[SOLVED] First PC Build - No clue whats good or not - Budget $1,500 CAD or less

[Seth Willerton]

Looking to build my first PC (coming over from xbox). I have no idea whats good or not whether i should build or purchase a prebuild (especially since parts are expensive because of Covid). Im open to suggestions or people sending over full builds - keep in mind i dont know anything so terminology, computer jargon, or brands will go right over my head. Budget is $1500 Canadian.

Games im looking to play is Arma 3 (with mods), escape from tarkov, and other games of that sort ( a long with less intensive games like halo or call of duty).

Already have a BenQ Zowie XL2546S which I currently use with my xbox and hoping to replace xbox with a computer. So just looking for computer included in the $1500 CAD.

 

[piechockidocent9]

This build should meet ur requirements or at least hold as a base for ur choice, keep it mind that it does not include any sort or peripherals (mouse, keyboard), monitor or software (operating sytem aka. windows) costs.:

AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory
Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC 3X Video Card
EVGA SuperNOVA G3 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case

That's a basic list of things to get in relative price range you described, note that if you'll actually get these and attempt to put it together urself. please do watch some guides or ask questions here. For starters you'll need to be very carefull when installing the cpu and you should probably add to the toal cost, the price of a proper thermal paste example Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut) and cleaning kit (Isopropyl alcohol).

 

[Seth Willerton]

Wait a bit before buying your system. The new Nvidia Graphics Card are coming out and all the current GPU's will go down in price.

If you want something right now this build does not include a mouse, keyboard, monitor and the OS. Do you need all of this?

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($289.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 5 Rev. B 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($48.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($76.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($103.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB GAMING X Video Card ($549.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($132.60 @ Amazon)
Total: $1487.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-09-01 21:53 EDT-0400

Already have a monitor keyboard and mouse. The OS i can buy through my dads work for cheaper. And this is also in american which ends up being like over 2000 lol

 

[madmatt30]

My take, went with the 2700x over the 3600 simply because its the same price and its honestly strong enough single core wise imo.
Also comes with a better stock cooler and allows a slightly cheaper B450 board to stay in budget.

Maybe considet the 5700xt a placeholder with the new nvidia cards due although it is a stellar gpu in its own right.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($299.88 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory ($74.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: ADATA XPG GAMMIX S11 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($159.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Red Devil Video Card ($573.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Antec NX800 ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.12 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $1497.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-09-02 12:10 EDT-0400

 

[geofelt]

Many here love ryzen. Let me suggest a intel build based on a i5-10600K.
Here is a review:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i5-10600k-cpu-review
I figure your budget would be about $400 canadian for the processor, $200 for a Z490 based motherboard, $80 for a 2 x 8gb kit of ddr4 ram(speed is not important for intel)
A $160 1tb intel 660P m.2 pcie ssd. You can always add more storage later if you need it.
A seasonic focus in 650 or 750w is a long term investment, do not begrudge paying $150 or more for one. You will need a case and a cooler, neither of which need to be pricey.
But on a case, bust your budget to buy one you love. it will be with you for a long time.

On graphics, prices are fluid since the nvidia 3000 series announcement.
The $700 price of the 3080 is going to put a real hurt on high end graphics card inventory.
The later $500 3070 will do even more damage.
But, what to do now??
You could do two things:
1. use the integrated graphics to get you built and started.

See what happens in the market. The top 3090 will command a early adopter price premium and will become almost unavailable.

2. Buy a decent intermediate card. Perhaps a $330 evga GTX1660 super.
https://www.newegg.ca/evga-geforce-gtx-1660-super-06g-p4-1061-kr/p/N82E16814487484

I suggest evga because they have a free 90 day trade up option if you should want something stronger.
Read the fine print since I do not know how this applies to Canada.

If you are comfortable buying used, I expect to see major price reductions on used cards like the GTX1080ti on ebay.