12-12-2011, 11:39 AM
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#2
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First Line Centre
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Here's a handy buying guide in a large image you can print out and research on the Memory Express website
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12-12-2011, 11:41 AM
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#3
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First Line Centre
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Calgary
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Quote:
Originally Posted by St. Pats
Christmas being only a few days away my two boys have ramped up the "buy us a gaming computer campaign". I'm not excited about doing so as we already have 3 desktops and a laptop. Albeit only the laptop is reasonably new.
Why?
Well cash outlay and I don't know enough to actually make a good purchase.
The boys latest offer is they will pay half so cash outlay argument is down considerably. They don't need a monitor-they already have a nice 22in. one. They have a Razor mouse so don't need that either. I'm already buying a Razor keyboard for one of them so they are good there as well.
So I'm asking for for some buying guidance for a gaming computer. Realistically they have about $600 to put towards the purchase. So can $1200 even buy a decent gaming computer and if so what is the one to buy?
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Do you have to buy something pre-built? You could have a pretty nice gaming desktop custom built for that budget.
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12-12-2011, 12:28 PM
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#4
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First Line Centre
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Please don't buy pre-built - if you don't feel comfortable building a computer, Memory Express will charge you $50 to build it for you, which comes with a year warranty.
Pick out parts online, and take a list to Memory Express - Memory Express will also beat any price found in-store or online in Canada, by 25% of the difference. You'll save a ton of money doing this, and get a product that performs a lot better than a pre-built, and won't come with all the clutterware.
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12-12-2011, 12:51 PM
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#5
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wins 10 internets
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: slightly to the left
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Esoteric
Please don't buy pre-built - if you don't feel comfortable building a computer, Memory Express will charge you $50 to build it for you, which comes with a year warranty.
Pick out parts online, and take a list to Memory Express - Memory Express will also beat any price found in-store or online in Canada, by 25% of the difference. You'll save a ton of money doing this, and get a product that performs a lot better than a pre-built, and won't come with all the clutterware.
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this. pick your parts and either have someone you know build it for you or pay memory express to do it. you'll need to buy Window 7 separate that way, but that's actually good since you'll have the disc which makes any future re-installs a lot easier. and you can get a clean Windows install without all the garbage that any PC manufacturer will put on there
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12-12-2011, 01:00 PM
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#6
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First Line Centre
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: /dev/null
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How interested in computers are your kids? Since they are putting a bunch of money into this, why not turn this more into a project for them.
Have your kids do some research into what type of machine they want, what parts they want installed within a given budget - 1200$ should be more then adequate to build a decent gaming machine.
Then have them assemble the machine themselves including installation of the software. May just ignite a passion for technology that goes beyond "box I play games on".
So to answer the "why?" question: make it educational and a challenge. Also, to make them your own personal IT support team for rest of their lives 
*one note, if you do this, have the store put the CPU on the motherboard before hand. That part is never fun, especially if you push to hard and crack the CPU.
Last edited by llama64; 12-12-2011 at 01:02 PM.
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12-12-2011, 01:20 PM
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#8
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Powerplay Quarterback
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Quote:
Originally Posted by llama64
How interested in computers are your kids? Since they are putting a bunch of money into this, why not turn this more into a project for them.
Have your kids do some research into what type of machine they want, what parts they want installed within a given budget - 1200$ should be more then adequate to build a decent gaming machine.
Then have them assemble the machine themselves including installation of the software. May just ignite a passion for technology that goes beyond "box I play games on".
So to answer the "why?" question: make it educational and a challenge. Also, to make them your own personal IT support team for rest of their lives
*one note, if you do this, have the store put the CPU on the motherboard before hand. That part is never fun, especially if you push to hard and crack the CPU. |
They are interested but they are also atypical teenagers in that they want it NOW. I don't think they or I have the patience. Would be fun to try but I think the vote will come down to have somebody who know's what they are doing do the work. Involving them in picking out the parts though is a good idea and I'll start that tonight.
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12-12-2011, 02:36 PM
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#9
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First Line Centre
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Vancouver
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OP, if you go into MemExpress and talk to one of the reps, they will piece together a machine based on what your kids want and the budget $$.
__________________
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12-12-2011, 02:45 PM
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#10
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First Line Centre
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Quote:
Originally Posted by St. Pats
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If I were you I'd go to the 2500k processor, and remove the extra sound card unless you're actually running surround - the onboard sound is good enough for me. I'm sure some people will disagree but it's all opinion.
The 560ti is a great video card for the price btw. I got one for $199 last week there and it's fantastic.
