$1200-1500 gaming PC

[Djeezus]

Approximate Purchase Date: in the next month

Budget Range: between $1200 and $1500 CAD

System Usage from Most to Least Important: internet, gaming, movies, working (mostly programming)

Parts Not Required: OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca mostly, if necessary ncix.ca or tigerdirect.ca

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel for CPU, not really any preferences for the rest

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: at least 1680x1050, possibly full hd

Additional Comments: Ideally not too loud. I need a monitor too.

Here is what I found so far:

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 89,98$

Asus VE248H Black 24" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers - 209,99$

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K - 219,99$

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM - 9,99$

ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

and

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 - 298,98$ for the two

Total : 889,47$


Thanks for your advice.

 

[striker410]

Hi there! Welcome to the forums. Looks like you have an OK outline, if not a bit overkill.

I'm gonna point you to the Bestconfig Intel Budget thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/312822-31-bestconfigs-budget-intel-based-gaming It has a bunch of really wonderful builds that are right at your pricepoint ($1000 for pc, $150 for monitor, $50 for keyboard/mouse) And are very good guidelines to building a PC.

Check them out and report back!

 

[Djeezus]

Is it really that important to have 2 video cards? It seems nearly all of the builds have 2 but is it really better to have 2 mid-range video cards than one high-end?

 

[striker410]

No! Most certainly not. It is better to have 1 card. However, 2 cards can provide much more performance than a single card at the same pricepoint. With the $1000 budget, we try to pack as much performance as we can into the build while staying under the mark. This is why it was done.

And at your budget if you are only going with a single screen, a single card like a GTX 570 or 6970 would be perfect. This allows you to add another one in when your build starts to slow down in 2 years or so. It gives a cheap but large boost in performance.

 

[Djeezus]

Also should I take a P67 chipset motherboard or a Z68? It seems Z68 is the latest but pretty much everyone recommends getting a P67. Why is that?

Thanks

 

[striker410]

Well for gamers, there's no real reason to get Z68. Most of the time a P67 suggestion would be because of price. Gamers don't use any of the cool features in Z68 (Except maybe SSD caching; google it) so P67 or Z68 will work.

 

[Djeezus]

Currently I'm mostly hesitating between the GTX 570 and the Radeon 6950 for the video card. Which one is better/cheaper? Also, from which manufacturer should I buy it? I know there's a lot of them but I'm not sure which one is best...

Thanks

 

[striker410]

The GTX 570 is $330, the 6950 is $260. The GTX 570 whoops the 6950's butt. You should really be comparing the 6970 ($350) to the GTX 570. Here's my 2 picks:
GTX 570: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130613&cm_re=gtx_570-_-14-130-613-_-Product $325
OR if you want the lifetime warranty instead of 10 year (IDK why)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593&cm_re=570-_-14-130-593-_-Product $345

6970: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150517&cm_re=6970-_-14-150-517-_-Product $350

Here's a benchy: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/292?vs=306 As you can see, they trade blows pretty evenly. It's up to you. Whichever your apps prefer.

 

[Djeezus]

I've heard that it's possible to flash the bios of the 6950 to make it a 6970. Is it really possible and if so, is it easily/safely done?

 

[striker410]

It once was possible. however, I believe it's been confirmed that all the flashable GPU's have sold out. You'd be better off going 6970 from the start, as some people had serious heat issues after flashing their cards. IF you get your card to flash (which I doubt you can anymore )

 

[Djeezus]

I have added a few things to my build:

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 89,98$

Asus VE248H Black 24" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers - 209,99$

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K - 219,99$

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM - 9,99$

ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

and

Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 - 298,98$ for the two

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM 21,99$

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - 74,99$

EVGA 012-P3-1571-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support - 329,99$

Total : 1345,39$

I still need a PSU and a cpu fan. For the PSU I'm really not sure, I'd like a modular PSU if possible but a lot of the ones that seems good aren't modular. Also I'm not sure if modular is really better than not modular, but I think since it's my first build modular would be best. Any suggestion for the PSU?

Also I'm hesitating between a Samsung hard drive and a WD. I've had bad experiences in the past with WD external hard drives but it seems like they are pretty good for internal hard drives. Also the samsung one is quite a lot cheaper.

As for the CPU fan I have absolutely no idea what to get. I know some are very good but I'm always afraid it won't fit my case or will be too difficult to install. Any suggestion on that one?

The last thing is the case. I kinda like it but it seems a bit expensive for a case. Would there be any alternative that would be a bit cheaper while still having quite a lot of space?

Thanks.

 

[striker410]

First thing is don't get the P67 deluxe. It's a waste of money. Something like this: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.660737 Has almost all the same features at 2/3 the price. Also in a bundle so yay!

That monitor seems a tad expensive. Might wanna shop around.

For a CPU fan, the hyper 212+: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 Is hard to beat. Look around at different stores to see if it's in stock. It's a VERY popular heatsink.

And the case is a little expensive, but a case does 2 things.
-It holds all the parts together
-It provides cooling to said parts.
The HAF series is very good about providing cooling. It's in their name! (High Air Flow) You actually get a $10 discount compared to us americans, seeing as usually you have more expensive parts.

For a modular PSU, there are many options. The Corsair 750HX is awesome, but expensive. This Antec is a good $60 cheaper, but only semi modular: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026 It's a very good power supply.

