[Solved] Component Advice Needed on $1500-1700 Gaming Rig

Hello Everyone,

First off, I just wanted to say that I've been here before asking for advice about components when building my friend's computer over a year ago. Wanted to thank the community for their help in the past as his $2000 gaming rig is still working beautifully and I've been envious of it ever since I threw together.

I myself am currently working/gaming on an almost 5 year old Dell Inspiron 1720 laptop. Yes, it's pretty dicey. The high screen resolution is nice but its extremely heavy as well as being really bad with power. Nonetheless, its served me well over these years and its nice to be able to sit on a couch with a computer at one's fingertips.

I've gotten into SWTOR, SC2 and some other, newer, titles lately and my laptop just doesn't cut it any more. In fact, I think that as I continue to use it to play these games, the performance actually gets worse. Could be because the laptop gets so hot that after years of use the components are just beginning to slowly fry up. Just my personal speculation.

I'm a student, but I'm willing to forego some other luxuries for a while in order to pay for this. It won't be simple, but having a good gaming grade computer is important to me. Here's what I'm looking for. Any help would be most welcome.

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next two weeks.

Budget Range: $1500-$1700 CAD (Includes everything)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Movies, Work/Web

Parts Not Required: Everything is required except for speakers and mouse.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I've always liked newegg.ca. Of course, if there are other Canadian websites with lower prices, I'll definitely go for that.

Country: Canada, eh?

Parts Preferences: No preference. Simply what is the biggest bang for the buck and whats the best on the market right now. I also want to have a system that will be upgradeable. For example, with Crossfire/SLI capability in the future.

Overclocking: I've never overclocked things in the past although I have read into it. Definitely willing to do safe overclock if the cooling can handle it.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe not now, but definitely in the future as a means for a cost-effective upgrade.

Monitor Resolution: The higher the better of course. I think at this price range, I should expect to certainly play on higher level resolutions with no issues. I still haven't decided whether to go with one cheaper TN monitor and add more money in the parts. What does everyone think?

Additional Comments: Upgradeable. Cost-effective. Requires monitor in the budget as well!



Thanks for everyone's time. I really appreciate all your help guys.

HAF 922 has more fans so I assume it has better airflow. Aesthetics is one reason. I would not get HAF X. It is a full-tower and your GPU will still fit in a mid-tower.

I knew I was missing something. That monitor looks great!

Yes, SSDs are definitely worth it. They help with OS load times, game load times, and access time for opening applications you most use (if on SSD).

Lol, another thing I forgot.. Silly me.

The CM Hyper 212 EVO is a pretty darn good CPU Cooler. It is only $35 I believe.

I would say that the V8 is better for lower noise while the EVO is only slightly louder (you won't be able to tell) but has a higher range for airflow.

Honestly, it is better to have one single HDD because if you lose data whilst in RAID, data on the other HDD is also lost since they mirror each other. Besides, you will already have super fast access time due to the SSD.

Isn't that Mobo only Crossfire compatible? I'm also noticing more people on here advising to get the Radeon's over the nVidias. I've always had nvidia just because at the time they were the better components on the market.

+1 Question:

Sniper vs. Ripjaw RAM?

I was reading that the higher voltage Ripjaws can OC much better than the Sniper.

Just finished reading Tom's excellent review on the 7950.

I was wondering what you think about the 7950 vs. the 7970. Is it worth the extra $100?

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey