Building a gaming PC with a budget

[CarterFTWWW]

Hi; I'm currently looking to build a gaming PC but i do have a budget.

I currently do not have the time to build it myself(Additionally, i don't want to bother either. I will be relying on someone else to build it for me.)

I currently reside in Canada and pricing here appears to vary from other nations.

So some information:

• My budget is below $1,100. I will most likely be buying a new monitor as well
• I play games such as vindictus, heroes of newerth, and TERA rising
• I'd like to have relatively medium-high end graphics.

And some further questions that i have:
1. Is Canada Computers or NCIX a reliable dealer?
2. Whom can i rely on to build my PC for me without any issues?

Any advice is appreciated.

[MentaL]

[Junkers]

$1100CAD isn't gonna get you medium to high end specs mate, especially if you want a monitor. You could get a cheap monitor but then you have a crap monitor that doesn't support the graphical output of the graphics card. For TERA alone you'll need a quality processor which alone will cost $350CAD absolute minimum. $1100 alone would be okay for a PC but if you want a monitor out of that budget too you're bang out of luck. I'd consider gathering some more funds together first, perhaps an extra $200-$400. Just my opinion of course, I personally build with a bit of overhead to allow for SOME element of future proofing (can never future proof a PC but can extend its lifecycle a bit!).

If it were me, I'd save up a bit more. But that's just me, one man and his dog.

[CarterFTWWW]

My medium-high end is completely different from yours as I do not own the latest PC technology, so that's why i believe 1100 will be sufficient for me. I am also a student so i can't really partition more funds for this; Whatever comes out of this will most definitely be okay for me lol

I really do believe I can formulate something here with 1.1k, i'd really like to avoid going above that.

[Vendaku~Metal]

Hi; I'm currently looking to build a gaming PC but i do have a budget.

I currently do not have the time to build it myself(Additionally, i don't want to bother either. I will be relying on someone else to build it for me.)

I currently reside in Canada and pricing here appears to vary from other nations.

So some information:

• My budget is below $1,100. I will most likely be buying a new monitor as well
• I play games such as vindictus, heroes of newerth, and TERA rising
• I'd like to have relatively medium-high end graphics.

And some further questions that i have:
1. Is Canada Computers or NCIX a reliable dealer?
2. Whom can i rely on to build my PC for me without any issues?

Any advice is appreciated.

I personally use Newegg.ca, as they generally have the most reasonable prices. But I like to cherry pick which sites I buy certain things from. I've done a lot of browsing around NCIX, they're not too bad, but they don't always have the greatest prices. But always take a look around sites like that anyways. Sometimes they'll have really nice sales on.

As for who you can rely on. Why not just let it be yourself? You know exactly what you'll be putting into your computer, and building your own custom PC is fun. Its like Lego for Adults. :p

$1100CAD isn't gonna get you medium to high end specs mate, especially if you want a monitor. You could get a cheap monitor but then you have a crap monitor that doesn't support the graphical output of the graphics card. For TERA alone you'll need a quality processor which alone will cost $350CAD absolute minimum. $1100 alone would be okay for a PC but if you want a monitor out of that budget too you're bang out of luck. I'd consider gathering some more funds together first, perhaps an extra $200-$400. Just my opinion of course, I personally build with a bit of overhead to allow for SOME element of future proofing (can never future proof a PC but can extend its lifecycle a bit!).

If it were me, I'd save up a bit more. But that's just me, one man and his dog.

Oh you evil scottish bastard. Go back to your Haggis and let me deal with my Canadian bros. :d

By the way, 1100$ is an awesome budget starting point. And you can get a great CPU for well under 350$. Remember, you don't necessarily need to buy higher-end components. Given that they'll be replaced by something twice as good in a couple years time.

My medium-high end is completely different from yours as I do not own the latest PC technology, so that's why i believe 1100 will be sufficient for me. I am also a student so i can't really partition more funds for this; Whatever comes out of this will most definitely be okay for me lol

I really do believe I can formulate something here with 1.1k, i'd really like to avoid going above that.

