[800$ CAN] Gaming build!

[Drown]

Hello everyone,

 

a good friend of mine is looking for a new build. It's been a while since I've made any parts list and I haven't really keep up with the new technologies, so I might as well ask the pros.

 

Budget and location

 

800$ CAN, and he can only order from Canada Computers. He lives in the country and unfortunetly it's very hard for him to get Newegg/NCIX/Amazon to deliver where he lives (or near). He's willing to go up to 850$ if it's going to make a noticeable difference.

 

Aim

 

The main purpose of this build will be gaming, he's not playing a ton of games, mostly simulators like Euro Truck Simulator 2, SpinTires, Farming Simulator 2013 and Flight Simulator X. He wants to get the best performance for the price. He'll be using another computer for web browsing, programming and that sort of thing, so it's really for gaming.

 

Monitors

 

He currently bought a 23'' (or 24'', I don't remember) 1080p IPS monitor to use with this computer, so he won't need one.

 

Peripherals

 

Nope, he already has a keyboard and mouse, an OS and he doesn't need anything else (no WiFi card or anything).

 

Why are you upgrading?

 

He's currently using a Macbook and he's tired of poor gaming performance. He still needs a comptuer with OSX for iOS development, but he got a cheap Mac Mini for that. He'll be using both computers on the same monitor. So he's uprading because he wants to finally be able to game in high settings and have a high framerate.

 

Extra note (edit)

 

He'd prefer a Nvidia GPU over an AMD one, not that he's taking advantage of some of their specific technologies, but some of the games he play run noticeably better on Nvidia hardware. As for the CPU, Intel would also be preferable, but AMD could be fine if it was going to make a big performance difference for the same price.

 

 

 

I think that's all, let me know if you need to know anything else.

Thanks all for the help, it's very appreciated.

[skullbringer]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($134.99 @ Canada Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($35.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($79.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: *A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($79.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 270X 2GB DirectCU II Video Card  ($214.00 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($51.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $806.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 08:04 EDT-0400

 

for 50 bucks more he could go with a GTX 760

[Drown]

- snip -

 

Thanks mate for the quick reply, unfortunetly I forgot to include some key information in my initial post (see the "extra note" section), it should be showing up now though.

 

The fact that he can only order from Canada Computers is certainly a limiting factor, I'm trying to find a solution with him, maybe he could have it shipped to a friend's house in a nearby city. I'll get back to you as soon as I know more about this, sorry I should have wait before posting, I didn't realize that that they had such a limited choice of parts - well, compared to all the retailers.

[Drown]

Hey guys,

 

So this is what I got for him :

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ Canada Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($35.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($82.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card  ($259.00 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($51.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $744.94
 

It still needs a case, but I don't know which one are good and fit in the budget. He's budget is 800$ CAN maximum, he can't push it to 850$ anymore.

 

What do you all think of that? He's fine with an AMD CPU but he really wants a Nvidia GPU.

[KPZ211997]

Hey guys,

 

So this is what I got for him :

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ Canada Computers)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($35.99 @ Canada Computers)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)

Memory: A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($82.99 @ Canada Computers)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Canada Computers)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card  ($259.00 @ Canada Computers)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($51.99 @ Canada Computers)

Total: $744.94

 

It still needs a case, but I don't know which one are good and fit in the budget. He's budget is 800$ CAN maximum, he can't push it to 850$ anymore.

 

What do you all think of that? He's fine with an AMD CPU but he really wants a Nvidia GPU.

Case is missing here, but I recommend Corsair 200R for it

IMO an R9 280 will do better than GTX760 while costing the same, try to convince him

[Drown]

Case is missing here, but I recommend Corsair 200R for it

IMO an R9 280 will do better than GTX760 while costing the same, try to convince him

 

Yeah I didn't know which to take, the 200R looks like a great choice however it's pretty expensive on Canada Computers (69.99$).

 

Would there be better cases that would fit in the budget? If not then it's not a big deal, I probably can get him to go like 10$ over budget.

Thanks for the advice on the 280, I'll look into it and try to convince him!

[brob]

Yeah I didn't know which to take, the 200R looks like a great choice however it's pretty expensive on Canada Computers (69.99$).

 

Would there be better cases that would fit in the budget? If not then it's not a big deal, I probably can get him to go like 10$ over budget.

Thanks for the advice on the 280, I'll look into it and try to convince him!

 

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_112&item_id=059952

[WoodenMarker]

Hey guys,

So this is what I got for him :

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ Canada Computers)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($35.99 @ Canada Computers)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)

Memory: A-Data XPG V2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($82.99 @ Canada Computers)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Canada Computers)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB ACX Video Card  ($259.00 @ Canada Computers)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($51.99 @ Canada Computers)

Total: $744.94

It still needs a case, but I don't know which one are good and fit in the budget. He's budget is 800$ CAN maximum, he can't push it to 850$ anymore.

What do you all think of that? He's fine with an AMD CPU but he really wants a Nvidia GPU.

Looks fine. I'd personally bump down to the 270x, possibly down to a 6300, and get a ssd though. 

[Drown]

Looks fine. I'd personally bump down to the 270x, possibly down to a 6300, and get a ssd though. 

 

Thanks for the advices, getting a SSD is on his list but he's fine with HDD first, he'd rather get better performance now, it's easy to add a SSD later on. 

For the case, would you recommand the K280 over the 200R since it's 15$ cheaper? It would allow him to stay within budget, 14$ over isn't a big deal.

 

Also, he needs a WiFi card, do you have any good to recommand? Nothing too high-end I suppose since he lives in the country and his internet connection isn't that great.

[WoodenMarker]

 

Thanks for the advices, getting a SSD is on his list but he's fine with HDD first, he'd rather get better performance now, it's easy to add a SSD later on. 

For the case, would you recommand the K280 over the 200R since it's 15$ cheaper? It would allow him to stay within budget, 14$ over isn't a big deal.

Also, he needs a WiFi card, do you have any good to recommand? Nothing too high-end I suppose since he lives in the country and his internet connection isn't that great. 

I wouldn't go with the K280. If you want to save some money, I'd spend a bit more and get the Source 210 Elite: http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_112&item_id=040404

As for the wireless card: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/tp-link-wireless-network-card-tlwn781nd