Buying a gaming desktop in China

[TheWired]

Hello to the community! I've been wanting to change my computer for a while now (using an Asus ROG g73jh laptop since 2010) and am not sure about several things.
I hang around game forums and a friend was kind enough to refer these forums and told me the community would surely be able to help me.

To put it shortly, I am not a computer enthusiast but know enough to build one myself. The last two computers I had before this laptop were purchased from overclockers.co.uk because they offered good bang for buck at the time and more importantly, because their rigs were tested for compatibility and stability.

Now the thing is, I live in China (Beijing) and computer manufacturers offering an online "configurator" option are pretty limited (basically just Dell/Alienware).
Other than that, your choices are to go to a specialized shop and haggle for good prices with the locals (my Chinese isn't that great), buy pre-made configs from online shops (most look okay) or just buy parts and build your own. I was originally going to go with a pre-made rig mainly because I've built computers in the past and would very often find myself with hardware compatibility issues leading to shutdowns / BSODs. Then, I thought that it might be a better choice overall to just buy parts and build my own as I'll probably be saving money.

Anyway, I was wondering if I could get some help as to what I should get. My budget is around 20.000 RMB (around 3000 usd) for tower + monitor but I realize you can get a good rig for much less. I already have razer/logitech accessories (mouse/keyboard/headset) so won't be spending anything for those. Most of my time is spent playing RPGs, RTS and MMOs or watching movies.

What are good choices for:

- Well ventilated case? (Preferably no water-cooling, or is that a must nowadays?)
- Good CPU cooler? (ANTEC H600 seems to be popular here, they go for like 300 yuan or 50 USD)
- Motherboard? (ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VI Extreme is popular here, but a bit pricey; 3600 yuan or 588 USD)
- GPU? (Most popular card in China is the Colorful iGame 780ti (5000 yuan or 816 USD). The titan black series goes for more than 9k yuan here so not an option.
- RAM? Should I go with Corsair vengeance, G.Skill, or Kingston HyperX blu/genesis? They all average 1000 CNY (163 USD) for a 16gb (2x8) dual channel kit.
- PSU? is 650W sufficient for a gaming rig using a single GPU? I found some ANTEC HCG900 (900W) for about 1000 CNY too (163USD). Tt / Corsair equivalents are also available for similar prices.
- SSD + Mechanical HDD (Samsung EVO drives available here: 250g/1000CNY/168USD, 500g/2000CNY/326USD). The mechanical drive is not important as most are rather cheap; 120g is too small for the SSD as I have a lot of games and stuff installed. Not looking for a raid system either as its a waste of money imho. Any other nice SSDs around?
- Optical drive (I'll take anything as I literally never use it anyway).

I also have some extra questions T.T

1) In terms of gaming, is it better to go with windows 8 / 32GB DDR3 or stay under windows 7 and 16GB (I doubt the extra 16G "really" make a difference with games atm and I personally dislike windows 8).

2) About the monitor, should I be getting a good WHQD IPS panel like the Dell Ultrasharp U2913WM (H-IPS) or a 120/144Hz 1920*1080 TN panel display?
I rarely play FPS games but realize that the Dell has a 8ms response time vs. 120/144Hz monitors having 1/2ms. The reason why its hard to make up my mind is resolution mostly. I understand that there are no WHQD 120/144Hz monitors available yet, or are there? Do you get a better experience playing games with faster refresh rates monitors?

Anyway, that is a lot of questions and I understand there must be hundreds of topics like these. I greatly appreciate any information!

[bluepumpkin]

Cant really comment on the case as availability in CHina will likely control what you buy, any Silverstone, Fractal or Lian Li are noce but it depends on what you can get. For CPU cooler I have been reading some good things about 'Raijintek' coolers and they are dead cheap, unless your overclocking these could be a good place to save some pounds. For mothboard, just check out some reviews and see what is available to you, yes the ROG boards are lovely but there pricey. I would go for a 7760 or r9 280X for graphics card if 780Ti is too pricey (which it is for most people). I would not buy 16GB RAM unless you intend to run either a database server or VM hosting (just no need). 650W should be fine for any single GPU system, maybe be up is to 800W if going for Crossfire. As for the SSD I have an SSD fo OS, and SSD for games and a HDD for everything else. I would really advise an SSD (120GB+)for the OS (for the games loading is quicker but no FPS increase), even cheap 120gb M4 Cruical will make a massive difference. Dont even bother with an optical drive

I am no epxert on monitors, i have a Ilyama E2274HDS which i love but i am no expert.

[TheWired]

I came up with a first idea:

Silverstone SST-RV03B-W case
Intel i7 4770K
Noctua DH-14 CPU cooler
Asus ROG Maximus VI HERO
Colorful iGame 780ti
16GB G.Skill ripjaws / corsair vengeance
Seasonic X650 (650W)
Samsung EVO 250GB
Seagate 1TB 7200RPM
Dell ultrasharp U2913WM
crappy optical drive and extra 12mm fans.

Comes up to around 19.000 Yuan or 3100 USD.
Is there anything worth changing or does that look alright?

[josephlck]

My 2RMB:

- case: depends on what you are prioritising and if you want to over clock. Pure custom water cooling is not needed. If you're not over clocking, the stock cooler is usable but decent aftermarket coolers are pretty cheap. I'm currently downsizing to mitx and that's very viable now a days for a gaming rig.

- motherboard: again depends on over clocking and what you want although most are decent. A midrange board from any decent brand is fine.

- GPU: 780ti is a very good card although I would argue that you should get a card that plays what you want at the resolution you want at the frame rate you want. My advice is avoid the top of the range as you pay s premium. The rest scales petty nicely with price ie more you pay, faster it goes.

- ram: 8gb is plenty. Doped
Speed and timings have a small effect on frame rates but it is small. If you are getting matx or bigger, stick to 8gb for now and you can always add more later.

- PSU: get a reliable brand and s decent efficiency. 80 anything should be fine. Tbh, 450 watts for a single GPU should be fine but if you're thinking of adding a second card, maybe around 700?

- ssd: are getting cheaper all the time. Of I were to buy one, I'd get 512gb, especially at the specs you are thinking about. The Samsung evo range is well reviewed.

- monitors: are highly subjective with some people more sensitive than others. If the games you play aren't super fast paced and/or you aren't sensetive, I'd always go for a nice IPS. Dell is a good brand.