$1500 New PC from Scratch Need advice

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lastsd

Honorable
Jul 27, 2012
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10,630
Updated Aug/12 - Bought following:
- Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB
- WD Black 1 TB
- Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo
- LiteOn IHAS124-04 DVD Writer

Updated Aug/9 - Bought Asus P8Z77-V LK

Updated Aug/2 - Bought Corsair 500R

Approximate Purchase Date: This month ~ next month

Budget Range: $1500 Max before tax

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, coding

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Parts to Upgrade: Need all the parts

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Haven't used any websites for PC parts before but I've heard newegg.ca, NCIS, MemoryExpress are good. Also can drive to Canada Computers, Tigerdirect.

Location: Toronto, Canada

Parts Preferences: CPU - Intel, GPU - NVIDIA(but I can go for AMD if have to) more detail on each part at the bottom

Overclocking: Maybe(even if I do it not a lot)

SLI or Crossfire: Not at the moment but wouldn't mind buying parts that allows it for future

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920*1080, 22+

Additional Comments: I've been out of the PC game for a while now.
I been using gaming laptop for last 5~6 years(Yes gaming laptops got outdated very fast. Each lasting barely 2 years, but I had to travel around a lot). This computer will be used for many thing but since I don't do any graphic work, gaming will test the hardware the most.

Here are some parts I have been looking into

My budget is around $1500 including keyboard + monitor. (so probably $1200 just for the tower)
I would like a mechanical keyboard if I have funds remaining but I could just spend more on core computer parts.

Here are some parts/specs I am considering(you can probably tell that I like Tom Hardware's suggestion + forum here).

Case
Updated Aug/2 - Bought : Corsair 500R

PSU
Budget estimate: Max $150
A. bronze +,
B. good company
C. doesn't have to be modular but of course it doesn't hurt
D. 650W - 750W

1. Corsair TX750 V2 - bronze
2. XFX PRO750W - silver
3. Antec Truepower New 750W - Bronze
4. More suggestion welcome

MOBO
Updated Aug/9 - Bought Asus P8Z77-V LK

CPU
Budget estimate: Max $230(whatever i5-3570k price)
1. i5-3570k

Graphic Card
Budget estimate: Max $420
1. EVGA GTX670 FTW
2. EGVA GTX670
3. Other GTX670
4. May consider HD 7970 (for a good price)

RAM
Updated Aug/12 - Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB

Hard drive
Updated Aug/12 - WD Black 1 TB

SSD
Budget estimate: $0 or $125
A. I would like SSD but if I am missing funds I can add this piece after
B. If I do get it 120GB+

1. Crucial M4 128gb
2. Sandisk Extreme 120GB
3. Mushkin Chronos 120GB

Seperate heatsink & cooler
Updated Aug/12 - Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo

DVD-drive
Updated Aug/12 - LiteOn IHAS124-04 DVD Writer

Monitor
Budget estimate: Max $250
A. 22inch +
B. 1080P (I think this is given now a days?)
C. I don't need a super good monitor. As long as I can game that's fine(only other time I use computer is when I am coding for work)

1. Asus VS239H-P
2. Asus VH238H 23.0"
3. Asus VE228H 21.5"

Other stuff
1. wifi card
2. sound card(not required)
3. mechanical keyboard(either mechanical or nothing. I don't like those non-mechanical gaming keyboards. would stick with $10 keyboard if no money left for mechanical keyboard)

If I add all the prices together it's about $1790. But this is adding up all the max price on each component. I am sure you guys can help me choose the good parts and lower that down to $1500.