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12-12-2011, 02:54 PM
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#11
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Powerplay Quarterback
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Good advice. Not running surround so there is a good add and takeaway right there. I've read other good comments on that video card as well.
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12-12-2011, 04:25 PM
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#12
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Sunshine Coast
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Since this is for gaming, I'd consider getting an aftermarket heatsink to keep temperatures down. Something like this one.
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...R&promoid=1311
Also with the Z68 motherboards, a small SSD works well with a conventional hard drive. Something like this
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...y&promoid=1311
Do some research before going for this last option though.
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12-12-2011, 04:31 PM
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#13
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Sunshine Coast
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Oh yeah use Shopbot or a similar price matcher (pricebat) to find the lowest Canadian prices.
http://www.shopbot.ca/
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12-12-2011, 08:47 PM
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#14
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Scoring Winger
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Edmonton
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Yes, $1200 can.
I like Dell so that's the direction I'll point you to. There is a XPS 17 laptop for $1000.
If you are looking for a desktop, Dell has XPS 8300 desktop that is $800, but you can raise the price to $1050 by adding a better graphics card (HD 6870).
Also, around boxing day keep an eye on Costo if you are a member. Wait till boxing day if you will order from dell; they may have a good 24 hr deal.
edit: no need to "overclock", and regular cooling hardware is enough for gt540m (laptop) and HD 6870
(desktop)
edit#2: wow...I did not know about this "MemoryExpress" store...I'm def. going there myself now haha.
Last edited by Kipperriffic; 12-12-2011 at 09:05 PM.
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12-12-2011, 10:30 PM
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#15
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tromboner
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: where the lattes are
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kipperriffic
Yes, $1200 can.
I like Dell so that's the direction I'll point you to. There is a XPS 17 laptop for $1000.
If you are looking for a desktop, Dell has XPS 8300 desktop that is $800, but you can raise the price to $1050 by adding a better graphics card (HD 6870).
Also, around boxing day keep an eye on Costo if you are a member. Wait till boxing day if you will order from dell; they may have a good 24 hr deal.
edit: no need to "overclock", and regular cooling hardware is enough for gt540m (laptop) and HD 6870
(desktop)
edit#2: wow...I did not know about this "MemoryExpress" store...I'm def. going there myself now haha.
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12-12-2011, 11:37 PM
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#16
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Atomic Nerd
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Calgary
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$1200 is a huge budget for a very powerful gaming computer these days. It will be no problem at all. For that kind of money you could load up on an i5 or i7 with an SSD and dual videocards.
Last edited by Hack&Lube; 12-12-2011 at 11:44 PM.
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12-12-2011, 11:39 PM
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#17
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Atomic Nerd
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Calgary
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Quote:
Originally Posted by St. Pats
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Forget the sound card, you don't need to buy sound cards these days. For the CPU and motherboard, wait until MemEx has a deal on an i5 2500K + or Z68 motherboard. Usually they go for $299 as a bundle. Right now you are paying $350 for something much worse. Forget the optical drive, people don't really use them anymore and you can just steal one from your old computers. MemEx had a 2TB drive for $134 as a doorcrasher last weekend. They also had 8GB of ram as a $20 doorcrasher a few weeks before that. You can definetely save a ton of money if you are willing to wait for sales or events like boxing day.
Use www.shopbot.ca to price match everything you want from any store in Canada to something Memory Express has in stock, they will beat it by 25% of the difference.
Even right now they have a 2TB drive for $169. 500GB for the $110 drive you listed is really small for these days.
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX32060
Last edited by Hack&Lube; 12-12-2011 at 11:46 PM.
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12-13-2011, 11:11 AM
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#18
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Powerplay Quarterback
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Airdrie, AB
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ASUS G74SX-TH71 Notebook PC - Intel Core i7-2670QM 2.2GHz, 12GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Blu-Ray Player, 3GB Nvidia GTX560M, 17.3" Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, Black
Just bought one, 1299 on Tiger Direct with an HDMI out so I can play on my Aquos.
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12-13-2011, 06:45 PM
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#19
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addition by subtraction
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Tulsa, OK
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one thing to consider is buying a SSD as a primary drive and then wiping an old disc drive to use as a media drive. right now disc drive prices are through the roof due to the flooding in asia. not to mention, with a budget like that, an SSD really should be in the equation.
just a thought.
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12-13-2011, 07:13 PM
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#20
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Franchise Player
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coys1882
Here's a handy buying guide in a large image you can print out and research on the Memory Express website |
That's a really handy image. It'll come in handy a bit later in the year. Thanks for sharing!
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