Official "System Builders" Thread

[Wesley]

There's a reason I dislike gaming on laptops :<

That's because you don't spend nearly enough money for a proper gaming laptop :-P If I had the spare cash, I'd buy myself an Alienware M11x right now if I could still find stock.

I also find it criminal that more laptops don't have backlit keys.

[Toxxyc]

Yeah but what use is a gaming laptop really? I mean, with the battery life and the heat that little monster sports, it's not a really viable option for portable gaming, and packing up a PC really isn't that much of an issue. Also, that frigging money...

On another note, a buddy of mine bought an ASUS ROG gaming laptop a while back (don't remember the name, but it was the first NAG Dream Machine laptop). He spent about R25K, and to this day he's not said that he's happy with the purchase. The thing is hot as hell (literally burns you with the heat from those vents), and it's not as stable as you'd expect from a R25k piece of hardware.

It overheats and crashes in DotA...

Laptops just aren't made for gaming. You don't have the freedom to customize and add/change like you do with desktops, and for their prices you can buy two desktops with the same specs. I'm pretty fascinated that they're still doing business, to be very honest.

PS: I'm not a laptop hater, I just see little use for one with the goal being gaming. A dude at our company bought himself an ASUS ROG gaming laptop not two months ago, and he uses it for work. Work. And how does it work? AWESOMELY.

[Wesley]

I"m not surprised with the older ROG designs, those were much less capable than Alienware designs at the time. I'd still love to drop some cash on something I can put in a backpack and lug to a LAN, rather than this heavy orange monstrosity I have sitting under my desk. As it is, I don't go to LANs because I don't want to have to lug all my hardware along and without proper security I'm worried something's gonna get snatched. A laptop solves that problem immediately.

Also, gaming in bed. Sure, you'll need a small bed table for it, but I used to get myself comfortable in Saturday mornings when I was at college and play something while staying warm.

[Toxxyc]

Also, gaming in bed. Sure, you'll need a small bed table for it, but I used to get myself comfortable in Saturday mornings when I was at college and play something while staying warm.

Oh come on... We all know what you like to do in bed with the laptop trying to "stay warm".

Jokes.

Anyway, I get that LAN thing, but still doesn't solve much. Laptop displays are questionable at best, so I've seen many people lug around a screen to LAN's as well. Same thing with the laptop keyboards, and don't forget about the mouse. And headset. External HDD for leeching. Suddenly all the laptop does is replace the case - which can be built for half the money in a R300 case with a carry handle - problem solved? You get several sweet pieces of security tech to lace everything together and nothing will be stolen... :P

Sorry, devil's advocate.

[Wesley]

Anyway, I get that LAN thing, but still doesn't solve much. Laptop displays are questionable at best, so I've seen many people lug around a screen to LAN's as well. Same thing with the laptop keyboards, and don't forget about the mouse. And headset. External HDD for leeching. Suddenly all the laptop does is replace the case - which can be built for half the money in a R300 case with a carry handle - problem solved? You get several sweet pieces of security tech to lace everything together and nothing will be stolen... :P

Eh? Man, you are fickle :-P

[CyniKill]

Anyway, I get that LAN thing, but still doesn't solve much. Laptop displays are questionable at best, so I've seen many people lug around a screen to LAN's as well. Same thing with the laptop keyboards, and don't forget about the mouse. And headset. External HDD for leeching. Suddenly all the laptop does is replace the case - which can be built for half the money in a R300 case with a carry handle - problem solved? You get several sweet pieces of security tech to lace everything together and nothing will be stolen... :P

I'm pretty happy with my laptop. It's not my dedicated gaming device (the 360 has that honour) but it's more than capable for playing games like League of Legends and Tribes Ascend. LANning too, since no new AAA games seem to want people to LAN them. All I take is a laptop backpack with my laptop, charger, mouse and headset in and I'm ready to go. Even leeching isn't a problem, what with my 640GB HDD, and a 2.5" external really wouldn't be that much more effort.

It also has a chipset, so when I'm not gaming, the battery life is awesome. I can squeeze 4 hours out of it easily. So yeah, laptop's aren't great if it's the only thing you have to game on, but if you also have a console or even a dedicated gaming PC, they're perfect. :)

Oh yeah, and my laptop was only R7400.

[goleastro]

What are your thoughts on the Zalman Z11 chassis? The Corsair Carbide Series 400R is a little too ugly for me and the Corsair Carbide Series 500R is too expensive :P

The case will be for my new gaming build that im doing and will need to house an i7 2700k and HD7850/GTX680. Thanks :D

[EDIT] Price Range: R800 - R900.

[Wesley]

That looks properly good, just check around for reviews of the chassis before you decide on it. Your other non-Corsair options:

Cooler Master CM690II @ R888
Cooler Master Storm Enforcer @ R858
Cooler Master Silencio 550 @ R829

There aren't really many handsome chassis out there. You do have the Antec Darkfleet as an option, but those look nothing like the Zalman. If you're sticking with that choice, go for the Plus version. There's a review here as well. Personally I'm a big fan of the CM 690II, especially in white.

