Which PC should I go for?

[oskhan]

Hey guys....Im currently lookin to buy a gaming PC with a price range of around $2300 Canadian(before taxes).

I looked at Dell(i know, i know, not best for gaming) and for that price I can get:

Pentium® 4 Processor 640 with HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (2x512M)
17 in 1704FPT Ultrasharp? Digital Flat Panel Display
256MB PCI Express? x16 (DVI/VGA/TV-out) ATI Radeon? X850 XT PE
FREE Upgrade to 250GB SATA Hard Drive - $250 Value
Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable
Sound Blaster Audigy?2 (D) Card w/Dolby 5.1, and IEEE 1394 capability
And speakers, keyboard mouse, and 2 year warranty, and some software

I looked at this other site, Extreme-pc.ca and for around that same price I can get:
Processor (CPU) [1] AMD Athlon64 3000+ Processor - Socket 939 Boxed (90nm)
Motherboard MSI K8N NEO4-F nFORCE4 S939 PCI-X 7.1 Sound/SATA/GBLan/RAID/USB
Memory (RAM) [1] 2x 512MB OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Dual Channel Gold Rev 2
Case / Chassis TT VA3000-BWA Tsunami Series Aluminum Mid Tower w/Window (w/o PS) - Hi-Gloss Black
Power Supply OCZ 520W PowerStream 2X Fan Power Supply (AMD/P4) - ATX/BTX/EPS12V
CPU Cooler [1] AMD Athlon 64 Retail CPU Cooler

CD Writer (CDR/DVDR) NEC 3520B Dual Layer 16X DVD+RW/-RW X48 CDRW Optical Writer - Black (w/o S/W)
I/O Controller Card On-Board Serial ATA 150 RAID Controller
Video Card (GPU) Sapphire ATI Radeon X800XL PCI-X 256MB DD3 DVI / TV Out (Retail)
LCD Monitor - LCD (Flat Panel) ACER 17" 1714B TFT LCD- BLACK
Keyboard Thermaltake XaserIII Keyboard & Optical Mouse - Silver
Network Card On-Board 10/100/1000 Gigabit Integrated Network Card
Operating System Windows XP Home Edition (English - OEM)
Warranty Standard 1 Year Parts and 5 Year Labor Warranty Included Free
No HDD (I have a 120GB HD Im thinkin of using, but its Ultra ATA...)

I like the graphics card on the Dell machine, and Im thinkin that the LCD will definetly be better. Dont like the intel processor, and the fact that Dell doesnt specify what memory, mobo, and psu it uses.

I like on the other machine that its AMD, I like the PSU, the memory Im sure is alot better . But the graphics card and LCD I dont think will be as good as the one on the Dell... and it seems awfully expensive to me, particularly when you consider it has no HDD and Im using what are basically mid end CPU and GPU.

So, what do you guys think is the better one to get? Which one will last me longer and play upcoming and future games better? Thanks alot.

Or should I just screw all this and build on my own? If so, any Canadians know some good Canadian shops(near Toronto) or sites where I can order from?

 

[imported_Kensai]

Are you crazy!?! 2300$ can get you alot better stuff than that. I've built fair gaming systems for 1500-2000$. I don't know of any good Canadian stores that retail online, but www.monarchcomputer.com is fine for orders, they'll ship to Canada and don't kill you on fines.

Build it on your own. You won't regret it. Also, there really isn't a major difference between SATA and IDE except for the cables. Currently, a single drive cannot saturate the ATA133 bandwidth, so what's the point of SATA150. But of course if you're running RAID or a big fat army of drives, it's a different story. Your ATA drive will serve you fine for now.

Actually, the x800XL is regarded as mid-high end. As it has 16 pipelines I believe and performs admirably for it's price. You can get an x800XL for around 400$ CAD last time I checked.

~Do you think you could price out your pieces? I'm wondering where all the money went.

 

[oskhan]

Yah. Ive been thinking about building it on my own...but the problem is Ive never done it before. Can anyone provide me with a list of exactly what parts ill need If I buy everything in retail box? Also include any cables, fans and stuff ill need to buy.


