on 21/02/2017 - 10:47

      You sure thats not USD?

    • jlogic on 21/02/2017 - 11:40
      +3

      Would buy locally… parts return will be a PITA if it is overseas.

  • woodwa on 21/02/2017 - 08:45
    +2

    Wait 3 weeks for ryzen!

    half the price of intel for the same bang!

    • Zondor on 21/02/2017 - 10:20

      Gaming is GPU intensive, not CPU. It really doesn't matter.

      • Avacardooo Rayy Mee on 21/02/2017 - 10:51

        yes and no, more correct on the GPU tho.

        • Zondor on 21/02/2017 - 12:07
          +1

          If you REALLY like citys:Skylines then yeah get a better CPU. Otherwise, if you look at the latest Hardware Canucks video on the i3 it shows that there really isn't any difference in performance on most titles.

  • jlogic on 21/02/2017 - 11:43
    +1

    You tried looking for secondhand desktop computers?

    Plenty there to start off a good base and then upgrade the parts as you can.

    You can pick up nice and decent gaming rigs with 3 or 4 series i5 CPUs for good prices.

  • blehgg on 21/02/2017 - 11:52
    +1

    https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_gaming_con…

    $800 ($1,000) Gaming/Multi-Purpose Config Value INTEL

    CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 $78 (Dual-core with hyperthreading makes approx equal to i3)
    Mobo: MSI B250M PRO-VD $109
    RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4-2133 C15 $75
    SSD: Sandisk SSD Plus 240GB $95 (Add HDD later if more space is required)
    GPU: 4GB AMD Radeon RX 470 $279
    Case: Deepcool Tesseract BF $49
    PSU: Antec Neo Eco II 450W $75
    ODD: DVD-RW Drive $20
    Peripherals: [ 23~24" IPS/PLS 1920x1080 / Microsoft Wired Desktop 600 / Logitech Z120 2.1 ] ($231)

    Total: $780 ($1011)

    • Zondor on 21/02/2017 - 12:08
      +2

      Can't quite agree with a G4560 in a 1k build. i3 at a minimum.

      • JetBombat on 21/02/2017 - 21:46

        G4560 with DDR4-2400 is on par

      • misu p on 22/02/2017 - 16:34

        G4560 with an RX 470 is the perfect pairing. The i3 would not bring almost anything to the table. It would be limited by the RX 470.

    • misu p on 22/02/2017 - 16:36

      This has my seal of approval. It fits perfectly in the budget AND he would be able to play most game at almost max details at 1080p. It is also perfectly balanced between the CPU and the GPU.

      • Zondor on 23/02/2017 - 09:32

        Framerate wont be at 60 with max settings and that gcard.

        • misu p on 23/02/2017 - 09:37

          Hence my "most games" with "almost max". But for every 1 example that you can come up with, I can come up with many many more that it will work just fine.

        • Zondor on 23/02/2017 - 09:39
          -1

          @misu p: However at this budget you can easily get a 1060 or 480 wich CAN do pretty much all games at 60.

        • misu p on 23/02/2017 - 09:52
          +1

          @Zondor: can you try please? The thing is, you can get a 1060 but that will be limited by the CPU. You will not get any higher framerates. The GTX 1060 is around 300. To get a decent CPU you would have to get an i5 to pair with the 1060. An i5 is 275 AUD. Add in 8gb memory (100 AUD), a case and a PSU (120 - 150 for something decent), get some storage (100 for an SSD) without any HDD, get a MB 100 AUD a KB and mouse (30 AUD) and you are way over the budget (not by a little) with no monitor.

          Of course, it will play games better, but G4560 will play them good enough I believe.

          If you get the G4560 and the rx 470 you are left with enough money for a monitor. hopefully with a HDD too.

          RYZEN hopefully changes this :)…… gooooooo RYZEN.

        • Zondor on 23/02/2017 - 12:27
          -2

          @misu p: I really can't agree with your opinion on this sorry.

