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[Firestorm]

Thanks for the update. How does the GTX 260 compare with the 4870 1GB? Is the GTX 260 better?

Benchmarks show it better by a decent bit for most games. You also get PhysX which is a nice bonus.

Thanks for the updated builds, Firestorm! Don't have time to check them out yet, but will do so sometime this week. I'm real bad with the hardware, so I might even just use the build as is.

If you scroll down in the case and motherboard, you'll see options to bundle them with Vista Home Premium w/upgrade and the NCIX Assembly items. If you do the OS with one and Assembly with other, that'll save you about $20. If you want the heatsink installed, say so in the Notes while checking out and they'll do it for you.

 

[Dunlop]

Ok this took longer than I thought, but I updated the $650 Canadian Build for you brain_stew.

BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC - $179.99 - $20 MIR = $159.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=38853&promoid=1016

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB - $77.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34286&promoid=1016

Coolermaster Elite RC-330 - after Price Match it's $40.70
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=20935
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/114936/COOLERMASTER/RC_330_KKN1/

Seasonic S12II 500W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX Power Supply - $69.99 - $10 MIR - $59.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=29896&promoid=1016

Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 - after Price Match it's $80.94 - $10 MIR = $70.94
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=35762
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11830BD4096&vpn=GA-MA770-UD3&manufacture=GIGABYTE

AMD Phenom II X3 720 - after Price Match it's $155.00
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=35467
http://www.infonec.com/site/main.php?module=detail&id=443136

Samsung SH-S223F Black 22x DVD Writer SATA - after Price Match it's $27.24
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=38115
http://www.memoryhouse.com/products/4179/Samsung/SH_S223F_BEBE/

2x2GB Patriot Extreme Performance Viper RAM: $69.99 - $25 MIR = $44.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=31269

Total: $707.84 - $55 in rebates = $646.84

HDD Upgrade if you want for $6 more:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB HDD - $83.99
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=37232&promoid=1016

I <3 U

 

[Dunlop]

AMD Phenom II X3 720 - after Price Match it's $155.00
http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=35467
http://www.infonec.com/site/main.php...tail&id=443136

This is linking to the wrong CPU for ncix

should be:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=36295

thanks again!

edit: quoted wrong post

 

[brain_stew]

My PC is running awesomely now (after a BIOS update), but I just got Mirror's Edge for $7 from Newegg and it runs like absolute shit. Are there known issues with this game? I have an ATI Radeon HD 4850. After running the Crysis demo at high settings and having the game run fine, this game chugs down to 2-3 fps in the second level when people start shooting through the windows and glass flies everywhere. And that was after I turned settings all down to medium and resolution to 800x600. Wtf?

[edit] In hindsight, I should have found a Mirror's Edge thread. Sorry.

Download an updated version of PhysX, should fix it, as its a known problem.

Make sure you don't have hardware PhysX effects enabled, either.

Edit: I'll add the new Canadian post's to the op. Since you know this market much better than me Firestorm, I'd be delighted if you could provide intermittent updates, the NCIX site is a bit of a pain to navigate, and the deal's are often pretty well hidden to someone that doesn't know where they're looking.

As a general future tip, I'm trying not to rely too much on rebates to bring the price under budget, so just bear that in mind in future, does make it much harder though! :lol

Much thanks for that new post.

 

[Dunlop]

I am about to place my order. I notice however that most of the MIR expire tomorrow.

Does anyone know if they "date of purchase" will offically be when I place the order or when they process it?

I would rather not lose that money over a delay in proccessing. I called their office but it is closed atm. I am assuming it is on the west coast

 

[Firestorm]

I believe Date of Purchase would be when you paid. Price matches usually take a day. I'd call in. They should be open in about 35 minutes. Completely forgot rebates would be over in like 2 days.

Yeah brain_stew I'll try and update. Problem with Canadian prices is that NCIX's sale changes every week and almost everything seems to be rebate based -_-

 

[Dunlop]

I believe Date of Purchase would be when you paid. Price matches usually take a day. I'd call in. They should be open in about 35 minutes. Completely forgot rebates would be over in like 2 days.

