1000-1200 CAD$ gaming PC

[Skarjak]

So my current build is experiencing all kinds of problems, which means I have the perfect excuse to build a new one.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Somewhere within the next 2 weeks

BUDGET RANGE: 1000-1200 CAD$

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, surfing the net, some programming.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, OS, monitor (for now)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: www.newegg.ca or www.tigerdirect.ca will do.

PARTS PREFERENCES: I'd like to stay with Intel and Nvidia, mostly because I'm afraid of possible driver issues with ATI cards, but I keep hearing that AMD is very competitive in the price range I'm going for, so I'm open to suggestion

OVERCLOCKING: No way. I'm just too paranoid to void my warranty.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not now, but this is a likely path to upgrade, so the motherboard has to be either SLI or Crossfire enabled.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'd like something that is still very good a year from now. I don't tend to play very graphically intensive games though, so hopefully this can last me 3-4 years. It would be great to have something I can upgrade in 2 years with a new processor and an extra graphics card without having to rebuild everything.

Ok, so here's what I've come up with. Bear in mind that I'm Canadian so I have to pay through the nose for parts. D:

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
Am I right to go for a dual core with my budget?

Memory
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Motherboard
I have no idea! I've gone with a Geforce card here so I'd ideally need a SLI motherboard, but I don't see anything of quality. This might just force me to go ATI to have crossfire. Anyway, I'd like to see what you have to say about this.

Graphics Card
I was initially going for a GTX 275 but they're 330$ around here So right now I've chosen this one but I'm not sure if it's a good idea. I'd need an identical card to run in SLI, right?
EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Hard drive
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM

DVD drive
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM

Power Supply
Don't know if what I've chosen is overkill or not, but here it is:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

Case
I guess it will depend on the motherboard? I'd like something a little fancy if possible but will take a boring case if it means more money for more important parts.

Do you think I'd need a CPU fan with that? Seems like a stock one comes with the CPU.

Anyway, by my calculations this is 780.44$ with quite a bit of money left for motherboard, case and fan.

So any good motherboard to recommend? If you can find a good one, would it be better to get a better processor or to buy a GTX 275?

Would AMD offer better performance in that price range?

 

[elitewolverine]

nice start, i understand you wanting to stick with intel, i have a few friends that their programming requires intel/nvidia setup, but since you expressed optionally amd build ill throw one your way tell me what you think

AMD 955 phenom II
ECS AM3 board
OZ 4gb (2x2gb) DDR3 Memory
Coolermaster 600w modular sli/crossfire ready
Coolermaster RC-690 Case
MSI 4890HD card

those right there will cost you ~$1054, canadian via newegg.ca

that leaves you $200 left over for DVD-Drive and HDD

you get a DDR3 platform and a great pc....if you are going to stick with intel its tough for that budget i would try to build it around a i7 920 if at all possible

 

[Guest]

Adding to what elitewolverine has said. I agree that it would be tough but I'm sure someone will be able to create a quality i7 build with the low dollar value.

That AM3 chip from AMD performs just like a Q9550 for a lower price. But it cannot compete close to the i7. elite's build should behave just like the 9550 but also should be more upgradable for the future.

AMD Phenom x4 955 vs Q9550

Since you are not going to overclock than the stock fan should do just fine.

 

[AKM880]

Well you wouldn't probably notice a huge difference between the E8400 and the E8500. I'm trying to make a build right now, so I'll post back later.

 

[AKM880]

The i7 build that I customized is around $1280 CAD. I don't know if you'll need a quad core CPU though

 

[Skarjak]

Thanks for the help. I'll consider that build you posted, but I also managed to sketch an intel/nvidia build that would cost me 1038$ with everything.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail
204$

Motherboard: EVGA nForce 750I SLI LGA775 ATX DDR2 2PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 2PCI SATA RAID Sound GBLAN Motherboard
150$

Graphics:EVGA GeForce GTX 275 633MHZ 896MB 2.26GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card 275$

Memory: mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
65$

Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
89$

Power supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
130$

DVD: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM
33$

Case: Coolermaster CM 690 Mid Tower Black ATX Case 5X5.25 5X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound Firewire & eSATA
92$

What do you think of that? Is it a better value?

Also if any of you guys can build a i7 system for 1200$, I'd be interested to see this. Of course the question is if I really need it. I'd like to run recent games at 1900x1200 in high details, if that can help you. With this in mind, am I just fine with an E8400? If the answer was yes, that would be great since then I could buy my new monitor right now and the whole thing would cost me around 1500 with OS included.