Mid-Range Budget Build

[InFeXiOn]

Since the last time I didn't consult the wisdom of Aandtech this time I'm going to for sure. I'm looking to build a mid-range gaming system for a total of $800-900 CAD. Since I'm in Canada we don't have the luxury that is NewEgg so I'm going to list a few sites that you can take a look at for part options:

www.canadacomputers.com
www.tigerdirect.ca
www.ncix.com

I pretty much need it all:

Case
Motherboard
CPU
RAM
Video Card
Hard Drive
DVD-Writer
Power Supply

I'll just use onboard sound, so don't worry about that. Looking for a decent video card to, hopefully enough to push mid-range games like WoW on a 24'' Dell 2407 at native resolution smoothly - if that's even possible?

Either AMD or Intel. Suprise me.

 

[Azndude51]

I'll let someone else try to configure a rig for you, but don't get your hopes up. With only $800-900 CAD for an entire system, you most likely won't be able to play recent games at 1920x1200 smoothly.

 

[f4phantom2500]

ideally, shoot for a dual core processor (core 2 if possible, second choice a64 x2, third choice pentium d). if you get an intel one, try to get a p965 motherboard, if amd, go for an nforce 5 board. for RAM try to get at least 1 gig now, 2 is preferred, but if the motherboard has 4 ram slots you can always get 2 512 sticks now and 2 later. video card i wouldnt go below a 7600gt (x1650xt, x1800gto, etc, but 7600gt will probably be the best deal). hard drive, whatever size you want just make sure it's sata and has at least an 8mb cache and spins at 7200rpm. dvd writer, whichever you like (make sure it's name brand), case doesn't matter too much, obviously you'll want a nice one but if you have a limited budget i would focus on case last; i have a centurion 5 and i really like it, but you can make due with a piece of crap if you have to lol. power supply, try to get an antec, seasonic, coolermaster, ocz...w/e make sure it's a good brand and has good amps on the 12v rail (high 20's or if it's dual 12v mid~high teens). I just got an Ultra V 500w psu, works great (although I don't really know the company that well, it was free after a rebate so...lol).

hope that helps; just look around using this as a sort of guide and post your findings.

 

[InFeXiOn]

Well, I'm not really playing a ton of recent games. Some of the older ones, yeah. Nothing like Oblivion on that crazy resolution or anything.

 

[n7]

Do you need OS?

Give me a few minutes & i'll come up with some ideas.

 

[InFeXiOn]

No, I don't need an OS and I don't see the use for a huge hard drive either. Just need a nice video card, decent processor and the likes. Take all the time you need - I love the help at this forum.

 

[InFeXiOn]

I also don't have an objection to buying used, it's just a longer more drawn out process at finding the best deals around for the parts I need. For that, there's a local forum I like to visit that people use here in Canada at www.RedFlagDeals.com, so if you guys couldn't think of much and had an extra few minutes to peek around there you'd see some of the used prices in CAD for certain parts. Appreciate the help thus far, too.

 

[n7]

Alright, here are my ideas based on your budget (which is really hard to work with )
Remember this is CDN dollars (to anyone looking).

A lot of the prices are based off the current NCIX sale which is good till Jan. 9.


C2D E6300 - $218.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...57E6300&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1074
OCs well, & will do even better when/if you get better RAM.

Asus P5B - $145.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...5-G0UAYZ&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1074
Good cheaper mobo for OCing.

OCZ 1 GB DDR2-667 5-5-5 - $119.99 - 11 MIR ($108.99)
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...ufacture=OCZ%20Technology&promoid=1074
You'll need to buy another 1 GB dimm later, as i simply couldn't fit 2 GB into your budget for now. Later if you want to OC alot, you'll need better RAM anyway.

eVGA 7900 GS - $189.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...-N622-AR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1074
or
Asus X1950 Pro - $201.96
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?s...=EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M&manufacture=ASUS
Better deal for the X1950 Pro IMO.

WD Caviar 250 GB SATA2 - $87.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...facture=Western%20Digital&promoid=1074
Switch this out for whatever brand/size/etc. you want in that range.

LG H22N - $35.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...ufacture=LG%20Electronics&promoid=1074
Again, there are lots of alternatives you can do instead if desired.

Antec Sonata 2 w/ 450W PSU - $109.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...TA%20II&manufacture=ANTEC&promoid=1074
You might want to check local deals for cases, as shipping isn't so cheap for them.
If you go that route, this is a good cheap PSU you can use that will work for all but the very high end video cards:
FSP/SPI 400W - $45.15 (remember no power cord included with it)
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...400-PN-B&manufacture=FSP%20GROUP%20USA

Total w/ 7900 GS = $908.93 + S/H + GST - $11 MIR
or w/ X1950 Pro $920.90 + S/H + GST - $11 MIR


Alternate idea:
Go with an entry level CPU for now (P-D), upgrade later to C2D, but use that money saved toward a better GPU.

Pentium D 805 - $118.56
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?s...n=BX80551PE2666FN%20&manufacture=INTEL

Sapphire X1950 XT - $318.60
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?s...=102-A52068-50-AT&manufacture=SAPPHIRE

eVGA 7950 GT - $254.99 - 15 MIR ($239.99)
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...64&vpn=256-P2-N636-AR&manufacture=eVGA

Total w/ Pentium D & X1950 XT - $937.11 + S/H + GST - $11 MIR
Total w/ Pentium D & 7950 GT - $873.50 + S/H + GST - $26 MIR

Keep in mind with this option you are likely going to need a better cooler for OCing that Pentium D, & yes, you're gonna want to OC so the Pentium D isn't so slow.