Yeah brain_stew I'll try and update. Problem with Canadian prices is that NCIX's sale changes every week and almost everything seems to be rebate based -_-

I was told:

Brayden: As for the mail in rebate question, on NCIX.com invoices there is two dates displayed; the order date (when you place the order) and the invoice date (when we process the order). The mail in rebate company will go with whichever date is in the rebate's time frame.

This place really had great prices, I tried to build the same PC locally. Now I'm just on the fence about having them assemble or not

-lazyness
-1 year in store warranty

My first time ordering online when it is not for the whole PC (dell,hp). When I assembled locally I had somewhere to go and scream if I have a problem and didn't have to worry about shipping costs and delays to send components

 

[Firestorm]

If you do decide to let them build it, when you pick the Phenom II 720, don't click Add to cart. Scroll down to Bundle Deals and check the box for Assembly. Then click Add Bundle. You'll save about $9. You can still price match the processor in the cart.

 

[Abubakr]

Benchmarks show it better by a decent bit for most games. You also get PhysX which is a nice bonus.

If you scroll down in the case and motherboard, you'll see options to bundle them with Vista Home Premium w/upgrade and the NCIX Assembly items. If you do the OS with one and Assembly with other, that'll save you about $20. If you want the heatsink installed, say so in the Notes while checking out and they'll do it for you.

Alright, thanks.

 

[Dunlop]

If you do decide to let them build it, when you pick the Phenom II 720, don't click Add to cart. Scroll down to Bundle Deals and check the box for Assembly. Then click Add Bundle. You'll save about $9. You can still price match the processor in the cart.

You are all kinds of awesome. Order sent.

AS mentioned I costed it locally to where I used to buy my components which is easily the cheapest place around to buy components

NCIX subtotal - $794
Microbytes (local) - $1036

 

[Firestorm]

Hope it isn't too late, but I just found a different video card if your budget allows for it:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=023861&cid=999.243.272

$214.99 - $35 MIR + $6.99 shipping = $186.98 for the MSI Radeon 4890. $200.07 after tax.

Only problem is NCIX wouldn't be able to build it for you as they don't sell it. You'd have to install it yourself (not the hardest thing in the world, just plug it in).

What you'd have to do would be email/phone asking them to take the card you ordered off your invoice I think.

Sorry, I didn't see this at all until just now.

 

[AdawgDaFAB]

Quick ? to anyone else who has a HD 4890:
When playing on an HDTV (Samsung LNT4061FX for me) connected through HDMI do you get underscan when playing some 3D games (ex: 1080p fills my whole screen in SF IV but I get underscan in the RE5 Benchmark and in Crysis)? When I set up the card I had to go into CCC and set underscan to 0% but that setting only seems to work for the OS and doesn't carry over to full screen 3D games. Also I am using Just Scan on my TV settings so it is not something on the TV end.


Edit: I think I might have figured it out. I looked through the CCC 9.7 settings (anyone here think the new UI for 9.7 is annoying compared to the old UI?) and it seems like my TV's refresh rate is 59 instead of 60 so that might be what is causing the games to have the underscan. When I set the rate to 60 I got underscan (and couldn't find the slider setting in 9.7 to fix it). So knowing that I went to the RE5 Benchmark and changed the refresh rate to 59 and it filled up the screen. I guess my only problem now will be games that don't allow you to choose 59 Hz.

 

[drakesfortune]

I'm posting from my lightning fast new build. Man, this was super easy to build. I don't have all of my drivers up to date yet, but my build is VERY fast and the dual screens are blowing my mind. I'm so glad I went with two. My entire desktop is covered in glorious screen acreage. I'll post some pics later.

Does anyone know a good replacement for Outlook? Is there anything out there that can import my Outlook file and use it, or am shit out of luck for that. I downloaded open office for the first time and I'm quite impressed.

I love Windows 7 BTW. It's too bad I have to reformat my hard drive when the retail build is released. That's kind of going to make it feel like I'm living in an apartment for a few months.

