Newbie here.

[kav]

I'm sorry for the really long post!

I have never built a computer before, so I would greatly appreciate your advice. Using the guides on this site, this is what I've decided on but I need to know if you guys would suggest switching any components. The goal is to aim is to shoot for a decent gaming rig that will last a long time.

Use: The computer will be for lots of multimedia and some avg gaming.
Location: Toronto
Build time: in the next week or two
Overclocking: right now no plans but may consider it if I find a game that requires it.
Budget: target is $1000 but MAX is $1500.

OPTION 1

NZXT Apollo Black SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item#:N82E16811146025 $103.99

Antec EA650 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS

Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817371015 $85.75

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item#:N82E168131312994 $181.49

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
Item#:N82E16819115017 $239.74

SAPPHIRE 100257L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire

Supported Video Card - Retail
Item#:N82E168141027974 $324.25

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory -

Retail
3_.Item#:N82E168202311454 $89.50

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$109.99

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
$35.49

SUPER TALENT INTAIN1MCR All-in-one Card Reader - Retail
$10.49


Components to be reused from my current computer:

Monitor Samsung SycnMaster 930B

Floppy drive: NEC DVD+RW from my old dell computer - still works great.

2nd HD: WDC WD1600JB-00CRA0
3nd HD: WDC WD1200JB-75CRA0

Speakers: Harman/Kardon 3 speaker system with sub - again from my dell.

Keyboard and mouse from my current computer till I find something I like at the local electronics

store...

GRAND TOTAL from NewEgg.ca
Subtotal: $1,167.70
Canadian sales taxes paid on your behalf: $151.97
Shipping: $55.02
Grand Total: $1,374.69
(Seems to be about 200 cheaper after shipping and taxes from directcanada.com)


As for software, this is what I was thinking:

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition (32-Bit OEM Full Version)
$130.00
Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student (Retail)
$111.00
-----------
Total after taxes and shipping: $276.68

So the total with everything (and I'm sure you guys will point out what I'm missing) is 1651.37 CND.

Or of course the option of buying a prebuilt as mentioned in my other tread is still available and a little cheaper.

OPTION 2

Dell XPS 630: 1649.78 after taxes
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0108126&catid=
Base Features
Processor Type Intel Quad 2 Duo Processor Q9300
Processor Speed 2.5GHz
RAM 4GB Dual Channel DDR2
Hard Drive Speed/Capacity 500GB 7200RPM
Optical Drives 16X DVD+/-RW
Graphics 512MB Dual NVIDIA 8800GT
Pre-loaded Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
Card Reader 19-in-1 Media Card Reader with Bluetooth
Keyboard Standard
Modem 56K V.90
Mouse Optical
USB 2.0 Yes - 2 Front & 4 Back
Power Supply 750 Watts
Processor Cache 6MB L2
System Bus 1333MHz
Software
English/French Software English Only
Loaded Software 1 Roxio Creator Basic
Loaded Software 2 Adobe Reader 8.0
Loaded Software 3 Microsoft Works 9
Loaded Software 4 Not Applicable
Product Features

OPTION 3
HP Pavilion Elite Intel Core2 Q9300 Quad Core 2.5GHz Computer (M9450F)
$1468.99

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0111873&catid=

Base Features
Processor Type Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300
Processor Speed 2.5GHz
RAM 8GB
Hard Drive Speed/Capacity 750GB
Optical Drives SuperMulti DVD Burner With LightScribe
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Pre-loaded Operating System Wnidows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit SP1
Graphics
Dedicated Video Memory Yes
Shared Video Memory 2303MB
TV Tuner No
Video Memory 512MB
Audio
Audio Output HD Audio, 8-Speaker Surround
Speakers HD Audio, 8-Speaker surround
Integrated WiFi Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/n
Card Reader Yes
Keyboard HP Multimedia Keyboard
Mouse HP Optical Mouse
Power Supply 460W
Processor Cache 6MB L2 Cache
System Bus 1333MHz Front Side Bus
Software
English/French Software English
Loaded Software 1 Microsoft Works 9
Loaded Software 2 Cyberlink DVD Suite Deluxe
Loaded Software 3 muvee autoProducer

[misterlarry]

First of all welcome to HWC!

I would say, build your own computer, you'll have more fun and you'll end up with a better rig for less $$$. I didn't even read the pre-built models that you had picked because the font color was difficult to read (hint, hint).

