Advice on Build - ~$2000

[Dzzope]

With that budget I'd be looking at a 24" IPS

3570k and a suitable mobo (something like an Asus P8Z77 V pro or Asrock z77 extreme 4 or 6)
8Gb ram (DDR3 1600, something like corsair vengence blue)
GTX 670.. Gigabyte is very good for the price but the Asus DCII TOP is an super card

2TB HDD.. I like WD.. never had a problem with them but the new Seagate 1 TB per platter drives are very fast and quite cheap for the size-performance..

256GB sdd.. vertex 4 is sweet all round (price, performance and 4 year warranty I believe)..
Crucial M4 is best for value and Intel 520's are probably the/one of the best with great warranty performance (especially with their toolbox) but a bit expensive

850 Watt PSU, if you want to go SLI at some point but with a 670 and 1920x1200 resolution you shouldn't need the extra performance..
650 Watt for single card is plenty.. get a Seasonic, Corsair, xfx, Antec PSU for a good quailty one..

Case... very subjective... if you like the lian-li style then an obsidian 650d (corsair) or bitfenx 810 may be right up your street.. Or maybe a fractal define XL..
or maybe you want silence (fractal do some good quiet but cool cases) really is your choice

That should be your lot... remember to price-match (or with memory-express price-beat).. you can then build yourself or pay them to build for you.. whatever you prefer..

The monitor is a bit expensive but really are worth the extra I have a Dell 23" IPS and wish I went for the 24" for the little extra resolution...
IPS panels blow away standard monitors for quality.. though it is your shout to go for it or not.. If not, then any monitor you like that is 1920x1080.. cheaper the better.. they all suck.. :P
alternatively there are the catleap IPS panels that are really cheap (for IPS) Check out the thread in the monitor section..

Again.. remember to price-match/beat everything.. someone else here can give you some good places to get the prices from...

That will be a really nice machine for your needs, last a long time and only needs you to decide on:
case, keyboard, mouse, audio equipment (spaeakers/headset) and a sound card if you are into higher-quality audio..

[Ravenor]

Originally Posted by Dzzope

That should be your lot... remember to price-match (or with memory-express price-beat).. you can then build yourself or pay them to build for you.. whatever you prefer..

Again.. remember to price-match/beat everything.. someone else here can give you some good places to get the prices from...

Sorry I didn't respond right away but what Dzzope said is bang on.

places to price match:
TigerDirect - sometimes they have good CPU prices
Canada Computers - My personal fav
Newegg.ca
NCIX.ca
Memory Express

There are other but these imo are the big ones to deal with. You will probably want to stay away from places like BestBuy and Furtureshop unless you are getting them to price match and beat something.

[Dzzope]

Originally Posted by Card

Hi Dzzope,

Huge favour - Could you put together that build at memory express and then email that configuration to me? That would be so great... because it's hard for me to pick out each of those items.

THanks.
Nick

Corsair Graphite Series 600T Mid Tower, Special Edition White x1$169.99
Intel Core™ i5-3570K Processor, 3.40GHz w/ 6MB Cache x1$229.99
Corsair Hydro H60 High Performance CPU Cooler x1$74.99
Asus P8Z77-V PRO w/ Dual DDR3 1600, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, WiFi, SLI / 3-Way CrossFireX x1$219.99
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Dual Channel Kit (2 x 4GB) x1$54.99
OCZ Vertex 4 Series SATA III Solid State Drive, 256GB x1$214.99
Seagate 2TB Barracuda 7200rpm SATA III w/ 64MB Cache x1$109.99
Asus GTX670 DirectCU II TOP Geforce GTX 670 2GB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort x1$459.99
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650M Modular Power Supply x1$109.99
Memory Express Assemble Hardware x1$40.00
Samsung SyncMaster S24A850DW 24in Widescreen LED LCD PLS x1$499.99


total 2200.. @ memoryexpress..

Unfortunately any link I would be able to give you for a build is dependant on the browser session..
If you have any trouble selecting the parts, I've heard of people phoning them and getting good service..
But I can't stress enough.. use their price-beat service (find out how it works and then go to it) to save yourself a good chunk of change. Someone above named a few sites you can use to find prices.

You need to price-match.. and if you spent some time I'm sure you could find a similar PSU at a real bargain price somewhere and again price-match it.. (psu is just an example.. same goes for most parts)

Case may not be to your liking but I chose that one as there are many very good cases in many different styles at that price point.. and I really like that one :P

The monitor is only 1 of a few different Options.. IPS or PLS from samsung..
Ideally I would suggest you go see 2 side-by-side (IPS and a standard 24") so that you will know yourself if it's worth the money to you.

[Card]

Which 24" IPS monitor would you pick Dzzope?

[Dzzope]

Dell tends to have good warranty, build quality and very easy to use OSD.. But I have very little experience of other brands..

There are others that roam these forums that would be better suited for that question..


If I was buying a monitor today.. I would probably go for one of the 27" 2560x1440 catleaps.. Bout the same price as a 24" 1920x1200 dells etc..
As I said above.. there are others around that would be better to ask on the ins and outs of the monitors.. But basically any IPS panel will blow any TN panel away..


P.S thought I would mention that you could save a load of money and still have a damn good rig.. Not quite the same quality of parts but not so far away that the average end user would notice..

You could probably do a cheaper version of the same build (3570k, 8gb ram, ssd, gtx670 etc) for $1200 (the pc, no monitor)..
You'll still be able to overclock but would be a bit more limited in the results you'd get..

All depends on what you want yourself.. I could really go a bit crazy and have near the same build cost $3k..

All of what is said is opinion.. These are mine of the sweet-spot for a build with your budget and usage, using what I would consider quality but not OVERYLY expensive parts.

[Stukka]

directcanada.com is also a good website they usually have the lowest prices ive seen. never used them before but good for price matching im sure.

Also use shopbot.ca for price matching. Great website.

[Card]

Hi Dzzope - do you have a link to the 27" 2560x1440 catleaps?

[Dzzope]

You can read up on some others experiences with them here:
CATLEAP-Q270-LED-2560X1440 $400