Minecraft Forums

Thanks for all the advice, I think considering the limitations of my budget and compatibility with low-end parts, I'm going to rule out crossfire until later when I have more choice. I'll be redoing the build to suit this decision and all your recomendations and I'll post it here when I'm done ;).

Update:
Sooo... the mobo you suggested (Christoi) didn't have 1600 memory capability and apparently I am going to want that, so I went one step up to the next tier and got a Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1155. (Yes, I went back to Intel.) The CPU is now an Intel Pentium G840 2.8GHz Dual-Core. I have also chosen some new memory to take advantage of the quad-channel memory on the mobo.

Quote from FrozenOblivion

"^ I went with AMD because they support Crossfire (which I'm planning to upgrade to in the future)"

Unless you mean crossfire with the dedicated GPU with the APU graphics, then Intel also supports crossfire with 2 dedicated GPUs that are the same chipset. By the way, you are missing an operating system.



Intel supports crossfire and SLI too...

Alright, sorry about that, I'm new to this and compatibility is confusing :/
The Crossfire I'm looking at is with two dedicated cards that are bridged (is that the correct term?)
I plan to buy the OS locally as I couldn't be bothered paying for shipping on something that readily available. Same with the monitor.

Quote from not_a_zombie

If by "crossfire" you mean "hybrid crossfire" with the integrated GPU and the discrete GPU, it could get better Graphics performance for a very low price, although you sacrifice CPU power that you could get from an Intel CPU. If you mean regular crossfire between 2 discrete GPUs, you don't need an AMD CPU for that, just 2 GPUs of the same type.

Also, 4 GB of ram should be fine, especially in a budget build. If you're going to be using an APUs integrated graphics, make sure to get 1600mhz ram, it makes a difference in this case.

I meant "Crossfire" - where you connect two graphics cards (that aren't integrated with the mobo or the CPU or anything) and they share the rendering load evenly to give you faster graphics.
And I'm searching for RAM now.

Quote from SincereCorn

I would say 500 - 550. I think the minimum you can have is like around 400. But unfortunately, the power supply's in Australia look expensive. Even if you go for 450w, the price increases $20. So, I say, stick with that power supply. When you go to crossfire, upgrade the power supply. That's my opinion though. You could never go wrong with too much power supply wattage. And, sorry, didn't realize you were in Australia.

I think I'll stick with the one I have now - and yes, living in Australia means things are a lot more expensive

Quote from SincereCorn

I say go with a higher PSU.

How much higher?

Quote from SincereCorn

Lower the price on a dvd drive. You can find one 5 bucks cheaper.

That optical drive was the cheapest I could find that was compatible and available in Australia.

So, as the more active of you know, I have been asking a lot of questions lately about my first PC build. You'll be glad to hear that I've finally decided on the fundamentals.

These parts are pretty much the best I could get for my extremely limited budget (which I don't have yet, so things will change). Yes, I am aware that over the course of some time, parts will change and I plan to keep up to date with developments and adjust my build accordingly.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A6-3670K 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($105.00 @ Mwave Australia)
^ I went with AMD because they support Crossfire (which I'm planning to upgrade to in the future)

Motherboard: Asus F1A55-M LX PLUS Micro ATX FM1 Motherboard ($72.00 @ Foxcomp)
^ The best (I think) MOBO I could get at a decent price.

Memory: G.Skill Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($47.00 @ Mwave Australia)
^ Apparently I don't need a heatsink if I'm not over-clocking, so this was downgraded.

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.00 @ Scorptec)
^ Cheapest I could find that wasn't 64GB...

Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($115.00 @ PCCaseGear)
^ Crossfire compatible and good enough for me.

Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.00 @ PCCaseGear)
^ I decided to go with this because even though the looks aren't great the ventilation is great and it's nice and roomy for my first go at cable management.

Power Supply: Corsair 430W ATX12V Power Supply ($59.00 @ PCCaseGear)
^ Does this need to be more powerful if I'm going to Crossfire later?

Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ PCCaseGear)
^ Meh.

Total: $544.00
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

The PC will mostly be used for low-end gaming (ie, Minecraft, Portal 2, TF2) and some very primitive 3D modelling (I'm not good at it quite yet :)). Please feel free to leave any opinions in a reply, I really don't want to be wasting any money here.

Quote from NakedSpaceMan

Pretty much the HAF 912 is the worlds best budget case. Also, don't just assume that we know which parts are available to Australia. Unless there's a website that lists all the parts available, we'll have absolutely no idea and cant help you efficiently. If you can, spend the extra $20 over your budget and get a Thermaltake Chaser MK-I. It looks pretty good and it's not too much over your budget if your willing to spend just a little more.

http://pcpartpicker....case-vn300m1w2n

If you visit pcpartpicker.com.au there's an Australian list.

