If people want to check if their CPUs or GPUs are "good enough", or require upgrading to balance with the new parts, then one place I have always found useful are the CPU and GPU bench data at Anandtech:

http://www.anandtech.com/Bench/CPU/2
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU14/815

I have built a few systems using AMD, including the FX series CPUs, with the intention to save a few bucks, but the reliability of AMD systems are still way below Intel, not just only due to the CPU's higher heat, but the chipset/motherboard as well.

If you are planning to run your PCs 24/7, please consider using Intel CPUs, and quality motherboards, instead of AMD.

Good to hear that many of you have had good experiences in running AMD 24/7, but I guess there are some caveats, like better cooling, more maintenance, more careful part selection.

On my experience, for all the builds I have done, I have not invested in additional CPU cooling, and AMD has had more issues. Intel has been the more reliable build for me, though it is not perfect of course, just that it is more reliable.

I do expect the GST to increase the total cost to us, as the GST is payment to the government, not to the vendor.

sinbei, you are right ... there is no G3220 ... here is a direct review of the G3220 CPU, looks like it is not too bad:
http://www.legitreviews.com/intel-pentium-...eview_137016/13

I have found that SSDs improve the PC experience by quite a lot, as the HDD is often the bottleneck of the overall PC, especially when you are working with large files, or when you are turning on and turning off the PC. Even if you are gaming, level load times will reduce significantly.

The other key area to invest your ringgit is in the GPU, if you have extra budget, and you use the PC for gaming, then putting those ringgits in your GPU will also bring a significant difference to your PC experience.

Xeon CPUs (they are not chipsets as what you mention above) are designed for servers, so they do not have a GPU, and have hyperthreading to run more parallel jobs, and more L3 cache to support those additional processes. Servers normally handle a lot of "processing jobs" in parallel, with multiple different clients requesting from the CPU at the same time, so the higher capability to support each job request along with the memory will make the Xeon CPU perform better in those environments.

If there are only a few threads running at the same time, like for example in computer games of today, then a faster clocked processor will finish that same job faster.

So in short, whether a Xeon or a OC i5 is faster depends on the software or program that you are using. Generally, for workstation type software (image editing, video editing, etc) that can run many jobs in parallel, or if you are running multiple programs at the same time, then Xeon will be better. If you are playing a FPS game, then an OC i5-4670K would be better.

However, for gaming, normally the bottleneck is the GPU, so in your specific example above, the GPU will most likely be the bottleneck at 1920x1080 high quality resolutions before the CPU is the bottleneck, so it is possible there will not be much of a difference when gaming between the two CPUs.

I am not familiar with Asrock motherboards, I am most familiar with Asus, and next I use Gigabyte, so I cannot really provide an opinion to you on that one.

You can buy the parts in Low Yat Plaza ... one of the best places to get computer hardware. I buy from one shop in Low Yat because I have been buying there since Low Yat Plaza started about 15 years ago, and I get very good service from the owner, and he is like a friend to me now. Any of the main shops are OK, I think.

For movie-watching, look for brands that use IPS screens, like LG, and Dell. IPS screens give good color reproduction, and although contrast is not that good, monitors from Dell give good contrast from IPS screens. I am using Dell monitors now, after going through a few brands.

Wireless adaptor is pretty standard, I normally use TP-Link for their good replacement policy, and never had an issue.

KB+Mouse I use Logitech, but I also think these are pretty standard, and any brand will do ... the more important is whether you feel comfortable with the KB/mouse or not.

No problem on sharing what I know, we all learn from each other anyway.

Prices in LYP are almost the same irrespective of where you go ... to me the differentiating factor is service and support. All of the shops take from the same distributors, and the prices are very much controlled at that point. The shop I go to is Cycom.

To me HDDs are about the same, I have used all brands, and all are about the same in performance and reliability at this time. I think WD is easier to find, compared to SG, and you have more choices. If you can find Hitachi, then that could be a good choice, as there are reports that show Hitachi to be more reliable in a cloud storage environment.

The Intel i3-4xxx CPU is sufficient to support most of the games out there, as most games do not take advantage of more than 2 cores. I think games like Crysis 3 are considered the exception, and is able to take advantage of up to 4 cores. If budget is a constraint, the i3 should be OK for >95% of the time.

In general, for gaming, the GPU is still the main bottleneck today, so if you are interested in a smooth, and enjoyable game play experience, the Geforce GTX760 that is recommended quite often here is a very good choice, especially if the price is ~RM850, which is a good deal. GTX760 will give a better experience compared to GTX750Ti.

There was a question on running dual GPUs in CrossFireX or SLI, versus a more powerful single GPU. I have done only one CrossFireX build before, and one SLI build, and my experience from those two builds has not been very good, with a lot of follow-up maintenance on drivers, game and driver settings, heat management, cable management, etc.

I personally think that single GPUs today are more than enough for most games, and the additional average frame rates is not worth the additional cost (GPU, M/B) and trouble.

If you really want to run dual GPUs, I found the Nvidia SLI set-up better compared to CrossFireX. It was more stable, and had less issues. There are also reports that CrossFireX dual-GPU set-ups are also not as smooth, due to synchronization issues, but it seems that this has been resolved now in the latest drivers.

