$700cdn Gaming Rig

[illmatix420]

Hey all, I am new to the forums and rather green to pc building in general. I'm in search of a affordable ($500-$750) desktop that runs titles such as witcher 2, portal 2, crysis 2 and has a large hardrive capacity if possible. plz any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Approximate Purchase Date:July-August

Budget Range:$500-$750

System Usage from Most to Least Important:Gaming, Surfing Web, Media

Parts Not Required:Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Tigerdirect (canadian versions if possible)

Country of Origin:Canada

Parts Preferences: No particular's just w/e is best value and performance for the budget

Overclocking: Maybe (one day at a time for me lol)

SLI or Crossfire: ?

Monitor Resolution: 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1080, 1920x1200

Additional Comments: Im not against pre-built if they fall roughly in line with my requests. Im not the expert please feel free too flex my build guide just keeping in mind the budget.

Thanks Again,
Justin.

 

[manu 11]

Amd phenom ii x4 955 black edition 3.2 ghz
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808 115$

GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128510 150$

XFX HD-695X-CNDC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150550 265$

antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015 85$

sAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 75$

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314&cm_sp=Cat_Memory-_-Weekly_Deals-_-20-231-314 74$

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 20$

totoal: 699$
after rebates and shipping, it will be just under 750

 

[illmatix420]

Hey thanks for the response, I hope this doesnt sound to newbish but are all these components compatible with each other, also if you could recommend a case that would be suitable housing for the rig. Cheers!!

 

[JKatwyopc]

If you go with 4Gb memory instead of 8Gb and a lower cost CPU you should be able to come in pretty close to budget with these.

AMD Athlon II X3 455 Rana 3.3GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX455WFGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103911

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231427

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

 

[manu 11]

oops sorry for not listing the case,
go with an antec 300 illusion case.
ram listed above is fine, Athlon, i don't think so, phenom ii x4 is superior.
you will be out of money if you go with 6950(sorry for not listing the case) gtx 560wil be great
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125383

 

[wenqi]

if you can budget in a BE you can budget in a core i3, the 2nd gen i3s own the BEs at gaming, i don't have to post a benchie because their everywhere. also have a look into the GTX 560ti, it gives you similar performance to a 6950, but is cheaper and has Physics (hwcompare). and if you want to X-fire, look into a 750w unit

 

[illmatix420]

Hey thanks again for the excellent feedback. I've decided to get the case, dvd drive, power supply, hard-drive, and pcu first and purchase the memory sticks, gpu, motherboard within the next couple of weeks here's what I have so far

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $69.99
Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified $84.99
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $19.99
SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $89.99
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX $114.99

So what do you think so far? decided to upgrade to 2tb drive should my money be used elsewhere? also this will be my first rig ever that i will be building from the ground up any recommended reading I should view such as tutorials etc. Thanks again for the help i have $500 cdn im willing to use for the memory, gpu, and motherboard when i make my purchase any further recco's on those items would be great and a helpful opinion on what I have so far!!!

 

[manu 11]

good luck with your build, so what gpu you will be choosing?

 

[illmatix420]

not to sure on the gpu, what do you recommend for under $275 and compatible with my selected power supply?

 

[addison]

WAIT! for a gpu a560 ti it will KILL crysis, BEST for under 275$!

GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125369&Tpk=560%20ti%20super%20clcok or you can get the maxium 560ti edition that comes with a crysis 2 copy and a super clocked card for 300$ but it's over your budget,



Also http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161373&cm_re=ati_6950-_-14-161-373-_-Product will run much cooler and this perofrms about the same as the 560ti but is a little better and plus that card is 13c cooler and is ALREADY OC! so the 6950 is a much better way to go, but NIVIDA gpu's are know to play crysis better, it's up to you.

 

[manu 11]

yeah, 560ti if you can afford

 

[wenqi]

if you want to go with a 560ti then you should look at an intel mobo, amd don't support SLI (not yet anyway), and thats a real bummer if you want to SLI down the line. also how many times do i have to say this, 2nd gen intel i3s own all the BE (in gaming)