Build a PC

[NiX]

Based on PC Express and PC Hub prices
Budget: Maybe P20,000.00 before monitor and accessories
Purpose: Every day use and light gaming

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 (3.3G) 3mb ------------------------------------- P5,300.00
CPU Cooler: ???
Motherboard: Asrock H61M-DGS H61 VSL or Asrock H67M H67 ------ P2,400.00 (or P3,9995.00) --> No idea if this brand is any good. If not, please recommend similar ones.
Vid Card: Palit GT220 1GB DDR3 128bit HDMI (or Palit GT430) ------- P1,950.00 (or P2,450.00) --> How necessary is a vid card if the mobo already has some graphics capabilities?
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory --------- P3,110.00
HDD: Seagate 500gb 7200.12rpm 16mb sata --------------------------- P3495.00
PSU: No idea.
Case: Emaxx Rebel -------------------------------------------------------- P1300.00 --> any other recommendations? Although I still have the old one. How do I know if it'll still do?

Btw, I don't plan to overclock or anything like that. Will probably use it till it breaks, too.

Thanks for all the help so far. I think I'm almost there.

[Hell Heart]

Well, the reason I recommended a more expensive video card is because you wont get outdated real quick. That 220 gts is good but its seriously outdated.. Cheapest dated VG card was the one I recommended.

as for the Motherboard. I am not 100% sure its compatible with any future upgrades. Based on my experience, you always build something you can upgrade when it breaks down. You will have to spend less when you have to upgrade.

Just my 2 cents.

[NiX]

I don't mind getting the GT430 instead. Any other options?

[Shintetsu]

Its enough but if you want a little more performance, you can buy this
INNO3D GT430 2GB DDR3 128BIT HDMI-----------3098php

specs:
Stream (Shader) Processors-----96
Core Clock (MHz)------------------700
Shader Clock (MHz)---------------1400
Memory Clock (datarate MHz)----3600
Memory amount-------------------2gb
Memory Interface-----------------128-bit
Memory Type----------------------gDDR5

overclock the shader processor a little, you'll get the strength of gtx460 that cost 8k

Quote from Ardjin that I saved on a note. :p This was a from a couple of months back, but I still think that this is a good idea.

[NiX]

Someone verify, please!

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 (3.3G) 3mb ------------------------------------- P5,300.00
CPU Cooler: ???
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 --------------------------------------------- P2600.00
Vid Card: PALIT GT430 1GB DDR3 128Bit HDMI ------------------------- P2,450.00 (or Inno3D GT240 1gb ddr5 128bit hdmi --- P3,550.00)
RAM: Kingston Hyper X 4gb Genesis (1800C9D3K2/4G) 2x2 ----------- P1,450.00
HDD: WD Caviar Blue ------------------------------------------------------ P3,450.00
PSU: Thermaltake Smart 530w ------------------------------------------- P2,750.00
Case: CoolerMaster Elite 371 --------------------------------------------- P1,550.00
OS: Win 7 64-Bit
Monitor: ???

[Sforza]

I raise an objection to the processor and graphics card

[cabs]

Someone verify, please!

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 (3.3G) 3mb ------------------------------------- P5,300.00
CPU Cooler: ???
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 --------------------------------------------- P2600.00
Vid Card: PALIT GT430 1GB DDR3 128Bit HDMI ------------------------- P2,450.00 (or Inno3D GT240 1gb ddr5 128bit hdmi --- P3,550.00)
RAM: Kingston Hyper X 4gb Genesis (1800C9D3K2/4G) 2x2 ----------- P1,450.00
HDD: WD Caviar Blue ------------------------------------------------------ P3,450.00
PSU: Thermaltake Smart 530w ------------------------------------------- P2,750.00
Case: CoolerMaster Elite 371 --------------------------------------------- P1,550.00
OS: Win 7 64-Bit
Monitor: ???

Processor:
i3 2120 is pretty good for a budget build, having 2 cores at high clocks can handle most games and HD videos. Current games mostly utilize only 2 cores anyway

Proc Cooler:
Don't bother buying an aftermarket CPU cooler if you are on a budget. As long as you don't plan on overclocking... which is highly unlikely since i3 2120 has locked cores, the factory included one will work just fine.

