Does anyone know the best time to buy from PCCaseGear.com?
Wanting to build a Gaming PC that will primarily be used for processing (video editing, promotional material)
Wanting to spend around $2,000 (tower, monitor, keyboard)
Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Use staticice.com.au to search for cheapest prices. Even factoring in postage from 10 different places you may well be ahead compared to buying it all from one place.
Advantage of buying it from same place is that they build and stress test it for you so you know all the parts are good and work well together.
Something similar to this. If you take away wifi adapter + headset + Windows key (if by any chance you're a student it's free) it's around $2k AUD.
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/7484kg/ryzen_7_17…
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kdMfQV
Buy when you want to buy don't wait, otherwise you will always be waiting for a 'better' product & sale.
I know there'll always be better out there but I'm currently using this:
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/computers-tablets/computers/…
I can get this for $1355, does this seem reasonable? Seems to me I can always upgrade/ customize later?
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/computers-tablets/computers/…
It's okay but will have a shite PSU. Ram will also likely have low frequency.
+1 to all the above.
NB: not all sites allow staticice to crawl through their prices, so you may need to dig around into retailer's sites (MSY is finicky)
The only thing that is just about future proof are the 'peripherals which could be purchased over time (I gave up to 6 months) - full tower case, keyboard, mouse, monitor(s), modular power supply (can move your cables around easier when connecting it up) and cooling solution (# fans (look for dust filters on the case) and air or water for the CPU - your choice) -these don't have "tech" increases that drive price down routinely - or improvements that are 'noticeable'. Blu-ray drive is optional unless you need to burn/read disks.
(I ended up with an older full tower case which was 50% reduced at $180, but was a 'case of the year' design (yeah, there is such a thing), then slowly built up the parts…totally configurable)
Monitor: well, 2 x 24" (1920x1080), or go with a 28-32" at 2k or 4k. Pricing will guide you and what you need it for. Have seen people with a 32" for gaming, then connect up a 24" for dual screens when video editing. Good graphics card won't sweat this (currently…depends how beefy games develop over the next few months/years)
Keyboard - personal choice on clicky vs non-clicky types. But can go $200+ but don't see this as a good spend at that price.
Mouse - thermal take are OK at ~$50…depends on how core you are. For me, large size (less cramping) is a factor. Again, prices can blow your $2k budget.
Don't forget the thermal conducting gel for the CPU. Set of screwdrivers, static wrist strap if this is your first build.
Wifi adapter (unless you've spent it as part of the motherboard)
Consider speakers, network cable, router if you need it - more for lan gaming parties (so old school..but nothing like seeing miles of Cat6 cable being tripped over on)
Leave these til last: but within several weeks of each other - don't spread them apart - and stick to a decision to buy rather than wait for the 'next one'.
Get a SSD big enough for operating system and what you need speed for (big games?, video editing, etc) - suggest an external storage for the rest - more $$ bang for buck. Suggest min 256gb - 512 if you can. Min RAM (faster freq is better) at 16Gb, but if you can get RamDrive supported, go for 32Gb. Performance is 3X for read/write compared to SSD -
depends on how much 'performance' you need.
Some brands (ram, ssd) perform better than others - which will need to be supported by the motherboard as well.
Motherboard - depends if you want strong overclocking, performance, etc (then >$300 - usually), otherwise, can go sub $200. Lighting effects are a gimmick - unless that floats your boat. Think if you need type C usb - newer standard making its appearance for latest phones, etc.
Graphics card - GTX1080 / Ti (pricing has fluctuated here…brands will vary performance as well) if you can - leave it for future proofing into SLi with another one later. Alternatively, sli up a pair of 1060 or 1070's. Water cooled GPU is 'meh' for me - no appreciable difference - unless you going for clocking records! Going with performance. AMD is OK otherwise, but not up to Nvidia yet
Windows OS - get a USB version - and don't lose it!
Get a free antivirus (avast, AVG, etc) once installed. Malware, email, Office365, etc - look at other OzB forums for advice there.
Think that's about it…
PS: I am a schmuck when it came to connecting up the power cables to everything and making it look pretty (for USB ports, water cooler, GPU, motherboard, etc) so built the lot, then gave to a PC guy who did it in about 30 mins for about $35
Wow that's a whole lot of text you type there :)
Solid advice here.
However, I'm going to go on a limb and straighten out the upgrade path.
1) First of all I suggest actually buying all the Non-Upgradeables first.
A lot of people complain their +$1,000 machine is quite meh, and I think its because they cheap out on the accessories, which detract from the experience. Get yourself a decent speakers, headphones, mic, lighting, chair, desk, keyboard, mouse, and cables.
Next get the other purchases, namely the case, psu, and radiators/cooling fans (eg Noctua)… good quality ones go a long way, and they don't fluctuate in price unlike the "technology" aspect things (gpu/cpu/ram/ssd). This will leave you with things that won't drop in value in your hands, and if you happen to change your mind about building, well you wouldn't have lost as much money.
