It's no bother, really. I don't like silverstone cases in general. Silverstone is adventurous with their case designs, which is good for the industry and enthusiasts, but if I'm rcommending a case to someone and its not my money that is being spent I prefer to recommend safe and reliable products. Corsair, Fractal Design, NZXT and Cooler Master are my go to brands for cases. However since Interspace doesn't carry any of those brands I just went with the one they recommended.

If you want to, you can recommend me your suggestions. I'll be out of the office again next week so that means I get the chance to scout for it. As for the DVD drive and the UPS, I'll update you soon as soon as I muster the strength to go back to Interpace and ask them for one last time. P.S.: if you haven't seen the post, the closest UPS that's good for the Silverstone PSU is this one at 550W.

Another thing, thank you, For helping me out again.

I could recommend other cases, but will Interspace accept to take the new case and assemble it for you? Where I live computer stores won't assemble something that you didnt buy from their store...

Come to think of it, you have a point. Maybe if I'll tell 'em that 'a friend suggested another one and bought it for me by surprise'...

They used to have a cooler master for sale once but looks like it was sold. They have other cases but they're too small for the parts.

Honestly I don't think it's worth the trouble. It'll delay your case assembly and if ever something goes wrong they will use the case as an excuse to get out of their warranty. The RL01 isn't bad, it's just not my first choice.

Just for the sake the guys at Interpace won't give me the look once I get the system built, we'll get the RL01 but I'll have to ask them the model since there are two models of the USB 3.0 case.

A couple of final updates.

UPS: CyberPower Value1000EI-AS (1000VA/550W): PHP 3,595
Optical disk drive: ASUS DRW-24D3ST: PHP 895

Model numbers and pricing:
Hard drive: WD-10EZRX
Casing: SST-RL01B-W-USB 3.0: PHP 2,100

--
Now that we have all of the hardware in check, what do you think?

Motherboard: MSI H81M-E33 - 2,695.00
CPU: 4th-gen Intel i5 4440 - 8,750.00
HDD: 1TB Western Digital Green WD-10EZRX - 3,195.00
SDD: 120GB Samsung 840 EVO - 5,295.00
RAM: 2x Kingston KVR16N11S8/4 - 4,390.00
GPU: ASUS GTX660-TI-DC2O-2GD5 - 15,500.00
OS: 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 - 4,615.00
Monitor: 23-inch ASUS VX239H - 8,500.00
PSU: Silverstone SST-ST50F-ES 500W - 2,695.00
UPS: CyberPower Value1000EI-AS (1000VA/550W) - 3,595.00
Keyboard: Genius KB-110 (PS/2) - 220.00
DVD drive: ASUS DRW-24D3ST - 895.00
Case: Silverstone Redline RL01 SST-RL01B-W-USB 3.0 - 2,100.00
WiFi adapter: Edimax EW-7811Un - 595.00
Thermal grease : Tuniq TX-4 - 550.00

Total - PHP 63,590.00

I decided not to include the Logitech surround speakers since I still have an old Logitech surround sound speakers that I currently (its my dad's) and will just get the Z623 once I return the old model to him on his next trip.

Looks good to me. Try to negotiate an in-store warranty from them since you're buying all your pieces from them and they are assembling it for you. If they give you your receipt printed in thermal paper, make sure to scan it or photocopy it for safe keeping.

Once your machine has been delivered and is up and running, make sure all your drivers are up to date and then post back here, we'll run some tests to make sure everything is running smoothly before you install the sims

Noted and will negotiate with them regarding the warranty soon. Although their receipts are printed through a dot matrix printer. Will update you within a month or two (hopefully, since I have to convince a relative to use her card to pay the parts in a one-year plus 1% interest per month basis). Thanks so much for everything again, Sirius.

Fingers crossed I can get the custom build early (the Lenovo just underwent 3 blue screen crashes in a span of 2 days so I'd better be prepared if ever it would decide to pass away unexpectedly).

Hey guys. Is it okay if this thread can still be opened/answerable within the next 4-5 months? I don't wanna start another thread just for the hardware tests for convenience for everyone here at MTS.

I can only start on the build within end of July to mid-August due to budget issues (I still have eight months equivalent of payment to go on the TV). I've already told the guys at Interpace that it'll take long for a bit (but I didn't state July) but I already found a friend who agreed to let me use her credit card to pay for the entire thing and I just pay her back every month for a year (although with additional 1% interest every month). Also, their warranty's good for one year.

Sirius, we have bad news.

I did another check at Interpace today and Charlie told me that the i5 processor has changed. From the 4440 to the 4570. Is it still safe to utilize this on the build or should we change a couple of the parts for this to work in sync with the others?

Also, I they have an Intex 1500VA/900W UPS but I read one thread from Tom's Hardware and the original poster doesn't recommend it. I don't know if its better then the CyberPower we initially listed.

Yup its safe. Any 4th gen i5 will be safe. Just get the cheapest i5. 4th gen i5's are the ones whose model number start with 4. So i5-4440, i5-4570, i5-4XXX... Etc.

A big quick update.

A college friend who has a computer shop business sent me a message on Facebook about the current build (since my mother talked about my plan to our former teacher who was a close friend). He asked me a couple of questions and suggested a few changes and an add-on on the parts.

He suggested that I change the i5 to an i7-4770 since I use Photoshop (for GIFs mostly and editing TS3 screenshots for Tumblr) a lot and HitFilm 2 Express occasionally, an ASUS GTX760 instead of the GTX660 Ti and the Precision PS10B instead of the Redline casing. He asked me if my room is currently air-conditioned and I told him that I still have to buy one within this year or next year and he told me to get a CPU cooler, suggesting me a Silverstone NT06-PRO.

