Korean Job Discussion Forums

[eamo]

Here's a thread to share knowledge and tips about building and upgrading PC's in Korea.

You can recommend a build here, preferably one which offers high performance within a certain price category (excluding monitor).
Entry level (under 600,000)
Mid-range Gamer level (under 1,000,000)
Enthusiast level (over 1,000,000 and beyond!)


Or you can just share the details of the rig you're running and maybe give a few benchmarks.

Or anything else you want to talk about PC related!

I'll kick off with my current AMD rig which I believe offers pretty sound value as a multi-functional workhouse and fairly good for gaming.

Phenom II x6 1055t @3500mhz on all 6 cores......192,000
Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H................................179,000
4GB G.Skill 1600mhz @1666mhz.........................150,000
HIS HD5850...simply OC'd with ATI overdrive.......380,000
Zalman 600w PSU...............................................100,000
= 1,001,000

And the rest doesn't really matter! Unless I had some rad SSD's....which I don't....just 2x1TB 7200 HDD's.

It took a little getting used to how AMD does things after years with only Intel. But I'm almost done tweaking this machine.

A bench? Unigine Heaven @ 1920x1080 is around 820........not that great.

I'll recommend a build later when I've looked around at the current stuff.

[Nuggets]

OK, so let's build a computer!

First off, I'm into gaming and I love the excitement of building and tinkering around with a custom rig. My time frame is about 5-7 months. I have a long time frame because I'm ordering parts State side as I will hopefully have a visiting family member come in April and bring all that stuff to me. Although I love reading about new tech and such, I've been lagging lately (6 months?) and have only skimmed about new current tech. I'd like some suggestions about my future rig. So, let's get started shall we?

So, I'm a member of a special online program from Intel, I get premium prices on cpus and mobo twice a year. The new sale in December has these items for sale:

Here are the bundles:
*************************************************************
Intel� X25-M 160GB Solid State Drive
MSRP: $399.99 USD
Price for Rockstars/Rock Legends: $219 USD

Intel� Core� i7 970 Processor
6 cores � 12 threads, 12MB Cache,
.32nm process technology
Sid Meier�s Civilization V*
Price for Rockstars/Rock Legends: $215 USD

Intel� Core� i7 960 Processor
4 cores � 8 threads, 8MB Cache,
.45nm process technology
Sid Meier�s Civilization V*
Price for Rockstars/Rock Legends: $85 USD
Price for members: $99 USD

Intel� Core� i7 960 Processor
4 cores � 8 threads, 8MB Cache,
.45nm process technology
Intel� Desktop Board DX58SO Extreme-series
Sid Meier�s Civilization V*
MSRP: $809.981
Price for Rockstars/Rock Legends: $265 USD
Price for members: $279 USD

Intel� Core� i7 970 Processor
6 cores � 12 threads, 12MB Cache,
.32nm process technology
Intel� Desktop Board DX58SO Extreme-series
Sid Meier�s Civilization V*
MSRP: $1109.98 USD1
Price for Rockstars/Rock Legends: $395 USD
************************************************************

Yes, those are insane prices, but they are only for members like me who work/worked in the retail industry.

As I said before, I'm a gamer, and very interested in an efficient machine.

I was considering just buying the standalone 960, as I really have no use for the extra 2 cores of the 970. Plus, I can use the extra money to buy a better gpu. They've been selling the same mobo for about 2 years now, and I'd like something with usb 3.0 and better sata plug placement. (google the board, you'll know why)

I can take the $180 and put it towards a better mobo.


This is the rig I'm contemplating:

i7 960 $85 (I'm a rockstar )
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $209
G.SKILL 6GB Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory $83
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 $259
Antec 300 Illusion Case $70
2x2tb hdd $140
COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler $35
750w modular psu - owned
Creative Labs Xtreme gamer sound card - owned (redundant?)
Misc.: fans, card reader......etc...

Am I missing anything? Since I have a large time frame, I don't plan on buying everything all at once, and will buy when prices are right. I'm confident I can shave off another $80 to put the predicted grand total to be around $800USD. This would normally be a $1300 rig if not for the Intel deal.


I already own a 22in, so CF or anything else bigger isn't really necessary. I not too interested in overclocking the cpu, more likely the gpu. (I bet it hurts some of you guys that's I'm not gonna OC )

Like I said before, I'm buying things stateside, and got current prices from the likes of www.newegg.com and www.tigerdirect.com. I'm a big bargain shopper, and refuse to even glance at any Korean prices, I'm afraid to be scared.

