Help with $700 budget gaming PC, already have GPU and PSU

[juncwil]

I'm planning on building a new computer system to replace my 5 years old desktop. I'm currently using my laptop for gaming at university, and sadly it only has Intel GMA 950 so I wanted a PC more suited for gaming
I live in Canada so the budget is in Canadian dollar. I have not kept up with the computer hardware news for several years so I'm kind of lost to which system gives the best price/performance.

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within 2 weeks

BUDGET RANGE: $700 Canadian

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, surfing the internet, and movies

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: OS, speaker, GPU and PSU

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: ncix.com, newegg.ca

PARTS PREFERENCES: No perference, just which ever parts will give me the most bang for the buck

OVERCLOCKING: Moderate OC, will be OCing but not pushing it to its limit

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Possibly

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900, 1600x1200, 1680x1050 any one of these 3 resolution is good

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Currently I already have Radeon 4770 and Corsair 750W PSU. I know the PSU sounds like it might be overkill but I plan on re-using it down the road for new builds with multi GPU. I bought those two on the spur since they were on a good deal. I have Vista 64-bit so OS is not a problem, but I'm looking for monitor, keyboard and mouse within that budget as well. I'm looking for a monitor that gives one of the three resolution I listed above. I'm willing to go over budget by a small amount if its reasonable enough. Thanks for your help guys.

 

[Proximon]

Not so bad then, since you have a good PSU and GPU.

Probably look at an X3 720:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&Tpk=X3%20720

A 790X MB:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387

And some DDR2 ( Or possibly get a DDR3 MB and memory... but looks like the AM3 DDR3 boards are too much right now.)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

 

[tidefan94]

It ended up being close to $800, sorry about that. It was really difficult to push it as hard as I could without jumping over the price a little. You can always cut back or change things if you want to. Just dont change the Motherboard (because it is crossfire) and processor (unless you know what you're doing)

Case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047
This may be one of the more overpriced parts of the whole thing, so it would be a good place to cut back on, but it's really solid.

Keyboard: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175103
It's an amazing keyboard, but you may be able to find one you like for cheaper

CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103678
I tried to get a decently high-clocked dual core, and this will be more than enough to run games

DVD/CD drive: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171
It's solid and fairly cheap

Monitor: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236056
This is one of the more expensive parts, but its 1680x1060 and a really good monitor

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395
Same one I have, really good for the price and runs really well

Mouse: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104076
While you may think this is expensive, it's probably the best gaming mouse, and especially for $50

Mobo: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130136
It was really hard trying to find a motherboard that would run crossfire at such a low price, and this was the best I can do

RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
You need 4 gig, here it is

 

[juncwil]

Thanks for the replies
Yes the monitor does look for the price. I mostly play Battlefield 2 and Eve online, and looking to play Assassin's Creed and Fear 2 once I build this pc so I shouldn't need too much of cpu power. Yea I thought about getting DDR3 and a mobo that can run it but decided it wasn't worth the price atm. I could always upgrade it later I guess.

 

[not moose]

The real budget drops to about $550 after adding the monitor, mouse and keyboard.

From here on you have the option of the Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 or the AMD Phenom II X3 720. The best case choice would obviously be the Antec 300 and if you're only doing a slight overclock you won't need a cooler. Ram you should probably stick to 4gb ddr2, and a crossfire enabled mobo in case you want increased fps by adding a second 4770 later on.

 

[dirtmountain]

Mines pretty close to what the Proximon said. $676 without shipping

CPU - Phenom2 X3 720 BE $170
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

Mobo - Gigabyte 790X - $135 Keeps crossfire option open
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387

RAM 2X2 GB G.skill DDR2 1066 - $69 on the Gigabytes approved list
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

Monitor - Asus 19" 1440X900 $120
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236060

HD Western Digital 640GB SE16 blue SATA - $90
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Case - Antec 300 $64
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Mouse/KB - Microsoft wired optical $29
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109046


Thanks not moose , i was a bit concerned about shipping costs, i have no idea what newegg charges in Ca.

 

[not moose]

dirtmountain hit it straight on the head but switch to this mouse combo and order from Ncix for cheaper shipping. Ncix price match so overall you will get it cheaper than on newegg.

You will also want to pickup a cd drive so that will cost about $20 more.

 

[juncwil]

Thanks for the advices guys. The final lists looks like this:

DVD/CD drive: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=38115 [$31.64]

HDD: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34286&promoid=1046 [$85.98]

RAM: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=28306 [$79.99]

Keyboard and Mouse: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=16619 [$32.52]

Mobo: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=36856 [$134.27]

CPU: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=36295 [$178.28]

Case: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=29812&promoid=1046 [$64.99]

Monitor: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=39135 [$139.99]


Total before pricematch is $747.66 and $687.44 after pricematch. I'm going to see if I can get any good local deal on the case and monitor before end of May to cut down the shipping cost, but other than that it looks set.