Best online stores to order computer parts from (2 Viewers)

[Slidey]

I'm looking at Tigers Direct ATM because it is in NSW.

Tigers Direct Computer Store

Need a new comp and looking for a store which has all the following:
AMD Phenom 965 (about $250)
nVidia GTX 985 (about $500)
AM3 Socket Gigabyte mother board ($100 to $200 I guess)
A case
CPU fan
Power supply
Hard drive (7200 RPM or higher)

Can anybody think of anything else I will need?

 

[Aeriff]

StaticIce

/thread

 

[Slidey]

StaticIce

/thread

Static Ice is not a store, it is a store aggregator, and it is how I located Tigers Direct in the first place. It doesn't help me determine what parts I need though, so thanks but no thanks.

Cheers to the second derivative though.

 

[Aquawhite]

DVD burner, audio card

 

[SnowFox]

You dont really need a audio card since most motherboards have them built in.

 

[harrisony]

I use http://pccasegear.com/ It's a bit more expensive most places on staticice although the support people are great.

Firefox can't find the server at www.tigersdirect.com.au.
Thats a good sign

 

[Kendall_Gilroy]

you probably need a power switch and screws also a mother bored hard drive and cd rom

 

[Kendall_Gilroy]

oh i forgot you need a computer case

 

[SnowFox]

+1, imo audio card is a bit of a waste these days, unless you have a specific need for it.

@ OP: what's a GTX 985? $500 is quite pricey for a video card..

GTX only goes up to 295 i thought.

 

[Makro]

Whirpool is your knowledge resource.

Whirlpool PC suggestions

You want gaming otherwise you wouldn't have chosen the 285? (985 doesn't exist).

Gaming Configurations

Now fit that into your budget. If you want it explained why you want a decent PSU and a decent case, then say so. Also, the ATI 5xxx series are dominating the market atm because they're already DX11 compatible and who doesn't want that?

Regarding store choice, MSY hands down. However, this is really a self serve store. They've got a list of parts, and you ask for it. So it's definitely the cheapest, expect 0 customer service and get advice before buying.

http://msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

Like said above, you're missing a DVD burner and you're also missing RAM. A 3rd party CPU fan/cooler isn't necessary. You can stick with the stock one. I'd suggest following a whirlpool recommended config.

 

[_trickster_]

+1 for MSY, but again yes, from experience you go into there knowing exactly what you want and why youre getting it, dont expect any help, just expect one of the cheapest prices in NSW

you really gotta research before going into this kinda thing, believe me

 

[greekgun]

msy has some pretty good prices...but there service is extremely shitty. So like the guy above me said, get ready, know what u want, go in, buy what u need, and walk out.

 

[SnowFox]

Get a quote from some random store, walk into MSY with it.

 

[RDX]

I buy some things from PC Case Gear

 

[Makro]

pcdiy does comparable prices to msy, without the queues.

Queues really depend on when you go. I only wait in a queue 50% of the time.

 

[Slidey]

Also, the ATI 5xxx series are dominating the market atm because they're already DX11 compatible and who doesn't want that?

Me, considering I strongly dislike Windows Vista and Windows 7, but I'll be getting an Radeon 5870 anyway, I've decided.

So the CPU (Phenom II 965) and GPU are set, I'm good for those - I just need to figure out what PSU, mobo, RAM, HD, fan, case, etc to buy.

Thanks for the replies BTW guys.

Edit: Just checked those whirlpool links, thanks dude - quite helpful.

 

[harrisony]

Don't skimp out on your PSU. Yeah yum cha ones work although one of my friends had a hard drive fail on him for no reason. Few months old, SMART was giving all positive readings, the only conclusion we worked out was his PSU fried the logic board.

 

[Makro]

Me, considering I strongly dislike Windows Vista and Windows 7, but I'll be getting an Radeon 5870 anyway, I've decided.

So the CPU (Phenom II 965) and GPU are set, I'm good for those - I just need to figure out what PSU, mobo, RAM, HD, fan, case, etc to buy.

Thanks for the replies BTW guys.

Edit: Just checked those whirlpool links, thanks dude - quite helpful.

Once DX11 is released, I think there'll be even less support for DX9, so whilst Vista/7 are gay, we might need them to continue playing games.