Yes, 1100 is more than sufficient, trust me. You can build yourself a great gaming computer with that.

[CarterFTWWW]

I personally use Newegg.ca, as they generally have the most reasonable prices. But I like to cherry pick which sites I buy certain things from. I've done a lot of browsing around NCIX, they're not too bad, but they don't always have the greatest prices. But always take a look around sites like that anyways. Sometimes they'll have really nice sales on.

As for who you can rely on. Why not just let it be yourself? You know exactly what you'll be putting into your computer, and building your own custom PC is fun. Its like Lego for Adults. :p



Oh you evil scottish bastard. Go back to your Haggis and let me deal with my Canadian bros. :d

By the way, 1100$ is an awesome budget starting point. And you can get a great CPU for well under 350$. Remember, you don't necessarily need to buy higher-end components. Given that they'll be replaced by something twice as good in a couple years time.




Yes, 1100 is more than sufficient, trust me. You can build yourself a great gaming computer with that.

Thanks for the reply; It gets overwhelming on the abundance of parts there are available. The thing is i'd like to have this PC built ASAP as I've dealt with this horrible computer I'm on for too long.

It might be fun to build a PC; But i simply don't have the time for it :\(whilst i may be able to find small timeframes in my schedule, but working part time and being a student is rough for me so time is very valuable) that's why I was considering Canada Computers or NCIX to build it. I might be able to find a monitor so that would help me allocate more funds on the actual PC parts as well.

My question is are there any builds i can take a look at? I've seen some around but I'd like to hear some recommendations. Furthering from that I'd like to know if there's anything I should avoid(like certain dealers etc)

THis will be my first time building a PC and I'll most likely be relying on it for a few years, so I'd like to avoid stupid mistakes :(

[Vendaku~Metal]

My question is are there any builds i can take a look at? I've seen some around but I'd like to hear some recommendations. Furthering from that I'd like to know if there's anything I should avoid(like certain dealers etc)

Well, if you absolutely must buy a pre-built PC, then shop at either Newegg.ca or use the custom PC builder at NCIX. After looking at the PC Builder at both Canada Computers and NCIX; NCIX appears have superior PC Building options by far. As far as avoiding certain dealers goes. Don't buy any of those generic garbage brands like HP, Dell, etc. They are horrible.

On a side note. I helped my sister with buying a PC a few weeks ago. She didn't want to custom build one either, so I assisted her in finding a PC with the best value, for the specs that it possessed. She ended up getting a CyberPowerPC off Newegg.ca. I think the total came to 600-700$. It was a pretty damn good starting PC for her. 1tb HDD / 8-core CPU / 8gb ram / AMD R7 GPU and other decent components. The PC works well. So I'd recommend them as an additional option as well.

[CarterFTWWW]

Okay thanks, i was considering Canada Computers because there's a location nearby me, but it appears that it's either hit or miss with them(judging this based off reviews online). I was looking through some of the cyberpower PC's you've mentioned earlier and one of them that caught my eye was this PC right here:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16883229495

Looking at the reviews from multiple computers leads me to believe that CyberPowerPC isn't exactly very keen on quality of their work(appears that they make mistakes iwth building their pc's frequently?) I'm pretty sure a few retail stores have their PC's available as well. As of now, I also haven't seem to found anything that would be deterring me from using NCIX.

I may or may not consider actually building it myself just to avoid all these errors, but this would more or less lead to delaying the computer by another month or two. If i do consider going down this route, do you have any tips or advice? I've been watching a couple videos but it couldn't hurt to be more informed.

Edit: To be honest it looks like I'm going to end up building it. My main concern here was performing research on the parts and making sure everything was compatible(on top of that I really did not want to encounter errors with shipping and the wait accompanied by it), but it appears that the computers that are priced for $1,000 could be built for significantly less...

[Vendaku~Metal]

Edit: To be honest it looks like I'm going to end up building it. My main concern here was performing research on the parts and making sure everything was compatible(on top of that I really did not want to encounter errors with shipping and the wait accompanied by it), but it appears that the computers that are priced for $1,000 could be built for significantly less...