  • Keeegs on 21/02/2017 - 12:15
    +2

    Hi there,

    I can throw you a free legit Windows 7 Pro 64-bit key for free.

    Just PM me.

    • pformag on 22/02/2017 - 18:20

      Thanks, just PM you

  • Avacardooo Rayy Mee on 21/02/2017 - 13:02

    Thermaltake Black Versa H23 Mid Tower Chassis & 500w PSU (USB3) $89

    Intel Core i5 4460 Quad Core LGA 1150 3.2GHz CPU Processor $265

    Kingston 240G HyperX Fury SSD SATA 3 7mm $125

    Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2H LGA 1150 OEM Motherboard $85

    Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64bit OEM DVD $129

    Asus DRW-24D5MT BLACK INT OEM SATA DVD BURNER $18

    G Skill 8G(1x8G) DDR3 1600MHZ PC3-12800 1.35v $79

    Asus GeForce GTX 1060 Dual OC 3GB Video Card $269

    $1059 (Umart)

    I know this build is not upto date with the processor and mb, but for the price your looking for and performance, it fits in, and if you can get your hands on a free windows license , you can upgrade the motherboard & cpu to the newest gen.

    • uzz30 on 21/02/2017 - 13:31

      From what I can see a current generation i3-7100 CPU with DDR 4 2400MHZ RAM and a B250 chipset motherboard would offer better performance for less expense. Am I missing something?

      • Avacardooo Rayy Mee on 21/02/2017 - 13:45

        i can see your comparison & yes it is close, but i wouldnt use an i3 for a gaming machine, rather an i5, of the newest gen & to fit in with the budget.

  • donnams on 21/02/2017 - 13:40
    -1

    I wouldn't buy online as the parts may not arrive in time and if you're buying from separate places, you will have multiple shipping costs. I have bought online before & had DOA products which are a pain to return. We have built multiple decent gaming rigs for around 900ish from buying parts instore at MSY. Don't forget if you're building it yourself, use an earth strap (attach to the case) and don't wear synthetic clothing or have it anywhere near carpet. Install the psu to the case if not already then plug the power cable into the wall socket (switched off). This will earth the case. You don't want to fry any of your new components. CPU & RAM should be put on the motherboard before you install to the case to prevent bending the motherboard. Maybe look at some guides online or watch some youtube videos first. I would not go for less than an i5 for a gaming rig and don't skimp on RAM (need at least 16GB DDR4, RAM is cheap). Research your parts beforehand for performance and compatibility.

    • Diji1 on 21/02/2017 - 13:48

      I don't think anyone has ever fried computer components via static electricity. I've tried to and I haven't.

      And whilst MSY is often cheapest it isn't always regardless of shipping costs.

      • donnams on 21/02/2017 - 14:23

        It can happen, it has to me & what's the harm in being careful. It's more common with motherboards. https://www.howtogeek.com/169994/how-to-protect-your-pcs-har…
        He has only 2 weeks until his brother's birthday so not much time for parts to arrive especially if they are from overseas. MSY are pretty competitive and you do occasionally get DOA parts which if you have to ship back, well that won't happen in time. Australia Post chucks things around all the time too.

  • Snave on 21/02/2017 - 13:43
    -1

    You mentioned your brother plays BF1, if he plans on playing BF1 on PC then anything less then an i7 with gtx 1070 is a waste of time, especially if playing multiplayer. The i5 are causing issue with frame drops and bottle necking GPU making it a pain even on reduced graphics settings.

    I currently have an i5 overclocked to 4.5ghz with GTX970 and BF1 on medium with continues frame rate drops to 30-40fps making multiplayer a pain sometimes. This is the first game that does test my machine though. Fallout 4, BF4 etc are fine and over 60fps.

    All the suggestions above will most likely start struggling with new release games with graphics on any more then medium.

    • Diji1 on 21/02/2017 - 13:54

      anything less then an i7 with gtx 1070 is a waste of time, especially if playing multiplayer

      That isn't what many reviews say. They say they it performs very well across much less powerful hardware.

      • Snave on 21/02/2017 - 14:24

        Then on the other side there are many people having issues with the game and i5 since the release with stuttering. I was getting 90+fps on the open beta with all the graphics settings maxed out. Since release I have 60fps with continuous fps drops and stuttering due to CPU running at 100%, the fps does not change if I change the graphics settings, it is the same fps from Ultra to Low, just the drops reduce.

      • theHMASfriendship on 21/02/2017 - 23:00

        I stopped playing because of the stuttering… i5-4670k @4ghz with a gtx780

    • devize on 21/02/2017 - 14:53

      I've got a cpu with base clockspeed at 3.6ghz and a gtx 1060 and I can run BF1 at Ultra settings at a stable 70+ fps. A decent cpu and a 1060 is more than enough to run BF1 well.

    • Finde on 22/02/2017 - 12:54
      +2

      That is the biggest load of rubbish.
      Battlefield 1, as with many other has not been optimised for multicore CPU's, so an i7 pretty much does nothing over an i5.
      My mate has an i5 6500 and a GTX 1060 and plays everything on ultra at 1080p with fps never dripping below 60.
      I think there is just something wrong with your computer.

    • Meliodas on 22/02/2017 - 16:45

      You sure? I have the same set up as you but i could run it at 75 fps constant on high, no stuttering or whatsoever

  • A1SEO on 21/02/2017 - 15:42

    Long time lurker, first time poster.

    Would you be interested in a used pc?

    • jlogic on 21/02/2017 - 17:20
      +2

      If you look on Gumtree there are sometimes excellent bargains especially for something that is already put together.

      Just bring a diagnostic USB to stress test the cpu and memory. Run a SMART test on hard drive. This is to find anything obviously wrong with the PC.

      Then upgrade the parts as needed.

      Check in WA and there were a couple of good desktops with 3XXX and 4XXX gen Intel CPUs for less than $800.

      Make sure you don't buy any Dell or mainstream brands if you want to upgrade.

      • Mrbean007 on 21/02/2017 - 18:53

        That's what I did and never looked back last one I bought I grabbed the parts mainly from msy but these days people are looking for upgrades so plenty on gumtree can save you lots :)

    • Ahbal on 21/02/2017 - 22:26

      Used market is great. I bought a Fx8350+ 990fx mobo last year for $100.

      • Xastros on 22/02/2017 - 12:04

        How do you know those parts are not faulty? Esp the mobo? Difficult to test at the point of sale?

        • jlogic on 22/02/2017 - 12:13

          Bring a USB stress test/diagnostic.

          Also a bit of caveat emptor applies.

        • Zachary on 22/02/2017 - 12:14

          Well you can get them to test it for you, whilst you're there, obviously before forking over the dough….unless it's online and the guy lives interstate or overseas……in which case you'll just have to trust any evidence he gives you if you ask for proof it works and whatnot….or don't trust and buy brand new! Brand new always work out of the box, unless it's dead on arrival…in which case you get get a brand replacement or a full refund!

        • Xastros on 22/02/2017 - 13:12

          @jlogic: That's assuming there is an entire system to your USB into.

          This guy purchased a motherboard. If the seller has upgraded his motherboard I doubt he has the old one plugged into a system for the buyer to test. Also will be too hard to bring your own hardware to test the mobo on because it would take too long to put together at the seller's place just to test.

          Not trying to be a smart@rse. Genuinely interested in how people go about it because I've not purchased 2nd hand before.

        • Xastros on 22/02/2017 - 13:27
          +1

          @Zachary: Video card is easy but how do they test a motherboard for you? Have you purchased a 2nd hand motherboard before?

        • Ahbal on 22/02/2017 - 13:29

          @Xastros:

          He had it in a working system before I bought it. PC used parts aren't as bad as people make them out to be. With most owners, the parts sit in their system untouched running as usual, with dust cleaning occasionally. I have bought used GPU, Fans, Case a,d this mobo CPU combo all with no issues at all.