Regarding PSU/HDD/Case/RAM, the whirlpool configs are good as they make sure there's no obvious bottleneck and there's a core focus of gaming. They recommend a rather cheap but reliable PSU ($66 isn't too bad).

Case/PSU: The case is really subjective. It's just got to fit everything in it. A better case will be spacey, quieter, cooler (better airflow). They recommend a Lian-Li case. I think a lot of their cases look like they're about to transform and break your house, if you want something more professional/basic you can go for Antec cases. The Sonata III is a Case/PSU combo from Antec which should have a good enough PSU in it and is supposed to be relatively quiet. Up to you though.

HDD: Whatever your needs are. If you're not "legally" acquiring movies and not buying every single game that comes out then 500GB to 1TB is enough. The sweet spot right now in terms of $/GB is about 800GB and so getting a 1TB is fairly worth it. If you do plan on having a lot of movies/tv shows/music/games then get a 1.5TB or even 2 separate 1TB (like $30 cheaper than buying a 2TB drive).

RAM: Stick with the recommended one " G.Skill-Ripjaws 4GB DDR3-1600". It's got a fairly high speed (1600 MhZ) and should do the job.

MOBO: Unless you plan on overclock or doing SLI/Crossfire or something, the one suggested is basic and works well. " Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H $106"

Fans: The CPU comes with a heatsink + fan already. Unless you want to overclock, this would be more than fine unless you live in Alice Springs or run your computer in a sauna. Also, the better cases usually come with a fan or two.

DVD drives: They're all the same, this technology peaked/plateaued a while ago so they're all the same.

Peripherals: Have you thought about these? Are you after these? The recommended peripherals are pretty decent.

 

[Makro]

Whirlpool PC suggestions

This above link gives recommendations on most parts, it also tells you how you can put it together. So if you want a quick look at what's hot and what's not (kill me now) then browsing through a few of them is quick summary as opposed to reading individual 20 page reviews on each fucking item.

 

[Teclis]

In terms of stores in General, I tend to shop around for good prices from a few different places then factor in shipping costs. My favourites are MWave (particularly because during the week they have 24 hour bargains... usually selling HDDs, screens and peripherals quite cheap regularly), MegaBuy because they have LOTS of different parts to compare and sell things reasonably cheap. MSY/CCPU are about the same for most things...

Here's a general Checklist of what you should have in a modern Computer.

Processor and non stock cooler if you intend to overclock
Motherboard
RAM
DVD drive
Primary HDD
Secondary HDD(s)
Graphics card
PSU (the one thing you never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER skimp on)
Case

Then all your peripherals

------

Ok I have a very specific set of questions for the OP.

1) What's your budget
2) What games are you playing? If Any
3) What other programs are you using the most?

The system I currently run which is brutally fast, which I use for casual graphics and video editing, High end recording and High end gaming (Modern Warfare 1 and 2, C&C3, Supcom, Crysis, STO, L4D) is such:

Core i7 920 overclocked to 4Ghz - $360
Gigabyte GA-EX58UD5 Motherboard
Coolermaster V8 CPU cooler
6GB DDR3 Corsair RAM (overclocked)
64GB G.Skill Falcon II SSD
2x500GB Seagate Barracuda's in RAID 0
1TB Seagate Barracuda
2 x DVD RW drive (I need two for recording purposes)
nVidia GTX275
Corsair TX750 PSU
Antec 900 Case
Windows 7

With that System I can play all my games on Full Graphics and do basically anything but serious Video editing and High End Audio Editing (mainly because I don't have a dedicated DSP card for Pro Tools)


Just a couple of notes on Graphics cards for all to read

1)The GTX295 is overpriced for little gain over other cards. Unless planning to run Crysis on full graphics with full antialiasing you don't need it. It will also soon be superseeded

2) DirectX11 is great... too bad there are no games with it yet... buying the ATI Radeon 5900 series is stupid... wait until they're competing with nVidia and bring the prices down...

3) Let me reiterate... unless you're playing Crysis on full graphics with full antialiasing on a big screen you DO NOT NEED AN OVERPOWERED GRAPHICS CARD as long as your other parts aren't shit

In fact you're MUCH better off spending money on a SSD than a big graphics card...