How can I make this system cheaper? First timer, help appreciated.

skiim

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First off I just want to let everyone know I'm in Canada, and for prebuilts I think cyberpowerpc.ca or ncix.ca are my best options, or tigerdirect.ca for parts. I'm not really interested in building it myself, and my main interest is to run a gtx 680 which is mostly unavailable to buy unless prebuilding.

The monitor I am planning on ordering is this 23" IPS model Asus PA238Q http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=64587&vpn=PA238Q&manufacture=ASUS

Here is the config I have so far http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1E4F99

I'm guessing I'm doing something wrong with the case, and with the HD's. Looking to increase cost:performance ratio without bottlenecking the GTX 680... Will wait to hear from you guys

Edit: There are also a lot of things I am not sure if I should get or not, ie usb expansion, internal network card, overclocking, etc etc etc
 

neon neophyte

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this very second? theyre next to impossible to find. was a paper launch and supply hasnt hit yet. might have to wait. which you could if you build a system with an onboard gpu. just use the gpu out of a sandybridge or ivybridge until supply comes in. ive seen amd 7970s going for under 450 now though!
 

catatafish

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Dump the following:
overclocking (easy to do yourself)
liquid cooling
the mobo, that's way more mobo than you need
that PSU is terrible, you only need an $85 550-650 from an actual good brand
Dump the hard drive and use a $90 western digital 7200 rpm 1g
the "gaming network card" is not needed
don't really need a kajillion usb hub
$19 to safely deliver your package? That should tell you something about cyberpower.com Please google this company more before you buy from them.


I highly recommend putting one together yourself. You can have a very nice 680 based PC for $1000 and put it together in 2 hours, if you spend about 3 hours just reading and printing the steps and watching a couple of 10 minute videos.

I was in the same spot as you. I took the plunge and built it myself and I couldn't be happier.
 

skiim

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I didn't know ivy bridge integrated graphics were so powerful...seeing as there is not even a hint of when 680's will become available, the cpu's gpu will have to be enough to carry the games until then
 

egilbe

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Doesn't Newegg have a Canadian arm? Yeah, build it yourself. It really isn't that difficult, or pay what someone wants to charge you to put it together. Only two options you have. Don't you have any geeky friends that can show you how to do it?
 

jsrudd

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Get the Corsair 400R or 300R. They look better and are cheaper.

Don't get the USB expansion.

Overclock the 2500K yourself. It trivially easy. Basically, you just go into BIOS, change the multiplier and you're done.

Don't get liquid cooling unless you really want it and are willing to put in the work to maintain it. Otherwise get the Cooler Master Hyper 212

Get one of the cheaper Asus P8Z77 boards. I have no idea what the difference between all the P8Z77 boards they list are.

Get 1600MHZ memory instead of 2000Mhz

Get the Corsair 850w if you must have 850w. You probably don't need that much and 750w would be more than enough.

Get a Single 240gb Intel drive instead of two 120 GB drives in RAID 0. Two drives in RAID will be slower than one large drive. Also you lose TRIM support in RAID 0.

I have the ASUS DG and I really like it. It sounds noticeably better than on board sound.

I haven't speced all the parts, but I would guess that this build would cost under $1500 if you built it yourself.
 

first@home

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Building it yourself will save you quite a bit. Seeing as the 680 is almost impossible to find, why not opt for something a bit cheaper. The Radeon HD 7850 overclocks very well, cases of 40% overclock aren't unheard of on stock cooling alone. For the dollar value, considering its overclocking capabilities, its one of the best value cards on the market. But if you absolutely insist on having a GTX 680, I would recommend waiting it out and building it yourself. For the price of that build, based on what's in it, you're paying quite a premium vs building it yourself.

Secondly, I concur with jsrudd on the other steps to take for downsizing.

EDIT: I had forgot that the 7850 also came with 2GB of VRAM. Removed what I had earlier about needing that much VRAM in regards to the GTX 680. :)
 

skiim

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Awesome, this is the type of answer I was hoping I'd see.. I will spec it out and see how much it would save to build. I'd have to go with a different gpu, possibly the 7850 like first suggests..
 

first@home

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I wrote up a build for a friend the other day. I was just kind of brainstorming. It uses a Z68 micro-atx motherboard though (he doesn't need to use dual-card setups,) with the ASUS 7850, no SSD, and the Hyper 212 EVO. And it uses a Blu-Ray combo drive. It totals out at $1100 USD.

EDIT: Not sure how well you can see this image, but ill link it anyway. This is what I pieced together a while back. It's not meant to be the cheapest build, nor was it pieced together to show absolute compatibility between all components, but is there to give you a reference point of the savings you can get by building yourself.

