To Buy or Build

[Shax]

So the title says it. I am in the market for a new desktop rig. It's been too many years since I have built a machine and I haven't been keeping up with the new tech at all so suggestions welcome.

Basically I am looking for a decent gaming rig but nothing to extreme. The computer will also be used for graphic design/web development. I am completely lost for what to look for in a motherboard and specific video card. I do know that idealistically I would want to spend $1400~ but I am prepared to spend more if needed.


Some personal requirements
-Intel i7 Chipset (I want this machine to be able to last a few years)
-A gb of dedicated video memory (no idea what card)
-At least 6gb of ddr3 ram
-Two drives (or the option to expand)


I was looking on TigerDirect and found a few machines that I think would work but if you guys think I can save some money building custom by all means let me know and let me know why.

The first one I was looking at (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6077552&pagenumber=1&RSort=1&csid=ITD&recordsPerPage=5&body=#ReviewStart)

The second one I was looking at (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=28736&CatId=4928)

Thanks a ton for all the help. Excuse my ignorance.

[-relk-]

You did not specify where you lived but i would highly recommend Memory Express (http://www.memoryexpress.com/) to buy your computer from. You can order individual parts and they will assemble it for you if you do not want to do it yourself, for a small fee of $40 i believe. One more thing with Memory Express is they will price match any part. I went on Newegg and found the same parts and saved about $150 on my rig just by printing off the ads on Newegg.ca and bringing them in when i paid for the parts.

As far as parts go, i do not know much about Intel MBs but i would recommend an AMD X6. It has 6 physical cores (2 more than an i7), is cheaper than i7, MBs are cheaper, and overclocks very well if your into that (have my 1055t from 2.8 GHz to 3.8 GHz running 24/6). IMO it may last longer than an i7 because of the 2 more cores. The X6's come in a 1055t (2.8 GHz) and a 1090t (3.2 GHz) and are ~$100 different in price, starting around $210 i think.

I have this (http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX28715(ME).aspx) board, which is more expensive than most AMD boards so you could get away with cheaper.

For a video card, i would recommend a GTX 460 as that seems to be the best value for your money atm. I'm not too sure what requirements are needed for graphic design but a 460 seems like it would be a good choice. Here (http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX29712(ME).aspx) is a 1GB 460 from EVGA (who i have heard is a good company to buy from) for $269.99.

You didn't specify anything about a power supply but for what you are looking at 500w should be fine (someone correct me if i am wrong). I personally would go bigger as i like to have some extra room to upgrade for the future but that is just personal preferance.

Hope this helps and if you have anymore questions feel free to PM me.

[kazmee]

I suggest you build your own and it will help you save money and at the same time, you can be sure that it will provide you the benefits that you need.

[Kg810]

You can put together a very good machine for $1400. I suggest looking at www.ncix.com (they just had a huge online sale and most of their stuff has been sold, but check it out anyways) and check it www.memoryexpress.com has it.

Memory Express will price match any Canadian site as long as the competitor has stock. So what I do is I check out NCIX.com, find the components I want or need and then check every product number on the following sites:

www.pricecanada.com
www.pricebat.ca
www.shopbot.ca

From there I will take the lowest price and price match it at Memory Express for a local purchase. If Memory Express doesn't have it, I'll price match it from NCIX and just order everything there.

You should figure out which processor you want first and build the rest of the components around that. Post back with what you pick and we can make suggestions.

[Critical]

To add to the above post.

You can price match from the websites, I use newegg.com, and have them build the system for you. You also receive more warranty on the parts when you buy them separately.

[Shax]

Well from my understanding the i7 is better suited towards rendering which is a small part of my design. I play around with 3d Max. Correct me if I am wrong here though. That's one of the only reasons I am leaning towards the i7 series.

That being said I would probably lean towards the i7 860 2.80GHz mainly because it's right in the middle of the line.

