Budget build advice for a first timer

[JoshNZ]

I am wanting to build a PC for general study and gaming. I only have $1000NZD available at the moment but I have come to the conclussion that I need to spend at least $1500NZD to get what I want.

I am considering leaving out the GPU and SSD to start with, adding them in a few months. What are peoples thoughts on this? As much as I would like to game I do need a PC soon for study so I though this way at least I could get a PC now rather than wait until I have more $$$.

Some background"

This PC will be used as a study PC and later for gaming as well. I will write my thesis on the PC and use it for research. I also use various bioinformatics programmes that are very CPU intensive and can be quite RAM intensive. I may do occasional video editing of home videos and I sometimes use Adobe Lightroom for photo editing.

Budget is $1000NZD to start with with another $500 spent a few months later on a GPU and SSD.

To start I will be gaming at 1600x1200 but with upgrade to a 1929x1080 monitor.

I already have a OEM copy of W7
I have all peripherals (although will upgrade monitor in the future)

Ordering from New Zealand sites. Mostly form www.alphacity.co.nz as they seem to have the best prices. Might get some parts from www.dragonpc.co.nz as well.

I plan to overclock, although I have never done this before. Most likely just a mild overclock

Prefer small PC but not to the point of paying a premium

Of course Quiet is better but again I won't pay a premium for it

I would like to be able to upgrade over time

Wont be using Crossfire/SLI

The parts I am considering are"

CPU: Intel Latest Ivy Bridge Core I5 3570K $309 Here
Cooler: COOLER MASTER HYPER 212 EVO $59 Here
MOBO: ASrock z77 Extreme 4 $209 Here
PSU: Corsair CX-500M Modular 500W ATX Power Supply $110 Here
RAM: Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz Low Profile Vengeance Module $87 Here
HDD: Seagate BARRACUDA 1TB SATA 3.5" 7200RPM 64MB $95 Here
Case: NZXT (S210E-001) Source 210 Elite Mid Tower Steel Case $85 Here
Optical Drive: $34 Here
Wireless card: 54mbps $18 Here

Total = $1006NZD + shipping

Already have:
Mouse: Ligitech gaming mouse
Monitor: Syncmaster 204B 1600x1200
Keyboard: HPE 87 Mechanical keyboard with Cherry Blue switches
OS: W7 Home Premium

Will most likely add a 128gb SSD and a 7870 to this down the road for about another $480NZD

What are peoples thoughts on these parts? Is 430watts enough? I am not sure on the case, I want something that doesn't look like a gaming PC (eg colours, lights).

 

[Bustos]

If you have an idea on your future GPU card, you might want to check it's power recommendations before deciding on Watts.

 

[JoshNZ]

If you have an idea on your future GPU card, you might want to check it's power recommendations before deciding on Watts.

I checked a power supply calculator based on adding a 7870 and with a moderate overclock an it is saying 470 watts recommended.

I might go with a 500 watt PSU instead. I think the corsair CX500 is about $20 more than the 430.

 

[Bustos]

Doesn't hurt to have some breathing room. As for the case, it doesnt appear those two site sell any Rosewill Cases. I just bought the LINE case and I went with it because it was simply all black and fans that had no LEDS. Wasn't sure if you had other suppliers as options to check that case out.
Roswell LINE

 

[Mandrake4565]

I don't think newegg will ship to New Zealand Bustos.

Josh, welcome to the forums, that is a nice build you put together. With a single GPU you probably can get away with the Corsair 430 but as Bustos said you may want to go for the 500w for good measure. Otherwise I wouldn't change a thing for $1000.00 NZD. You probably will not be able to game much on the integrated HD4000 on the 3570 so save up for that 7870 you wont be disappointing with it. When you get more money a SSD is a big improvement. All in all it seems as you did your research well.

 

[Bustos]

Wasn't sure if you had other suppliers as options to check that case out.
Roswell LINE

Linked Newegg, so he could at least see it for himself.

 

[JoshNZ]

I don't think newegg will ship to New Zealand Bustos.

Josh, welcome to the forums, that is a nice build you put together. With a single GPU you probably can get away with the Corsair 430 but as Bustos said you may want to go for the 500w for good measure. Otherwise I wouldn't change a thing for $1000.00 NZD. You probably will not be able to game much on the integrated HD4000 on the 3570 so save up for that 7870 you wont be disappointing with it. When you get more money a SSD is a big improvement. All in all it seems as you did your research well.

