New High-End Build

[Godlik3]

Hello, looking to make a new PC from scratch. I play all types of game and do some basic editting. I'm Canadian so all parts are in places that can ship to Canada, I have a budget of about 1,400 CAD. Thanks!

 

[lehtv]

By 'from scratch', do you mean including OS, monitor, mouse, keyboard etc?

If you already own a monitor, what resolution does it have?

 

[Godlik3]

I have a keyboard, mouse, and can get a OS from a friend, I use a 1600x900 but im getting a new monitor so it'll be 1920x1080.

 

[lehtv]

Alright, this is pretty straight forward then - Intel i5 + GTX 970 is what you need.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($247.56 @ Amazon Canada)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 87.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($124.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($409.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($102.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($179.95 @ Vuugo)
Total: $1433.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-20 04:22 EDT-0400

Optical drive is optional.

If you have a separate budget for the monitor, grab a 144hz gaming monitor for $300.

16GB of RAM is also not out of the question for editing purposes, but for light editing, 8GB will be just fine.

 

[lehtv]

Meant to link the monitor from NCIX: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/benq-monitor-gl2460hm

 

[mfenn]

Nice build from lehtv!

 

[Godlik3]

Thanks!

 

[RaistlinZ]

Would the R9 390 be a better option for editing? I'm not sure how much VRAM comes into play.

 

[Ken g6]

Hm, he didn't say what kind of editing he's doing, did he? But I can't think of a type of editing that needs 8GB VRAM. Text and video editing can't be improved by more VRAM. Photo editing shouldn't need 8GB. If there's game editing/3D modeling involved it might help but I doubt it.

 

[nsafreak]

8GB is really the minimum I recommend for gaming nowadays though. I frequently see the more demanding games I play hitting around 6 GB of usage even at 1080p and with the minimal price difference between 4GB and 8GB there's no reason not to go with 8GB.

Edit Doh, misread that Ken was talking about VRAM and not system RAM. To my knowledge most 3D editing suites use system RAM more than VRAM and when it comes to gaming you'll have to be running at a higher resolution than 1080p to see any difference, I still haven't seen full RAM usage on my Titan even with all of the details turned up to max on games like Star Citizen & Skyrim (fairly well modded).

 

[mfenn]

Hm, he didn't say what kind of editing he's doing, did he? But I can't think of a type of editing that needs 8GB VRAM. Text and video editing can't be improved by more VRAM. Photo editing shouldn't need 8GB. If there's game editing/3D modeling involved it might help but I doubt it.

Me neither. I can't think of an editing suite that is doing anything intensive enough to need 8GB of VRAM with its default set of GPU accelerated components.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I could only add a qualification to lehtv's list.

Indeed, the ASUS 970 Strix is a good GTX 970 card. When I was choosing my own 970's, ASUS was the first choice according to my mobo preferences for ASUS and previous experience with a GTX 780 card.

But there were too many Egg customer-reviews that mentioned "coil-whine." After looking at a plethora of reviews, I picked the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G. I even wasted extra money to buy the "Golden Edition" cards with the sturdy back-plate. But the lesser of the two versions is fine.

Just a thought, and I wouldn't rule out the Strix if you can get it for a price.

 

[mfenn]

I could only add a qualification to lehtv's list.

Indeed, the ASUS 970 Strix is a good GTX 970 card. When I was choosing my own 970's, ASUS was the first choice according to my mobo preferences for ASUS and previous experience with a GTX 780 card.

But there were too many Egg customer-reviews that mentioned "coil-whine." After looking at a plethora of reviews, I picked the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G. I even wasted extra money to buy the "Golden Edition" cards with the sturdy back-plate. But the lesser of the two versions is fine.

Just a thought, and I wouldn't rule out the Strix if you can get it for a price.

Buying an uber expensive card doesn't mean that you won't get one with coil whine. It's a side effect of the manufacturing process and really just luck of the draw.