$700-$1000 CAD New Build (Built and Running)

[Warden_PC]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week or next week

Budget Range: $700-$1000 CAD (tax, shipping included)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: C++ programming (I'm taking a course in that), gaming, surfing the internet, store Pictures, watching movies, on the very rare occasion make a movie

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Canadian site

Country of Origin: Canada

Parts Preferences: NVIDIA for Physx. Batman: Arkham Asylum looks pretty cool with it on

Overclocking: Maybe, I don't have any experience in OC and I'm afraid temping to do so will cook my CPU.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe but probably not. Apparently it's not efficient to SLI or crossfire unless you buy all the parts right away (Source 2:35 to 3:05).

Monitor Resolution: CRT 1280x1024 monitor, But I plan to get a 1920x1080 LCD after my old monitor dies

Additional Comments: First time building, I need a DVI-to-VGA Adapter to use on my old CRT 1280x1024 monitor until it breaks down, SSD look like a nice thing to have but they are still too expensive

 

[WR2]

Hello Warden_PC;

Here is one option that runs up close to your budget limit.

■ASUS SATA 24X DVD Burner
■Rosewill DESTROYER Gaming Case
■SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 7200 RPM SATA HDD
■XFX XXX 650W 80+ BRONZE Modular Power Supply
■Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
■CORSAIR CAFA50 120mm CPU Cooler
■Galaxy GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB Video Card
■A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 RAM
■MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) 155 P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 CFX/SLI Motherboard
■Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 1155 95W Quad-Core CPU
TOTAL: $1,027.15 before $80 in rebates, any taxes and shipping.

Look it over and do the math on taxes and shipping.

There is a DVI-VGA adapter in the video card accessory pack.

 

[Warden_PC]

Thanks for suggesting a build for me. I think I’ll order this on Monday.

 

[Warden_PC]

The Motherboard you pick for me has been sold out 🙁 .

I never build a PC together before and my only knowledge comes from watching YouTube movies

TigerDirectBlog How to Build a PC
Build your own pc - step by step guide
NewEgg Build Your Own PC Tutorial Part 1 and Part 2
PC Computer System Build Guide NCIX Tech Tips and Cable Management Guide
Is there Anything else I should about building a PC?

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

 

[WR2]

MSI P67A-GD55 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $165 is in stock as of this morning.

Suitable for a single GTX 560 Ti and in stock.
MSI P67A-G45 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $140
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $135

 

[Warden_PC]

MSI P67A-GD55 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $165 is in stock as of this morning.

Good to see it back in stock .

Anyway, I posted the build on a another forum to check on Quality (Not a lot Tomhardware user’s post here) and a Poster said he wasn't confident with the A-DATA RAM and thought G.Skill or Corsair for the best quality of RAM. He also fought that the galaxy brand was flimsy and had a tendency to break and suggested to go with other brands such as EVGA, Asus, MSI or Gigabyte. He also mentioned something with the coolers which I didn't quite understand?

 

[WR2]

Adata NewEgg Customer Feedback: 480 reviews rated 91% 4&5 'Eggs'
Gskill NewEgg Customer Feedback: 888 reviews rated 87% 4&5 'Eggs'

 

[WR2]

I think he said the Hyper 212+ cooler was less expensive. @ $35.24 before $20 rebate and $8 discount on combo deal - I don't think so.
And the cooler does a really good job too.

Corsair A50 and A70 Review

You could get the i5 2500K and Thermaltake Frio OCR in a combo deal for $272 That's something like $40 more when rebates are figured in.

If the UPS gorilllas handle your packages almost anything can get damaged in shipping. If you want the the EVGA, Asus, MSI or Gigabyte they're available for sale for a few $$ more.

 

[Warden_PC]

I forgot to mention a another poster earier said that he wasn't sure about the quality of the PSU?

 

[WR2]

That's OK. That PSU is very good quality.

 

[WR2]

XFX 650 W XXX Edition Power Supply Review @ Hardware Secrets

 

[Warden_PC]

Thanks .

 

[Warden_PC]

I took out the Galaxy GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB Video Card and put in a GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB Video Card for faster Core Clock and Shader Clock, better fans, and +1 year Warranty. I ordered on Wednesday March 23th. On Friday 25th of March the CPU cooler, OS, PSU, case, hard drive, DVD drive have came in(that was fast). Still waiting on CPU, GPU, Motherboard, and RAM to come in.

I think there’s an incompatibility issue with my CPU cooler . On the box of my CPU cooler it says it has compatibility Intel LGA 775, Intel LGA 1156, Intel LGA 1366, AMD Core AM2, and AMD Core AM3. My CPU is Intel LGA 1155. Can I use my CPU cooler on my CPU?

 

[someone19]

1155 was designed to take the exact same cooler as 1156. Its intels way of making it hurt less. 😉

Your good, enjoy the build.

