Advice for gaming system ($1,200 -$1,500 CAD)

[Hephasto]

Hi guys, as thread title says I'm looking for advice on building a gaming system for $1,200 to $1,500 Canadian (not including tax/shipping/labour).

The system will be used for games such as Simcity 2013, future MMO's, with maybe the odd FPS game (i.e. Farcry 3) and I will be running at 1920x1200 resolution.

My brand preferences are Intel based CPU and Nvidia based GPU - although I am open to suggestions on any brand for sake of performance/cost. I do not plan on overclocking the system. My desire is to buy this system within the next 2 weeks. Currently looking at sites like www.newegg.ca and ncix.com and having them build the system for me (for convenience/delivery to my door since I do not drive).

Thanks in advance for your time and suggestions.

 

[riversend]

A couple more questions:

Do you have a monitor already, or keyboard/mouse?
Any old parts available?
Do you have a copy of Windows or do you still need to purchase?

Finally, Canadian prices are a bit higher than the U.S., but the midrange guide by mfenn is stickied at the top of the topic listing and is a great starting point. Comments on if that is close to what you might be thinking?

 

[Hephasto]

Hi Riversend, thanks for the response. I do have a monitor and keyboard/mouse ready. No old parts will be going into this new system. I have an OEM copy of windows 7 64bit (home premium) that I will be using on the system most likely - I may try windows 8 but for now I think I'll use what I have already in terms of O/S software.

With regards to the mid-range guide stickied by mfenn - I will look at it more closely. I'm afraid at the moment I'm not sure what the pros/cons of the parts listed are so I will do some research on that to better educate myself. Generally speaking though that looks to be in the ball park of what I would be looking for in terms of price/overall power of the system.

I guess in general I'm trying to get an idea for what's decent in terms of hardware and what potentially to avoid when choosing a system (in other words not buy into hype and draw upon the knowledge of the folks who frequent these boards).

Thanks again for your time.

 

[Sleepingforest]

This doesn't use Nvidia, but honestly, the price/performance with the HD 7970 is much better than the GTX 670 (and if you've heard any rumors about microstuttering with the Radeons, evidently the free tool RadeonPro takes care of it). If it's not really your thing, and you just want to get a graphics card that works, I can recommend a GTX 670 too.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/sQsG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/sQsG/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/sQsG/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Samsung 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($19.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Samsung 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($19.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg Canada)
OR
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: BitFenix Merc Beta (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($73.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $924.92 (AMD) or $964.92 (Nvidia)
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

You'll also want some aftermarket thermal paste. Evidently Arctic Silver MX5 is an old favorite, but there are some cheaper alternatives which supposedly do better.

 

[mfenn]

Sleepingforest's build looks good to me, same general concept as my midrange build. I would definitely stick to the 7970 since it is faster and cheaper though. You also don't really need the thermal paste, the Hyper 212 EVO comes with a tube.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Sleepingforest's build looks good to me, same general concept as my midrange build. I would definitely stick to the 7970 since it is faster and cheaper though. You also don't really need the thermal paste, the Hyper 212 EVO comes with a tube.

I'm glad I have an mfenn seal of approval.

 

[lehtv]

Agree with mfenn. Rather than spending on aftermarket paste, it'd make more sense to buy a higher performing HSF to begin with. Cooler Master Hyper 612 $43 @ newegg.ca or Cooler Master TPC-812 $65 ($45 AR) @ cc

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Just a thought...Cooler Master Haf 922 case has a USB 3 connection and is highly rated, 99.00 at Newegg.

 

[Hephasto]

Hi guys, thank you very much for the feedback, in particular Sleepforest for providing an itemized list. I'll look into the 7970 and see if I'm comfortable purchasing it - at a glance I like the idea of an extra gig of video memory and the price is right. I will most likely be the happy owner of a new kick ass system in the near future :awe:

 

[mfenn]

I'm glad I have an mfenn seal of approval.

Hey, it's not that hard to get as long as you keep making solid recommendations. :thumbsup: