Mid-Highend Gaming System ($900 lower)

[edsun]

Approximate Purchase Date: 1 Month - 2 Months from now.


Budget Range: $900 CDN (Before Rebates)


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Movies/Shows, Surfing the internet.


Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, OS, PSU (OCZ Modxstream-pro 600w)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.directcanada.com or www.memoryexpress.com (Do not use both, use one or the other if you would, thanks)


Country of Origin: Canada


Parts Preferences: by brand or type : Intel, EVGA for Nvidia card, any for ATI really.


Overclocking: No


SLI or Crossfire: Not very likely, but may be possible.


Monitor Resolution: Currently 1280x1024 (Upgrading to 22''-24'' Inch early 2011)


Additional Comments: I really like the HAF 922 case, so if you want to switch things around, that is what I would like to keep . What I really want this computer to do is run SWTOR at max, or near max.

MOBO: ASUS P7P55D-E LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI CrossFireX USB3.0
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD5355 $158.76
RAM: G.SKILL F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD3183 $92.92
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked Fermi 763MHZ 768MB GDDR5
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11610BD0007 $218.98
DVD: LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12600DR0061 $21.55
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc Sata
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=25350DR8005 $62.34
CPU: Intel Core i3 540 Dual Core Processor Clarkdale LGA1156
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD9844 $130.02
Case: Coolermaster Haf 922 Mid Tower ATX Case Black
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC5964 $96.60

Total : $768.55 After taxes/insurance : $838.27

Please let me know what you would change if anything, or if this build is good. Thanks

 

[wielander]

Approximate Purchase Date: 1 Month - 2 Months from now.

Quite a bit may change over the next couple months. Graphics cards, especially the HD 5XXX cards, should decrease in price with the introduction of the HD 6XXX cards.

Overclocking: No

You will be missing out on a lot of the potential of the i3-540 if you don't overclock. AMD processors are a much better value for gaming if you don't overclock.

G.SKILL F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD3183 $92.92

For just a few dollars more you can get awesome G.Skill Eco Memory. It's lower latency and lower voltage; the specs are unbeatable.

G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO Eco PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL7-8-7-24 1.35V Memory Kit
$98.75
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD4658&vpn=F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO&manufacture=G.SKILL

EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked Fermi 763MHZ 768MB GDDR5
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11610BD0007 $218.98

I know you said you prefer EVGA cards, but you can get a Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB with a better cooling solution for less than $20 more.

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 Fermi 715MHZ 1GB GDDR5 2XDVI Mini-HDMI PCI-E DX11 Video Card
$237.01
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11830BD4881&vpn=GV-N460OC-1GI&manufacture=GIGABYTE

Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc Sata
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=25350DR8005 $62.34

You can get a 1TB drive for just about the same price. The Caviar Black is probably a better drive, but the higher density of the Seagate 1TB should negate any performance advantage the caviar black drives might have.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Hard Drive Oem *3YR Mfr Warranty*
$63.99
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=14120DR5954&vpn=ST31000528AS&manufacture=SEAGATE

 

[edsun]

Thank you, very helpful. As for the Overclocking, would I need to purchase an aftermarket heatsink and fan for the CPU, or would the stock cover it? Thank you for the tip on the GPU, was looking for that advice most of all; once I get closer to buying I will take a look at the prices again. As far as everything else is concerned does it look good?

 

[wielander]

Thank you, very helpful. As for the Overclocking, would I need to purchase an aftermarket heatsink and fan for the CPU, or would the stock cover it? Thank you for the tip on the GPU, was looking for that advice most of all; once I get closer to buying I will take a look at the prices again. As far as everything else is concerned does it look good?

Yeah, everything else looks good.

You should be able to overclock up to 3.3-3.5 GHz using the stock cooler without raising the CPU voltage or approaching unsafe temperatures. My i3-530 is stable at 3.52 GHz at the stock voltages, and it didn't reach unsafe temperatures at that frequency with the stock cooler (below 65C under a constant full load). I can't guarantee that yours will do as well, but even early i3-530 samples could reach 3.3GHz without a voltage increase.

 

[edsun]

Best answer selected by edsun.