Korean Job Discussion Forums

[MoneyMike]

Oh and eamo, when you say the Samsung sticks would be a good bet as long as they're not overclocked, do you mean as long as I don't overclock the cpu, or the ram sticks themselves? (Didn't know you could overclock ram, doesnt seem to be much point since its so cheap to get so much)

[eamo]

You can OC the CPU without OCing the RAM. That's done by setting the multiplier of the RAM lower when you start increasing the CPU multiplier. But you'll see how to do all this when the times comes.....it's actually quite easy with the Sandy Bridge chips. Easier than before (wasn't even very hard then!).


The question of GPU brands, good or bad, is difficult to answer. Who's to say for sure which brands have higher build quality or not? It's my opinion that most problems with GPU's which started out working and then failed is down to user error.

Anyway, brands which have a good rep, from hearsay alone, and which are usually available in Korea, are, Sapphire, Asus, XFX, HIS (my preference), Gigabyte, MSI and EVGA if you can find one.............


I would definitely cough up 30,000 or so for an aftermarket CPU cooler. Not only will you not have to worry about temps, but your PC will be a lot quieter. I've used a couple of Zalman coolers and a Coolermaster Hyper 212+, which is a very popular cooler at only 28,000.

Have you been using http://www.newegg.com/ for your research? I generally start with newegg, read the user opinions (with a pinch of salt) on stuff I'm interested in, and then check their price and availability on Danawa or Enuri.


Yes. You can get your PC fully built within a few hours at Yongsan. Depending on if you are willing to go to alternatives from your parts list......these guys never really have all that much in stock....except for low-mid-range stuff which they will have millions of. Don't let them sell you something that you haven't done research on.

Question is, how will you transport it, and maybe a monitor too, back to Jeolla-do?

[MoneyMike]

I'll just bring it back with me on the bus. The monitor I'll probably just buy in Gwangju, or maybe order off G-Market after doing a little research. I'll have my girlfriend with me to ensure easy communication, and between the two of us I'm sure we can carry the PC box as well as a couple bags full of boxes for all the various parts.

[MoneyMike]

Hmmm, looking on that newegg site, it looks like a fairly small selection of components. I cant find a single P67 motherboard from ASUS when I search.

[eamo]

[MoneyMike]

Oh yeah, forgot about that.

Got a question about monitors too, since I'll have to start looking for deals on one soon enough.

What specs should I look for specifically? A low refresh rate, high maximum resolution? I had heard before that generally LG LCD's are pretty good, and I'm sure they're quite easy to find here, but are there any cheaper brands that have a good reputation?

[eamo]

Typically, gamers are looking for the low response time. 2 secs or less is desirable, but not noticeable from 5 or 8 secs, IMO.

Two main types of LCD panel.....TN and SIPS.....TN is cheaper and has lower response times, so gamers usually go for those. SIPS is more expensive but has better color, contrast and viewing angle.....so better for movie/video/photography work.

I'm using an LGM2794D 27''....1920x1080p......
http://blog.danawa.com/prod/?prod_c=792661&cate_c1=860&cate_c2=13735&cate_c3=14883&cate_c4=15045

Which I bought 1.5 years ago for 400,000 but it seems to be 660,000 now!! I wonder why...that's nuts.

Anyway, there's nothing quite like a 27''+ monitor for gaming (and movies).

You need to think about your seating position to the monitor. If you'll have your face up close then 24'' might be enough.....but if you'll be leaning back in your chair more often then you'll dig the 27'' size.


Edit: The newer model of my monitor is out now. Same spec (or even better) for 367,000!! That's a whole lot of monitor for not much money...............300,000 cheaper than the old model!! The Korean electronics market is a strange animal...
http://blog.danawa.com/prod/?prod_c=956972&cate_c1=860&cate_c2=13735&cate_c3=14883&cate_c4=15045

[MoneyMike]

Yeah I'll have to actually go in to a shop and look at some LCD sizes, hard to picture just how big 24 and 27 inches are, and how much of a gap there is, both in size and price.

Is contrast ratio not an important consideration?

[eamo]

[MoneyMike]

Hmmmm, well I think I've asked about every question I can think of.

One more, slightly OT question. Is it possible to find english language PC games in the same area as I'll be getting this computer built? Or is that not even a concern when buying a big name game, as it will just give you an option for language to install in? I'll be coming into Seoul in early April to get this thing built, and I'd like to pick up a copy of Crysis 2 while I'm there. Gotta have something to put the new computer through its paces.

=)

Again, thanks for all the advice everyone, I feel a lot more confident about being able to find exactly what I want.

[MoneyMike]

Oh, I thought of a couple more questions if anyone would be so kind.

Earlier in this thread, someone had suggested a second hard drive besides the system drive. This is just for storage right? There isn't any performance gain that will come from having a second drive separate from my system files? The reason I ask is because I already have a notebook with a reasonably big hard drive, as well as an external hard drive, so extra storage isn't necessary.

Also, quick question about running 2 GPU's. I won't be getting a second GPU immediately, but might consider adding one in the future. If I decide to do that, does the second GPU have to be the exact same kind as the first? Or just the same chipset? (Like any Radeon HD 6950 will go with any other one?)

[eamo]

There is a benefit to keeping your OS on a separate HDD....let's say you're downloading and watching a movie at the same time.....that means a lot of writing and reading happening on the same drive. To keep your OS working fast and snappy, you don't want that drive to be working too hard with other tasks.

I think ATI have configured it nowadays so that you can mix any two 5000 or 6000 series GPU's together. Literally any two......so you could match a lowly 5450 up with a mighty 6970 if you should want to.

Not sure about Nvidia......

[Carbon]

Get a 15,000 RPM hard drive for the OS + main programs (Word processing, etc) or even better, an SSD (pricey). You won't it after seeing the boot time or load times for applications. Fast.

[MoneyMike]

Ok, so if I do go with 2 seperate hard drives, I assume that games I'm playing should be installed on the main (OS) hard drive, while things like antivirus, firewall, download programs etc. should be kept on the spare drive?

[eamo]