Choosing between two gaming desktops

[smgunsftw]

Hey guys, right now I'm in the process of deciding which computer to purchase at a decent price. I don't know too much about building my own computer and custom computer companies charge a significant fee for delivering to Canada, so my best option (according to online forums) would be to buy a pre-built gaming PC. So far, I've browsed newegg.ca and tigerdirect.ca, allowing me to some reasonable and budgetable deals.

Newegg.ca Gaming computers
Newegg.ca - PCs & Laptops, Desktop PCs, Gaming & Entertainment

Tigerdirect.ca Gaming computers:
Gaming Computer, Gaming PCs, At TigerDirect.ca

I've managed to narrow down my options to these two models, I believe they offer the best value for their price. One is also on sale atm. Overall, I want a gaming computer that has a fast processor, fast RAM, and a decent video card(s) to run most modern games on high(not ultra) settings.

[Ninja2dan]

Just remember, what ever you buy today will be obsolete tomorrow. Your best bet is not to buy some uber gaming PC that claims to have all the latest tech, because you're most likely overpaying for it.

Look at the base hardware included, and determine if it is capable of upgrades down the road. In my opinion, the most important part of the PC is the motherboard. Make sure it has a CPU socket type that is still popular, and won't disappear in a few years. Also make sure that it supports enough RAM for future upgrades, even if you think it has enough for now.


I have been buying from Tigerdirect almost exclusively for almost 10 years. I very rarely have to order a part from ebay or newegg, such as when Tiger is out of stock and I'm in a hurry to get it. Your Tiger link didn't direct to a specific PC though, just a category. Was there a specific model you had in mind there?

What is your "desired" budget, and are there any specifics that you must have? What is the minimum HDD size you need? Does your current monitor support HDMI, or just VGA? Do you require (or desire) any special features like built-in bluetooth, card reader, etc?

[smgunsftw]

Just remember, what ever you buy today will be obsolete tomorrow. Your best bet is not to buy some uber gaming PC that claims to have all the latest tech, because you're most likely overpaying for it.

Look at the base hardware included, and determine if it is capable of upgrades down the road. In my opinion, the most important part of the PC is the motherboard. Make sure it has a CPU socket type that is still popular, and won't disappear in a few years. Also make sure that it supports enough RAM for future upgrades, even if you think it has enough for now.


I have been buying from Tigerdirect almost exclusively for almost 10 years. I very rarely have to order a part from ebay or newegg, such as when Tiger is out of stock and I'm in a hurry to get it. Your Tiger link didn't direct to a specific PC though, just a category. Was there a specific model you had in mind there?

What is your "desired" budget, and are there any specifics that you must have? What is the minimum HDD size you need? Does your current monitor support HDMI, or just VGA? Do you require (or desire) any special features like built-in bluetooth, card reader, etc?

Sorry, here you go

Buy the CybertronPC Kombat-X AMD FX w/2x HD6670 CrossFireX at TigerDirect.ca
Buy the CybertronPC Assassin AMD FX w/2x HD6570 CrossFireX at TigerDirect.ca

I don't desire for anything that is unnessary for quality gaming/entertainment, a HDMI monitor may be a consideration in the future. But right now, I'm look at computers within a price range of $700 to $1100 CDN

[Ninja2dan]

Of those two computers, the first one looks like the better choice. Although the CPU is rated at 3.30 as opposed to the 4.20 in the second PC, the first has 6 cores instead of 4. It's also of a newer series, and both are AM3+ which is good.

The first PC also has maxed RAM (16GB), while the second is still resting on 8GB. Both are using 1600 DDR3, the first just has twice as much of it.

Both are also using dual 1GB Xfire cards, but the first model is using a slightly newer series (6670 instead of 6570).

Both have roughly the same HDD, onboard 7.1 sound, but the first PC does appear to have a few more ports available. Roughly other features are on par, such as O/S etc.

Overall, the first PC (Kombat X) looks like a pretty good system for the price. It's slightly more expensive than the other one, but you get what you pay for due to the increase of RAM and a fewer slightly "newer" parts.

It looks like it also has plenty of room for future upgrades, but it'll probably be some time before you need anything anyways. Maybe another HDD for storage, another DVD/BR drive, what ever. But as it sits there, it's fully capable of running games on high settings.

[Psyrus]

If it was me, I wouldn't choose either.

I did a quick spec-up of a PC that would destroy those two in terms of performance. The downsides are that I assume the following:

You already have a KB/Mouse & don't need a new one
You are using a computer currently and thus already have Windows 7, and don't need a new copy.