I am not in hurry to build this computer, which is why a lot of components I only have preference but no model chosen. I could even wait until end of the year if you guys think I could get a better deal (or better parts for money like GTX 660 Ti)

I am looking for expert opinion on
1. Is my distribution of budget for each part makes sense
2. For those ones that I have listed models, if they are good for my need, alternative ones you would suggest?
3. Suggestion on parts for those I didn't list any model names

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
 
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FREE SHIPPING FTW


http://www.directcanada.com <----- Free Shipping on orders over $50

http://www.bestdirect.ca <----- Free Shipping on orders over $80


http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950AC3877&vpn=P1750SNLB9&manufacture=XFX $97.89
XFX 750W PRO750W Core Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 62A 24PIN ATX Power Supply 80PLUS Bronze PSU

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950BD6547&vpn=P8Z77-V%20LK&manufacture=ASUS $145.81 MIR $125.81
ASUS P8Z77-V Lk ATX LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA3 SLI DVI HDMI DP USB3.0 Motherboard

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/242391/BX80637I53570K/Intel/ $234.99
Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB Retail

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC0554&vpn=RR-212E-20PK-R2&manufacture=COOLERMASTER $31.05
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366/1155/1156/2011 120MM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5211&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL $44.57
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530DR5213&vpn=DRW-24B1ST%20Bulk&manufacture=ASUS $17.91
ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=14120DR5445&vpn=ST1000DM003&manufacture=SEAGATE $79.79
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM 64MB SATA 6Gbps 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=14050DR8745&vpn=SDSSDX-120G-G25&manufacture=SANDISK $115.95
SanDisk Extreme 120GB 2.5IN SATA3 6GB/S SandForce SF-2281 Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/243162/GV-N670OC-2GD/Gigabyte/ $390.57
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 OC 980MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950MN9866&vpn=VE228H&manufacture=ASUS $141.45 MIR $131.45
ASUS VE228H 21.5IN Widescreen LCD Monitor 1920X1080 LED Backlit 5MS 10M:1DC HDMI DVI-D VGA

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530NW1986&vpn=PCE-N53&manufacture=ASUS $48.36
ASUS PCE-N53 Dual Band Wireless N PCI-E Network Adapter

Total: $1,348.34 | $1,318.34 after rebates


http://www.directcanada.com/category/?minorcatid=1046 <----- keyboards
 
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That one looks interesting. I haven't heard a lot about that company.



They just updated 3 years old product to new standard?
That's a bit weird
 
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That what it says here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010#top i don't know if it is weird or not lol I think maybe you have not heard allot about it is because it's not as big a name like Seasonic.The company is owned by OCZ but the PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK II 750W is built by Sirfa/High Power.It comes with a seven year warranty and is silver plus so it's well worth it for the price
 
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Hello,

I wish you luck with your build. You sound like you are looking for a similar build to the one I just purchased off the shelf tonight. This build was $1,316 OTD with a $5 rebate to mail in, so $1,311 total after rebate. The Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case is pretty nice. It has tons of room.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dRmD

I went with that motherboard because it was $50 off if I bought the 3570K with it.

Have fun! This is a great site to learn, learn, learn. There are some very helpful people here too!
 
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Ah found the corsair update note

http://www.corsair.com/en/blog/hx-gold/

So there was refresh in June.

So most likely, the 750HX sold by retailers are the older version (80 silver)
 
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Updated Aug/12 - Bought following:
- Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB
- WD Black 1 TB
- Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo
- LiteOn IHAS124-04 DVD Writer

Now only need CPU(most likely i5-3570k), PSU to test my set.
I have a crappy (I mean really crappy) monitor, and GTX 260, so I can test them out at least.
Than I will go buy monitor, GPU (probably wait until 660 ti release and reviews).

This monitor looks interesting,
Asus VS239H-P
Any opinion ?
 
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Yeah I was set on TN panels because of the budget (around $200)

But I saw that ASUS IPS under $200.

I've heard a lot of good things about Dell UltraSharp but I don't think I can find one around $200 (CAD)

 
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So in your opinion it is better to just go for good TN under $200

or spend a bit more and get a good IPS around $300~400?
 
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Yeah..

I guess I will have to settle for TN or e-IPS.
Max I will spend on monitor is $250(CAD) but most likely under $200.
 
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