I personally actually would go this route since you have such a high resolution display.
Then you can buy a C2D later, & use whatever cooler you get later also.

 

[n7]

Yes, i was also going to suggest looking @ RFD for some used deals, as your budget is kinda low for what you need.

 

[InFeXiOn]

I like the recommendations quite a bit, thanks a ton. The Pentium D route and then upgrading later also seems like a decent idea; never thought of that to be honest. I could look around at used prices as well, but trying to snag deals like that gets tedious. I'm wondering how much this would come to with GST/PST + S/H to see how close it would be the projected budget.

You think the first (or second, alternate) configuration would run a game like WoW for example with high settings on a Dell 2407 at native resolution smoothly, or no?

 

[n7]

Editted main suggestion post with my recommendation.

You really are gonna need 2 GB of RAM ASAP, but with the Pentium D OCed + the better card, i think it might happen?

Not too familiar with WoW, but for games, better video card is always imperative.

 

[InFeXiOn]

2GB RAM might be manageable if I can find a nice local deal on a kit, which may be quite easy as I've seen some good stuff go up for sale recently. I've also seen people on RFD selling e6300's for quite cheap, and snagging a motherboard with it for ~$300 would be a good deal I would think for the pair. Bargain hunting on RFD though is tough sometimes because some people always manage to pick-up those good deals before I get a crack at them. I'll look around though and see what's there.

Any more recommendations?

 

[imported_Imp]

n7's suggestion is good, except the 'step up later' P4 D. You only save a bit ($100-$200), but remember when you do upgrade, that $118 on the P4 goes straight down the drain. That's what I planned with my system, get a 3200+ now, get an X2 later. Now, I can't justify throwing the 3200+ down the drain ($200) one year later. Would have been better just paying the extra $150 up front.

As for 1Gb Ram, it's good enough now. It will be great for the next few months, although 2Gb will be great now. But you could spent that $110 towards a better GPU, then just hunt for deals to score another stick when you have the money.

Good luck on that budget, it's what I built my rig on last Christmas. The pisser is that after you have to build around upgrading so you still spend more in the long run. FYI, my $800 rig was a $1300 rig just 4 months after being built...

 

[InFeXiOn]

Well right now I've got:

X2 4200+
2GB OCZ PC4000 DDR
ASUS A8N SLi-32 Deluxe
ThermalRight XP-90c
300GB Maxtor 7200rpm 16mb Buffer
GeForce 7600GS 512mb DDR2

It just seems like it's overkill considering I don't play a ton of high-end games or anything - so why have such a powerful system? I was thinking to downgrade the computer and snag myself a 24'' Dell screen cause I'd prefer to have the slightly lower-end computer but with a nice, big screen for everyday use and for the games that I do play.

 

[imported_Imp]

Whaaa... Now I don't really get why you're 'down-grading'... That rig is mid-range now, and will last for another year running high at least (subject to GPU limitations). Are you planning on selling what you have now? It's already worth less, and 'worse' than a C2D 6300.

BTW, not sure if Dell still has the sale, but dell.ca had the 2407 on sale for $699 down from $899 just this past week.

 

[InFeXiOn]

Oh, the 2407 I'll be getting BNIB for a VERY fair price, haha.. so I'm not worried about that. And I'm kicking myself in the ass because I spent like ~$1100-1200 on this system like 4 months ago when I was a complete noob and didn't consult anywhere like here and could've easily got more bang my buck by choosing different components. And yeah, I was planning on selling what I had now.. trying to get at least $1000 for it locally, which should be pretty easy I think.. got some offers so far. Still don't know what I want to do.

I'm so turned off from computer stuff now because I made such a pricey mistake in going s939 and X2. It kills.

 

[hellokeith]

Here's the best I could do with your budget, all at Tigerdirect.ca:

P456-3002 :: Powmax Beige ATX Mid-Tower Case with 450Watt Power Supply (13 lbs)

S458-1246 :: ECS P965T-A Intel Socket 775 ATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 / Serial ATA / RAID (2.8 lbs)

CP1-DUO-E6300 P :: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86GHz Processor with Fan & Ghost Recon 3: Advanced Warfighter PC Game CD (0.6 lbs)

O261-7006 :: OCZ Value Dual Channel 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz Memory (2 x 512MB) (0.5 lbs)

TSD-80M3 :: Maxtor / DiamondMax 10 / 80GB / 7200 / 8MB / SATA-300 / OEM / Hard Drive (1 lbs)

P450-7834 :: XFX GeForce 7600 GT XXX / 256MB GDDR3 / SLI / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / Video Card (1.35 lbs)

N27-1896 :: NEC Super Multi (AD-7170A) / 16x DVD±R Read / 18x DVD±R Burn / 8x DVD±RW / 8x DVD-R DL / 12x DVD-RAM / 48x32x CD-R/RW / Silver / OEM DVD Burner (2.35 lbs)

Total=$858 CAD. Shipping is not included, but $40 shipping will still keep you under $900 total.

 

[InFeXiOn]

That's all with tax, or what? That RAM is slow, geez, haha. And 7600GT? Previous recommendations had at least 7900. Will continue to look around, or just keep my current system. I hate dilemmas.