          Just use Paypal and be smart about it and you save a lot of money.

          Edit: Been using this combo daily in our second gaming setup (my brothers system now) with no issues at all. The GPU/Mobo/CPU/Case/Fans are all used. No issues at all.

        • Xastros on 22/02/2017 - 13:35

          @Ahbal: Thanks appreciate the info. I guess the seller might not have upgraded his mobo, but actually bought a whole new system and is selling the old one off in parts.

          Will look into it in future if buying/upgrading

        • jlogic on 22/02/2017 - 14:52

          @Xastros: I have bought two mobos previously 2nd hand. I asked to make sure it was in a system or ready to go in an open air setup so I could test.

          If they do not want then walk away.

        • jlogic on 22/02/2017 - 14:53

          @Xastros: You should there are bargains to be had especially when GPUs are being released… if you don't mind be n-1 you can get something decent for very good money.

        • Xastros on 22/02/2017 - 15:29

          @jlogic: Thank you I will keep that in mind next time I need to upgrade. Currently on dual 970s. 1080s should come down in price pretty soon.

        • Zachary on 22/02/2017 - 15:47

          @Xastros: Well if the seller is close by that you can get to personally, bring all the parts you wanted to outfit this board with and away you go….. If you don't have all the parts necessary, then at least test the ones you currently have on you and then later hope to hell the rest works for you! Hahahaha Or if you don't have anything and just wanted to start with the motherboard and build your way from there….well, bring any parts with the same interface you'll be using with the actual parts you get later on and test with them. Or if you're like some people have zero parts at all even spare working ones….well…….as I said earlier, hope the seller has a test rig up for you to do so, OR just trust that they say it's working if they haven't got a test rig up….

        • jlogic on 22/02/2017 - 16:28

          @Zachary: Yeah caveat emptor if you can't test it.

          I personally wouldn't buy unless I could see it working.

  • pformag on 22/02/2017 - 18:18

    Hay everyone,

    Thanks for all the advise and putting me in the right direction. I will let you know how everything goes.

  • alvian on 23/02/2017 - 02:01

    Too bad you cannot wait because it is a birthday present, and your budget is $1000. The US prices for AMD Ryzen has just been revealed: 1700 $329, 1700X $399, 1800X $499. In AMD's demo, a Ryzen 1700 demolished a Core i7 7700K and a Ryzen 1800X just edged out a Core i7 6900K that costs over US$1000. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTu7ryfKO5E

    • Meliodas on 23/02/2017 - 08:35

      The benchmark is out? WHY NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT THIS

      • alvian on 23/02/2017 - 09:02

        No. It is a side-by-side demo between AMD and Intel CPUs running Cinebench and various games. I wrote "AMD's demo" for this reason. Nobody outside of AMD has been able to benchmark Ryzen yet, but what have been shown so far are looking very good. Finally, some much needed competition for Intel.

      • misu p on 23/02/2017 - 09:39

        See the youtubes :) they are just AMD benchmarks but still, if they are 30% off (a huge margin) it is still very very good value for money.

    • pformag on 23/02/2017 - 11:56

      I have been talking to him, as he knows what he is getting for his birthday. He says he can wait if it will be better in the long run, so might wait a couple of weeks. Regarding Ryzen, do they need special motherboards, memory etc?

      • alvian on 23/02/2017 - 11:57
        +1

        Look for AM4 motherboards, DDR4 RAM. I think Ryzen's retail package comes with cooling fan and heatsink. Other components should be compatible across platforms.

    • uzz30 on 23/02/2017 - 12:37
      +1

      OP shouldn't hold off their purchase for the release of the Ryzen CPUs. Even the Ryzen 1700 will be roughly $430AUD which is way over budget.

      But great to see AMD bringing the competition back to Intel at the higher end, hopefully this sees some trickle down to the the lower end of the market in the i5 zone.

      Might be hard for AMD to compete at the low endvalue of the G4560 and i3-7100 which offer great performance for the money.

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