Desktop workstation

H

Hanif

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
448
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

I will be gaming, business work and downloading

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$700CAD incl tax

3) Where do you live?

Toronto, ON

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

All parts including monitor, keyboard/mouse, cpu, ram, case, power supply

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

None

6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

Not sure...whatever in budget

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Now

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

Umm... gigabit ethernet and SPDIF/Optical audio out; ATX is preferred over MATX. No crossfire necessary.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?

Yes, I have Windows 7 Ultimate.

Please provide system quotes for a i3 or i5 Intel processor. I would love a Lian Li case but its out of my budget.

Thanks,

Hanif
 
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Jesus Christ man, we make a new setup for you every two months or so. Are you actually gonna buy the PC now? You say you're gonna buy soon in every thread but two months later, another build request.

Not saying it's a hassle creating a new build list for you but it's very odd/curious about this every two month a new build thing.
 
I will buy it Danny, I was switching between mac and pc...now I am definitely going to get a PC
 
If you say so. But it's a bit weird that you're asking for a new build roughly every two months:
4-17-2010:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1512090

2-04-2010:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1492484

12-25-2010:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1480912

11-14-2009:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1469162

I mean if you're building a PC for someone else, at least just come out and say so.

Also, you didn't answer question 4 correctly: I said "Everything" is not a valid answer. "All parts" is pretty much the same thing as "Everything". So please list out the parts you actually need for the PC. i.e Monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc, etc,etc.

Oh and I'm guessing you want to use Canada Computers again?
 
first post updated
no these PCs are for me and my budget has changed since those posts Danny please understand I am not trying to waste time and your advice is valued
Thanks

Yes Canada computers or any local store to avoid shipping charges
 
A Core i3 or even a Core i5 is simply not possible with your small budget without sacrificing a serious amount of gaming performance. Here's what I was able to come up with:
$63 CAD - Kingston ValueRAM 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$120 CAD - Sapphire HD 4850 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$40 CAD - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$25 CAD - Asus DVD Burner
$60 CAD - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU
$43 CAD - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$130 CAD - Acer G205H bmd 20" LCD Monitor
$8 CAD - Microsoft Optical Mouse
$20 CAD - Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000
---
$509 CAD plus tax

That'll only leave you with $191 CADfor the CPU and mobo. At that price point your best is AMD.
 
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Ok, perhaps I should save at least $900-$1000 then Thanks alot Danny
 
Well I was a bit overdramatic: You just need an extra $27 CAD:
$128 CAD - Intel Core i3-530 CPU
$90 CAD - Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 Intel P55 mATX Motherboard
$63 CAD - Kingston ValueRAM 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$120 CAD - Sapphire HD 4850 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$40 CAD - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$25 CAD - Asus DVD Burner
$60 CAD - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU
$43 CAD - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$130 CAD - Acer G205H bmd 20" LCD Monitor
$8 CAD - Microsoft Optical Mouse
$20 CAD - Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000
---
Total: $727 plus tax and shipping.

However I would not recommend a Core i3 whatsoever outside of special circumstances since you can get an AMD quad-core for that price. Considering that many games takes advantage of quad-core CPUs, for gaming, it doesn't make much of a case to buy a dual-core CPU.
 
Danny thats awesome. Lets go for AMD then. Lets go for AMD tri-core which should be cheaper Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 or Logitech Illuminated keyboard which is $50? I think I prefer the Logitech, what do you think?
 
Hanif said:
Danny thats awesome. Lets go for AMD then. Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 or Logitech Illuminated keyboard which is $50? I think I prefer the Logitech, what do you think?
Click to expand...

All up to you if the extra $30 for the Logitech is worth it. Keyboards and mouses are mostly personal choice items. You will have to up your budget another $30 if you go with the Logitech though.

AMD setup:
$105 - AMD Athlon II X4 630 CPU
$75 - MSI 770-C45 AMD 770 Motherboard
 
Would the RAM change too? from DDR3 to DDr2?

Nevermind it wouldn't
 
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And if the 4850 is not in stock, which gpu should I get? I am buying all this tomorrow and I will post pics once its done :)
 
Hanif said:
And if the 4850 is not in stock, which gpu should I get? I am buying all this tomorrow and I will post pics once its done :)
Click to expand...

HD 4670 1GB if you can find it for $70 CAD. 9800GT if you can find it for $80 CAD.
 