Points to keep in mind why my build is better:

• It includes an SSD, you'll never go back after using one
• The HD7870 will blow those crappy cards (even when crossfired) out of the water. Also multi-GPU solutions lack support in certain games and must be run as single-card solutions in some cases, and thus you lose a LOT of performance.
• Name the application combinations that will require more than 8GB of ram and I'll say sure, go for the pre-built 16GB one, but for now, with ram being so easily expandable, just go for 8 until it's insufficient.
• The FX series is fine, but there are issues like thisthat turn me a tiny bit away from AMD architecture at this current point.

[LITOralis.nMd]

I highly suggest browsing the website NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Online PC Discount Store, Buy Computer Accessories

They are based in BC, they have a good reputation, and the prices are quite reasonable for entry level gaming PCs.

The better tigerdirect PC costs CA$1170 before shipping,

assuming that is your budget,

This is close to what you should get:
NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Online PC Discount Store, Buy Computer Accessories

includes:
Win7
headphones
speakers
CD drive
128gb SSD and a 1TB HDD
PROMO: Far Cry 3 & STALKER: Call of PRIPYAT'''' Digital Coupon Codes (If not interesting to you, sell them on EBay for a quick $40)

excludes:
monitor
keyboard
mouse

all the parts are quite nice, you will get a long life out of this system.
Much much better than the tigerdirect and newegg deals.

If you skip the speakers and headphones, you can upgrade the HD7850 to the HD7870, for even better performance.

[LITOralis.nMd]

NCIX also has many options for Intel CPU based systems:
NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Online PC Discount Store, Buy Computer Accessories

I strongly suggest buying a "Vesta" labeled system, Vesta is NCIX in house brand. They pull the parts from their warehouse, build it, test it, pack it and ship it to you. Comes with a 1 year warranty.

Here are other AMD systems:
NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Online PC Discount Store, Buy Computer Accessories

Maybe [R-CON]Psyrus can rebuild his system from NCIX to show you what you have on offer.

[Psyrus]

I like the look of those NCIX systems much better, as prebuilt units they offer farrrr more value than the tigerdirect ones previously linked. I would even feel comfortable with the one that LITOralis first posted. I prefer self-built, but as far as prebuilt go, that one was rather decent!

[LITOralis.nMd]

NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Online PC Discount Store, Buy Computer Accessories


=============================

or this:

NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Online PC Discount Store, Buy Computer Accessories

This is only CA$1080 and the GTX 660 is twice as fast as the Crossfire HD 6670s in the CybertronPC Kombat X TGM2242G. Video Card Comparison - GPUReview.com

That would leave you about $100 to buy a keyboard and mouse and still be at same budget.

[LITOralis.nMd]

EDIT:

On this link
NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Online PC Discount Store, Buy Computer Accessories

I think the GPU won't fit in the case. That GPU, MSI Twin Frozr GTX 660 uses a custom cooler, you need the reference cooler for any GTX 6XX series card to fit in that particular case.

[smgunsftw]

Thanks for the help everyone, I looked at the NCIX.ca computers, and they certainly seemed a lot better and had a higher value compared to the ones on Tigerdirect and Newegg. My next question is, where would be the best place to buy quality monitors that are <$150 from Canada?

[LITOralis.nMd]

At that price point, for gaming, (and specifically not for video editing or professional graphic design), you're looking at 21" 1080p TN LCD 2ms to 4ms refresh rate.

Might really come down to difference between finding a sale price, and difference between local sales tax and online shipping costs.

I don't know that much about online stores in Canada,

Store URL
NCIX NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Online PC Discount Store, Buy Computer Accessories
Canada Computers Canada Computers | Computers, Computer Parts, Laptops, Hard Drives, PC Hardware & Accessories Sales
TigerDirect TigerDirect.ca - Computers, Computer Parts, Computer Components, Netbooks & Electronics
NewEgg Newegg Canada - Computer Products, Laptops, Electronics, HDTVs, Digital Cameras, Cellphones and More!
MyTeknology (formerly Grey Tech ) My Teknology Computer Inc.

Here's a big list of PC parts stores in Canada: http://www.xmarks.com/site/www.ncix.com/

You might have to sign up for their email sales lists, check for coupons, free shipping codes etc.

Almost all the <$150 monitors are comparable, you want to find one with the fastest refresh rate, as calculated in milliseconds on a grey to grey scale , usually notated as " 2ms GtG " or similar. And all the low end manufacturers lie about their refresh rates now anyway, so it's a gamble.

You do want to focus on 2ms or 3ms response monitors.

Secondly you might find a LED LCD backlit in that price range, though it'll be right close to the $150 price point.