Ive tried pricing out the pieces...

RAM:
$336

CPU:
$200.00

Mobo
$175

PSU:
$174

DVD:
$85

Graphics Card
Around $450 here, which is crazy since at the exchange rate it should only be around $375.

Monitor
310

Case
167

KB/M
73

A good site I found is infonec computers(best so far), but even there the graphic cards are wildly overpriced. Lowest x800xl is like $440.

 

[oskhan]

Also..Ive looked at Monarch, but there is quite a bit of $$ for shipping. Its why Im looking to buy Canadian. And some of the parts I want(PSU, memory) arent available in their custom system options.

 

[bcoupland]

I'm canadian as well, and the online store I reccommend is ncix.com. They are pretty much the "newegg" of canada. I have ordered over $2000 of stuff from them and they shipped it very fast, even without the optional "overnight" shipping. Check them out at resellerratings.com. They get great reviews. They are based out of Vancouver, but shipping shouldn't be too much. Usually, ncix.com has the best prices in Canada, and they have lots of stock. I hope this helps.

 

[aplefka]

Wish I wasn't leaving right now so I could better help you out. I would say don't set your budget that high though.

 

[oskhan]

Maybe you can help me now

Im not planning to get Monarch, but I had earlier sent them an email wondering why they didnt have 2x 512MB OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Dual Channel Gold Rev 2 and OCZ Powerstream 520w avaialbe for their custom Pc. This is the reply they gave me:

Thank you for your inquiry.

We do not offer any PC4000 memory in the configurators since it is out
of spec for the motherboard.
We do not offer the OCZ Powerstream in the configurator due to previous
problems with that series of power supplies.

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
Sincerely,
Rick
Monarch Computer Sales
770-939-8886
800-611-0875

Has anyone heard of these problems with Powerstream? And the Pc4000 will still be good if I want to OC, right? (im getting a DFI nForce4 Ultra D or MSI K8N nForce 4) Will it work on my mobo?

Also...anyone know which AMD Athlon 64 3000+ is the best? Winchester?

 

[IntegraGSR]

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=152446 :thumbsup:

 

[oskhan]

Nice. Ty very much. Now I just need some other qs answered.

 

[hippotautamus]

www.ncix.com my good man. Do NOT buy the dell...the CPU alone is good enough reason, there is absolutely no excuse for buying an Intel, especially for gaming. The 3000+ will destroy all but the Extreme Edition intel CPUs (and at a $1000 canadian price difference )

Custom build with ncix, its the best canadian online retailer I have found. Have fun

 

[oskhan]

Okay...but should I go for Venice or Winchester? And is it worth gettin the PC400 Gold rev 2 ram if I plan on OCing ?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: oskhan
Okay...but should I go for Venice or Winchester? And is it worth gettin the PC400 Gold rev 2 ram if I plan on OCing ?

Venice, yes.
X800XLs can be found for sub $300 what are you talking about. Fry's sells them for $299 and you can usually find a deal for cheaper ones. I suggest you to get OCZ VX if you're gonna spend money on Rev2.

 

[Jeff7181]

Do you like tinkering? Are you good at solving problems with your computer? Do you like being able to upgrade anything whenever you feel like it?

If yes, build your own. If no, get a pre-built... not necessarily Dell... you might get more bang for your buck by buying an A64 HP system and configuring it with a 6800GT or x800XL and 1 GB of system RAM.

 

[aplefka]

Every time I see this thread it's right when I'm about to leave. On the CPU I would suggest getting a Pentium only if you plan on doing a lot of rendering/encoding of videos, otherwise AMD > Intel. Plus the upgrade tree for AMD is much easier to follow whereas with Intel you have to upgrade your mobo practically everytime you upgrade your CPU.

Maybe I can give more in-depth analysis of the system when I get back.

 

[Silversierra]

FREE Upgrade to 250GB SATA Hard Drive - $250 Value

What the junk. $250 value? A 250gb only costs about $125 us, so even in cad. dollars, no way it's a $250 value, more like $50.