Advice on custom PC assembly

Canaria Mint SG

Hello all - This is my first post, I'm new here. I was doing a google search on building PCs locally when I came upon a few threads in this forum with advice for building a custom rig. I am interested in building a PC for use exclusively with the new mmorpg "Tera Online".

These are its requirements:

• OS: Windows 7 or Vista
• CPU: AMD Athlon 64 x2 6000+ or INTEL Core2 Duo E6750
• RAM: 4 GB or greater
• GPU: ATI Radeon HD 3870 or NVidia Geforce 8800GT
• HDD: 35 GB (70 GB for download installation*)
• DirectX: DirectX 9.0c

After some research I've come up with a list of parts that I'd be interested in using for the PC.

CPU/MOBO: ASUS P8P67-M (B3)

GPU  : ASUS GTX560 1GB DIRECTCU

RAM: KINGSTON PC3-1333 DDR3 4GB

PSU: SEASONIC M12II 620W

OPTICAL: SAMSUNG 22X DVDRW IDE

HDD: 3.5" HITACHI 1TB SATA 7200 RPM

CASE: COOLMASTER ELITE 430

I was actually wondering if I could get a smaller case/ small form factor case of any sort, but if doing that would cause the PC to catch fire I could deal with a bigger case. My budget is hopefully $1,500 or less - I am planning on using my 37" TV as the monitor.

Any help and comments with regards to the setup/ how to improve it would be greatly appreciated, thank you very much for your time.

Call4ljw SG

So, what CPU will you be getting?

As long as your computer has good ventilation, no worries that it will catch fire.

Your Mobo is of a mATX form factor, three form factors : mITX, mATX and ATX, so your casing has to be mATX unless you decide to go for mITX mobo. Zotac has 2 Z68 mITX mobos available.

To improve the system, you might want to get a SSD for the OS and/or high-speed 1600/1866/2000 or 2133 RAM to squeeze the most out of your system.

Canaria Mint SG

Oh sorry, I left it out. I'm planning to get an Intel I5 2500k.

It's a Sandybridge one if what I noted down was correct.

I read somewhere that the processor could only use up to 1333 for the ramspeed? I don't recall... Do correct me if I'm wrong.

GSL SG

Get kingston value ram will do as no point in getting a "premium" ram which is more for overclocking,no noticable difference in gaming.

I will suggest posting your advice over at HWZ which has lots of experts that can recommend a rig that is best bang for your buck.

Call4ljw SG

Oh sorry, I left it out. I'm planning to get an Intel I5 2500k.

It's a Sandybridge one if what I noted down was correct.

I read somewhere that the processor could only use up to 1333 for the ramspeed? I don't recall... Do correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, it is a sandy bridge CPU. CPUs with 4 number suffix and the first being a "2" will refer to Sandy Bridge.

P67 can overclock RAM and CPU.

Canaria Mint SG

I'm not intending on overclocking, though - I'll stick with the Kingston "value" ram. Other than TERA and maybe the occasional Crysis session I'm probably not going to do much. I have been told that I might as well "get the I7 2600 instead".

I'd very much just like to build this rig once and be done with it - if it doesn't meet the future requirements for any games I'll probably just roll down the settings, instead of buying new hardware. I'm cheap like that :(

I'm more concerned about the overall size of the rig at this point - looked around and saw some small form factor/ Looks like a DVD player but it's not/ shoebox kinda case. Just wonder if the ventilation inside is enough to fix up such a rig - most of them look quite crowded internally.

SBS7484P SG

Shoebox casings are a nightmare.

The CM430 you PMed me with is not really what I'd consider a good casing.

The placement of the PSU at the bottom is applaudable, but the general fit-and-finish of the casing, and thickness of metal leaves much to be desired.

The placement of the PSU is also a conflicting point - its placement at the bottom allows it to draw fresh air for itself, but makes cable management a nightmare because this chassis does not have any sort of cable management routing facilities such as tunnelling and holes from which cables can exit.

Not to forget that fact that it also has a window - which will make the overall appearance even worse.

Canaria Mint SG

Hello, I've responded to your PM with regards to your recommendations on a the CM341 and the Aurum PSU. Could we discuss the details further via that channel? Thank you for your time!