I'll go with the Microsoft Curve keyboard, with everything it costs under $800!
including Asus PCI Wireless Adapter card
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=27_364&item_id=029117

Thanks so much Danny !! I hope this system lasts a few years for me

What about a Asus EAH5670/DI/512MD5 ATI Radeon HD 5670 Chipset (775MHz ) 512MB (4.0Ghz) GDDR5 Dual Display DVI/HDMI/D-Sub Display PCI-Express 2.1 Graphics Card? - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=43_557_558&item_id=030409 I won't be playing at high resolutions anyway because I don't have a 1080P monitor
 
Got all the parts today at CC. But they gave me a display model for the case. Too bad when I got home, the case wasn't a Coolmaster 335. Its so small the ATX motherboard would not fit. I am so upset. I will go back tomorrow and get the case.
 
Danny, if they don't have the Coolmaster case which case should I get then?
 
build complete. I got the case today and it came with a 420 power supply so I returned the Corsair one.

I also opted for the following video card:
Asus EAH5670/DI/1GD5 ATI Radeon HD 5670 Chipset (775MHz ) 1GB (4.0Ghz) GDDR5 Dual Display DVI/HDMI/D-Sub Display PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card

Installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64. Got Windows Exprience Index rating of 5.5 (processor - 7.2, memory - 5.5, graphics - 7.0, gaming graphics - 7.0, and primary hard disk - 5.9)

Snappy PC so far and happy with my purchase. Thanks to Danny and the rest of the posters.
 
Oh come on!

Don't use the PSU that comes with the case. I'm more than willing to bet that included PSU is a piece of shit that will harm your hardware. So go back and get that Corsair.
 
Awesome machine, plays games at high setings at 1080P.

The PSU works fine. I rather spend the money on 4GB RAM, 2GB is sluggish on Windows 7.
 
Hanif said:
Awesome machine, plays games at high setings at 1080P.

The PSU works fine. I rather spend the money on 4GB RAM, 2GB is sluggish on Windows 7.
Click to expand...

No. Get the PSU. Included PSUs can take your whole setup with it when/if they blow.

The 420w PSU in the case is probably crap that can't handle a 420w load.
 
Hanif said:
build complete. I got the case today and it came with a 420 power supply so I returned the Corsair one.
Click to expand...

Noooooooooooo..........

Danny Bui said:
Oh come on!

Don't use the PSU that comes with the case. I'm more than willing to bet that included PSU is a piece of shit that will harm your hardware. So go back and get that Corsair.
Click to expand...

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssss

Hanif said:
Awesome machine, plays games at high setings at 1080P.

The PSU works fine. I rather spend the money on 4GB RAM, 2GB is sluggish on Windows 7.
Click to expand...

Noooooooooooo.....

What case is it anyways? Can you give a model number for the psu? Any specs or anything?
 
The case is a Coolermaster Elite 335 Black ATX Mid Tower Case 4X5.25 6X3.5INT 1X3.5EXT W/ 420W Power Supply
 
Hanif said:
The PSU works fine. I rather spend the money on 4GB RAM, 2GB is sluggish on Windows 7.
Click to expand...

Works fine NOW but what about LATER? If the PSU came with the case, then it's more than likely capable of killing a gaming PC like yours in a short amount of time. Jeez, the one awesome advice that we're giving you is the one you're ignoring.

As for Windows 7 being sluggish with 2GB of RAM: You're doing something wrong. I've done plenty of out-of-box WIndows 7 installs on systems with 2GB of RAM and they're not sluggish at all.

EDIT: Yeah definitely replace the PSU. No included PSU with a Coolermaster case has ever been good or even decent.
 
Danny Bui said:
...REPLACE THAT PSU WITH THE CORSAIR 400CX!
Click to expand...

I agree. The included CM PSU is really only a 230W unit uprated to 420W. Trying to power a workstation with that PSU is like trying to power a brand-new Corvette with an old GM Iron Duke ("Tech IV") four-cylinder engine.
 
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Could that be a reason why the system runs sluggish? I do see high memory utilization though around 1.5GB
 
Should I go for the Cooler Master Silent Pro M500 Modular 500W Power Supply (RS-500-AMBA-D3) or the Corsair CMPSU-400CX 400W Power Supply. Both $59.99
 
Hanif said:
build complete. I got the case today and it came with a 420 power supply so I returned the Corsair one.

I also opted for the following video card:
Asus EAH5670/DI/1GD5 ATI Radeon HD 5670 Chipset (775MHz ) 1GB (4.0Ghz) GDDR5 Dual Display DVI/HDMI/D-Sub Display PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card

Installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64. Got Windows Exprience Index rating of 5.5 (processor - 7.2, memory - 5.5, graphics - 7.0, gaming graphics - 7.0, and primary hard disk - 5.9)

Snappy PC so far and happy with my purchase. Thanks to Danny and the rest of the posters.
Click to expand...

The relatively low score on memory is about the best score that any system with only 2GB of RAM can muster. Don't worry; I find the Windows Experience tests useless except to weed out the really slow components (those that score less than about 4.0).
 
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