It's time for a new build!

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[FX]Roman

Gawd
Joined
Apr 16, 2002
Messages
819
... Good lord has it been a long time; about a touch over three years!
Since then I've been somewhat less in-the-loop about what's currently hot, so I'm asking for some advice as to where I need to blow my cash (it doesn't have to be right away).

My budget:
~1500/~1750 CAD.

Current [H]ardware:
I've got a machine stocked with SATA drives, so storage is no issue, and a couple of good monitors, etc. Screens are low on my list, but a SSD drive (for my gaming OS) would be rather delicious.

My desire:
I'm really looking for a powerful gaming machine: SSD, quick RAM and maybe a dual/quad core intel (I'd like to try to emulate OSX/Leopard).


I'd love to hear any good suggestions you may have. :)
Merry Xmas.:D
 
Please answer the questions in the sticky marked "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better.
 
My bad! Here goes:


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
1a) Gaming mainly, web dev (photoshop, DW, etc). I really want to emulate OSX/Leopard, but that might be out of scope.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
2a) ~1700 CAD, CAD.

3) Where do you live?
3a) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
4a) Case (don't care so long that its big and has good airflow), RAM, Mobo, CPU, GPU, SSD, DVD R/W

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
5a) Only some old SATA (maxtor drives), not even noteworthy.

6) Will you be overclocking?
6a) No.

7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
7a) Currently I have 2 19s (one CRT, one LCD). I'll buy another later.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
8a) Fairly soon/within the month. If there's any deals I can capitalize on, the better!

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
9a) All of these are low on my list, but Crossfire/SLI would be a nice-to-have.


... Basically, lots of RAM, quick (main) SSD, an awesome GPU and CPU (leaning towards Intel). Again, many thanks for any tips!
 
Yes we can dude. Under $1500 CAD is possible with a 128gig SSD drive, Q9550 quad cpu, 8 gigs of RAM, Radeon HD 4870 1gig video card.
 
Case - Coolermaster Centurion 590 ATX Tower Case Black for $61.00
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119152

PSU - BFG 550LS 550W Power Supply for $91($10 MIR)
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=29576&vpn=BFGR550WLSPSU&manufacture=BFG Technologies

Cpu/Video Card (Combo Deal) - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550(2.83ghz) + HIS high-tech Radeon HD4870 1gig($10 MIR) both for $635
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.149190

Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R for $145($15 MIR)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359

- 8 x Sata 3gb/s ports
- 16GB total ram support
- Sata Raid 0/1/5/10

Ram - 2X OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB (2x2GB) for $44/each total $88
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227334

SSD - G.SKILL FM-25S2S-128GB 128GB 2.5IN SATA2 Solid State Disk Flash Drive for $363
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34720&vpn=FM-25S2S-128GB&manufacture=G.SKILL

Optical - Samsung 22X DVD Burner for $30
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171


Total: $1,413.00

Note: There’s a 64gb G. Skill SSD for $192.28 if you want to cut the price down even more.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34721&vpn=FM-25S2S-64GB&manufacture=G.SKILL
 
Damn, thank you for the quick reply.
That looks like quite the deal - And the CPU/GPU combo is pretty good (plus it has some nice reviews).

For the CPU... It seems like Vista would probably be the better OS to run, no?


This deal looks good enough for me to almost go ahead and buy...
 
Oh snap, I forgot to mention/add a PSU! Any good ideas? Perhaps there's a case that comes with one that can be swapped for what's there now?

Thanks again!
 
PSU is also added I added the BFG LS-550 PSU. Very good power supply. Has 40A on the +12V
 
Well.. you would need Vista 64 in order to see and utilize 8 gigs of RAM.


[FX]Roman;1033503922 said:
Damn, thank you for the quick reply.
That looks like quite the deal - And the CPU/GPU combo is pretty good (plus it has some nice reviews).

For the CPU... It seems like Vista would probably be the better OS to run, no?


This deal looks good enough for me to almost go ahead and buy...
Click to expand...
 
Case - Coolermaster Centurion 590 Review

Power Supply - BFG LS-550 Review

Mobo - Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R Review

Ram - OCZ Fatal1ty 4gig DDR2 800 Review

Video Card - ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB Review

SSD - G.Skill SSD Solid State Disk 64 GB Review

Optical Drive - Samsung SH-S223F Review

You really can't go wrong with this build.
 
You know, since you will be primarily gaming on this PC, the SSD 128gig for the price is not worth it as this time. 128gigs is small considering games take up alot of space and games install primarily on the boot drive. So, maybe you should drop that 128gig SSD drive for this WD 6400AAKS 640gig.

I know, you have alot of SATA drives already. But, this 640 gig is fast and quiet. Look at these Reviews.
 
Thank you for all the great comments - You rock, guys.

Now the final, and most important question: Do you think the time is right to start building a gaming rig?
With Diablo3 and StarCraft 2 still ways away, would it be wise to go ahead with this venture? Thoughts?
 
The common consensus on when to build is: Wait as long as you can until you can't wait any longer.

If you need a new computer now, get it now. If you can wait until Diablo III or StarCraft 2 arrives, then wait until after they arrive.
 
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