Is this Gaming PC worth my money?

[kevinx80]

Okay so a quick backstory: My 2009 macbook pro (i know, lol) is about to die on me and I have about $1000 to spend on a PC and i've decided I want to go with a gaming PC and building one is out of the question. I have no game in particular that I want to play on this PC but I would like to be able to play anything that I might come by.

So, i've found this PC on Cyberpower with the following specs:

Gaming Chasis: Corsair carbide series spec-01
Extra Case Fans: Maximum Enermax Twister Pressure 120MM PWM cooling fans
CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.00 GHz Eight-core AM3+ CPU 8MB L2 Cache & Turbo Core Technology
CPU / Processor Cooling Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler w/ PWM fan
Motherboard: GIGABYTE 970A-DS3P AMD 970 ATX
RAM: 8GB (4gbx2) DDR3/1600MHz (Corsair Vengeance)
Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 960 4GB OR AMD R9 380
Power Supply: 600W EVGA 600 80 PLUS Power Supply
HardDrive: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32Mb Cache 7200 RPM HDD

I'm new to PC gaming so sorry if im a noob lol.

The cost for this comes to $1057 CAD + Shipping. Can someone help me out and let me know if this is worth the money? and which Video card should i get, the 960 or the r9 380? it will be $52 cheaper if i get the r9 380.

Also one of the options is to have the computer Overclocked by 10% or 15%, is this something I should be doing? Sorry if these sound like dumb questions but I don't have any experience with this.

EDIT: I've found this PC as well i'd like some thoughts on it if you could: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Xtreme_2000

 

[assassin445522]

you can get alot better for 1000$ maximum dont settle for an AMD CPU build your own gaming PC and do u need an os mouse keyboard monitor etc...?

 

[kevinx80]

you can get alot better for 1000$ maximum dont settle for an AMD CPU build your own gaming PC and do u need an os mouse keyboard monitor etc...?

I don't know the first thing about building a computer. Do you have any suggestions? I feel it would be really easy to accidentally buy something that isn't compatible with another part so i'd really rather not build my own. too much pressure lol. I already have a monitor etc.

 

[DTDerian]

There's a sticky thread that is a step-by-step guide on how to build your own computer. Don't worry, as long as you don't push anything too hard/far, you'll be good. Think of it as playing with Legos 😛. Here you go: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

 

[kevinx80]

There's a sticky thread that is a step-by-step guide on how to build your own computer. Don't worry, as long as you don't push anything too hard/far, you'll be good. Think of it as playing with Legos 😛. Here you go: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

So is this PC not worth the money then? I'll keep looking around if it isnt but i'm not going to build one it's just not for me.

 

[DTDerian]

There's a sticky thread that is a step-by-step guide on how to build your own computer. Don't worry, as long as you don't push anything too hard/far, you'll be good. Think of it as playing with Legos 😛. Here you go: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

So is this PC not worth the money then? I'll keep looking around if it isnt but i'm not going to build one it's just not for me.

What is your budget? 1000$ CAD?

 

[assassin445522]

Oh i apologize i didnt relize your from canada

 

[kevinx80]

There's a sticky thread that is a step-by-step guide on how to build your own computer. Don't worry, as long as you don't push anything too hard/far, you'll be good. Think of it as playing with Legos 😛. Here you go: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

So is this PC not worth the money then? I'll keep looking around if it isnt but i'm not going to build one it's just not for me.

What is your budget? 1000$ CAD?

I've added a link to another PC in the original post. That is the absolute maximum I can afford. About $1250

 

[DTDerian]

That's hilarious, I was going to put that computer but decided not to due to budget questions. If you don't change anything about the computer (i5-6600K, ASUS Z170-Pro Gaming ATX, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM and the GeForce GTX 970) you'll be good. I do recommend selecting the 120GB Samsung 850 EVO for a better experience. Though, this will set you back 110~ CAD. I'm pretty sure that CyberPower PC is in USD so the base model, without the SSD would be 1593~ CAD. This is 250$ further than your budget. An R9 380 would put you at $1400$ but it would be not equal but fairly close to an GTX 960. Correct me if I'm wrong but, I still think, that building your own computer would be cheaper and would get you better parts for the $1250 CAD budget that you have. If you'd like me to, I could set up pcpartpicker and some links to help you figure out how to build your own.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

R9 380 should be just about the same as the 960. If you can shave money there, do it.

 

[DTDerian]

R9 380 should be just about the same as the 960. If you can shave money there, do it.

I would normally recommend it but it's still above his budget.

 

[kevinx80]

That's hilarious, I was going to put that computer but decided not to due to budget questions. If you don't change anything about the computer (i5-6600K, ASUS Z170-Pro Gaming ATX, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM and the GeForce GTX 970) you'll be good. I do recommend selecting the 120GB Samsung 850 EVO for a better experience. Though, this will set you back 110~ CAD. I'm pretty sure that CyberPower PC is in USD so the base model, without the SSD would be 1593~ CAD. This is 250$ further than your budget. An R9 380 would put you at $1400$ but it would be not equal but fairly close to an GTX 960. Correct me if I'm wrong but, I still think, that building your own computer would be cheaper and would get you better parts for the $1250 CAD budget that you have. If you'd like me to, I could set up pcpartpicker and some links to help you figure out how to build your own.

