- Jul 27, 2015
- 3
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- 4,510
Hello!
I’m looking at purchasing a new custom PC as a gift for my boyfriend. His current system is rather dated (6-7 years at least) and struggles with many of the games & tasks he puts through it.
Some of the games he's tried unsuccessfully are Space Engineers, Bioshock, and World of Warcraft. He is also a skilled level designer and often has a project he's working on; while his system can handle most of the engine programs he uses, they take quite a while to compile/render and could run more smoothly. Some of those include Ogier (Starbreeze) and Unity. There's a few others but I'll have to skulk around to check.
For purchasing, I'm looking at going through Memory Express (Canadian) as they are local and can build the system for me. I know they offer a price matching service against other Canadian retailers as well.
For the build, I started with a parts list from one of ME's pre-built gaming systems. I've tweaked a few components based on product reviews, availability, aesthetics & budget. I've tried to research as best I could, but I’m not that tech savvy and this is my first time when it comes to custom builds. I'd really appreciate if someone could look over what I've selected and let me know if it will work well for what he'll need it for!
Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next 2 weeks
Budget Range: The upper end of my budget is $1,500 CAD. $1,000-1,300CAD range or less would be ideal
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, 3D level design & compiling, general Internet usage
Are you buying a monitor: Not looking to at the moment
Parts to Upgrade: The whole kit & caboodle
Do you need to buy OS: Will pick up a copy of Windows 7 Home, not included in budget listed above.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Memory Express, can price match from other Canadian retailers
Location: Alberta, Canada
Parts Preferences: No brand preference
Overclocking: Likely not
SLI or Crossfire: Not entirely sure of this? Please recommend, thanks.
Monitor Resolution: He currently has a dual monitor setup with two 22" Samsung 226BW, 1680x1050
Additional Comments: Quiet system would be great. Some specific softwares: Unity, Ogier, Source & Unreal game engines/editors. Some specific games he'd like to run: The Witcher 2 & probably 3, Bioshock series, Space Engineers
Why Are You Upgrading: Upgrading for overall performance.
Build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($264.70 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.98 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($269.99 @ Memory Express)
**I don't think I need a Z97 board since he likely won't be overclocking but I'm not sure what I should be looking for instead
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($414.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.05 @ Vuugo)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($39.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $1465.15
I think that's all for now. If any parts here seem overkill for what is needed, alternatives would be great. Also, if I've missed any other key components required for the system, please let me know as I'm new to this.
Thanks very much in advance for any help!
I’m looking at purchasing a new custom PC as a gift for my boyfriend. His current system is rather dated (6-7 years at least) and struggles with many of the games & tasks he puts through it.
Some of the games he's tried unsuccessfully are Space Engineers, Bioshock, and World of Warcraft. He is also a skilled level designer and often has a project he's working on; while his system can handle most of the engine programs he uses, they take quite a while to compile/render and could run more smoothly. Some of those include Ogier (Starbreeze) and Unity. There's a few others but I'll have to skulk around to check.
For purchasing, I'm looking at going through Memory Express (Canadian) as they are local and can build the system for me. I know they offer a price matching service against other Canadian retailers as well.
For the build, I started with a parts list from one of ME's pre-built gaming systems. I've tweaked a few components based on product reviews, availability, aesthetics & budget. I've tried to research as best I could, but I’m not that tech savvy and this is my first time when it comes to custom builds. I'd really appreciate if someone could look over what I've selected and let me know if it will work well for what he'll need it for!
Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next 2 weeks
Budget Range: The upper end of my budget is $1,500 CAD. $1,000-1,300CAD range or less would be ideal
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, 3D level design & compiling, general Internet usage
Are you buying a monitor: Not looking to at the moment
Parts to Upgrade: The whole kit & caboodle
Do you need to buy OS: Will pick up a copy of Windows 7 Home, not included in budget listed above.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Memory Express, can price match from other Canadian retailers
Location: Alberta, Canada
Parts Preferences: No brand preference
Overclocking: Likely not
SLI or Crossfire: Not entirely sure of this? Please recommend, thanks.
Monitor Resolution: He currently has a dual monitor setup with two 22" Samsung 226BW, 1680x1050
Additional Comments: Quiet system would be great. Some specific softwares: Unity, Ogier, Source & Unreal game engines/editors. Some specific games he'd like to run: The Witcher 2 & probably 3, Bioshock series, Space Engineers
Why Are You Upgrading: Upgrading for overall performance.
Build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($264.70 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.98 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($269.99 @ Memory Express)
**I don't think I need a Z97 board since he likely won't be overclocking but I'm not sure what I should be looking for instead
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($414.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.05 @ Vuugo)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($39.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $1465.15
I think that's all for now. If any parts here seem overkill for what is needed, alternatives would be great. Also, if I've missed any other key components required for the system, please let me know as I'm new to this.
Thanks very much in advance for any help!
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