$1200 Canadian Gaming Build

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BreakDOWN

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Jul 14, 2010
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Hey guys, doing a build for a friend with his budget. Here goes;



APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: As soon as possible, probably as soon as as we finish this build online.

BUDGET RANGE: Close to $1200 (not going over it) (no mail-in rebates)
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Starcraft 2, multitasking (iTunes, chatting, surfing, anti-virus, etc.) are all tied and everyday use (such as watching videos, Blu-ray quality movies, etc.,) and school

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Mouse and keyboard, speakers, monitor, ODD/HDD are being salvaged.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: www.canadacomputers.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel, ATI (willing to try out NVIDIA)

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe - most likely in the distant future

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe - most likely in the distant future

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 32 inch HDTV (1920 x 1080) or a small monitor

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Starcraft 2 is the only game he'll be playing on max settings. He prefers "tri-channel" hardware... or something like that. The CASE and the CPU is a must



CPU - $309.99
Intel Core i7 930

CASE - $199.99
Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower Gaming Case
-Reason: Future-proofing it

OS - $109.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (OEM)

ODD - $0
Salvage

HDD - $0
Salvage
-Can always buy in the future

MOBO
-Need help here

GPU
-Need help here

PSU
-Need help here

MEMORY
-Need help here
-4 gigs is fine, unless you guys say 6+ gigs is the minimum nowadays
-Will add more in the future as necessary.

Just a recap, not really a gaming rig, just a really, really, fast PC within his budget.

Thank you guys in advance and see you all in the morning.
 
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gkay09

gkay09

Splendid
Jul 28, 2008
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^ Hi there...
Looking at his requirements, I dont think he would need the i7 9xx...
I would rather suggest the i5 750/ i7 860 for his usage...
The overall platform cost would also go down...
And i5 750/ i7 860 are really fast CPUs - i5 750 is comparable to i7s in gaming and in other tasks though slower but just @ 2.66GHz, are faster than the fastest Phenom clocked @3.4GHz...
 
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BreakDOWN

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Jul 14, 2010
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I've been here a short time but I know enough to trust you (I enjoy reading these threeads) but he really has his eyes set on those 2 parts. He'll actually be over at my house this afternoon in the hopes of buying the parts right away.

My guess is he's just wanting to future-proof his CPU, just like his CASE. Everything else can pretty much be thrown out and replace, my guess anyways.
 
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WR2

WR2

Polypheme
Nov 18, 2005
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WR2

WR2

Polypheme
Nov 18, 2005
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Not a gaming PC? So he might be willing to compromise on the SC2 on Max settings? If he's not, there's not really any point in calling this build anything other an a 'gaming rig'. That SC2 request will trump all other hardware requirements.
 
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BreakDOWN

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Alright, he's on his way to my house right now. I told him to come over because I'm getting sick and tired of calling him.

Anyways, if it was up to me then I'd take everyone's advice here. But he doesn't want to back down on the 2 components for some odd reason.
 
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BreakDOWN

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Jul 14, 2010
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Hey guys, this is BreakDOWN's friend. First of all, sorry for all the troubles.

Second, this is what I have so far:

http://www.canadacomputers.com/shopping_cart.php

I cheaped out on the GPU because I'm willing to play on medium settings for Starcfraft 2 and play on a small monitor instead. When I save up more money, I'm either going to buy another GPU and crossfire, or just buy an entirely more powerful card. This way, the other components would be able to handle it with ease.

I'm also going to cheap out on the memory and stick with 4 gigs (planning on getting more 6+ gigs when I have the money saved up as well).

What do you think? And recommendations for 4 gig memory? I'm a little over, but it can't be help. Again, I do apologize for any trouble's I've caused.

 
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WR2

WR2

Polypheme
Nov 18, 2005
27,923
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We can't see your shopping cart list. It's something 'website cookie' related.
You can just list the parts (links not needed) and we can look them over for you.

The tri-channel X58 and i7 930 take RAM in sets of 3 stick. 6GB is the usual starting point.
 
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BreakDOWN

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Jul 14, 2010
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CPU
Intel Core i7 930

GPU
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5770

MOBO
Asus P6X58D-E Socket 1366 Intel X58

CASE
Cooler Master HAF X
-Reason: Able to house XL-ATX (not yet standard, but I'm sure it will be). If the HAF 932 fits XL-ATX, I'll go for that and save some money

OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (OEM)

PSU
Corsair TX Series CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX

That comes to $1169.94.




 
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WR2

WR2

Polypheme
Nov 18, 2005
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Is there a Quad Crossfire setup in your future? XL-ATX will not replace ATX any more than E-ATX did. It will just be another specialized offshoot for unusual configurations.

Corsair 550VX is 'right sized' for 2x 5770s. A Corsair 650TX should handle any single current and future video card... except the GTX 480 and the dual GPU types like HD 5970.

Asus P6X58D-E is not a bad choice if you're interested in USB3 and SATA 6GB/s. Since you have these features built into your MB you won't need extra expansion slots to add in USB3/SATA 6GB/s expansion cards.
 
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BreakDOWN

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I went with the HAF 932 instead of the HAF X and saved $50. I'm also going to stick with the current PSU as I might get a more powerful card down the line.

You also make a good point about the USB 3 and SATA 6GB/s thing. Are there any other MOBO's you recommend?
 
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