Didn't even think that it would be in USD. Damn. that means I can't get that one.
Any Suggestions on what I should get for ~$1200 CAD? Maybe a list of every part i would need and a link to put it together but if I go that route I may end up just not getting a PC or buying a Sub-par one out of frustration and wanting to have it done with.

 

[kevinx80]

I've found these PC's that are within my budget, does it seem worth it? The furthest I know how to look into it is to look up the benchmarks for the CPU and GPU so yeah i don't know much at all. Thanks so much for the help.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227622
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227641
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/ibuypower-ibuypower-ca731t-gaming-pc-intel-i5-4690k-1tb-hdd-8gb-ram-nvidia-geforce-gtx-960-win-10-blue-eng-ca731t/10386772.aspx?path=a925c6bd4a6bcd125627395fcc7c4bd0en02

 

[DTDerian]

The last two links sound good. If you want to play with higher FPS on more demanding games, go with the bestbuy (iBUYPOWER CA731T) due to the GTX 960. If you want more CPU power, go with the newegg iBUYPOWER Desktop Computer Source Series NE-i01SL.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

I would say whichever one you get, prepare to upgrade the power supply immediately. In fact, I would recommend the one from newegg, your second link, and here is why.

If you look at the pictures, there is one shot that shows the case open. If you zoom totally in down to where the power supply is, you can see the power supply label says it has 2 12v+ rails, one at 17 amps, one at 14 amps. And the power supply is a generic looking silver one. However, buying this system would leave the op slightly below budget, with enough to buy a new power supply.

I'd recommend at least something like this one.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438014

Keep in mind I'm from the USA, so different prices here, but I have that unit in my system at home and on a budget, it's not bad. Plus you get a free game with the second pc. I can't see the power supply in the 3rd unit, but pics in the listing for the first one say it has 45 amps on the 12v rail. Do you trust that rating from generic power supplies? Your call. But the second one would be a good compromise and leave you engouh moeny to upgrade the power supply to a more quality unit, and the system should last for years after that. But it's known that these companies will sometimes try to shave money off on power supplies, so if you buy that unit, order that with it, and replace it immediately would be my advise.

 

[DTDerian]

I would say whichever one you get, prepare to upgrade the power supply immediately. In fact, I would recommend the one from newegg, your second link, and here is why.

If you look at the pictures, there is one shot that shows the case open. If you zoom totally in down to where the power supply is, you can see the power supply label says it has 2 12v+ rails, one at 17 amps, one at 14 amps. And the power supply is a generic looking silver one. However, buying this system would leave the op slightly below budget, with enough to buy a new power supply.

I'd recommend at least something like this one.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438014

Keep in mind I'm from the USA, so different prices here, but I have that unit in my system at home and on a budget, it's not bad. Plus you get a free game with the second pc. I can't see the power supply in the 3rd unit, but pics in the listing for the first one say it has 45 amps on the 12v rail. Do you trust that rating from generic power supplies? Your call. But the second one would be a good compromise and leave you engouh moeny to upgrade the power supply to a more quality unit, and the system should last for years after that. But it's known that these companies will sometimes try to shave money off on power supplies, so if you buy that unit, order that with it, and replace it immediately would be my advise.

I completely agree, but, I don't think OP wants to open the computer case after receiving the computer at all. It would be smart thing to do, for sure though.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

In that case, I think I would use their configurator and order from them, and specify that the op wants the better power supply.

 

[DTDerian]

The configurator for most websites for his budget are mostly on USD, transferred to CAD it would be more costly. I still recommend the second newegg link. If he wants to upgrade extra things, then a PSU upgrade is a MUST.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

I'm thinking configuration because I was playing with one at cyberpower and looked at their one with the fusion chipa for I think 500ish. Either way, I cut the cpu to an Athlon x4 860k or similar and 8gb of ram, but had the evga 600b and a Radeon r9 380 on it, I think I was at 661 US, so if he went that route he might be able to come up with something. Let me play with it, because we need to be at what 800 US?

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

Looking it, you are right, second one has the better cpu. I actually like the first for the price though because of the video on it. Little less CPU power though. Op, I recommend for your budget, get the second tower, and as soon as you have a chance, upgrade the power supply in it. Later on you should be set up to upgrade the video card as well.

 

[CRITICALThinker]

I would like to point out that NCIX has some decently priced prebuilts in CAD that the Op can look at. I'd love to help, but I have a final early tomorrow morning.

 

[DTDerian]

I would like to point out that NCIX has some decently priced prebuilts in CAD that the Op can look at. I'd love to help, but I have a final early tomorrow morning.

Been looking around, http://www.ncix.com/article/Impact-R2.htm
Select Tier 2 (Fits your budget) and it's actually a very decent computer.