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Man im so sad.... I really wanted a PC desktop so i could actually play DotA at higher than 30fps and may be stream it  . But nope, money is a bitch and I need to aim for the security.
So here i am on X-mas night browsing websites and forums building my "imaginary" budget PC that i could barely afford but wont be buying . I thought i would share it so those of you with more financial power could take advantage of the benefit.
First of: visit http://www.reddit.com/r/bapcsalescanada/ (Build A PC SALES CANADA subreddit)
All the deals are listed and discuss there with the best ones are often highlighted by others.
This one in practicular: http://www.ncix.com/article/Boxing-Week-PC.htm
Is the most bang for buck option you have. Not only this is a GREAT discount, NCIX also let you CUSTOMIZE the build right on the fly thus you could choose what to actually get. Most of the parts price are already lower on the market but if you dont want something, just remove it.
Here is what I removed for the first build($799) option:
1/ Video card: 2gb is simply not enough and the 4gb option is just way too expensive. Choose "None" and buy this instead: http://www.ncix.com/detail/club-3d-radeon-r9-280-65-94998-1301.htm Its cheaper and you get a 3gb card.
2/ Removing OS window 8. First of all win 7 is still better for gaming atm on average. Secondly, if you are reading this there is a high chance you already have your own OS and could be using it instead. Lastly there is also a high chance you could get discount from your college store being student.
3/ Removing HDD. There HDD options are just not as good and pricy. To each of their own on this one but I would go for the MX100 250gb SSD on amazon.ca. Pretty much one of the top SSD on the market right now at amazon discount price( oh yeah student get amazon prime for free too so...). If you need more than 250gb, dont sweat it because normal HDD are pretty cheap and you could get them at any local store for roughly same price.
4/ Remove Optical drive. Like seriously, who use this?
5/ Click Next Next and read their options on Warranty, Assembly AND shipping. And yes, READ ALL OF THOSE!!! They are VERY IMPORTANT! The shipping is FREE but you need to read on how they handle your shits.
6/ Pay your taxes. This part was a bitch to me.... if it werent for tax then i would be buying it.
7/ Choose your monitor. Now if you are like me building your first PC then you gona need a video output for your machine. It will net you another 90-120$ depends on where you buy it. Tbh most of them are pretty the same and i wouldnt really invest into anything too expensive given its my first build and i have no money. But if you really insist then look out for the ones with higher refresher rate because that translates into higher REAL frame rates. Most are 60hz, better ones are around 75hz and fancy ones are 144hz(which means 120fps gaming etc..). One the sub reddit i linked above people did recommended this but keep in mind its a MAIL-IN rebate sale and I wouldnt count on mail-in rebate.
Yay. If you actually follow any of these, let me know. I will be crying in the corner with my 4 years old laptop and my imaginary gaming PC.
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Good on you for prioritizing real life ^^
I did something similar with hard drive, have been living off of a 120gb ssd for about a year and only just bought a sata 1tb. Not sure about the 2gb vs 4gb thing, my 7870 (2gb) can play dota max settings while streaming fine. I think it would still be a bit cheaper if you bought parts individually... might have to wait around for sales.
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On December 26 2014 05:34 synapse wrote:
Good on you for prioritizing real life ^^
I did something similar with hard drive, have been living off of a 120gb ssd for about a year and only just bought a sata 1tb. Not sure about the 2gb vs 4gb thing, my 7870 (2gb) can play dota max settings while streaming fine. I think it would still be a bit cheaper if you bought parts individually... might have to wait around for sales.
no i checked throughly on http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/, parts individually are actually more expensive and this is the sale of the year so.... And there is no benefit getting the 2gb as its more expensive than the 3gb deal right now and both could be upgraded to SLI in the future.
I could have go on a tangent on HDD decision but i decided not to have that in the main post. SSD wise there are a lot of differences between generation. 2013 generation is 3 times slower than 2014 120gb in term of writing and the 120gb is at least 2 times slower than the 250gb and 500gb ones. So yes in a sense you might save money by buying a 120gb but it WONT be as fast as 250gb. In a sense, the extra money you are paying is super economical as it was giving you both extra space and extra speed.
It took me 2 days to figure out SSD alone and it was mind blowing how much variety there is despite such a young technology and EVERYTHING looked the same.
It also worth noting that technically, i could have changed the ram from 2x4gb into 1x8gb to get a cheaper deal and easier possible future upgrade. According to DestinySC2 and all of his computer building post, 1 ram alone doesnt really affect gaming performance that much anyway(because the utilization for such spec isnt there, similar with running Blizzard games on multi core CPU when they only utilize 4). So in a sense, building a PC to stream and play DotA wasnt my only goal. It is my number one goal, but i also want to make sure that the PC will last me a while with possible upgrades down the line for future games. And definitely keeping things economical was a must.
On December 26 2014 05:43 teddyoojo wrote:
no #dedication
oh its there... just the money aint... You buy me this PC ima stream dota 10 games a day 5 days a week for minimum 2 months.
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This is overall a mediocre deal for pretty poor performance
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i just bought an A10 APU, aside from cooling issues, worked pretty okay for me on a pretty cheap budget
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If you go for AMD you can build a very cheap PC for about $400. Some of their APU deals are like $120 for a mobo and processor, then you add in 4GB DDR3 for $25, 500GB HDD for $40, any 700W generic PSU for $30, the cases are quite expensive actually, with most decent cases starting at $50.
A good graphic card that will run most games at high settings and 720p resolutions is the AMD R9 270 which would set you back $150
You can of course cut on the graphics as well and get the AMD R7 265 which costs around $130
So that is a total of $415
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On December 26 2014 23:18 BillGates wrote:
If you go for AMD you can build a very cheap PC for about $400. Some of their APU deals are like $120 for a mobo and processor, then you add in 4GB DDR3 for $25, 500GB HDD for $40, any 700W generic PSU for $30, the cases are quite expensive actually, with most decent cases starting at $50.
A good graphic card that will run most games at high settings and 720p resolutions is the AMD R9 270 which would set you back $150
You can of course cut on the graphics as well and get the AMD R7 265 which costs around $130
So that is a total of $415
My problem with most build thats below $500 is that they are quite inflexible in future upgrade. And right now i kinda want to wait until Feb to see the impact of source2 engine on hardware before reconsidering purchases.
I admit that i did overlooked a lot of AMD options as i have never used non-intel chips in my life. But im sure thats about to change very soon.
Also keep in mind that most of the things i posted are in CAD. The conversion does make the price number a bit more than USD.
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On December 26 2014 23:18 BillGates wrote:
If you go for AMD you can build a very cheap PC for about $400. Some of their APU deals are like $120 for a mobo and processor, then you add in 4GB DDR3 for $25, 500GB HDD for $40, any 700W generic PSU for $30, the cases are quite expensive actually, with most decent cases starting at $50.
A good graphic card that will run most games at high settings and 720p resolutions is the AMD R9 270 which would set you back $150
You can of course cut on the graphics as well and get the AMD R7 265 which costs around $130
So that is a total of $415
I don't really know where you are getting your prices, but no.
I am building a computer for my brother, using NCIX, NEWEGG, and Memoryexpress, and your prices are wayyyyy deflated.
-$120 for a processor + mobo I can agree with, you can go with the AMD route, or get a Pentium. Wont be good for graphic intensive games like Farcry or GTA_V though.
-4GB of ram? Maybe 5 years ago, today's day and age? It wont work. Currently I am running one stream, skype in the background, have 15-20 chrome + firefox tabs open and am using 5.5GB of RAM. I think you grossly underestimate how much RAM Windows 7/8/8.1 uses nowadays. Also you have no idea about prices of RAM, as the cheapest 4GB of RAM is at least $45, and if you're getting 8GB it's at least $80.
-500GB HDD, okay sure, that's an option. Realistically it'll cost you $50-$70 dollars, but I can see you are trying to lower the numbers to make your points sound better.
-700W PSU?... Do you even know how computers work? With a $100-$200 graphics card, and a <$80 processor, you will not need more than 450W, and that is overkill as is. I'd like you to show me a $30 700W PSU, as they don't really exist. Realistically you'd pay $50-$60 for a 430-550W.
-720p resolution? Does anyone honestly ever buy a 720p monitor ever nowadays? You can hardly buy them anymore. You can get get a 24" 1080p monitor with a 1-2ms gtg for $100-$150.
-Any case will do so long it's large enough, heat wont be an issue with low end equipment like this. Expect to spend $50-$80 here.
-For a graphics card, you need to buy at least a 750Ti imo. Otherwise you'll only be able to play games at low settings at 1080p, if you're building for the future, please don't buy a $50-$100 graphics card. The newest Intel Graphics already is roughly equivalent to a $40 graphics card as is. If you only want to play SC2, Dota 2, or LoL... Then Intel Haswell (4XXX) processors have really improved the integrated graphics, and you'll be able to play all these games on low-medium settings.
-Also need $20 for a CD/DVD drive.
Make sure to reuse any parts you can from your old computer. The case, DVD drive, and PSU are usually good to reuse. Although if you are struggling to buy a low end PC and you live in Canada, I strongly recommend cutting off teamliquid and video games for quite some time to get into a different position. Any healthy adult living in Calgary who is willing to work should have no problem paying for shelter, food, transportation, and still have money left over for little luxuries.
edit: Anyway, appreciate the tips for builds, hope they help someone. I'm by no means an expert in building computers, but have learned my fare share from people like skyR and Cyro on teamliquid. Also reading lots of reviews... It seems you do have the fundamentals down, but there are quite a few critical points I felt you missed in your post that show a bit of a lack of understanding. Mainly in the monitor, PSU, and storage department. Storage of information is important - if I somehow lost the data I have stored, my life would be essentially over. Understanding reliability, warranty (and their types, how much do you have to pay if something breaks) is something of utmost importance. Too many people try to get most power for their buck with absolutely no support, and they end up regretting it, it's a common mistake with new buyers, and I made the same mistake the first time I built a computer.
edit2: And always take everything that people take on the internet with a grain of salt. People will brag to you all they want that they OC their processor to 4.8Ghz on air and it's perfectly stable etc, etc. Just be cautious, and use your own head, all too often people end of exaggerating facts, nitpick information that proves their point, or try to sound bad-ass and brag. It can be difficult, but make sure you differentiate between the useful and the troll posts.