 

[FromTheFuture]

Damn, this is the thing i hate about buying stuff. I buy my new rig and just a little while later i can get better for cheaper! It really saddens me. I should stop looking in this thread. Also I wish i had never bought this Powercolour brand, my GPU is loud

 

[Dunlop]

Hope it isn't too late, but I just found a different video card if your budget allows for it:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=023861&cid=999.243.272

$214.99 - $35 MIR + $6.99 shipping = $186.98 for the MSI Radeon 4890. $200.07 after tax.

Only problem is NCIX wouldn't be able to build it for you as they don't sell it. You'd have to install it yourself (not the hardest thing in the world, just plug it in).

What you'd have to do would be email/phone asking them to take the card you ordered off your invoice I think.

Sorry, I didn't see this at all until just now.

no worries, I'll stick with the old card. My alternator just blew on my car, I suddenly can't even justify my original purchase.

I appreciate the help

 

[Nolimit_SS]

I got question about speakers, hope I can ask here.

When I made PC I got nice 2.1 logitech ones, but now that I moved back home from USA they don't work due to some power stuff and can't be fixed(cheaper to buy new ones).

So I need some decent 2.1 speakers for my PC. I'm not much of audiophile but I do like to listen to music. Also games of course and movies. Standard PC stuff.
Just want sound to be clean and that they are not too expensive.
Any recommendations or any speakers will do ?

 

[TouchMyBox]

Firestorm, you get more awesome by the day. I didn't know until now how easy price matching on NCIX was, now i'll definitely buy from them more often since they don't charge PST for us Ontarians.

 

[snoopeasystreet]

Built myself a new pc recently. Everything is running smoothly except windows 7 is seeing my radeon hd 4870 as a 3300. Anyone know why?

 

[DeadGzuz]

Does anyone know why if I change the AA/AF/Vsync setting in a game like Mirror's Edge, RE5 Benchmark, etc. they get ignored? I've tried 186 and 190 Nvidia drivers. The control panel is set to application. I've never seen this, it's like it is stuck.

 

[Dina]

Does anyone know a good replacement for Outlook? Is there anything out there that can import my Outlook file and use it, or am shit out of luck for that. I downloaded open office for the first time and I'm quite impressed.

Mozilla Thunderbird

 

[Firestorm]

Does anyone know why if I change the AA/AF/Vsync setting in a game like Mirror's Edge, RE5 Benchmark, etc. they get ignored? I've tried 186 and 190 Nvidia drivers. The control panel is set to application. I've never seen this, it's like it is stuck.

Have you tried restarting the game after changing the settings?

Firestorm, you get more awesome by the day. I didn't know until now how easy price matching on NCIX was, now i'll definitely buy from them more often since they don't charge PST for us Ontarians.

Everyone who orders online for shipping seems to have no issue. I should try doing shipping or picking up at Vancouver. NCIX Burnaby denies half my price matches as "below cost" and then sends me a counter-offer -_-

 

[Zaphyr]

Does anyone know a good replacement for Outlook? Is there anything out there that can import my Outlook file and use it, or am shit out of luck for that. I downloaded open office for the first time and I'm quite impressed.

I downloaded Windows Live Mail, it's the replacement for Outlook since Vista. Loving it a lot

 

[TouchMyBox]

I downloaded Windows Live Mail, it's the replacement for Outlook Express since Vista. Loving it a lot

fixed.

 

[Super Johnson]

Any comparable replacements for these items, both in performance and price? They seem to be out of stock:

[DVD (Samsung 22X DVDRW)]: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151187 ($27)
[RAM (OCZ 4GB DDR2 800)]: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227269 ($36 after rebate)

I'm about to pull the trigger and don't want to wait for these to come back in stock; seems like too good a deal to pass up.

 

[LAMBO]

Does brain_stew's US build come with the cpu fan/heatsink?

 

[BravoSuperStar]

Does brain_stew's US build come with the cpu fan/heatsink?

As long as it's not the OEM version of the CPU it should include the stock fan/heatsink.