Motherboard:
MSI H61M-P31 motherboard is a bit lacking on new technologies (ea. SATA3 and USB3) but won't be a problem.

RAM:
Its ok I think though bumping it up to 2x3gb would be better

HDD:
About the hdd, do you really need a new hdd? Can't you use the old one? That would be a 3.5k additional budget for buying a stronger videocard incase you reuse the old one. If you find the old one inadequate in the future, buying a replacement hdd is much easier that buying a new videocard.

PSU:
Any branded 500w PSU would suffice. Actually its more than enough

Case:
Consider buying a smaller case, since MSI H61M-P31 is a mATX board it can easily fit those mid tower/htpc cases. I'm using a minimalistic case myself (silverstone fortress3), which is easy to position on any corner.

Video Card:
First off, the 2nd generation i3 processors have built in video capabilities. They are not powerful enough to play 3D games but capable enough for casual internet browsing and flash games. Using them lets you save electricity compared to using a dedicated videocard since they tend to consume more power than the processor even on idle state.
If u really need a dedicated videocard, I would recommend the GTX 560 or GTX 560 Ti. Those are mid range cards that can handle most games on a 1980x1200 resolution screen without any problem. Don't know how much they cost though.

[Mjting]

There you go nix. Hard to go wrong when it comes from one of our experts in the field.

[NiX]

Thanks a lot, Jay. That's a big help.

Just a bit paranoid about the PSU cuz that's what died and took out the motherboard in the previous PC. But to be fair, that was after around 6 years of use.

For now, I may just put the money toward a more expandable/current motherboard. And if I can, I'll just reuse the old case and HDD. Vid card can probably wait. I'll not be playing any games on it till I tire of the PS3 anyway.

CPU: Intel Core i5 3450 --------------------------------------------------- P8,700.00
CPU Cooler: -
Motherboard: Asrock H77M VSL ----------------------------------------- P4,400.00
Vid Card: -
RAM: Corsair 4GB DDR3 -------------------------------------------------- P1,030.00
RAM: Corsair 4GB DDR3 -------------------------------------------------- P1,030.00
HDD: WD Green 500GB --------------------------------------------------- P3,200.00
PSU: Thermaltake LitePower 500w -------------------------------------- P2,300.00
Case: -
OS: Win 7 64-Bit ---------------------------------------------------------- P4,500.00
Monitor: ???

[Fox]

Ahhh, a fried PSU. It's the same thing that happened to my old PC back in 2010. The darn thing shorted out and took the motherboard down with it. From there, the dead motherboard meant that i had to replace the video card, processor and RAM. I was still able to salvage the casing, hard drives and optical drives. Everything else was swapped for new parts.

Lesson learned - never buy generic power supply units.

[NiX]

Ok big question for those in the know.

Intel Ivy Bridge processors just came out, along with new H77 and Z77 chipsets. Should I just jump in with the new stuff, or wait some more until the dust settles?

---

edit: Nvm. The new Ivy Bridge built-in graphics processing and reduced power consumption make it a far more tempting prospect.

[Hell Heart]

and also twice more expensive. I think the most available Ivy bridge out there is the i5 versions and i7's..

[NiX]

Yep, I think I'll just wait till the Ivy Bridge i3-3225 comes out. I'm expecting them to cost around P6,000.00 Maybe even P6,500.00. But the built-in GPU should suffice for most things.

[NiX]

Just had the PC built today. Thanks to everyone for the help.

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120
Motherboard: Asrock H77M VSL
Vid Card: RADEON HD6670
RAM: Kingston 4GB DDR3
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 500GB
PSU: FSP 500W
OS: Win 7 64-Bit
Monitor: 18.5" AOC LED 1366x768

Came out to about P29,500.00 all in all including OS and monitor. Obviously not the best price I could've gotten. But that's ok. I'm pretty pleased with it, still. Should easily run Diablo 3 if I want to.

[Hell Heart]

Niiiice!