[vDroop]

Not sure what to add to this thread at the moment. I'm taking a break from building until prices come down, or Sandy is released. So I'm out of touch with current bullshit Korean pricing.

I've built a few rigs in Korea. (5 but only 2 of them would be considered gaming rigs these days)

My current rig: (used for everyday gaming and a little benching)
CPU: i7 920 d0 stepping OC'd @ 4Ghz
GPU: GTX 460 1GB OC'd @ 850/2100
RAM: 6 GB Samsung OC'd @ 1500MHz
MOBO: Asus P6T
PSU: Corsair 650W
Case: Antec 902
CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212+
HDD: Samsung F3 1TB
ODD: LG BluRay
Keyboard: Roccat Arvo
Mouse: Roccat Kova
Monitor: SyncMaster 22"

I sold a better i7 system in the spring because it was overkill for anything I needed. I'm embarrassed to post the specs of it, and I ended up losing about $1000.


Advice for builders.. hmm...
1. Learn to build it yourself. ALL pre-builts are marked way up and filled with budget versions of important parts. It's so easy to build these days, it's like Lego, you just follow instructions and plug everything into the right holes..
2. Identify your needs. There's no reason for a $2000-3000 machine if you are just going to play computer games.
3. Don't cheap out on the PSU. It's the most important part. If it fries, it can take the whole rig with it.
4. Consider the future, how long you want it to last and chose a mobo and PSU that will allow you to upgrade if needed.

That's all I got for now.

[Nuggets]

So, in America, we have "Black Friday" which is deemed more less the biggest sale day of the year.

newegg has started their's early, and I'm going BONKERS at the prices. I'm going to make purchases tonight and get the savings that will add even more value to my rig. (Lotsa rebates though)

Lookin at getting the:

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $50

SAPPHIRE 100281-3SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity - $215

OCZ StealthXstream II OCZ600SXS2 600W ATX12V v2.2/ EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply - $30

ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $180

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - $15

Seagate Barracuda LP ST32000542AS 2TB 5900 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $70 x 2

So, my original predicted cost went from $881 down to $806 even after adding a new psu. (I don't entirely trust the new one, and the old one will be good for backup).

[eamo]

Just in case you hadn't noticed, RAM prices are at an all time low......

The G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB 1600mhz set which I currently use in my gaming rig is now going for 102,000 on Danawa (which will work out at probably 115,000 when the real price transpires! Frickin' Danawa....).

Anyhow, that's cheap as........I'll be ordering another 4GB this weekend for sure.

Especially after reading this article from Tomshardware (trust them or not, I dunno).
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778.html
It would seem 8GB is highly recommended now.

Get your new RAM now, boys!!

[Nuggets]

I read that article JUST yesterday, I guess you get the emails as well, geek!

[eamo]

[Nuggets]

[Nuggets]

Anyways, I decided to skip out on the case, this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133183&cm_mmc=BFUS-_-7-_-N82E16811133183&nm_mc=BFUS

for this one, it's the same price, and I think pretty comparable:

http://www.compuzone.co.kr/product/product_detail.htm?ProductNo=167722&banner_check=enuri

What do you think?

[vDroop]

[Nuggets]

[eamo]

I'd stick with the Thermaltake, nuggets. Only because I worked with a 3r case years back and it was awful......that's my only reason!


I've a little puzzle......after OC'ing my AMD system as described above I'm getting lower scores on the Unigine Heaven bench....to be exact 758....everytime! No joking. Each time I run that bench it comes out exactly 758....I've done it 5 times now......1. My system should score higher.....2. No bench gives exactly the same score every time....

So I guess I'm being bottlenecked......anyone with experience of OCing AMD systems know what I could be doing wrong?

[Nuggets]

First of all, lugging it over here might prove to be a problem!

Second of all, my last AMD was a 800Mhz Duron! I can't help you!

[vDroop]

[archmagos]

I'd strongly recommend Lian-Li cases to anyone looking for a great pc case (excellent for HTPC's, NAS etc too).

http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/contact_us/index1.php

They have an office in Seoul (in Yongsan ... took me ages to find back in 2006):

http://www.lian-li.co.kr/

Their site also mentions a shop in Daejon too (I make no promises about my Korean reading ability though)

You could always online from overseas of course