Screenshot: http://i47.tinypic.com/244snd1.jpg
 

skiim

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One other question I have, is I'm already under $2k with the changes suggested, I also want to use the Killer 2100 network card which I'm not sure can be installed yourself.

Also what happens with windows programs? I get Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit for $104 instead of $224. I also need home and business office suite, which saves me $100 buying it thru a prebuilt. That's $224 in savings
 

first@home

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The Killer 2100 is a PCIe card, and can be installed yourself, to my knowledge. If I remember correctly, though have never used them, the Killer cards are mainly software-based. If they provide a drastic difference, I am uncertain. There was a review of them a while back somewhere that I read. I don't think the review/benchmarks show them to provide a great benefit, at least vs the money spent.

Depending on if you really need Microsoft Office (i.e., you are a student,) you could go for the trial version provided free from Microsoft. It lasts 60-days. Or you can purchase the student version for a discount at your college tech store. If you must have the non-trial version, Office Home and Student isn't but $149.95 on the Microsoft Website. So that would be around $250 for the OS and the Office Suite.
 

first@home

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The only reason I failed to mention this, is due to me assuming he needed the comfort of the Microsoft suite. I simply assumed he was in school or wanted the best option compatibility-wise. I am an avid user of OpenOffice, but some people dislike it.
 

skiim

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Well I'm a business owner, and I've just launched so it is important to have these programs, and I'd use an alternative like openoffice but I need to be sure my programs are compatible with other companies. Everyone uses office so it makes it very easy to alter forms they send etc.
 

first@home

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Yes, to be safest, using Microsoft Office is best. Also, when you choose your motherboard, make note of the PCI/PCIe slots, and if it is m-ATX or ATX form factor. Just as neon says, space may be an issue, especially if you are considering a sound card, possibly a WLAN card. Just be sure to buy the correct combination of PCI/PCIe cards, and reference your motherboard's layout (online,) fitting the GPU firstly (since it may hog two slots) and everything else afterwards.
 

skiim

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So I am going to take your advice and forget the gtx 680. I am going to use www.NCIX.ca to order all my parts aside from the monitor. Their prices are about $10-$15 more per part over newegg, but there will be no shipping since they will assemble everything (for $50). This will give me a warranty, and also a discount on the Microsoft software I need. I really think this almost negates the cost of building myself. The storm trooper case ie is actually $30 cheaper than newegg shipped. So I will try to tinker and find a system that will run games near max on a 23" Asus PA238Q. Feel free to take a crack at it, I'll post what I come up with! Thanks for the help
 

jsrudd

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If you really want to save money, I really good thing to keep in mind is "Will I use this feature right now?". On some of my builds, I've wasted lots of money because I might possibly use feature "X" in the future (e.g. three graphics cards, extra DIMM slots, more overclocking potential.)
 
G

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what type of warranty r they giving, OEM type that comes with a pre- assembled system makers like hp dell etc or warranty for each parts separately like retail ones. Also windows software what type? general consumer or oem pack. most of the individual retail parts have a warranty from 2 - 3 yrs.
 

skiim

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what type of warranty r they giving, OEM type that comes with a pre- assembled system makers like hp dell etc or warranty for each parts separately like retail ones. Also windows software what type? general consumer or oem pack. most of the individual retail parts have a warranty from 2 - 3 yrs.

Full assembly and testing of the system. (+ $50) HELP
This includes warranty coverage of the complete computer system (excluding monitor options, system options and software options, which are covered under individual warranties) as assembled and tested at NCIX.com. Please note that once all system components are in stock, our assembly department requires 2-3 business days to build and test your new system.


or if you choose to assemble it yourself

No assembly.
The selected PC Builder system will NOT be assembled and will be shipped as individual components for your assembly. Warranty and service coverage will be applied to individual components only and not the complete computer system.
 

first@home

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Sounds good. I am interested in getting a PA238Q myself. I have did some reading and it seems like a lower quality (build-wise) IPS monitor with less features (USB hub, pivot, etc,.,) but with a $100 less price tag, that is similar to the ASUS is the ViewSonic VX2336S-LED. I haven't researched it much. But, have it on my list as a backup monitor if I can't spent with extra money on the ASUS.

EDIT: Someone has informed me that they wouldn't recommend bothering with that Viewsonic model, and that LG has similar IPS-panels to the ASUS that they would recommend. Not sure if it is simply their preferene, but I thought that I would mention it.

About your build. I don't see how you could go wrong with an i5-2500k, and a slightly overclocked 7850. At 1080p it should handle many games at reliable FPS, even at 'near max.' At that resolution I think you should be fine as long as you don't go berserk with AA settings. AnandTech is a nice place to reference for benchmarks and such. Here is a link to their benchmarks for the 7850. To my knowledge this is using stock clocks, or close to them, so no high overclock.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549