 

[brain_stew]

Any comparable replacements for these items, both in performance and price? They seem to be out of stock:

[DVD (Samsung 22X DVDRW)]: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151187 ($27)
[RAM (OCZ 4GB DDR2 800)]: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227269 ($36 after rebate)

I'm about to pull the trigger and don't want to wait for these to come back in stock; seems like too good a deal to pass up.

They're pretty standard parts. Any 4GB DDR2 PC6400/PC8500 RAM from G.Skill/Corsair/Crucial/Mushkin should be fine and any SATA DVDRW drive will do you fine as well. Just don't buy one with terrible reviews.

 

[Super Johnson]

They're pretty standard parts. Any 4GB DDR2 PC6400/PC8500 RAM from G.Skill/Corsair/Crucial/Mushkin should be fine and any SATA DVDRW drive will do you fine as well. Just don't buy one with terrible reviews.

I figured as much. Thanks.

 

[Great King Bowser]

Going to need assistance (again).

Went to install a spare IDE HDD I had lying around earlier. Installed fine, showed up in BIOS and Windows 7 and all that. Went to copy some stuff to it, BSOD. Rebooted, as soon as I tried to access the drive BSOD again.

Except this time the PC won't boot up. No POST, nothing output to monitor, no beeps. Fans just keep spinning.

Now this happened to me about 2 weeks ago as well, that time I just disassembled and reassembled everything and that miraculously fixed everything. Tried that again whilst leaving out the extra HDD and no dice. Any ideas?

I tried booting with no RAM and I don't get any BIOS error beeps. Am I going to need to RMA another motherboard? :lol

 

[vertopci]

Whats the size difference between an 8800gtx and a 260/275gtx?

 

[Daigoro]

can someone tell me what OS would be the best for the $500 build?

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=368&name=Operating-Systems

not sure about which version best suits the system (premium 32 or 64?). i figure ill start with Vista, and it says they come with a free Windows 7 upgrade.

thanks.

 

[Firestorm]

can someone tell me what OS would be the best for the $500 build?

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=368&name=Operating-Systems

not sure about which version best suits the system (premium 32 or 64?). i figure ill start with Vista, and it says they come with a free Windows 7 upgrade.

thanks.

Home Premium 64-bit with Windows 7 Update. Although I would recommend getting Windows 7 RC1 instead if you're a student and using your student discount to grab Windows 7 once it's out.

 

[Daigoro]

thanks kindly Firestorm.

im going for it GAF! im basically going for the $500 build, but spending a little more on certain areas and a little less in others (i still have a good amount of usuable parts from my old build).

 

[squicken]

My 9800GT and Maximum Crysis arrived today based on a recommendation from brain_stew. Installation was easy as could be. I was all thinking PC gaming isn't as bad as I remember.

Then I ran Warhead. Do we have a tech support thread on GAF?

 

[Hazaro]

My 9800GT and Maximum Crysis arrived today based on a recommendation from brain_stew. Installation was easy as could be. I was all thinking PC gaming isn't as bad as I remember.

Then I ran Warhead. Do we have a tech support thread on GAF?

You are in one of them, the other main 2009 thread is better though.

 

[cyberheater]

This really is an awesome thread.

After reading brain_stew banging on about PC gaming FTW on many many threads, I decided to see what the hell he was on about and resurrected my old gaming PC that's been sitting in my loft for the last year or so.

Specs are:-

E2180 o/c to 3Ghz
4Gb DDR2 800Mhz Memory
8800GT running at stock
1TB 7200 rpm Hitachi HDD
Windows 7 RC1 64bit <- Downloaded after brain_stew advice on another thread.
360 wired gamepad

Connected to my 40inch Sony Bravia 1080p TV.

Have Dead Space and Ghostbusters to try it out on. Results. Fantastic. Both running smooth at 1080p. Dead Space also has AA running. It looks stunning. It looks like an uber console.

A couple of things. I'm surprised how good the 8800GT is shaping up. I though I'd need a new graphics card but it seems to handle everything I throw at it without problems.