 

[Djeezus]

Thanks for the suggestions!

The motherboard you're suggesting seems to be getting a lot of bad reviews on newegg. Is it really reliable?

The cpu fan looks great, although a little big (as long as I can install it it's not a problem). The corsair PSU you're suggesting seems great but quite expensive honestly. I think I'll go with the Antec one unless I'm able to save money elsewhere.

The monitor I chose is an Asus one, and newegg doesn't seem to have a lot of other brands. It's a LED monitor and apparently it's quite a lot better than the normal LCDs. At least that's what I've heard.

As for the case, do you know any other case that are as good/better and a little/a lot cheaper?

Thanks!

 

[striker410]

Ahh yes, I see what you are talking about. Excuse my oversight.

Well, the ASRock P67 Extreme4 is significantly cheaper, has the tom's nod, and looks super badass. I would check it out.

Honestly, $90 isn't a whole lot to spend on a quality case. But here's a very good one for $30 cheaper: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=haf%20912 Bout as good as it gets price/performance wise.

 

[Djeezus]

The thing is the ASRock isn't in any combos

Without a combo it's about $20 less than the two other motherboards? Is the Asus one worth the extra $20?

As for the monitor, do you know any good monitor at a decent price?

Thanks a lot!

 

[striker410]

Umm, no. I don't think so. And if you insist on going Asus, the PRO is a better deal IMO than the deluxe.

Onnneee more suggestion. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.654398 It's the same as all the other boards. The difference is that it has no onboard 7.1 sound. Do you need 7.1?

 

[Djeezus]

I suppose 7.1 is a technology that requires multiple speakers? I don't think I'll need that. This seems like a good motherboard though, I'll check it out. I think by this evening I should have chosen most of the components, I'll submit it here so you can see it.

Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[striker410]

Oh yeah I see the monitor question now. My bad.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009257CVF $135

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236100 $160 (with speakers built in)

 

[Djeezus]

Thanks!

Also, do you know if there's any difference in quality between the samsung and the WD drives? I'm hesitating between the two...

 

[striker410]

The Samsung Spinpoint F3 hands down. It's faster than the WD, cheaper, and are made of high quality materials. WD makes excellent drives, but they are the Apple of the computer world. They simply charge too much (and they have no fancy OS )

 

[Djeezus]

So here is the build I've come up with in the last few days:

On newegg.ca:

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM - 21,99$

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 89,98$

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - 74,99$

ASUS VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers - 179,99$

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor - 204,99$

EVGA 012-P3-1571-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support - 329,99$

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - 189,99$

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model - 83,99$

Sub-total : 1287,27$
-50$ in rebates = 1237,27$


On ncix.ca


Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM - 29,98$


Corsair Professional HX750W 750W ATX 12V 62A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply Active PFC 140MM Fan - 129,99$

Sub-total : 159,97$ + shipping (I guess about 10-20$...)


Total : 1462,24$


I'm wondering, is G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) a good deal at 79,99$? Better than the memory I chose?

Also, don't hesitate to comment on my current build, if you have any suggestions. I need a keyboard too, and I really have no idea what to pick...

Thanks

 

[striker410]

YES! Get that ram.

And I thought you decided to change out the case? The HAF 912 is more than capable.

That P67 Extreme4 is kinda pricey. Check this one out: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128498 It's the price of the Extreme4 over here, and is sexy black Has more connectors, too.

Plus, I think the Antec PSU might be a bit better choice. Much cheaper.

Get this GPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593 $4 more for lifetime warranty and Step-up program eligibility (google EVGA step up)

Asides from those things, looks good. Might consider getting black ram if they have it. to fit the black theme of black case, black GPU, black mobo, black fans on the heatsink. Just a thought. If they don't have black, red will work quite well. Just don't get blue, erg.

 

[Djeezus]

Isn't the Extreme4 better for overclocking?

The HAF 922 seems quite better for cooling the components since it has 3 fans vs 2 for the 912 and it also seems a little bigger and better in general. I might be wrong though. Since I plan to overclock I guess I need to have good cooling.

What's the step-up program??

The corsair PSU is quite cheap at 129,99$ but is it a lot better than the antec one? And is it easier to install with the cables and al that stuff??

Also do you think all the parts will fit in the case? I'm worried that the gpu/cpu fan won't fit because I've read some people had problems with that.

Thanks a lot for answering my questions!

Edit : Is there anything else I should buy to help me build the system?

 

[striker410]

No, Z68 is perfectly fine. It's like P67+H67.

yes the HAF 922 is a better choice. I thought you were worried about price.

And the step up program (Which I said to google, btw >.>) is EVGA's way of making sure you futureproof. It means if you buy a GPU and 6 weeks later they come out with a brand new line or version, you can trade in that GPU for the new one. Pretty cool deal.

And BUY THAT PSU RIGHT NOW It's a 1 day offer! BUY IT!

Yep! You'll be fine with them fitting. The GTX 570 fits in a HAF 912, the 922's smaller brother.

And the only thing you need is this puppy right here... http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

 

[Djeezus]

I meant isn't the motherboard Extreme4 better than the gigabyte one for overclocking?

I didn't see it was a 1 day offer! Thanks a lot I could've missed it =/

Well for the moment I'll buy my fan and my psu, as I'm still not completely sure about the motherboard.