2) Secondly, think about the upgrade path of your CPU.
Back in 2011, it would've been to go with Intel and the Sandy Bridge LGA155 architecture. In particular, the Core i5-2500k for $200. Then upgrade in Q1 2013 for $290 to the Core i7-3770k… and stick on this platform until 2017.
In 2017, its much smarter to join the AM4 platform with Ryzen than it is to stay on Intel's new-but-obsolete LGA 1151 Z170 platform, or its newest-but-EndOfLife Z370 platform. One advice I would give is to NOT cheap out on the motherboard, get something with lots of features (in particular Wifi/Bluetooth/M.2/USB-C/RGB support) but one from a trusted Brand with the option to overclock the cpu, gpu, ram etc etc. Now, you've got the essentials done right.
3) Next Leverage your purchase.
Sure, a 1TB SSD and a 64GB RAM are great purchases… however if there's a price-fixing, or a supply shortage these may be too expensive.
I suggest in such scenario, downgrading your SSD to a 256GB model (or whatever is reasonable). And as for RAM, instead of getting 4x 16GB sticks… don't get 4x 8GB sticks as you will max out slots to 32GB. Instead be forward-thinking and get 1x 16GB stick so in the future you can get the additional sticks and plop it on… and maxing out your slots to 64GB as you intended without having to go through the trouble of selling them (it's hard to sell RAM due to a trust issues on gumtree). The RAM and SSD can always be upgraded later on, when prices are reasonable.
4) Now, we've bought everything we need except for the hard-buys: the CPU and GPU. So we know our budget.
If we started off with $2,000 and have spent $1,300 already, that means we only have $700 left for both items.
So its a good idea to buy these units together. You could in this scenario buy a:
Ryzen r7-1800X ($620) and a ($120) RX550
Ryzen r7-1700X ($440) and a ($160) RX 560
- extremes -
Ryzen r3-1200 ($120) and a ($850) GTX 1080 Ti
Ryzen r3-1300X ($170) and a ($680) GTX 1080
Or choose between the sensible:
Ryzen r7-1700 ($370) and a ($330) RX 580-8GB
Ryzen r5-1600 ($260) and a ($470) GTX 1070
5) Lastly, forget about SLI.
It's not worth the money for games, as there's little amount of games that take advantage, and some which do introduce a lot of stuttering making it impossible to play. Not to mention requiring more power, stronger psu, more heat, and more noise generated. Rather than SLI you're better off getting one Graphics Card with Two GPU's (eg GTX 690, Titan Z, Radeon Pro Duo). But much much better than that is to get a faster, single graphics card with single gpu.
One example we will give is if you bought in Q1 2012 for $520 a AMD HD7970, then (sold it for $320) upgrade in Q1 2014 for $445 to AMD R9-290, then (sold it for $195) upgrade in Q3 2016 for $320 to AMD RX480-8GB would have been the best. Overall, it would've costed you total $770 for the GPU but you would've had bleeding-edge performance for OVER 5 YEARS. Not too shabby.
6) Final considerations, Is it worth it?
If you had built that "Hindsight 20/20" Gaming PC from 2011/2012, you would've spent more money on the hardware than you would've from going consoles in that same period Xbox 360 -> Xbox One -> PS4 Pro. However, you would have all your backwards-compat games and have enjoyed games with richer sound and much much better "definitive edition" graphics. Not to mention access to a lot of PC Exclusive titles, and also MODs for games like Doom, Quake3, Half-Life 2, Thief, Pokemon, GTA:SA, Skyrim, Just Cause 2, Minecraft, DayZ, ARK, GTA V, Fallout 4 etc etc. And to top it off, you can have an even larger catalogue of games through emulation (Atari, Sega, NES, SNES, GBA, N64, DSi, PS1, PS2, PSP, GameCube, Wii, Wii U). So you would've paid more, but received much much more: therefore, the net Value Rating would be slightly higher on the PC Gaming side rather than the Console side.
And lastly, if you did stick to PC Gaming, you would've paid much less for games and won't have to pay for Online Multiplayer… which actually means the amount you would've spent on consoles would be equal to or more than the PC Gaming. Meaning its not only better, but more wholesome and cheaper.
I have had a mate who has sent me a screenshot of a build. Can I share this screenshot with anyone to see if it isn't actually half bad?
I'm currently awaiting the parts for my custom PC. I have a free Windows 8 product key that I am going to use. Can accessibility features pathway method be done from Windows 8 to secure a free upgrade?
Yes.
MY PC ARRIVED!
Hey dude share your parts list and pics! :)
Where would you like to see?! Built it on the Friday night, took me about 4 hours including booting the OS!
Its never a good time to buy all your pc components from 1 retailer, they usually may have the best price available for 1 or 2 items, however you may find something much cheaper elsewhere. I usually buy from multiple places, overall can add up to a saving of 10-20%.