I would suggest Vista 64 bit and more ram if you're doing a lot of multimedia or graphics crunching. Also, if you are trying to save some dough check out http://www.openoffice.org/ for a free alternative to MS Office.

I know that this hasn't been much help component wise but there are far wiser people here to get advice from than me.

[kav]

Thanks for the warm welcome!
I'll change the font now..

For the software, I've just learned of theultimatesteal.ca so I'm going to use my old Vista CD and upgrade to the Vista Ultimate either 32 or 64.

[sswilson]

Heh... yeah lose the pastel colours please.... :)

Just a quick note on pricing......

If you swap out the 4870 in your custom built with either one of the cards on the pre-built computers I think you'll find that the total cost is pretty damn close.

Don't forget to try NCIX's price match feature to see how low you can get pricing and while you're at it, consider this link.... NCIX.com - Buy Radeon HD 4870 OEM 750MHZ 512MB GDDR5 3.6GHZ PCI-E Dual DVI-I *Systems Only - 1YR NCIX Warranty* - AMD-ATI-RADEON-4870-512MB In Canada. but remember to add $50 for "Assembly" (if it gets you a better deal on a vid card, you can just pay the $50 and tell them not to bother putting it together for you... :) ).

All things considered.... I think a $1500 custom built computer will get you a better piece of kit than a $1500 pre-built. If you were looking in the $600 - $800 range with software it might be a different story.

[kav]

It is looking more like a 1100 build taxes and shipping included if I use directcanada - or if NCIX matches their prices (but the only downside is that they have shipping whereas buycanada does not right now).

Is the card you suggested the same otherwise as the one I had listed?

Also are their any glaring incompatibility issues on my list?

[sswilson]

The link I provided is basically "any 4870 they've got in stock and decide to use...." if you have one particular model that you are specifically not interested in, you can drop them a note and ask if it's possible to ensure that particular one isn't chosen, but you wouldn't be able to pick a specific model.

I don't see any specific issues with your build, but I would suggest you pick up some thermal compound (MX-2 would be my choice) just in case you need to re-seat the CPU cooler at a later date.

I just swapped out my DFI Dark (still haven't changed my sig... :) ) with the ASUS P5Q Pro and can verify that it's a pretty decent overclocker when paired with a Q6600. It's on par with my Gigabyte DQ6.

I also just noticed that the ASUS board at NCIX has a "free ground shipping for whole order" deal attached to it, so there could be quite a savings with that considering that you're looking to ship a case with the order.

[FraisesJam]

Some of your prices seem pretty inflated.

I'd suggest you use a site like Compare prices - Canada - Price Comparison - Comparison Shopping to look up the prices for each of your components. Also, unless you want a specific brand, you can just look up HD4870 and find the best deal.

[jay51]

Originally Posted by sswilson

The link I provided is basically "any 4870 they've got in stock and decide to use...." if you have one particular model that you are specifically not interested in, you can drop them a note and ask if it's possible to ensure that particular one isn't chosen, but you wouldn't be able to pick a specific model.

I don't see any specific issues with your build, but I would suggest you pick up some thermal compound (MX-2 would be my choice) just in case you need to re-seat the CPU cooler at a later date.

I just swapped out my DFI Dark (still haven't changed my sig... :) ) with the ASUS P5Q Pro and can verify that it's a pretty decent overclocker when paired with a Q6600. It's on par with my Gigabyte DQ6.

I also just noticed that the ASUS board at NCIX has a "free ground shipping for whole order" deal attached to it, so there could be quite a savings with that considering that you're looking to ship a case with the order.

i noticed few items this week have that offer
not like last month ,was only mobo,sure makes ordering from ncix more fun

[cwestwell]

Build looks solid...with the prices all different these days its hard to be to fussy about parts without going over budget. My only changes would be.

Corsair HX620 - Modular Cables Rock
OCZ Vendetta HSF - You can reach a safe and stable 3.0-3.2 on the Q6600 with nice load temps

And for the love of god do not buy the HP or Dell build your own...you will love your PC a lot more and it will love you in return.

[kav]

That is awsome guys!! Thanks so much!!! I'm going add everything to my cart and post here one last time to verify before I buy, incase I make a bonehead mistake. I'm getting excited to build my first system.