I found a pretty sick NZXT case, but will it be compatible with this updated build?

Also, this case comes with power supply... can I save money there?

Quote from SupremeHawk

I'm pretty sure you meant 120mm. I'm not trying to be a smart ass. I just didn't want the OP to get confused.

Haha, it's fine, I don't plan on going for cases that need extra stuff on them anyway, that can be for my next build when I actually have money :/

Quote from fm87

Fractal, NZXT, cooler master, and (some) corsairs are pretty much the go-to brands for most people.

I like the Cooler Masters in regards to price, but Fractal Design in regard to design... is there a compromise between the two...?

Edit: I've decided to go with the Fractal Design Core 3000, because it's sexy as hell and only 6 dollars from my original choice, the Cooler Master Silencio.
Thanks for all your help

This brings the total financial damage to $561.00 AUD - not bad.
The full build is here.

Quote from baggerboot

Clean style? If you mean what you think you mean, you'll love Fractal Design cases. I sure do.

I have the Fractal Design Core 3000 case. It's not expensive, but it still has a lot of features you'll often see in the more expensive cases. It can support up to 7 (!) fans, most of them 140mm, and a few 120mm. It has a lot of HDD bays, but that also means it only has 2 5.25" slots (the slots used for DVD drives, card readers and large fan controllers). It has dust filters at the bottom and front, the PSU lies on rubber pyramids to reduce vibrations (and therefore, also noise), and the HDDs lie on rubber 'disks', also to reduce vibrations.

picture:

Quote from fm87

Huh, PCPart picker has an austrailian version. Nice.

On that note, both of them are pretty good, but if I had to choose I would go with the storm enforcer.

Thanks both of you for helping out so quickly - I think I'll definitely look into those Fractal Designs cases though - very clean.

Before coming here, I was actually tossing between these two;

http://pcpartpicker.com/au/part/cooler-master-case-rc550kkn1

http://pcpartpicker.com/au/part/cooler-master-case-sgc1000kwn1

They're both $99, so it was fairly tight, but I think it would be worth it to do it right the first time.

Quote from fm87

Note that an ATX case will have correct mount points for ATX, Micro ATX and (usually, check specs) mini ITX boards.

As for budget cases, the HAF912 is good. I've got one and it's pretty nice.

Notes:

• You will need to buy more fans than the 2 that come with it. Preferably a 140mm for the side, a 200mm for the top, and either another 120mm for the front (totaling two in the front) or a 200mm for the front.
• The dust filters need to be cleaned every 3-4 months or so, however, this GREATLY reduces the amount of dust in the case, all mine has is a thin layer that is quickly sprayed out

If you aren't really into it, there are tons of other budget cases on newegg, if you link ones you like here then we can certainly give you info on them and tell you weather or not they are decent and match your specifications.

Thanks for the details, but I'm fairly certain that newegg doesn't ship to Australia, so they're stuff is not available to me :/

Also, as I'm on a tight budget, I can't really afford extra fans and stuff...

Hello.
What? I had nothing else to start with.

I'm looking into custom-building my own PC and I can't find an affordable case that, despite its cheap-ness, looks somewhat appealing. Sadly, I've forced myself into a $100 budget for the case, so I know I'm not going to get a work of art.

Requirements:

• Micro ATX AND ATX form factor
• Good ventilation for heat management
• A clean style (if possible)
• Just in case you need to know, my HDD is 3.5" form.

I understand this will be based solely on personal opinion when it comes to style, but hopefully at least one of you have the same taste as I do.

Thanks for your time

Edit: IMPORTANT - the case MUST be available to Australian people (like me).

The updated build, with downgraded power supply and storage drive.
But... I had a look and for Australia, the 60GB SDD is actually cheaper than the HDD - is 60GB big enough for everyday + minor gaming use?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G850 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($85.00 @ Covetech)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($63.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($55.00 @ Scorptec)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($119.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Cooler Master Silencio 550 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Power Supply: Corsair 430W ATX12V Power Supply ($59.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)
Total: $577.00
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Edit: I was also considering looking into re-using my laptop HDD - will it be compatible?

Quote from Vallkyr

Looks okay to me, but you should get a normal HDD beside the SSD to store all your normal stuff on.
Memory should be 2x4GB because dual channel is slightly better.
Also, why the 3-pack of windows 7?

I'll fix the RAM, and on the Windows 7 pack... herpity derp...

Quote from RoadWarrior

Power Supply is overkill, at most get a 550 watt psu because your computer isnt really a power hog.

Cool. That was one thing I thought was going to be overkill.

Quote from 999Catfish

Cheaper and better:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI H67A-G43 (B3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Mushkin Callisto Deluxe 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($41.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.95 @ B&H)
Total: $978.84
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

Too bad NewEgg doesn't ship to Australia...