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ROG g20 versus a custom built desktop

N

niss

Junior Member
I am looking to potentially upgrade my system soon. I currently have a gaming laptop. I mostly play older games (wow, dota2, d3, various strategy games) on it but I have had to lower the settings to enjoy things.


I'm currently looking at the ROG G20 at this particular local vendor (canada)
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX54326

Is this a reasonable choice? What would it cost to build an equivalent plain desktop system (using options available at same vendor as I don't want to deal with online sites) because I'm not that attached to this smaller set up?

Thanks a lot!
 
Oh that's not a bad idea. It would save me money for sure. Would the performance be equivalent? Doesn't the motherboard and hard drive play a part as well? Also upgrade ability doesn't matter a lot to me. I typically just replace the entire system every 3-4 years. I don't mind paying 10-15% more for the flexibility and not being hassled.

I could then also buy a better video card and if I wanted to pay an extra 100ish$ which would you suggest? Also any sense in adding 8gb of ram for a total of 12?
 
Sure. An 8gb stick is probably your best value. A GTX 960 would also be nice..
 
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The system that Burpo suggested would work fine although it wouldn't perform quite as well since it'd be relying on the iGPU instead of a dedicated GPU. You could add something like a GTX 750 Ti easily enough and that's what I would suggest unless you think you're going to be playing more demanding games in the future than what you've currently listed. More RAM wouldn't hurt as it would help with multitasking. If you plan to get into more intense games though that'd call for a different system suggestion.
 
If at all possible, build the PC yourself. You will always, always always have to make compromises on one or more of component quality, features, warranty and cost when buying any prebuilt gaming PC.
 
Thanks for the thoughts! I just realized I'd need to buy a new power supply to accommodate either the 750 or the 960...or at least I think? More work, le sigh.

I guess my original question was if I wNted to prebuild a custom system like in the ROG g20 linked what would it cost? I was hoping someone would be able to pick the equivalent components so I can gauge the options since the 100+ motherboards and such mean nothing to me. If it comes out to 1000 vs 1150 I'd probably pay for the g20 since the size (and free keyboard) and not being hassled mean more to me than future upgrade ability.

If I pick the the tower desktop suggested and a 750 and more ram it comes out to 900$ but then I have to add a new power supply and a keyboard and then it still might not be equivalent so is it really worth it?
 
I guess my original question was if I wNted to prebuild a custom system like in the ROG g20 linked what would it cost?
Click to expand...

Probably less than $1k, and that's with a separate SSD and HDD instead of a silly hybrid SSHD.

In any case, i5-4460 + GTX 750 is not very balanced. i3 + GTX 960 or i5 + GTX 970 would be ideal.

Not sure if by "prebuild a custom system" you mean picking parts and paying for it to be built... NCIX does that for $50, but it'd be better to build it yourself and pocket the money.
 
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Looks like you included USD prices 😉
So that would come out to about 1050 Canadian (if those components happen to be even available on that website) versus the 1100 ROG g20. When you say not balanced do you meAn that one of the components would be way over the top from what the other could do? In that case I'd rather have a more powerful CPU.

Edit: as far as I rememeber memory express does it for free if I buy the components from them. Which is why I prefer them and it comes out to ROG g20 versus getting an equivalent prebuilt one.
 
You shouldn't need to upgrade the PSU unless it comes with an incredibly anemic PSU as the 750 Ti doesn't require that much power. If you were to build it from parts all purchased from memoryexpress.ca you'd be looking at $899.91, not factoring in the cost of Windows although it was possible at one time to sign up and test Windows 10 and get the full version at no charge, not sure if that's possible now that it's been released. Here's the build I put together through memoryexpress.ca :


Product Name Qty Unit Price Price
Silverstone SG06BB-LITE Mini-iTX Case, Black
$69.99

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX52072
Intel Core™ i5-4590 Processor, 3.30GHz w/ 6MB Cache
$264.99

Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
$69.99
Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD SATA III w/ 64MB Cache
$69.99

Asus 24x DVD-RW Drive, SATA, OEM, Black
$19.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB PCI-E w/ G-SYNC, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
$174.99

INWIN PowerMan CQ3 Series 600 Watts ATX Power Supply
$74.99

Asus H97I-PLUS w/ DDR3 1600, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan
$134.99

Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600, Black
$19.99


Shipping: $-.-- Sub Total: $899.91 GST 5% $45.00
Total Shipping Weight:
19.0 lbs.​


Total:
$944.91

Some notes, memoryexpress' prices really are not that great and I agree with lehtv that a 750 Ti and a i5 4460 are not a balanced pair, problem is they're pricing the GTX 960 at $300 when you can find it for less elsewhere that's why I selected it for this build. Truth be told building a PC really is not difficult and I would suggest considering doing it yourself to get a better PC at a lower cost as well as shopping around for parts if at all possible.
 
