So I'm trying to find something decent that can be used for both gaming and development and I have a budget of about $800 including taxes right now

I would also ask that any links be from canadian sellers as I don't want to have to deal with currency conversion to determine if it is within my budget

Budget: $800 CDN atm
More specific use (what games, what programs): WoW being my main game atm, but I have a steam library full of games I'd like to play, and for development work it would be whatever programs I use for the language (main being Visual C++)
Planned time until purchase: no time specified, but do want to get 1 ASAP
Do you need an Operating System?: yes, windows 7 would be preferred
Do you have any specific preferred components?: Nope
Do you need a sound or wireless card?: yes
Do you want stock cooling or do you plan on overclocking?: I know very little when it comes to overclocking so I probably wouldn't try it
Do you need a monitor? mouse? keyboard?: Nope I have a mouse/keyboard and I can always use my TV until I get a monitor
Zip code/location? (Shipping costs): Southern Ontario

This post was edited by douglas22888 on Oct 24 2014 11:56am

Fill this out please. More information = more personalization.

alright I just editted it in

Win 8.1 Pro + Classic Shell > Win 7

Slightly over budget, but this is what I would go with: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/CPnDmG





Precisely.

@OP - I highly recommend getting Windows 8.1 for several reasons. I will list 4 of them below:
1. Windows 8.1 performs better than Windows 7. Believe it or not Microsoft updates more than just the layout when they release Windows's versions.
2. If you don't like Windows 8.1 simply because of the layout, you can download Classic Shell for free here: http://www.classicshell.net/
3. Windows 8.1 is newer and thus will be continue to be supported by Microsoft for longer than Windows 7. Once an OS is no longer supported (i.e. XP now), continuing to use it is very risky.
4. I hear owners of Windows 8.1 will get a free upgrade to Windows 10 upon release. Haven't taken the 10 seconds to confirm this myself, but it's quite nice if true.

This post was edited by SanityWasHacked on Oct 24 2014 12:22pm

I would keep the budget 800 and get Win 8.1 for free
Then you can get a better gpu and cpu

Agreed Sanity's build was pretty accurate, if you need to have it below budget then just grab this. I really think you save up and get he Gtx 970, but if your only playing WoW not a huge deal.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/pL96K8



definitely this!

This post was edited by Acuity on Oct 24 2014 01:09pm

I should also mention if there are decent value prebuilts I could find, that would be good since I'm not confident enough to be able to build myself and local friends who might be able to help me are often busy

Dont buy a prebuilt unless its for a business.

so my friend is saying i should get a heatsink and not to just use the stock 1 so that will need to be thrown into the budget now :S