$1300 Dev PC + Monitor

[SpikeMeister]

This PC is for my father and will mainly be used for development but also as a personal PC (especially consuming HD media). There will be basically zero gaming done on it. The budget is $1500NZD (~$1300 USD). A monitor is needed but I'm set for the OS. I'm looking for an opinion on the parts I've already picked, especially the SSD and the GPU (I'm sceptical about the effectiveness of passive cooling on this card). I welcome all of your advice Thanks in advance.

http://pricespy.co.nz/product_list.php?do=lista&k=40236

[JustAnEngineer]

Have you considered an aftermarket heatsink like the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ ? It would be a little quieter than the stock Intel heatsink, and it would avoid the terrible push-pin mounting system.

Is the Samsung HD103SJ available for less than the Seagate hard-drive?

Can you get an Asus P8Z68-V LE motherboard instead of an Intel motherboard?

Can you find less expensive PC3-12800 that is on the QVL sheet from the motherboard manufacturer?

[SpikeMeister]

Thanks for the tips! That motherboard is much better than the one I had picked, for some reason it doesn't show up when you filter for Z68 boards on Pricespy.

I'm assuming the Spinpoint is faster than the Seagate? It is a dollar cheaper.

Wrt to the RAM, that's the cheapest PC-12800 listed on Pricespy (except a mis-priced item). I can't find a QVL sheet for the P8Z68-V LE, but there is very similar model of RAM (2x2GB sticks on the QVL vs 2x4GB sticks that I listed, same model number except the last digit) listed on the QVL sheet for the P8Z68-V PRO. Any other 8GB PC-12800 listed on the QVL for that mobo is about $50 more expensive. Is there a significant chance of compatibility problems? Or is it a better safe than sorry sort of thing?

[stoydgen]

The monitor you have chosen is rather overpriced. You should look at the U2311H (at $367NZD) or the U2211H(at the same price as your existing monitor). These have IPS Panels, better colour accuracy and viewing angles, and generally easier on the eye. Your PSU is a little basic as well. Maybe look at a higher end (But not higher wattage rating) unit from one of the reputable companies (Cooler Master also make plenty of good PSU's, as do Corsair, Antec etc).

Also, man you guys are getting owned on prices compared with Australia :|

[SpikeMeister]

I'll take your point on the monitor, I changed it for the 23" UltraSharp.

I agree that it's never a good idea to skimp on the PSU, so I changed for this model.

269 Australian dollars = 334.799907 New Zealand dollars, so the price of the UltraSharp isn't too far off. But in general yeah, it would almost definitely be cheaper to get these parts imported from the US or maybe even Aus atm, but that's rather a lot of hassle and risk and doesn't make it easy when you need to RMA or claim a warranty.