Lol. I hope you do end up building one yourself. Its the best choice by far. It's really quite easy to build a PC. Just don't cheap out on important components. :)

[Supicioso]

Okay thanks, i was considering Canada Computers because there's a location nearby me, but it appears that it's either hit or miss with them(judging this based off reviews online). I was looking through some of the cyberpower PC's you've mentioned earlier and one of them that caught my eye was this PC right here:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16883229495

Looking at the reviews from multiple computers leads me to believe that CyberPowerPC isn't exactly very keen on quality of their work(appears that they make mistakes iwth building their pc's frequently?) I'm pretty sure a few retail stores have their PC's available as well. As of now, I also haven't seem to found anything that would be deterring me from using NCIX.

I may or may not consider actually building it myself just to avoid all these errors, but this would more or less lead to delaying the computer by another month or two. If i do consider going down this route, do you have any tips or advice? I've been watching a couple videos but it couldn't hurt to be more informed.

Edit: To be honest it looks like I'm going to end up building it. My main concern here was performing research on the parts and making sure everything was compatible(on top of that I really did not want to encounter errors with shipping and the wait accompanied by it), but it appears that the computers that are priced for $1,000 could be built for significantly less...

I would also suggest building it yourself. Shipping an entire PC built would be both expensive and dangerous. The chances of your package being dropped and something inside getting ruined is pretty high. I've seen it happen enough times to know it's never a good idea. The outside may be well protected, but there's not a lot on the inside protecting it from sudden drops.

[vLife]

Here is a build I complied for you. As people here have stated pre-built's are going to run you into more money. And usually you get overcharged for the parts and what haves you. Also building a PC is just like playing with legos, parts don't fit where they're not suppose to go. Also if you'd like to cut back on the costs from the build I provided you can drop the OS and pick up one from MicrosoftSoftwareSwap. Anyways, shipping fully built PC's can be detrimental as it may and probably will get damaged from shipping.

Anyways here's the build. It'll basically run anything you throw at it medium-high and even ultra in some titles. Will easily handle the games you listed.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($215.95 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.05 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($80.49 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($219.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.50 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($109.99 @ Canada Computers)
Monitor: Acer G227HQLbi 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($154.50 @ Vuugo)
Total: $1073.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-01 17:31 EST-0500

[CarterFTWWW]

I'll have to thank you for that;
I actually managed to get a monitor though.(http://www.ncix.com/detail/benq-rl24...81358-1120.htm) I am able to allocate a couple hundred more on the actual PC parts. With that I was wondering if I should try to upgrade the processor and GPU?

Additionally I was wondering if i should torrent the OS?(Excuse my ignorance where needed)

After I have confirmed these facts I think I'll get straight to ordering the parts! Thanks everyone who gave their advice; I will be building this PC.

[vLife]

No need to torrent the OS. Just headover to Reddit MicrosoftSoftwareSwap to get a key to use for either Windows version you want to use.,

What is your budget opened up to now? And would you be interested in overclocking at all?

[CarterFTWWW]

To be honest I am not interested in overclocking, and my budget still remains the same($1100 CAD) but I am simply not buying a monitor any longer with that money.

I also noticed this on the build you gave me
"Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case has front panel USB 3.0 ports, but the MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard does not have onboard USB 3.0 headers."

So does finding a key save me the $100?

[vLife]

It doesn't save you the entire $100, around $60 - $70 or so. In that case of your budget still being the same. I'm able to squeeze out way more performance for the money. This build will run games you throw at it high-ultra 60+ fps easily.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.32 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($97.95 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($80.49 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($413.98 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.50 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1019.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-01 21:13 EST-0500

[CarterFTWWW]

Okay! Thanks alot for the help. I'm going to assume those dealers are reliable as well seeing as I can't find too many issues online. As for setting it up I'm assuming I can look up a video or two online and it'd be sufficient.

I'll keep you guys updated! I'll get to ordering these parts :)