Windows 7 RC1 is pretty good and very stable. MS finally got it right. I'm used to mac OSX (have a macbook) and I tried Vista a couple of times on my rig a year or so ago but always went back to XP. I'll stick to Win7 now. It's pretty slick, stable and most importantly, it seems quite lean on resources. Overall very nice.

A question. Can someone recommend me a games launcher front end? I'd like to switch on my PC and control launching my games etc using my gamepad. I don't want to use the mouse or keyboard. A nice graphical front end with coverflow would be a bonus.

 

[ckeur]

I'm planning on getting a new rig near Christmas, but I'm curious what people's thoughts are with DX11 coming out and the new DX11 cards that are sure to follow.

 

[asdad123]

This really is an awesome thread.

After reading brain_stew banging on about PC gaming FTW on many many threads, I decided to see what the hell he was on about and resurrected my old gaming PC that's been sitting in my loft for the last year or so.

Specs are:-

E2180 o/c to 3Ghz
4Gb DDR2 800Mhz Memory
8800GT running at stock
1TB 7200 rpm Hitachi HDD
Windows 7 RC1 64bit <- Downloaded after brain_stew advice on another thread.
360 wired gamepad

Connected to my 40inch Sony Bravia 1080p TV.

Have Dead Space and Ghostbusters to try it out on. Results. Fantastic. Both running smooth at 1080p. Dead Space also has AA running. It looks stunning. It looks like an uber console.

A couple of things. I'm surprised how good the 8800GT is shaping up. I though I'd need a new graphics card but it seems to handle everything I throw at it without problems.

Windows 7 RC1 is pretty good and very stable. MS finally got it right. I'm used to mac OSX (have a macbook) and I tried Vista a couple of times on my rig a year or so ago but always went back to XP. I'll stick to Win7 now. It's pretty slick, stable and most importantly, it seems quite lean on resources. Overall very nice.

A question. Can someone recommend me a games launcher front end? I'd like to switch on my PC and control launching my games etc using my gamepad. I don't want to use the mouse or keyboard. A nice graphical front end with coverflow would be a bonus.

All the info you need is in this thread

The answer to your question plus many other cool things are in the first post

 

[KAL2006]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-180-OK

UK Gaffers is this a good deal

 

[Zaphyr]

fixed.

yeah my bad, but outlook is dead as well is it not?

 

[KAL2006]

OK im gonna get the components from the original post suggested (UK version). However the changes i will make is

XFX HD 4890 1GB GDDR5
AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.8GHz

Am I good to go

 

[axiomnightmare]

The combo link on the 400 dollar deal is dead

 

[DoomGyver]

love this thread, it has answered so many questions.

Spoiler

pc noob

 

[Firestorm]

Got my pc but going to beach so no toying around

 

[ACE 1991]

Hey guys, around early november I'm thinking about purchasing my gaming laptop to take with me to college. I plan on spending around $1500-$1700. However, I was wondering if I should just wait until summer to get the best laptop for the money? Will the technology improve substantially enough in that time period?

 

[brain_stew]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-180-OK

UK Gaffers is this a good deal

No processor is too shitty.

 

[brain_stew]

Hey guys, around early november I'm thinking about purchasing my gaming laptop to take with me to college. I plan on spending around $1500-$1700. However, I was wondering if I should just wait until summer to get the best laptop for the money? Will the technology improve substantially enough in that time period?

Wait as long as possible.

 

[axiomnightmare]

Just get a netbook and the gaming pc in this thread. You'll be able to save at least $500 and the gaming quality will likely be higher. Having a gaming laptop pretty much defeats its purpose, as the battery life will likely be quite atrocious. In addition, the mobile graphics cards cost significantly more (at least 2x) compared to their desktop counterparts. A netbook will be able to provide the mobility and the battery life that you need for college, and the desktop will satisfy your gaming needs.

 

[cyberheater]

All the info you need is in this thread

The answer to your question plus many other cool things are in the first post

Thanks. Another great thread.

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

Question - Is it possible to build a cheap gaming PC with a good compact case? I want something to fit in my entertainment center. To minimize complainants from my wife, ideally it wouldn't look like a "fugly" PC.