Initially, he gave me prices for the other parts that we have already set but he didn't have the ASUS monitor, Logitech speakers and the OS. He suggested me this monitor from Samsung but I prefer the ASUS' design. As for the OS, he suggested me Windows 8 but I turned it down because of the compatibility issues in some of the games. He offered me a 64-bit Windows 7 Professional but he isn't sure if there are stocks still available.

The only downsides are their credit card payment method's still pending plus the location of the shop's far from where I live and work. I only leave for the city to do work deliveries (e.g.: submit forms, drop off a couple of important stuff, pay certain transactions).

I checked with Interpace yesterday regarding the new parts and their prices and they have it. So I made another parts list with the new processor, GPU, casing and added cooler.

This is the 2.0 build right now. I still have the initial build listed just in case. Is it still okay in your opinion?

Processor: that's a lot of money that you'll pay for upgrading from an i5 to and i7 just to make your gifs compile faster. Honestly in my opinion it's not worth it.

Case: I guess, but I've never heard of that case before so I can't say for sure.

GPU: The GTX 760 is a nice card but I would only upgrade if the price is right. It's only 5% - 10% more powerful than the GTX 660 Ti. So if it's more than 15% more expensive, just stay with the GTX 660 Ti.

CPU cooler: I don't know how hot it gets in the Phillipines, but where I live it reaches 30 - 32 C in the summer and as long as thermal paste is applied properly and as long as the CPU is NOT over locked, the stock cooler is fine. I don't have issues at 30 C.

OS: yup,don't go with win8 yet. Stick with win7. Home premium is cheaper than pro, and you don't need the extra features you'll be paying for in pro. Worst comes to worst you can buy the activation code directly from Microsoft online.

Regarding temperatures, it gets hot every single day. Hottest I've so far noticed was around 33-34 degrees. Even sleeping at night with an electric fan on its maximum level 3 speed is still hot. Is it still okay to get a CPU cooler just to be safe from a possible early overheat?

GPU, it costs 13,995. Kinda odd if you compare it to the 660 Ti (15,500) but Charlie told me that this is the current amount on their price list and it has the exact same size as the Ti.

The casing is a new model than the Redline. I've checked Newegg and most of the reviews say it's good.

Yup. There's no way I'm getting an 8 despite the desktop UI that I find nice. Too risky for the games.

Come to think of it regarding the processor, they do have a price gap of 4,765. I was thinking it might be good if I change it performance-wise...or is it just too much?

Getting the CPU cooler won't hurt.

The GTX 760 is cheaper than the GTX 660 Ti then go for it!

I have some news. There are some parts that have been changed by the new guy at Interpace. Most of them are already out of stock and he suggested me a motherboard that is of mid-end power (I really forgot the exact term).

I listed the new specs here. Aside from the board, the processor, RAM, SSD (didn't know there was a basic version/model of the Samsung 840 EVO), processor, DVD drive, CPU cooler and casing are also changed.

Upside is that the entire computer hardware has been converted into a package payment (although the speakers and webcam are separate), hence the payment's way more less than I previously calculated.

Hrmm i replied to this post on my phone... but i guess the reply didn't register.

I was just looking over your parts again, and I noticed that your PSU gives only 34A on the +12V rail. According to my calculations you only need 32A, so technically that PSU should be sufficient. However I would recommend get something a little closer to 40-43A.

I'll ask Josh again about the recommended PSU power you suggested. Will update you as soon as I get a new computation plus the compatibility from pcpartpicker.

So another one of the staff (Josh was on a day off) assisted me yesterday and suggested me this 750W PSU from Thermaltake.

And then suggested me I'd have the WD Black (WD1003FZEX, still 1TB) instead of Green since the desktop's for gaming, Photoshop and some video editing.

Is it too much?

Good news is that according to PCPartPicker, everything's still compatible.

So...um, is the Thermaltake PSU a better option that fits the suggested the 40-43A need?

I'm getting the desktop around the last-three months of this year.

You don't need the WD Black. Go with a green. You won't be installing your games on the Green anyway, you'll be installing them on the SSD which blows a black out of the water, puts more water in and then blows it out of the water again.

The thermal take gives 60A, is there something closer to our needs? Maybe something around 600W?

About that part with the SSD for the games...I checked the current size of the Downloads and Mods folder I got for TS3 and TS2 and I have around 3.6+GB of CC and mods for TS3 and 546MB for TS2 and that hasn't included the custom music for both games plus TS4 (and future expandions) and 4 Steam games and 1 GoG game, plus the patches. Maybe 128GB of SSD isn't enough?

As for the PSU, I think I saw a 600W Silverstone but I'll have to check again.

The price of SSDs has dropped I think since you last put your compute together. I just saw a 256GB Crucial MX100 online for about USD 110 yesterday.

If 256GB is out of your budget you can still use 128GB + WD Green. When I was on 128GB I would move steam games back and forth using steam mover. 128GB is definitely big enough for TS3 +CC +mods though.

I would just install TS2 on the traditional hard drive.

I may resort to default replacements plus mods and Store items once I reinstall TS3 on the new system (I barely use most of the CC hairs and clothes anyway). TS2 CC is mostly default replacements plus the retired SimGuru/EA/Maxis-made Exchange items and the limited edition EA/Maxis downloads that I found from Sims 2 Graveyard.

I'll see if they have the 250GB Crucial SSD you're suggesting, but if they have the Samsung 840 EVO variant of the 250 SSD is it also good?

Also, regarding the installing games on the SSD part again, is that the one labeled as Custom Directory (can't recall the proper term, the one where you're ask to choose where to install the software) during installations?