Thank you for the welcome. I was worried that building a PC without a GPU to start with would be a silly idea but if this build looks good I will go ahead and order the parts. Hopefully it won't be too long until I add a 7870 and a SSD to it.

As for cases, unfortunately I can't find a NZ supplier for Roswill cases. Does anyone know anything about the case I listed or any alternatives? I was also looking at maybe an antec One or Corsair 200R but both are more expensive.

 

[Knufire]

You won't find Rosewill cases outside of the US and Canada.

The Source 210 you originally chose is not a bad option at all. I would add an extra fan or two though, as it only comes with one stock.

 

[JoshNZ]

You won't find Rosewill cases outside of the US and Canada.

The Source 210 you originally chose is not a bad option at all. I would add an extra fan or two though, as it only comes with one stock.

Ah. I thought it said two but it says mounts for up to two. Will a cheapo like this do or should I get something better?

 

[Knufire]

For a case fan, cheapos should be fine performance wise. Might not last as long though, but a dead cheapo fan isn't something huge to worry about.

I'd try to mount one in the front if there's one stock in the back. One intake + one exhaust should get more airflow through your case than two exhausts.

 

[JoshNZ]

I thought I would come back to this thread as I am about to order. So with a bit of saving I have managed to get my budget up to $1500NZD which means I can get the GPU and SSD from the get go.

Now, what I am seriously considering is ordering the GPU from Newegg using a freight forwarding service. This would mean I could get a 7950 and two free games for about the same price as getting a 7870 here in NZ. I would probably also order the SSD from Newegg as well as it wouldn't add much shipping weight.

What are peoples thoughts on doing this? Is this a silly idea. Of course the risk is that it arrives DOA and I have to fork out return shipping. The main reason I am considering these is for the free Crysis 3 and Bioshock keys which are not offered in NZ.

My updated build looks like this:

Case: NZXT source 210 elite $85
CPU: Intel i5 3570k $308
MOBO: ASrock z77 Extreme 4 $195
Cooler: Evo 212 $50
Ram: Corsair 2x4gb 1600MHz CL9 low profile $91
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1tb $91
PSU: Corsair 500w CX-500v3 $111
Wireless:Tp-link 54mbps $18

Total = $949NZD

SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB $90USD
GPU: MSI R7950 Twin Frozr $320USD
Case Fans: SILVERSTONE FN121 120mm Case Fan x2 $22USD
International shipping: $52USD

Total = $484USD = $578NZD

Total = $1527NZD

Are these parts still OK? Will 500w be enough if I go with the 7950? Also, which 7950 should I get, I went for the MSI based on reviews but I can get other brands for $20USD less.

 

[JoshNZ]

I am thinking of changing the PSU to the Cooler Master GX 550 as it is around the same price as the Corsair CX-500 but has a 5 year warranty vs 3 years for the Corsair. Is this PSU OK?

 

[Knufire]

Definitely don't make that change, the Cooler Master GX line is NOT a good line of PSUs. The build you posted two posts up is very good.

 

[JoshNZ]

Definitely don't make that change, the Cooler Master GX line is NOT a good line of PSUs. The build you posted two posts up is very good.

OK. Thanks Knufire. I am glad I posted first before ordering it.

 

[Knufire]

Yup. You can save money on the MSI if you want, but the Twin Frozr is, if I remember, the 2nd best GPU cooler that comes stock on a card. It's only bested by the ASUS DirectCUII, which is a triple slot card for the 7950.

 

[JoshNZ]

OK. I will probably stick with the build above. Will 500w be enough for an overclocked 3570k and 7950? How safe would you consider it to be shipping the GPU (and SSD) over? Do GPUs have a high DOA rate? I am OK with a small chance of having to ship it back.

 

[Knufire]

Biggest DOA rate is your HDD. SSDs and GPUs should be pretty low risk.

3570K = 100W OCed, 7970 = 240W OCed. +40 for the rest of your system. That's around 380W, max unrealistic load (spinning your HDD continously while running Intel Burn Test and Furmark at the same time). This is on the 12V rail, which is 408W for the CX500, so it's close but should be fine.

 

[JoshNZ]

Ok. I will go ahead and order the above build tonight. Thank you very much Knufire for helping with this