Hey guys, sorry I'm new here.
I'm from Singapore and I've been using a Mac more often than a PC.
I've just graduated and now waiting for my government to call me up
for national service. (which will be in about 6 months time)
I thought this is the perfect time for me to reward myself with a gaming PC
while waiting for my call of duty from the government.
My budget is SGD $1000, which is around USD $800.
And I play basic games like FM 2013, MW3, Black Ops etc.
I would also love to use adobe photoshop & video editing on the machine.
I'm now in a dilemma on whether to get a custom DIY desktop or
just get a Mac Mini off the online Apple Store.
The Mac Mini that I wanted to get is the basic 2.5GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 model.
The whole thing costs SGD $788 which is about USD $628.
Here's the basic specs:
- 2.5GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5
- 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
- 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
I need some recommendations of a build that is on par or even better
than the Mac Mini, considering my budget of SGD $1000.
& Since I'm from Singapore, I can't get anything from newegg. But I have recommendations to get my stuffs from this local pc shop called Fuwell.
It would be much appreciated if someone could help me look through this
pricelist from Fuwell and recommend me a build that will beat the Mac Mini hands down.
Here's the pricelist in pdf:
http://www.fuwell.com.sg/uploads/misc/Fuwell220613.pdf
Thanks for reading and hope you any kind souls could help me! :\
I was unsure if you needed Windows or not, so I tried to keep the price under 900 SGD, to account for the unaccounted parts and taxes. This build wasn't meant for overclocking, but as it is, it will run circles around the Mac Mini you are considering, especially when gaming thanks to the dedicated GPU, native quad-core, and faster 7200RPM HDD.
CPU - Intel Core i5 3470
Motherboard: ASRock H71 DGS -- 300
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 1600M CL9 L/Profile kit -- 95
GPU: Sapphire 7850 2GB OC -- 258
PSU: Corsair CX500m -- 99
Case: CMaster N200 w/USB3.0 MATX -- 52
Storage: 1TB Hitachi 7200RPM -- 82
SubTotal -- 886
Thanks a lot for the reply jerm!
Really appreciate it.
Do I need to get any fans for this system?
It comes with 2x 120mm fans (intake and exhaust), which is usually enough. Plus the case is pretty well ventilated as well. I'd say no.
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=10048&product_name=N200
Ahh, I see. Thanks for clearing that up. Just a last question. Do I have to use ethernet? Cause I don't have an ethernet cable anywhere near my room. I plan to use wifi for that desktop. Is it possible?
I don't think the motherboard has in built wifi but, you can usually pickup a wifi adapter quite cheaply
If you're doing any sort of online gaming, ethernet is the way to go. I'd just get an ethernet cable it it isn't too inconvenient to route one to your computer. They're dirt cheap.
If you can't do that, I'd opt for an internal Wi-Fi adapter. Less latency. There is one from the catalog you posted:
Asus PCE-N15 WiFi PCI-E Card 300Mbps.... 55
If you need portability or really cheap price, there are some pretty cheap USB adapters, but they are less than ideal for online gaming.
Googled around and found out I could use a powerline adapter to make use of my existing powerlines as ethernet. So I shall use that.
Is it better to use an all solid capacitor? Someone told me to opt for the Asrock B75 Pro3-M.
If you can spare the money, go for it. Solid caps insure more reliable power delivery to the the componentry and overall longer life of the board. The board i suggested was the cheapest board i could find with a decent CPU. It really doesnt sound like youre going to utilize the extra features.
powerline is pretty terrible... the wires in ur house aren't shielded well enough, and the copper is pretty low-grade. not to mention you get interference form power fluctuation, etc.
There are mixed reviews here in Singapore about the usage of powerlines. I might ask the shop first if I could try and if it's unsatisfactionary, i'll just return it and get the internal wifi card instead. Thanks for the heads up, bro.