Best $700 CAD computer build

[DisastrousDolphin]

I'm looking for a build around $700 CAD, not including windows. I will be using it for gaming, coding, animation, and web browsing. Any help is much appreciated!

 

[CTurbo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($135.95 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($241.00 @ Vuugo)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $699.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 22:58 EDT-0400

 

[lunyone]

Here is something to peruse:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-GAMING 3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($184.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX Core Edition 850W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $695.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 22:56 EDT-0400

* CPU should be plenty for most tasks. If you want HT (Hyper Threading) than the Xeon 1231 V3 is a good option, but it is about $70 more 🙁
* Mobo is fine for a Non-OC'ing CPU. If you want more options/ports on your build, then a H97 or cheaper Z97 for ~$80 can do.
* RAM is fine for this build. You can get more RAM, but it will cost ~$50-60 more for 16 gb's.
* Have SSD AND HD to complement each other, especially using the SSD for a scatch drive, if needed/wanted.
* GTX 960 will do well for 1080p gaming. If you want more gaming power, other things will need to be changed. AMD has R9 280's in similar price range, if you prefer an AMD GPU.
* PSU is overkill, but it is well built and after $10 rebate and $30 MIRc = $60!!
* Case will house the mATX mobo and all current options. If you want an ATX case, I'd recommend the Corsair 100R/200R/300R, whichever is the cheapest.

 

[CTurbo]

^That build is way more than $700 CAD

 

[lunyone]

^That build is way more than $700 CAD

Crap! Didn't see the CAD listing (too many builds in my head) Time to reconfigure, but one can hope for the build above, right??? Lol!

Here is the same build, but from Canadian vendors

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-GAMING 3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($96.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($114.25 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($238.75 @ Vuugo)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX Core Edition 850W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Total: $849.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 23:20 EDT-0400

Now a more realistic build to fit the budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($135.95 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.88 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($241.00 @ Vuugo)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $688.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 23:30 EDT-0400

 

[CTurbo]

Yeah I had hoped to fit an i5 in there but's it's not happening. DisastrousDolphin, if you could increase your budget by about $80 CAD you could get a much stronger system.

 

[lunyone]

I tried to fit in an FX 6300 in the build, but I can't recommend too low of a motherboard, because I just can't do it for the FX 6300/8320/8350. Then you have a ~$100 CPU (FX 6300 USD) with ~$100ish Mobo (USD) for a budget build, when the i3 with B85/H97 Mobo is going to be a similar cost. Then you add to that the CPU could be upgraded to an i5/i7 later and have a much better performing CPU to boot.

 

[DeathRabit]

^That build is way more than $700 CAD

Crap! Didn't see the CAD listing (too many builds in my head) Time to reconfigure, but one can hope for the build above, right??? Lol!

Here is the same build, but from Canadian vendors

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-GAMING 3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($96.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($114.25 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($238.75 @ Vuugo)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX Core Edition 850W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Total: $849.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 23:20 EDT-0400

Now a more realistic build to fit the budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($135.95 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.88 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($241.00 @ Vuugo)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $688.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 23:30 EDT-0400

You using rebate your cheapest build is $753

My alternative:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Memory Express)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280X 3GB royalQueen Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.98 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Essential 700W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $767.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 23:44 EDT-0400

 

[lunyone]

DeathRabit you are over the $700 Budget and yes my build is with MIR's.

Also your build has an H81 based Mobo and might need to have a BIOS update in order to even boot up the i5 4460 CPU (I might be wrong, but even PCPartPicker even lists this possible issue).

Not sure if Club3d makes decent and reliable GPU's (I have never owned one). I do know Asus is generally a pretty good (they have issues too from time to time) manufacturer.

 

[DeathRabit]

Ok swapped for 100% supported CPU + take cheaper GPU

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.00 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Memory Express)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($239.00 @ Canada Computers)
Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.98 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Essential 700W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $732.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-29 00:16 EDT-0400

 

[CTurbo]

DeathRabbit, the e3-1220v3 does not have hyperthreading like the 1230/1231v3 do making it nothing more than a very expensive i5 without an igpu.

 

[DeathRabit]

DeathRabbit, the e3-1220v3 does not have hyperthreading like the 1230/1231v3 do making it nothing more than a very expensive i5 without an igpu.

My bad I delete build with this CPU :/

 

[DisastrousDolphin]

Yeah I had hoped to fit an i5 in there but's it's not happening. DisastrousDolphin, if you could increase your budget by about $80 CAD you could get a much stronger system.

Alright, lets say I raise the budget to $800 TOPS, preferably without mail-in rebates.

 

[DisastrousDolphin]

Thanks for all the builds and ideas so far, I appreciate the input

 

[CTurbo]

No rebates


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($237.75 @ Vuugo)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($70.50 @ Vuugo)
Total: $793.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-29 23:02 EDT-0400

 

[madchemist83]

PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/8B4823
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/8B4823/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($122.99 @ NCIX)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($134.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.95 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 370 4GB Video Card ($226.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($93.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $772.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-29 23:49 EDT-0400

 

[DisastrousDolphin]

I trust both builds above are great, but which is better for my purposes (gaming, 3d animation, rendering, coding and web browsing)?

 

[DeathRabit]

Best gaming Performance under $800 give you this build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.00 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Memory Express)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 4GB SOC Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: BitFenix Neos Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.98 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Essential 700W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $773.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-30 05:27 EDT-0400

 

[-HH-]

Try this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($122.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 4GB SOC Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $743.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-30 05:24 EDT-0400

 

[DeathRabit]

Try this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($122.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 4GB SOC Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $743.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-30 05:24 EDT-0400

I personally like AMD CPUs but please not compare FX to i5.
i5 give better FPS in all games.

 

[-HH-]

Yes but most of the other builds go WAY above budget except the I3 build which this build will be dominant for gaming.

 

[lunyone]

Here is a better build, but you have to deal with MIR's to get the final price under $800 CAD, so keep that in mind:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 280X 3GB IceQ X² Video Card ($269.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $795.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-30 06:12 EDT-0400

 

[CTurbo]

No rebates


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($237.75 @ Vuugo)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($70.50 @ Vuugo)
Total: $793.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-29 23:02 EDT-0400

This is easily the best build here without rebates. AMD does not even almost pretend to even kind of compete at this price range.

 

[DeathRabit]

No rebates


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($218.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($60.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($237.75 @ Vuugo)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($70.50 @ Vuugo)
Total: $793.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-29 23:02 EDT-0400

This is easily the best build here without rebates. AMD does not even almost pretend to even kind of compete at this price range.

Good build but 122$ * more compared to my and lower FPS in games ;/
* Not counting MIR's

 

[CTurbo]

Good build but 122$ * more compared to my and lower FPS in games ;/
* Not counting MIR's

Agreed but he specifically said he didn't want rebates.