[SOLVED] Want to build a gaming PC. Budget of $2000 Canadian

[StepwisePilot]

Ok, so I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to computer parts. As such, I figured I'd ask here if anyone could help.

I'd like to have a gaming pc made, with a budget of about $2000 Canadian. I already have a mouse, keyboard, speakers, and monitor from my current computer. The problem is that I know nothing about this stuff, so I need help picking parts. I'm starting from scratch other than the parts listed there.

I live in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. I will likely just go to the local Canada Computers with a parts list, and ask them to build it for me.

 

[Shektron]

With a 60-120 Hz monitor, this would be a pretty good system. Would need more details about your monitor to determine if this is overkill:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($399.00 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($94.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.75 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($989.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair SPEC-DELTA RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $2008.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-19 01:33 EDT-0400

 

[StepwisePilot]

My monitor is 1920x1080. I think it is 60hz.

 

[Shektron]

My monitor is 1920x1080. I think it is 60hz.

Do you have the model number? A 2080 Super would be overkill for a 1080p 60 Hz monitor, so I would change it unless you plan on upgrading it in the future. Even for 144 Hz, I would say an RTX 2070 Super is the highest I would go, unless you want the GPU to last for a very long time, in which case you can stay with the 2080 Super.

 

[StepwisePilot]

The model number appears to be H236HL. It is an acer monitor.

 

[ArchitSahu]

It is a 5ms, 60Hz, IPS, 1080p monitor. Yeah, any system at $2k CAD is going to be overkill for it. Do you want to get a new monitor that would make full use of your system? If so, do you want it part of your budget or outside the budget? I am including AMD and Intel builds both with or without monitors.

AMD - With Monitor:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor ($269.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: ASRock B450 Steel Legend ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB GAMING Video Card ($927.92 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
Case: Phanteks P300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: AOC CQ27G1 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor ($332.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $2065.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-19 04:14 EDT-0400

If you are willing to go $65 over your budget, ^ that has 2080 Super and 1440p 144hz monitor to gain full use of the GPU. Just beware that the motherboard might need a BIOS update before putting in the CPU so either take it down to a local computer shop to get them to do the update for you with an older Ryzen CPU or find someone close by who can help. Although, they should be shipping these motherboards nowadays with the required BIOS update already on board.

AMD - Without Monitor - (Either get a 1440p 144hz monitor separately or use the 1080p 60Hz until you can get a better monitor):

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($399.50 @ Vuugo)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: MSI X570-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.00 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB GAMING Video Card ($927.92 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
Case: Phanteks P300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $2005.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-19 04:19 EDT-0400

Stepped up the processor to a 3700x, the motherboard is now an X570 and you now have an AIO. Rest all is the same (minus the monitor of course).

Intel - With Monitor:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-9600KF 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($248.50 @ Vuugo)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($118.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB GAMING AMP Video Card ($899.88 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Phanteks P300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: AOC CQ27G1 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor ($332.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $2099.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-19 04:24 EDT-0400

$99 over and had to step the GPU down to RTX 2080 instead. Difference between 9600KF and 9600K is that 9600K has an iGPU while the 9600KF does not, so you save some money but you cannot use this system without a dedicated GPU (like the 2080) unless the motherboard itself has an iGPU.

Intel - Without Monitor:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-9700F 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($462.50 @ Vuugo)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($118.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB GAMING AMP Video Card ($899.88 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Phanteks P300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1980.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-19 04:26 EDT-0400

Stepped your CPU up to an i7 9700f, but now that means you cannot overclock because it is not the -K variant of the 9700. I left the Z390 motherboard in there so that down the line you can upgrade to a -K version of a chip if you want to OC, but if you want to save costs, you can step it down to a B365 motherboard and get a 2080 Super with the money saved, like below:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-9700F 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($462.50 @ Vuugo)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock B365M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($95.93 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB GAMING Video Card ($927.92 @ Mike's Computer Shop)
Case: Phanteks P300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1985.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-19 04:30 EDT-0400

 

[GarrettL]

Agree ^ , drop the 2080 Super from the build and upgrade your monitor too.

 

[StepwisePilot]

Alright, seems I'll need to replace my monitor then. 27" might be a bit much though. At least, I think. Maybe.

Is there any big difference between AMD and Intel, or are both good?

 

[GarrettL]

AMD, although it's been a while since this last happened, has the best price to performance ratio. Gaming only a few FPS behind Intel depending on resolution.

I recently upgraded to a 1440p 27" monitor and absolutely LOVE it!

ut the downside is when a shop builds it they have to mark everything up to cover their costs. What's being quoted on this thread will cost more unless you have a friend that can help you assemble the pc.

 

[scout_03]

do you realy need a 900$ dollar gpu you could get lower priced one and had a monitor for the money you save on gpu .

 

[StepwisePilot]

Ok, so I was able to measure my current monitor, and it's 24". So, not as big of a difference as I thought, hahaha.

Anyway, based on what I've read, it does seems I'll need a new one.

I plan to go over this stuff with my dad a bit later, as he knows a lot about computers. For now though, I'm leaning towards the first build that ArchitSahu posted. Unless anyone has a better idea?

 

[StepwisePilot]

Ok, so my dad is showing me a pre-built computer that he says fits what I want. I'd have to save a bit more to get it though. What do you guys think of it?

https://www.canex.ca/msi-infinite-x...4-sdram-2512-gb-hdd-ssd-black-desktop-pc.html

 

[GarrettL]

You can see that you'll pay about $500 for someone else to build a similar pc.

That decision is up to you and your dad.

 

[StepwisePilot]

So, can a pc with similar specs be made for less money?

 

[GarrettL]

Other than building yourself? Not the higher end pc's. Always cheaper to build yourself.

 

[hammerfast]

maybe try a lower end AMD threadripper set up ? the motherboards are expensive but the cpu doesn't get hot as much . it's a cool thing to have . if you use an AMD gpu too you will have to pay less .

 

[Shektron]

The 9700K is an 8 core 8 thread chip, kinda limiting if you want to play the latest AAA games, especially games like BFV and BF One and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which can even make use of 12 threads at once, especially Battlefield multiplayer. An 8 core 16 thread or even 6 core 12 thread chip would, in my opinion, be a better choice. Plus, Intel CPU's really don't feel worth it for gaming right now, with the free package of vulnerabilities they come bundled with, plus the fact that by next gen they'll probably move on to a different motherboard chipset and you'll be stranded on 9th gen only for your motherboard, while on AMD's side there is still a chance that 4th gen will also run on B450/X570, fewer vulnerabilities, hyperthreading, and, if it's worth anything to you, you get to support the underdog .

 

[ArchitSahu]

Pre-built PC's often skimp on PSUs and RAM whenever possible. That PC you showed is heavily overpriced. You are better off buying the parts on your own and building it or getting the parts and paying someone to build it for you. If you really want a pre-built, NZXT BLD is a good service you should use.