OK, getting somewhere now. Another question, would the 5850 still be adequate if I was running games at 1920*1080?

http://www.scorptec.com.au/

http://www.msy.com.au/ - one of the cheapest in aus. but service is like shit sometimes. takes forever to get stuff as so many people go there.

I have bought hdds form them in the past (mainly cause im from interstate and we dont have a msy here). they still work so they seem alright i think.



In terms of cpu. I personally like AMD because they are cheaper (like 1/3rd of the price of intel for top models).


gpu I like ATI because I found that outputting to my tv ATI was sharper and brighter. My Nvidia card the output to the tv kept getting darker and darker.

for hdds it is really hard to say. it depends on luck what works.

I know here SAMSUNG are good. but i got one from vic and it failed. all my segates i bought here failed. Western digitals from vic worked for me haha.

dvd burner i found samsung and pioneer to best at burning and reading discs.

Yes. Absolutely.

Instead of going to specific suppliers like ScorpTec and MSY, I suggest going to http://www.staticice.com.au/ and searching for the product you're after. You'll automatically get the best deal(s) listed from suppliers in Australia.

The Whirlpool forums have guides that specialise in this sort of thing http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs . If you choose a category, you can see sample builds that range in price from $500 to $3000. They're not perfect and you may need to alter them to suit yourself, but they're a great starting point and they're constantly being updated with the latest prices (from StaticICE).

if hes having problems sometimes with the crossfire setup, he can allways just disable one of the cards. and i doubt that will be very often

Have you read The Gaming PC Building/Upgrade thread?

Some great advice in there. Of course, all parts and so on are linked to Newegg, which is american if I'm not mistaken.

It turns out that Gocomp is about half a km from my house and it's prices look decent so I'll probably go through them. So far I've worked from the Whirlpool $1500 rig with some adjustments

CPU: AMD Phenom II 945

Mobo: Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H $108

RAM: 4GB DDR3 (brand? does it matter)

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $105 (will probably double this)

GPU: 1GB ATI Radeon HD5850

Case: SilverStone Raven RV02 (looks cool butwill probably go for a more modestly priced case, any suggestions or strong feelings)

PSU: AcBel 510W PSU (sufficient?)

ODD: Sony-NEC Optiarc AD-7240S $39 (not too fussy about this as long as it works)

CPU HSF: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 $95 (no idea about this, suitable?)

ANYTHING ELSE I NEED, SHOULD CONSIDER OR CHANGE?

Once again thanks for all the help.

I've actually got this bookmarked and will have a look but I knew that it (obviously) only has US prices and was looking for some local advice as well which the guys have kindly provided.

Really good thread, reading through it now.

I'd have to disagree with you a bit here. A good (enough) case can make a huge difference. First of all, you want it running sort of cool and quiet. The noise from the computer can be very irritating, and it's something you are stuck with. A cool case also helps the noise from the CPU and GPU fans. And if you plan on keeping the computer on while you are sleeping, it's a good thing if the case doesn't have any LED's, or if the LED's can be turned off.

Toolless assembly is also very nice, but it's even more important that it is easy to remove and exchange the parts. Harddrives in particular can be locked in and not removable if you have a bad case design (happened to me with my last case). My current case lets me add new HDD's in and remove used ones while the computer is still on! Good design is also important for me, as well as a good front with at least two USB ports and a headphone jack.

The case and the Power Supply is also the things that are likely to last you the longest. If you get a good case you can keep and be satisfied with it for years longer than all the other parts. So make sure you get a good one, or at least one that measures up to what you want.

Ehm... double post, sorry.