And now for the grand finale!

So I’ve priced out seven different systems and I finally decided that I’m going to go with a local computer store for my parts. This time I get to use Newegg the way I normally do for myself: for researching what’s available so I can buy it elsewhere. In this case we’re going with Canada Computers, a chain of almost 30 stores primarily in the Toronto area but with a handful in and around Ottawa, Montreal, one in Kingston and at least one near Niagara Falls (St Catherines, to be more accurate). I generally find the pricing to be pretty close to what Newegg offers and this way I can pick it up when I want it, rather than wait for it to be shipped to me. Returning to a store is generally also easier than returning to an online site.

BUILD 8: $885 Canadian, Full System, Local Computer Chain Pricing

For this build, I’m going back to the $885 budget. I’m using parts that Newegg rates 5/5 as often as I can, and only going to 4/5 if my budget is screaming at me. But the parts will all be bought through Canada Computers instead of Newegg. And rather than posting a Wish List for my build, I’ll list it here – with Canada Computer links instead of Newegg ones. I’ll give a full list of Newegg links for the build at the end.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H
CPU: Pentium Haswell Dual-Core 3.0GHz G3220
Memory: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1333
SSD: ADATA SX900 128GB SSD
HDD: Seagate 1TB 7200RPM ST1000DM003
DVD: LG Blu-Ray Burner WH14NS40 OEM
Video: XFX Radeon R7 240 2GB R7-240A-CLH4
Case: Enermax OSTROG ECA3253-B
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 series TR-500 500 Watt (80 Plus Bronze)
Screen: Acer S230HLb 23″ LED Monitor 1920×1080 5ms
Input: Logitech MK120 USB Wired Desktop keyboard and mouse combo
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit with SP1

First of all, the plotting. This computer should have everything the user needs – just assemble and get started. I wanted a good solid system for a low price and it had to include not just the monitor, OS, keyboard and mouse, but a good solid for a boot drive and a Blu-Ray burner. And again, it had to be something that both Newegg and Canada Computers had on their sites. I only changed my mind finally when it got down to needing a keyboard and mouse – for general purpose use, they’re suitable.

Now, the parts. An argument can be made for an AMD processor and I wouldn’t bat an eye. But the fact to the matter is I’ve always used an Intel CPU in my own builds, and here I went with what I know: the G3220 Haswell-based 3.0GHz dual-core 1150 processor at $70. It’s CC’s lowest-price socket 1150 CPU – you can only get Celerons on 1155, and that’s not the package I’m going for here. (An 1150 CPU is not compatible with the 1155 socket, nor the reverse.)

For a motherboard I wanted one with a good list of features. Key to me at that point was having four slots for memory; I plan on having 8 GB of RAM in this build and being able to expand later. I ended up taking a Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H motherboard for $79. It has four memory slots, two of which will be taken by the RAM for this build. It also has two PCI Express slots, one which is 3.0 and the other is 2.0, as well as two PCI slots. It supports Crossfire, but one card will be in the 2.0 slot, so keep that in mind. It’s also a micro-ATX board, so if a build in a smaller form factor is relevant, this is a good solid board to consider.

Speaking of memory, this time it’s a kit of two matching 4GB sticks from G.SKILL. Here it’s the Value series with timing in the 9s at $84, model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT, and rated at 1333 MHz. It’s by no means the fastest on the market but when you’re trying to keep your budget low, it’s hard to argue with a good solid brand name at that price.

As I said before, I wanted an SSD in this system, and I wanted a healthy size for it. With a bit more manoeuvrability (an extra $40 or so) I could have had a 240-256 GB drive in the system, but I had to trim some space and finally came up with an ADATA SX900 128GB drive for $90. With up to 550 MB/s read speeds and 520 MB/s write speeds, model ASX900S3-128GM-C seems to be a pretty decent SSD at that spot. Note that these speeds are at the higher end of what you’ll normally find on an SSD.

Then it was time for a hard drive for storage. For a change it’s not going to be Western Digital’s WD10EZEX that we’ve been using for almost every other build. The overall ratings for that drive and a handful of others have all been around the same mark, but this time the lowest cost out of them goes to a Seagate ST1000DM003, a 1 TB 7200RPM drive at $68. It’s only a couple dollars difference but I was already seeing myself spending more than I had expected and I’d already had to make some changes to get in budget. Still, the Western Digital drive is a good option and around the same price.

Of course, you need to get your software onto the drive somehow and the easiest way to do that is a CD or DVD drive of some description. By “some description” here we mean a drive that will not only handle those but reading and writing Blu-Ray discs as well. Back to LG for a Blu-Ray burner this time in model WH14NS40 which clocks in at $70. It wasn’t that long ago that that’s what a good DVD drive would cost, and a couple years ago even the least expensive were up around the $200 mark. At the end of the day though, I’m not unhappy to get a Blu-Ray burner from a known brand for $70.

I could stick with the video that’s on the CPU, but why when you can get a decent graphics card for $85? A Radeon R7 240 is a good starting point, and XFX has a 2GB model (R7-240A-CLH4) at that point. Newegg only has a couple reviews about the XFX but the chip is one Tom’s Hardware recommends for budget gaming systems, so I use that one here.

Finally near the end. There were some cases I had looked at by a company Newegg knows, but they apparently weren’t known for cases. And Canada Computers doesn’t have ones by Rosewill, and NZXT 210s are too high for this budget. As a result I ended up with an Enermax OSTROG series case, model ECA3253-B clocking in at $45. I was, however, able to find a matching power supply and keep the pairing under $100 by going with a Thermaltake TR2 series 500 watt power supply, the TR-500. It’s not an 80 PLUS-certified power supply but at least it’s by a well-known name which implies some kind of actual quality control. Either way it’s a solid 500 watt PSU for $50.

Windows 7 is $110 through Canada Computers – as well as through Newegg.ca – so that only leaves a keyboard and mouse. After a lot of effort and shifting numbers around, I managed to come up with enough for a Logitech MK120 USB wired keyboard and mouse combo, model 920-002565, at $25. I wasn’t entirely happy with going ultra-budget on those and Newegg seems to feel these are a pretty good pairing for the price.

All that leaves now is the monitor. This was tough trying to pin something good down, and I found Newegg’s entry not on the US site but on the Canadian site, thus the link below is .ca and not .com instead. I lined up the Acer S230HLb for my screen. It’s a 23″ LED monitor with 1920×1080 resolution and 5ms response time, which is typical in the industry at the lower-costed end. It has a D-SUB VGA connection, which the Radeon card above has as an available jack, so you’re good to go there. And it came in at $109, which, when all is said and done, is a grand total of $885 – meaning I just made it! *

And by the way, here’s the Newegg links for you, as promised:

Motherboard
Processor
Memory
SSD
Hard Drive
Optical Drive
Video Card
Case (note that the one CC has is solid black, no blue trim like this one)
Power Supply
Keyboard and Mouse
Monitor (Canadian site, not USA)
Operating System

Thanks for following me on my journey and I’ll see you next time. Who knows when sanity will strike again?

Mindstab Thrull
Sanity eater extraordinaire

* Obviously not counting for rounding; I still have about an extra quarter but that’s not likely to make much difference, considering $1000 after taxes, is it?