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i5-4460 $235 http://www.ncix.com/detail/intel-core-i5-i5-4460-haswell-48-96203-1145.htm
2x4GB DDR3-1600 $60 http://www.ncix.com/detail/kingston-hyperx-fury-memory-white-a5-95966-1145.htm
Asrock H97M-ITX/ac $115 http://www.ncix.com/detail/asrock-h97m-itx-ac-motherboard-10-97214.htm?affiliateid=7474144
EVGA GTX 960 SSC $245 http://www.ncix.com/detail/evga-geforce-gtx-960-supersc-dd-105153.htm
WD Blue 1TB $63 http://www.ncix.com/detail/western-digital-caviar-blue-1tb-87-74462-1382.htm
128GB SSD $62 http://www.ncix.com/detail/sandisk-ultra-plus-128gb-2-5in-8c-81090-1493.htm
Asus DVD burner $18 http://www.ncix.com/detail/asus-drw-24f1st-24x-sata-dvd-6a-82953-1145.htm
Seasonic G450 $85 http://www.ncix.com/detail/seasonic-g-450-gold-450w-atx-49-76941-1382.htm
Thermaltake Core V1 $49 http://www.ncix.com/detail/thermalt...00-mnt-core-b5-100527.htm?affiliateid=7474144
Windows 10 $125 http://www.ncix.com/detail/microsoft-windows-10-home-64bit-58-110478-1917.htm
CM Storm Octane KB + M $58 http://www.ncix.com/detail/cooler-master-storm-octane-gaming-d5-103087-1049.htm
assembly and OS install $50 http://www.ncix.com/detail/pc-assembly-and-testing-with-6c-7842.htm
=$1165 after rebates

Compared to the ROG, this has Win 10, better HDD/SSD, much faster graphics card, better power supply, and better upgradeability thanks to being custom built. EDIT: And obviously much better warranty.

If you want to end up spending less than on the ROG:
i3-4170 $150 http://www.ncix.com/detail/intel-core-i3-4170-haswell-3-7-fc-109208-1563.htm
Gigabyte 750 Ti $154 http://www.ncix.com/detail/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-750-ti-3b-94301-1145.htm
-> $989

i5 + GTX 750 (Ti) just doesn't make sense. i3 handles GTX 750 Ti without a hitch and GTX 960 quite well still. So it's completely fine to just buy the i3 with GTX 960 and end up at $1074.

Or you can build in microATX which will save a bit on the motherboard:
B85M-E45 $75 http://www.ncix.com/detail/msi-b85m-e45-matx-lga1150-b85-05-105355-1145.htm
CM N200 $53 http://www.ncix.com/detail/cooler-master-n200-matx-18-84140-1145.htm
 
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Wait mini is smaller than micro?? In any case that first case is 11 inches high which is awesome! All of those components will fit together?

I was wrong about memory express. They now charge for assembly so It makes no sense going with them.

Finally is there any sense buying 16gb of ram? Or is overkill.
And is there any sense buying an additional fan for the case? It's cheap enough that I'd rather do that now than struggle to do it on my own later if itd be a good idea.

Thanks a lot for the help its greatly appreciated.
 
And is there any sense buying an additional fan for the case? It's cheap enough that I'd rather do that now than struggle to do it on my own later if itd be a good idea.
Click to expand...

No, both the Core V1 and the N200 have plenty of cooling for a low wattage setup such as this.
 
Thanks everyone. I went with lehtvs suggestions. Totalled 1260$ with taxes and shipping! I'll be able to recoup some of it with the rebates later.
 
Totalled 1260$ with taxes and shipping!
Click to expand...

Wow, nice. Taxes are what, 5-13% depending on province? You mustve left something out or downgraded something if you got to $1260 with taxes but before rebates ... ?
 
lehtv said:
Wow, nice. Taxes are what, 5-13% depending on province? You mustve left something out or downgraded something if you got to $1260 with taxes but before rebates ... ?
Click to expand...

I didn't get the keyboard since I can pick up something locally. Will probably come out to ~1200'if I care to send out the rebates. Otherwise I got all the items you suggested!

Tax is only 5% since no provincial tax in Alberta.
 
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