Buuuuut for roughly the same price I can pick up an AMD X6 1090T Black Edition 3.2GHz and that's if I don't go with the cheaper AMD X6 1055T 2.8GHz.

The only reason overclocking isn't extremely enticing to me is because I don't want to have to run some insane cooling system. I'll ask you guys again. What do you think? i7 or the AMD? (I know this is going to be a split down the middle argument but maybe someone can shed some light) I am leaning towards the cheaper x6 more than I was before. Maybe I just have some AMD hate on or something :werd:

[-relk-]

When i was first looking into my rig, i was leaning i7 the whole way. Then when i factored in the cost and whatnot i decided to go with the X6 as it gave a better price for what i needed. Down the road when apps start to use 6 cores, you most likely will see a difference but that could be some time from now...

As far as overclocking goes, you don't need an "insane" cooling system. I bought a Corsair H50 (http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25895(ME).aspx) self contained water cooling unit and it works fantastic. It was a lot easier to install than i thought (just mount the brackets and screw it in) and at 3.8 GHz i don;t go past 50 C. Just food for thought :thumbsup:

[ZeroGravity]

I have just finished building (well, into software installation now) a desktop. My last one was almost 7 years old. P4 2.4 :P

Anyways, my planned budget was (like you) around 1500.

Original plan was (started back in May/June):
- i7-930 (~300)
- CoolerMaster Hyper 212 plus CPU cooler (~30)
- 6 GB DDR3 ram (~200)
- Gigabyte X58A-UD3R motherboard (~225)
- Win 7 Pro 64-bit (~150)
- 1 TB Western Digital Black hard drive (~100)
- Radeon 5850 (reference design) board (~350)
- Bluray reader + DVD RW combo drive (~100)
- Antec 300 case (~50)
- Antec Trupower New 650W power supply (~100)

What I ended up with:
- i7-950 (recent price cut by intel from 600-ish to 320)
- CoolerMaster Hyper 212 plus CPU cooler (~25)
- 6 GB Cosair XMS3 C8 ram (~160 with rebate)
- Gigabyte X58A-UD3R motherboard (~205)
- Win 7 Pro 64-bit (~129)
- 40 GB Intel X-25V SSD (~100)
- 320 GB Samsung Spinpoint F4 hard drive (~50)
- 2 TB Western Digital Green hard drive (~105)
- MSI GTX465 Gold Edition (possible unlock to GTX470) (~270)
- LG Bluray writer + DVD RW combo drive (~120)
- Antec 300 case (~50)
- Antec Trupower New 750W power supply (~105)

Ended up over budget. But because these purchases were over a period of time, I was able to pick up parts at sale prices and / or with free shipping.

Mostly shopped at NCIX, Newegg, and Memory Express. Usually, will just buy at Memory Express if they carry the item or have them in stock since they do price matching.

Advantage for doing it yourself is that you can take advantage of sale prices. But you will have to assemble and install everything which could take a few evenings (like me... take photos as it go) or just a few hours.

Advantage for having computer shops put them together is for 40-50 bucks, they put everything together and test it. So you don't have to deal with possible DOA items / RMA.

[-relk-]

In regards to building your own, i found it very intimidating at first. But after i was done, it just reminded me of a big puzzle :nut:

[Shax]

Thanks for all the replies. For the record I don't give two shits about bluray. I stream content from my pc to my home theater. Nothing in the middle. Also I remember back in the day when overclocking was more of a big deal.

The only issue I am having is deciding to what parts I want. I have decided to go with the i7 after reading alot of compelling arguments with designing and 3d rendering included.

So let's say I'll pick up the i7 950 3.06GHz. Considering the $50.00 difference over the 920 it seems work it seems worth in imo. What do you guys recommend for MB and video card?

[-relk-]

For the video card i would recommend a GTX 460 like i did above. I am not too sure if there is a better option for your needs out there though as i only know about cards in terms of gaming...