$850 Gaming i3 System

[DigitalSniper45]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 1-2 Weeks

BUDGET RANGE: <$850 (before Ontario Taxes)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Internet, School Work, etc

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Headset, Monitor, DVD Burner

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Ordering from Wholesaler, will list prices for reference. Preferred sites include NCIX, TigerDirect, NewEgg.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel & ATI Only. Don't mind Motherboard manufacturer

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe CrossFire in the future

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Might be using an older case, not too sure at this point.
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I want to start building a new desktop in 1-2 weeks, and I think I've finally settled on parts. I just want to see what everybody thinks before I go ahead and buy something that might not be worth it. I'm buying from a wholesaler so I can get things for a bit cheaper, however I'm a little limited in my selection of parts (they only carry newer ATI cards and not nVidia, and only newer intel cpus instead of AMD). All prices are in CAD.

Case: Antec 300 --- $57
Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D --- $145
CPU: Intel i3 530 --- $119
RAM: OCZ 4GB DDR3 1333 Gold LV --- $104
HDD: Seagate ST31000528AS 1TB --- $67
Video Card: Gigabyte/Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 --- $169
PSU: CoolMax V600 --- $50
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium --- $99

Total: $810

 

[snoshy]

i dont know your prices so i cant tell you if its a better deal (performance vs price increase)

but everythign looks solid. couple of comments:

if you're only gaming on 1680*1050, you can go with a 5750 and save 20-30 bucks.
even a 4850 coudl handle eveyrthing 1680*1050. only difference is 5750 takes advantage of dx11. so if you dont need/want dx11 games, 4850 is much cheaper for anything under 1920*1080 gaming
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-radeon-hd-5570-gaming,2697-3.html

if you can get g.skill ram, its much better than ocz. ocz has some bad rep going around, mainly because of complicated intel chipset motherboard settings. it works, but its a hassel to get it to work. most of the time g.skill is cheaper and better. again, i dont know your wholesaler prices though.

if you can get a samsung f3 1tb drive, it will be enormously better. but again, depends on prices. its not going for that much more on newegg or even canadacomputers.

for power, i usually like to stick with quality companies. you wont need 600w unless you're set on crossfire. i would stick with corsair 450 watts. effecient psu would run al your hardware fine. again, price comes first i suppose.

 

[DigitalSniper45]

What's so different about the Samsung that makes it better than the Seagate? I also looked up one of the Corsair 450W and I like the reviews it's gotten so I'll probably go with that. For an extra $30 I can get these parts from newegg (is it worth it?):

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003

This puts my entire purchase at approximately $840 before tax, $950 after, which is right around where I want to be.

I'm also debating picking up the following g.skill 4GB kit for $10 less than the OCZ:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231190

 

[coldsleep]

What's so different about the Samsung that makes it better than the Seagate?

Nothing. The 7200.12 1 TB and the Samsung Spinpoint F3 perform pretty similarly. The Spinpoint is currently on sale at newegg for $15 (USD) less than the Seagate, so it's a better buy in the US at the moment.

However, many people are still leery of Seagate after their last generation HDDs had some significant firmware issues where a lot of the drives died quickly or were DOA.

It appears, however, that the Spinpoints are on sale on newegg.ca as well, so just get whichever is less expensive. (Currently the Samsung

I'm also debating picking up the following g.skill 4GB kit for $10 less than the OCZ:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231190

This G.Skill ECO series kit or this G.Skill Ripjaws kit would be better than the OCZ kit, and better than the one you linked. The RAM you linked is 1333 MHz CL9, the linked ECO Series & Ripjaws are 1600 MHz CL7. If your primary concern is saving money, howver, then the kit you linked is fine.

 

[snoshy]

the f3 spinpoints are highly regarded as the fastest hdds other than ssds. and yes, its also extra cheap right now

 

[coldsleep]

The Spinpoint F3s and the 7200.12s trade spots in benchmarks. At least in Tom's benchmarks, the Spinpoints do a little better on the mixed workload stuff, and the 7200.12s perform slightly better on the gaming measures. In either case, it's a very slight difference.

Given the choice between the two, you should just buy whichever one is less expensive at the time you're buying.

 

[mosox]

You can get the Corsair CMPSU-400CX, it can run a HD 5850.

Anybody knows anything about this new Corsair?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139017

 

[snoshy]

its pretty new, and seeing as its in the same CX series, id say its just a 30W difference.

nvm. looking at the specs, we have:

400W, ATX12V 2.2, 12V rail @30amps vs $40AR ($60 retail)
430W, ATX12V 2.3, 12V rail @28amps $51 retail

minor differences really. 12v rail amperage is very important, not just overall wattage. however the CX430 isnt even on the corsair site yet so just lookout for some reviews

 

[DigitalSniper45]

I've tried building a new system entirely off of newegg and this is what I got:

Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W
CPU: Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz
GPU: EVGA 768-P3-1360-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Motherboard: ASUS P7H55/USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H55
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Would the CX400 still be able to run this system? If so, it's very appealing as it would shave $25 off of my total, maybe even allowing me to upgrade to a GTX 460 1GB (someone showed me some performance reviews and I decided to upgrade to the GTX over the HD 5770).

 

[snoshy]

hmm i believe it should. corsair psu's have high effeciency. do you plan to oc anything?
cpu? gpu? just cpu? just gpu?btoh?

try using http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

a 465 uses more power then a 460. at 100% full load (everythign 100%) it uses 426W, assuming no OC. you should be fine. just cutting it close thats all. however, even when you're gaming, you're not close to 100% FULL load. so should be aokay =D

 

[mosox]

Or get the Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W, $64.99.

 

[DigitalSniper45]

I think I'll just stick with the 450W then, to be on the safe side