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Thread ID: 106668 2010-01-18 04:12:00 First Rig Ever. is this right? Urban.Pacman (15572) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
849698 2010-01-18 09:11:00 For $926 inc GST delivered you can get the following from computer lounge (best store in nz IMO):

AMD Athlon II X2 245 Processor 2.9GHz CPU
ASUS M4A77TD AM3 DDR3 Mobo
SuperTalent Performance Series 2x2GB DDR3 RAM
Raidmax Hurricane Case 500W PSU
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5750 512MB GDDR5 PCI-E Video Card
LG GH22NS50 22x OEM Black SATA DVD Writer
Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB HDD

Or add $180 to upgrade to 3.2GHz Phenom II quad core. But, 2 points as have been mentioned, GPU is more important than CPU for gaming, and if you're going to nuzzle $300 for a CPU you may as well go for Intel Core i5 (mobo will be slightly more expensive as well though).

Other option would be to add $100 for a 5770.
pablo d (15490)
849699 2010-01-18 09:14:00 Raidmax Hurricane + PSU 500w

Sapphire Radeon HD 5670

The case is fine. The PSU is to be avoided. Buy the case withoit the PSU (you can) and replace it with a Corsair PSU.

Change the card to ASUS or Gigabyte.
pctek (84)
849700 2010-01-18 11:45:00 Yeah Raidmax PSU are bad. Get something else like Enermax\Corsair\Antec Agent_24 (57)
849701 2010-01-18 17:28:00 Next step up would be the 500w Modular Silverstone for $109, otherwise it will do the job IMO, as long as you don't push its limits. pablo d (15490)
849702 2010-01-18 21:45:00 There's a difference between a PSU being good quality and a PSU that "does the job"

Usually ones that just "do the job" do it for anywhere from 1 week to 2 years and then either blow up and take your system with it on the way out or if you're lucky they just slowly die and eventually stop working.

A friend of mine had a 2 week old Raidmax which filled the room with smoke. It was actually still going at the time but it's not the kind of thing you want happening.
Agent_24 (57)
849703 2010-01-18 21:54:00 I know, I'd never put a cheap piece of crap like in my system, but I'm lucky enough to be able to afford better. Any cheaper brand of PSU has a risk of failure, so what are you supposed to do if you can't afford an extra $100+ for a decent PSU...not buy a PC?

And anecdotal evidence aside, do you actually have any failure rate data for Raidmax PSUs? I'm sure a small enthusiast company like computer lounge wouldn't sell them if they were bouncing back all the time.
pablo d (15490)
849704 2010-01-18 23:10:00 Well personally I either get a cheap something else like video card or RAM and upgrade that later when I get more money. Or just delay my build.

No I don't have any failure data on Raidmax PSUs, to be honest I think the one that cooked itself was from a bad batch here at the time. I think there was a thread on here about them...

They're probably average, not incredibly bad like some. I guess the big fan helps. I still wouldn't trust one though. Even if the silicon and design are good, the capacitors probably wouldn't last over a couple of years anyway. If they don't overheat and vent they usually dry out instead.
Agent_24 (57)
849705 2010-01-18 23:13:00 It's also easy enough to swap the PSU out with something better a few months down the track, and ditch the old one to some poor schmuck on trademe :D pablo d (15490)
849706 2010-01-19 01:23:00 True, though I would rather have everything powered off something decent from day one. Agent_24 (57)
849707 2010-01-19 01:49:00 Usually ones that just "do the job" do it for anywhere from 1 week to 2 years and then either blow up and take your system with it on the way out or if you're lucky they just slowly die and eventually stop working.
.

This months Atmoic MPC mag has an excellent review of various PSUs. The 2 worst failed within 4 minutes.
pctek (84)
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