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On December 27 2014 02:34 NB wrote:Show nested quote +On December 26 2014 23:18 BillGates wrote:
If you go for AMD you can build a very cheap PC for about $400. Some of their APU deals are like $120 for a mobo and processor, then you add in 4GB DDR3 for $25, 500GB HDD for $40, any 700W generic PSU for $30, the cases are quite expensive actually, with most decent cases starting at $50.
A good graphic card that will run most games at high settings and 720p resolutions is the AMD R9 270 which would set you back $150
You can of course cut on the graphics as well and get the AMD R7 265 which costs around $130
So that is a total of $415 My problem with most build thats below $500 is that they are quite inflexible in future upgrade. And right now i kinda want to wait until Feb to see the impact of source2 engine on hardware before reconsidering purchases. I admit that i did overlooked a lot of AMD options as i have never used non-intel chips in my life. But im sure thats about to change very soon. Also keep in mind that most of the things i posted are in CAD. The conversion does make the price number a bit more than USD.
What would you want to upgrade? Generally it's a bad idea...
-If you want to upgrade your processor, you'll have to get another Mobo, unless you upgrade within a year (but what's the point)
-Get more RAM? Why, just buy how much you need. If you buy 4GB, you wont survive, if you buy 8GB, you wont need more for the next 5 years.
-Upgrading PSU... This is super silly on it's own. Just buy a 550W, and you'll be able to handle a GTX970 + 4 core i7 4XXX.
-Upgrading mobo. Again super silly, why? Just make sure you have enough ports for the future, which generally means enough for two GPU's, and 2-3 sticks of RAM. Most just above entry level graphics cards have this.
I just don't understand the point of upgrading your computer half way through at all.
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Graphics card can be a later upgrade. Since most processors have built in graphics you can survive on that until you afford a GPU.
Hard drives is also worth upgrading later. Move over a normal shitty 4 year old hard drive, then upgrade as needed to SSD or a faster/larger/less error prone one with movable parts.
Cooling is also worth upgrading. First go with stock cooler, then as you need a bit more MHz on the processor replace the cooler and make sure to get one that would work on your next theoretical socket as well.
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On December 29 2014 03:36 Yurie wrote:
Graphics card can be a later upgrade. Since most processors have built in graphics you can survive on that until you afford a GPU.
Hard drives is also worth upgrading later. Move over a normal shitty 4 year old hard drive, then upgrade as needed to SSD or a faster/larger/less error prone one with movable parts.
Cooling is also worth upgrading. First go with stock cooler, then as you need a bit more MHz on the processor replace the cooler and make sure to get one that would work on your next theoretical socket as well.
I'll refer to your points individually:
1) Graphics card: Yes, mostly justified... But usually that means throwing out your old one, and adding a new one, which is money down the drain, or you have to SLI, and that requires buying another of your older graphics cards, which wont have the most recent software that the newest games may utilize.
2) Upgrading a HDD, nope... Bad idea. If you buy a reliable WD hard drive, you don't have to worry about risk of failure, I believe the mean failure for a HDD is 1-1.5 million hours (115-170 years). Buying an SSD after 4 years and having to move everything, just no. It's time for a new system, not an upgrade.
3) Cooling is the last thing worth upgrading, let me explain why. As OC'ing is actually a complete waste nowadays. I'll buy i5 4790, runs at a turbo of 3.9Ghz. Now, I could spend an extra $20-30 on getting the K version to be able to over clock it, spend another $20-30 on getting a motherboard that can OC processors, and then spend $20-$30 on a fan. What kind of clock speed can you achieve with air cooling? Generally speaking, you'll go 4.4-4.5Ghz maximum, most people usually go 4.2Ghz. So lets use 4.4Ghz just for the hell of it...
So you're paying $60-$90 dollars more to increase the performance of your processor only (not Ram, HDD, or GPU) by 12.5%... Not to mention you will use significantly more electricity, and might even a better PSU.
I made the mistake of getting a OC'ed CPU in my last build, it's not worth it. If you want to do it for the hell of it, fine, but it's not a good bang for buck at all.
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If you have the know how and the time, there's no reason not to overclock. If you're buying a motherboard that doesn't let you OC something's very wrong to begin with, and if you spend $90 on a cooler you can get 20% performance increase on the CPU. You can also play with memory timings and speeds, so it's not just your processor that's impacted, you can even get some decent boosts to memory bandwidth.
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EPT
