Build Critique - New Gaming rig, ordering tomorrow! (US$2000)

[WilliamDrake]

Hi all,

Just joining the forums and would love your input before I place this order. I am Canadian and will be placing this order exclusively at http://www.pccanada.com.

1. Use for PC. Gaming
2. Budget. US$2000 (CAD$2250)
3. Country parts from.Canada - exclusively http://www.pccanada.com
4. Brand preference.Only brands available at http://www.pccanada.com
5. Intention to use current parts.Keyboard, mouse only
6. Read similar threads.Yes
7. Overclock/SLI.No
8. Build date.This week


Note: Currently US$1 = CAD$1.15

If you had US$2000 to spend, and were limited to use http://www.pccanada.com,
A) Would you build this machine?
B) If not, how would you change the parts?
C) Have you had any bad experience with any of these parts (i.e. power supply, motherboard, monitor, video card, etc)?

Intel® Core i7 920 Quad Core 2.67-GHz, w/ 8Mb (Socket 1366) CAD $334.99
Thermaltake® V1 AX Heatsink & Fan (Retail) CAD$69.99
Thermaltake® V9 Black Edition Steel Mid Tower Case CAD$109.99
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R, Socket 1366, Intel® X58 Chipset CAD$224.99
Sapphire® Radeon™ HD 4890 Vapor-X - Radeon™ HD 4890 $264.99
OCZ 6Gb PC3-10666 DDR3 Triple Channel Core i7 Low-Voltage CAD$124.99
OCZ StealthXStream 700W ATX 12V Ver 2.2 Power Supply CAD$104.99
1TB Western Digital® Caviar® Black™ SATAII-300 7200RPM CAD$109.99
LG GH22NS50 SecurDisc™ Dual Layer DVD±R/RW Drive CAD$34.99
Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium 64-bit CAD$134.99
SoundBlaster® X-Fi Titanium CAD$99.99
Asus® VK266H, 25.5in Widescreen Digital Active Matrix TFT CAD$374.99
Logitech® G51 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System (Retail Box) CAD$179.99

Other:
SuperTalent ® 16GB SM Series USB 2.0 Flash Memory Drive CAD$34.99
Belkin Isolator - 8 outlet Surge Protector (Retail Box) CAD$24.99

Subtotal CAD$2,229.85

Thanks in advance - really appreciate any and all input you have!

- Bill Drake

 

[radiowars]

Everything looks really good, except I'd get a different power supply.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
It's 95$ with MIR, and much better quality. It will also allow you to get a second (as I recommended below) 4890 if you want to.
L
ooks good. Chose your parts wisely, but here are a few tips to save some money:

Get rid of the sound card. You'll notice little difference between the motherboards and the sound cards audio. Unless you have a really nice set of speakers (nicer than the ones you've chosen) or you're a complete audio freak, you can save 100$.


Also, use Windows 7 RC --> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx

It'll save you another 135$, now you're build is literally 2,000$- and if you want, you can add another 4890. That'll really improve your performance in games.

A. Yes, I would definitely build that machine. Too bad I don't have the money lol.
B. Only changing the parts to try and save you some money. You can retain the parts you have, just trying to give you the best bang for your buck.
C. Everything looks fine other than that, I'm not to familiar with that Heatsink, but thermaltake is a pretty good brand. If you want a recommendation, I'd go with the Xigmatek Dark knight.

Looks good, great job on selecting parts.

 

[ragsters]

Cooler:
http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=8130
http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=8131
http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=8948

Case:
http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=7840

PSU:
http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=6824
http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=9838

I would go with any of these choices over the ones you have chosen.

 

[Yoosty]

You really do not want to go with the Thermaltake V9 Black Edition. I bought one for a build for my sister, it is a piece of crap, not up to Thermaltake usual standards,.You have to disassemble the front of case to put in your CD/DVD Drives, plus the card slots in the back are stamp-out and very flimsy.

These are the two cases I would choose from www.pccanada.com

Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case, Black $124.99
http://www.pccanada.com./viewitem.asp?id=5521

CoolerMaster Storm Scout Mid Tower ATX Case (Black) $134.99
http://www.pccanada.com./viewitem.asp?id=9833

But you can find better Deals @ NewEgg.ca. if you would take a look.

*COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel $134.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel $114.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black $114.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

* Dimesion specs are very good, 22.2" x 10" x 19.7". Since you will have lots of room for large graphic cards and high CPU HSF Cooler.

 

[WilliamDrake]

Hey all,

Thanks so much for your comments so far.

Let me address them in turn.

Radiowars Thanks for your great suggestions. I am definitely going to switch up the power supply, as many people have been talking about that, and I will definitely get Windows 7 RC too. I'm also going to scrap that soundcard as that is unnecessary it seems like.

I guess I can now get another GPU and CrossFire them. The power supply you suggest will be good for that?

What is the deal with Windows 7 RC? Is it free for now? I have not looked into that much.

Ragsters All excellent tips, thanks for providing a few alternatives that I'll look into. Looks like I see a common thread here: Case, Cooler and PSU should be switched up. Thanks for keeping it to pccanada too.

Yoosty I'm definitely going to check out newegg.ca, as they seem to have more choice for cheaper. Any other recommendations for parts?


Thanks again guys for your input so far. Anyone have any other critiques? All highly appreciated - bump for more!

 

[WilliamDrake]

Bump for further critique before I place the call to build!

Thanks,

- Bill

 

[ragsters]

Ideally I would buy all the parts from Newegg because of their reliability, excellent customer service and cheaper prices but if you feel that pccanada.com makes more sense then go for it. Let us know if you decide to give Newegg a shot so I can give you further recommendations.