 

[Why_Me]

This build is set up so you can add another one of those factory over clocked gtx 560's later on for SLI.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_112&item_id=033559 $54.99
Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower ATX Case (RC-912-KKN1)

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=26415&vpn=CMPSU-750TX&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1302 $89.99 CAD Savings Code 26415-1302. SAVE $25.00 off our regular price of $114.99 if you buy today! Special price ends 03/30/2011
Corsair TX750W 750W ATX 12V 60A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 140MM Fan

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59093&vpn=P67A-GD53%20%28B3%29&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar $150.14 CAD After Mail In Rebate: $130.14 CAD
MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) P67 ATX LGA1155 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E 2PCI SLI CrossFireX SATA3 USB3 Motherboard

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 $219.99 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=58303&vpn=N560GTX-TI%20Twin%20Frozr%20II%2FOC&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar&promoid=1302 $249.99 CAD
MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr OC 880MHZ 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_611&item_id=026153 $39.88
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10666) 4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel Kit (F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL)

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=15_210_212&item_id=030967 $64.99
Western Digital Caviar Black (WD6402AAEX) 640GB SATA3 7200RPM 64MB Cache (OEM)

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=3_61&item_id=029356 $24.99
ASUS DRW-24B1ST Black SATA 24X DVD-Writer 24xDVD+R/-R 24xDVD+/-R DL 8xDVD+RW/6xDVD-RW 48xCD-R OEM

Total: $894.96 CAD *not including mail in rebates, Windows, etc..

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=530&item_id=026488 $99.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (OEM)

 

[Warden_PC]

1155 was designed to take the exact same cooler as 1156. Its intels way of making it hurt less. 😉

Thanks for letting know that it is compatible.


Thanks for suggesting a build Why_Me but I’ve already ordered a build.


Anyways, I’ve now got my CPU, GPU, and RAM. Now I’m just waiting for my Motherboard.

 

[Warden_PC]

I’m still waiting on my Motherboard to come in .




Something I recently noticed about my case, the bottom vent for seems to be misplace.

I thought bottom vent is support to let airflow for PSU fan to blow out?

 

[skygod12000]

I'm in a similar situation to you.

I have a Thermaltke V4 case and the PSU is going to be independent of the base cooling.

I'm simply planning on putting a 120mm in front of the HDD to force airflow from bottom front to top back and let the PSU get airflow from the bottom to exhaust out the back.

 

[someone19]

I’m still waiting on my Motherboard to come in .




Something I recently noticed about my case, the bottom vent for seems to be misplace.
http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x394/WardenPCimg/CaseventforPSUmissplace.png?t=1301593143
I thought bottom vent is support to let airflow for PSU fan to blow out?

Your case gives you the option to mount the PSU normally (fan down) or upside down (fan up). Both have advantages and disadvantages. The fan on the PSU takes air from inside the case and pushes it out the back of the case. There are standoffs that allow an air gap below the PSU if its mounted fan down to allow airflow, but it will be reduced since there isn't an air inlet below the PSU. If you mount the PSU fan up, then it will help to remove heated air from your case and expell it, but cable management becomes harder as now the PSU's wires exit further from the motherboard mounting bracket (typically).

 

[Warden_PC]

Your case gives you the option to mount the PSU normally (fan down) or upside down (fan up). Both have advantages and disadvantages. The fan on the PSU takes air from inside the case and pushes it out the back of the case. There are standoffs that allow an air gap below the PSU if its mounted fan down to allow airflow, but it will be reduced since there isn't an air inlet below the PSU. If you mount the PSU fan up, then it will help to remove heated air from your case and expell it, but cable management becomes harder as now the PSU's wires exit further from the motherboard mounting bracket (typically).

Then I guess I will install the PSU fan side up for the benefit of removing heated air from my case (hope I make the right decision).





My Motherboard has finally been delivered to me. But, I have a few questions left before I start building tomorrow.

1. Most, if not all computer building guides say I need to install standoffs in my case. According to the manual to my RoseWill destroyer case it says “If it's a ATX motherboard, you DON’T have to install any standoffs”, but why does my case comes with two standoffs anyways? (Makes me suspicious) (Just a quick answer please)

2. Are the MSI’s and NVIDIA’s drivers the only ones I need to install? And there isn’t a driver malfunctions of any kind I should know about?

3. I currently have a McAfee subscription which I think expires in 2012. And I think I can use my subscription on multiple computers (maybe). Personally, I'm not a fan of McAfee, every time it updates my system becomes unresponsive until I see a little window pop saying “update complete”. One time McAfee repeatedly said “your computer not secure (action is required)” and either a) I click fix and McAfee goes back to ”your computer is secure(no action required)”, b) I ignore and McAfee fixes itself and this repeated about 50 times. This is why I wanted to try a different security protection software. Is the free Microsoft security essentials is enough protection for my new PC?

 

[Warden_PC]

I've started building my computer.
I'm going to take "manual to my RoseWill destroyer case" word that I don't need any standoffs.
the MSI’s and NVIDIA’s parts were the only part to came with a driver cd, so I don't think I'll need any other website to download drivers from.
I'm going to try the free Microsoft security essentials.

Wish me luck on building .

 

[Warden_PC]

I got my computer built today and I turn it on for the first time and when I tried to open the DVD drive it wouldn’t open 🙁. When I press the button to open my DVD the green little light up for about 20 seconds then shut off. The SATA power and the SATA data cables are connected. What wrong and how do fix this problem?

Update: I posted this problem in a more on-topic forum section.

Update 2: Problem solved .

 

[Warden_PC]

I got my computer built and running. But I still have a few questions I have to ask.


The only thing did in the BIOS is change the boot order to DVD drive for installing the OS then change it back hard drive. Is there anything else I need to do in the BIOS?



Does anyone have tips for cable management in a Rosewill destroyer case?

I seem to have a small problem with the PowerLED on the case.

This isn’t a big problem but it would be nice to have the PowerLED working.

 

[someone19]

Looks like you can plug that into JFP2 and have the blue wire (in the pic) on pin 1, the empty hole in the connector on the suspend LED pin and then the white wire goes to the power LED pin.