Hey there, looking for help/advice on purchasing a desktop. Hoping to get the most bang for my buck, with the ability to upgrade down the road if need be.

Budget: $400-700
More specific use (what games, what programs): Dota 2 / Diablo 3 with the potential for better games, some photoshop / video editing and would like to get into programming eventually
Planned time until purchase: within 24 hours?
Do you need an Operating System?: Not mandatory, wouldn't mind a genuine version
Do you have any specific preferred components?: No
Do you need a sound or wireless card?: Both
Do you want stock cooling or do you plan on overclocking?: Stock
Do you need a monitor? mouse? keyboard?: No
Zip code/location? (Shipping costs): Canada (Toronto)

As it stands there are a few used builds on kijiji I'm contemplating on investigating, from what I can tell the cost to build these PCs is significantly more than what is priced, could be wrong though.

PC 1: $450

Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz TurboBoost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000

http://ark.intel.com/products/52207/Intel-Core-i5-2400-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

http://www.amazon.ca/Intel-i5-2400-Quad-Core-Processor-Cache/dp/B004EBUXIA


P8H67-M w/ Intel H67 Chipset, 4xDDR3 1333/1066/800, Onboard VGA DVI and HDMI Video, 2x PCI Express 2.0 (x16 x4), AMD CrossfireX

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H67M/


Deepcool GAMMA ARCHER CPU Cooler

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=8_129&item_id=060893


Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

http://www.amazon.ca/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW
69


ASUS (DRW-24F1ST/BLK/B) Internal 24x DVD Writer

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=3_61&item_id=060114


LEPA MX-F1 350W ATX 12V WHITE NATIVE PSU 80+ Power Supply

http://www.ncix.com/detail/lepa-mx-f1-350w-atx-12v-d9-92725-1353.htm


Raijintek Arcadia ATX Mid Tower Case 2X5.25 2X3.5 Black

http://www.ncix.com/detail/raijintek-arcadia-atx-mid-tower-91-100856.htm

PC 2: $650

Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz TurboBoost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000

http://www.amazon.ca/Intel-i7-2600-Quad-Core-Processor-Cache/dp/B004EBUXSU

http://ark.intel.com/products/52213/Intel-Core-i7-2600-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz


Zalman CNPS90F CPU Cooler With 92MM FSB Fan LGA1150 1155 1366 775

http://www.ncix.com/detail/zalman-cnps90f-cpu-cooler-with-71-100165.htm


ECS Black Deluxe H67H2-M LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Product_Detail.aspx?DetailID=1201&CategoryID=1&MenuID=103&LanID=0


ASUS (DRW-24F1ST/BLK/B) Internal 24x DVD Writer

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=3_61&item_id=060114


WD 2 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, SATA III, 64 MB Cache


Antec P280 ATX Mid Tower Case White 3X5.25 6X3.5INT Front 2XUSB3.0 Audio

http://www.ncix.com/detail/antec-p280-atx-mid-tower-5b-92566.htm


Xigmatek X-CALIBRE Series 500W 80 Plus Certified Active PFC 12V Power Supply

http://www.ncix.com/detail/xigmatek-x-calibre-series-500w-80-1b-99816-1246.htm


Obviously I need to be concerned about purchasing used electronics, however if everything was on the up and up, would you recommend purchasing either of these rigs opposed to building your own? If so, which one?

Would ideally like to spend like than $500, but if the i7 is as significant of an upgrade as I think, I could justify spending the extra $150 for the step up.

Alternatively, if you think neither are a good choice, would enjoy seeing some builds for my price range.

just a quick tip, if you do buy new parts:
there are a few ncix locations in Toronto. they can build your computer for $50 and it includes one year hardware warranty. canada computers has a similar service. these stores pricematch, as well.

This post was edited by NewKID on Mar 23 2015 10:57am

oh boy please dont buy those

Thanks for the heads up, although I think I'd build it myself if I ended up ordering the parts.

Used to fuck around way back when, uncle gave me tons of parts, was able to build a few working machines. Unfortunately that was years ago, never really got into specifics of compatability / performance though, so basically a noob again.



I'm assuming they're bad/incomplete?

Treat me as a computer noob, educate me if you can lol.

Have you looked into amd? That would seem a better option for your price range. Intels nice buts its pricey. Fx series of amd is nice.

I'd be lying if I said I have. My current laptop is a first gen i3, I'm unsure if current quad cores would be a significant upgrade?

Spent the day looking on kijiji, leaning towards picking up a mediocre laptop until I have a $1000+ budget to build a good tower.

just yolo max ur budget $700 on a i5/i7 with a low end GPU like 750 or less since ur games arent demanding.
then upgrade ur GPU later on when u actually need it
ezpz