Thanks Minecrafter, for correcting me on the GTX760 prices. ~RM790 is even better than RM850. Is this RM790 price for the normal GTX760 with standard cooler, or is this for the GTX760 Phantom?

In terms of GPU as well as computer hardware selection, I personally find noise performance important, as I run my PCs 24/7. It is irritating to me to have to hear fan noise when idle, and especially when gaming, where high fan noise (especially from some GPUs today) can intrude into the gaming experience (if you do not wear headphones).

In that respect, I have mostly kept to buying GPUs from either Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI - specifically the Asus Direct Cu II, Gigabyte WindForce, or MSI TwinFrozr series of graphics cards. I do understand that they do cost more, but for those people who are looking to buy a new rig, please consider if you are willing to spend more for a quieter PC.

Yes, you are right ... reference cards are louder than the cards with more specialized cooling and also run hotter most of the time, but the reference cards are generally cheaper as well.

It is a good point that you brought up on the special cases that dampen noise, like the CM Silencio series, but I have never found them to be as effective as buying a lower noise GPU, since the cases basically try to dampen the noise after it is generated, whereas quiet GPUs and quiet case fans stop the noise from being generated.

One thing I found out is that quiet case fans (Noctua, and others) can also be very expensive as well, so in the end, I ended up investing mainly in quieter GPUs.

If there is consideration between a GTX760, and a GTX770, then there are reports on the internet that show that the GTX770 will give a noticeably smoother gaming experience compared to the GTX760, at high gaming resolutions (2560x1440) and high quality for most of today's games. If you are already using at least an i5 CPU, then a GTX770 will be worth the additional investment, if you have the budget.

I suspect that there will not be much difference in overall gaming experience if you game at 1920x1080, and this might not be worth the difference in price.

This post has been edited by mykchin8: Mar 21 2014, 04:47 PM

Guru3D does have a pretty exhaustive comparison of the GTX750 and GTX750Ti against many other graphics cards, and uses the standard basis of comparison, which is average frame rates.

Another good resource is to use this report to provide another point of reference:
http://techreport.com/review/26050/nvidia-...ics-processor/7

TechReport's approach to graphics card benchmarking has been revolutionary, and based on frame time trends. Although GTX750 still makes it for Tomb Raider (use the 33.3ms standard which equivalent to 30fps), GTX750Ti provides just a little more headroom to ensure that the game play experience is nice and smooth, with no stuttering. If your budget allows for the GTX750Ti, please consider that card to ensure you can enjoy playing Tomb Raider at 1920x1080 FXAA with most settings on Ultra.

However, if you are a BF4 fan, then GTX750Ti is the much better card compared to GTX750 which has too many high frame time occurrences, causing stuttering to occur for 1920x1080 High quality settings.
http://techreport.com/review/26050/nvidia-...ics-processor/8

Both the V550 and G-550 are built by Seasonic, one is semi-modular cables, and another is full modular cables, though there is not much of a difference. Overall, there is no real significance difference between the two, at least from a normal usage perspective.

Most single GPU PCs, and using Intel CPU should not draw more than 500W maximum, so 550W is OK. If you want a little more headroom, consider a 600W to 650W PSU, but anything more than that is overkill, and a waste of budget.

I prefer Asus motherboards in all my builds (I build 1 rig every 3 months or so), and I never had any issues with them. Generally, there is no major differences between motherboards.

Minecrafter, yes, the V550S is built by Enhance. Looks like my information is outdated.

In this case, it is better to go for the Seasonic PSU, Enhance is good, but Seasonic in my opinion is better.

spadecrew, here are my answers to your questions:

Yes, if you connect the PC to the TV using HDMI, and you install the latest drivers, you will get sound coming out through the TV's speakers.

Yes, the 500W PSU is sufficient to power the R9 270X GPU.

Yes, the R9 270x is able to handle resolutions up to 1920x1080 (most common TVs 39" and above have this resolution), so it should not be any concern.

One thing to note, since you will be pairing the PC with a TV and could possibly use the PC to play TV shows or movies, then it might make sense to go for a very quiet card, and try to use low-noise components in your rig. The i5 is very quiet so no issues there, but I would be concerned on the sound from the Sapphire Dual-X fans, and also the FSP HEXA PSU. Maybe you might consider investing a little bit more budget to get a graphics card that is quiet from MSI (Twin Frozr), and maybe a Cooler Master M2 series PSU. I have experienced both before, and they were suitable for watching movies (totally cannot hear from more than 6 feet away).

This post has been edited by mykchin8: Mar 22 2014, 10:44 PM

I've seen used laptops for sale before in Low Yat Plaza KL, but I've not seen used monitors. It is better to go into the Low Yat Net forums, in my opinion.

It is also not common for people to sell their monitors unless it is very old, maybe 4:3 aspect ratio monitors. Monitors are not upgraded as often.

Kdr31, you're bringing up a good point ... In addition to the common assessment of performance and cost, there are also additional considerations that are important to how a person values their rig. Based on my experience, most people want a small rig, that's also quiet, in addition to being powerful enough for them to game as well as do their workstation tasks.

So low noise, and mITX criteria becomes important in addition to being powerful and cheap.