[Wesley]

Now for those of you who need something a little beefier than what I showed you in my previous Laptop Buyer's Guide, here's where you need to be sitting with your morning cup of coffee and reading up on. You're looking for a laptop that perhaps needs to be a road-warrior workhorse, able to keep you going out of the office when you're working from home or on a luxury yacht somewhere. Perhaps you’d just like a system that isn't as anemic when it comes to graphics performance as what I showed you last week and that's certainly the case if you're a gamer.

Some of you may also need something that falls between the two for photographers and professionals who need some monstrous computing power to enable to you do your work while you're moving, because you're always moving. Today I’ll be looking at Ultrabooks, Ultrabook alternatives and laptops up to R15,000 and I'll try to cover all the bases as to what you, dear reader, have been looking for.

Linky

[Legion]

Not sure if right thread.
Looking for cheap Bluetooth mouse.

[Toxxyc]

Not sure if right thread.
Looking for cheap Bluetooth mouse.

Pretty much this: http://www.nivo.co.za/#buy~microsoft...nd.grey~p12979 at R309 Excl shipping. Microsoft makes pretty decent peripherals, so I'd say this mouse is worth it. A nice looker as well.

[Wesley]

Pretty much this: http://www.nivo.co.za/#buy~microsoft...nd.grey~p12979 at R309 Excl shipping. Microsoft makes pretty decent peripherals, so I'd say this mouse is worth it. A nice looker as well.

I kid you not, this thing works on any surface. Wood, glass, aluminium this little mouse glides over it and won't jitter. Good value for money.

[Wesley]

Laptop Buyers Guide: May R18,000 to R25,000

Otherwise known as the "Oh my God, you paid how much?!!" segment, this is where gaming laptops really take off and rich kiddies come to play. I mean there's really not much hope for the average person to own any one of these lappies unless they stage a casino heist, inherit a million bucks, get paid out by the insurance, blackmail a president, sue John Travolta for touching you in your special place, write a seven-part epic novel (which ends up with more publicity than Harry Potter)...

Linky

[Legion]

Pretty much this: http://www.nivo.co.za/#buy~microsoft...nd.grey~p12979 at R309 Excl shipping. Microsoft makes pretty decent peripherals, so I'd say this mouse is worth it. A nice looker as well.

Looks legendary.
thank you. =)

[Wesley]

System Builders Guide: June R4000 to R6000

Today I investigate options for System Builders looking for a brand spanking new rig, I’ll take a look today at options for those who have about R4000 to R6000 to spend. I'll be squeezing the budget as best I can and will try to extract the maximum performance out of each rig. Some of that performance is hidden in overclocking or through choosing newly-revised parts that may only be available in limited numbers due to binning processes or manufacturers subtly changing their lineup to fight the competition. Take a look inside if you're in the market for a new budget gaming computer.

Linky

[Wesley]

System Builders Guide: Comparison with Tom's Hardware

While I don't usually backtrack on my recommendations, it bears mentioning that the guys in the Tom's Hardware lab seem to have found some kind of half-way point in their recommendations for a PC with a budget of $500. While it is an interesting setup, I still think my solution is the better one for gamers and productivity-orientated users in particular. If you're interested, hit the jump to see how far apart out philosophies are.

Linky

[01DT!m3r]

I'm going to be building my new pc soon and it's the first time I'm doing everything from scratch.
I'm a bit worried about the CPU as I don't want to damage it via ESD ,being winter and all,it's alot drier here in sunny SA.
What precautions should I take to help reduce an ESD occruence?
I'm going to be barefoot on a tiled floor working at a wooden table while keeping contact with the case .I'm not keen on having the PSU plugged in while I work on it but if it reduces the chance of and ESD then I'll do it. Any other tips?

[Wesley]

ESD isn't much of a problem these days as most components are now a lot less vulnerable to it. So long as you're not on carpet, I wouldn't worry too much. If you really want to be over-cautious, once you're finished testing the system, plug the PSU out from the wall and turn the system on by shorting the power pins on the board to cycle out leftover power in the system and PSU.

[Obi Two Kenobi]

A friend has asked me to build him a system for ± R9600 with the focus of course being on gaming. This needs to only include the case and everything inside plus a copy of Windows, meaning no monitor and external components. I have a build in mind but like to see what you guys can come up with.

[Wesley]

A friend has asked me to build him a system for ± R9600 with the focus of course being on gaming. This needs to only include the case and everything inside plus a copy of Windows, meaning no monitor and external components. I have a build in mind but like to see what you guys can come up with.

Intel Core i5-3450 @ R1964
ASRock Z77 PRO3 @ R1196
Team Xtreem 8GB DDR3-1600 @ R425 (oh yes, they are back!)
Gigabyte Radeon HD7850 2GB DDR5 @ R2755
Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA @ R718
LG GH24NS90 @ R167
Cooler Master GX550w Bronze @ R802
Corsair Carbide 400R @ R859
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit @ R1120

Total: R10,009

More like what you had in mind?