-= Gametoast.com =-

So, I'm back to thinking about a new computer. This time, I've talked it over with my Dad, and I'm pretty sure he's okay with it now, so I'm good to go. I was originally going to get a Dell XPS - until recently. I decided that, instead, I should try out something new, and get a barebones kit. That way, it'll be more of a learning experience, AND I'd get a sick computer for less money.

I've picked this kit out:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/ ... u=B69-1075
It's pretty much amazing, and it's also pretty cheap. I think it'd be best if I got everything off of TigerDirect because I trust them.

Anyways, that leaves a graphics card. I'd really like a card under $200. If it's under $100, I'll probably get two of them. I was thinking maybe I should get a GeForce 8800 or 9800? Or maybe, if I could find one cheap enough, I could get one of the newer GTX (250, 280, etc.) cards. So, whaddaya think?

My total budget is around $1500, but I could easily go over by, maybe about $100 or so.

here is a hole list of the graphics cards from nvidia, http://www.nvidia.com/object/graphics_c ... y_now.html

Lol, yeah, I know what graphics cards are out there - I'm asking if anyone has any reccomendations or great deals that they saw anywhere. Also, remember I'm from Canada, so Canadian sites only (newegg.ca, tigerdirect.ca) would probably be the best.

I would shop around on www.pricewatch.com - all the big vendors post deals there, and each vendor has user ratings.

Dohnutt- Take Tean's advice. Gefore 9800 gt= 89.99 USD. That's win.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/ ... CatId=1558
After a conversation with Ipod, I've decided so far, on that. It's pretty awesome, and under $200.

I'm gonna keep looking, though. And thanks, I'll keep an eye open on PriceWatch.

When searching for parts for a computer last year, I took a look at about ten different sites for computer parts. Though I had heard that TigerDirect.com was fairly reliable, they also had some of the higher prices. I ended up getting most of my hardware off of Newegg.com, which has great reliability, and was significantly cheaper than TigerDirect.com.

Dohnutt wrote:http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/ ... CatId=1558
After a conversation with Ipod, I've decided so far, on that. It's pretty awesome, and under $200.

I'm gonna keep looking, though. And thanks, I'll keep an eye open on PriceWatch.

I love that card. I just got one the other week and it's amazing.

Frisbeetarian wrote:When searching for parts for a computer last year, I took a look at about ten different sites for computer parts. Though I had heard that TigerDirect.com was fairly reliable, they also had some of the higher prices. I ended up getting most of my hardware off of Newegg.com, which has great reliability, and was significantly cheaper than TigerDirect.com.

He lives in Canada.

swbf_lase wrote:He lives in Canada.

I know, hence he was shopping on TigerDirect.ca, but that is part of the same company, and I assumed that they had comparable prices.

Well, luckily we've got NewEgg.ca here in Canada, and I found this:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6814130339

Same card, lower price.

[EDIT]
Scratch that: Better card, great price:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6814130372

Thanks guys.
(And a BIG thanks to Ipod - who may have not contributed to this topic, but he's been on xfire with me the whole time, haha)

Don't lock this just yet - I may have more questions

Have fun with your free copy of COD:WaW .

My TigerDirect and NewEgg carts + Vista Home Premium ($100) total up to $1875.60. I probably could do better, so I'll keep looking for better deals, but I don't think I'm gonna get under $1500, haha. I guess that's okay - I have the money.

Yeah, lol. If you have the money and it's an investment such as this, it should be worth it. And are you sure that 12 gigs of RAM is enough?

Dohnutt wrote:My TigerDirect and NewEgg carts + Vista Home Premium ($100) total up to $1875.60

Wow, that's a lot! I got mine last summer for ~800 without Vista or a case, and it's still pretty darn powerful. What hardware are you packing in there other than the GTX 260?

Frisbeetarian wrote:

Dohnutt wrote:My TigerDirect and NewEgg carts + Vista Home Premium ($100) total up to $1875.60

Wow, that's a lot!

Yeah, you're about $1075.60 more then I would ever pay for a computer. Do some more shopping. Don't hesitate to buy from multiple vendors. That's why pricewatch is awesome.

Well, you're also in the US, where things are cheaper. Also, I don't think PriceWatch is for Canada. I don't see any Canadian companies on there. The Barebones kit is really what's bumping the price up. It alone is $1235, or something there. Though it is a really good system - and I've just checked; Almost everything in the barebones kit is the same price both on NewEgg and TigerDirect.

Unless it's for a mini-computer (like Shuttle), I don't think barebones is the way to go, and even then, if you look hard enough and find the right motherboard, you can still save money. Could you give us a link for the kit you're talking about?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/ ... u=B69-1075
I posted it in my first post.

Anyways, here's the breakdown of all of the components and their prices:

Asus P6T X58 Barebone Kit
- ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Motherboard: $294.97
- Intel Core i7 920: $309.97
- Patriot Viper Tri Channel 6GB PC10666 DDR3 RAM: $98.99 x2, 12GB in total
- Hitachi Deskstar 1TB Hard Drive: $89.97
- Ultra M923 Full Tower ATX Case: $131.98
- Ultra LSP750 750-Watt Power Supply: $99.97

Hanns·G Hi-221DPB Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor: $179.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported: $195.99

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE: $28.99

Dohnutt wrote:I posted it in my first post.

Doh, sorry I didn't catch that.

Leaving out the case and the hard drive, this is what I found on just one site in half an hour.
* Denotes free shipping.

The Mobo and Processor lots of times come in deals that take a few bucks of the price:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.203757
229.99* + 309.99 = 539.98 - 20.00 = 519.98
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.203970
(259.99 - 15.00 (rebate)) + 309.99 = 554.98 - 20.00 = 534.98

The first is slightly cheaper, but has two less memory slots and 1 less PCIe 2.0 slot, which I would think is no big deal since you don't need more than 4-6 Gigs of memory now a days. HERE's a comparison of a few similar video cards including the one you listed and the two I listed. (There is no exceptional difference between your ASUS card and mine, though, mine's just cheaper).

Same graphics, about the same price.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434
218.99 - 25.00(rebate) = 193.99

For the memory, like I said, you don't need 12 GB, but you certainly don't need to be paying $200.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Productcompare.aspx...
For 2x 2GB
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Productcompare.aspx...
For 3x 2GB
(To compare to your $200 this would be 169.98 including rebates)

Power supply, 730W, not that I think you need that much, 600-650 would probably be plenty. You can find places that tell you what you need based on your hardware, too.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152036
117.99 - 30.00(rebate) = 87.99

Totaled:
534.98 + 193.99 + 169.98 + 87.99 = 986.94
to your:
294.97 + 309.97 + 195.99 + 197.98 + 99.97 = 1098.88

That's $100 of savings without looking real hard. You can get the hard drive cheaper, not that you need 1TB unless you're into lots of media, and you never need to pay $132 for a case; a good deal on a case would settle around $40.

You're looking at a fairly high end computer here that might last four years as a good computer. If you go for less of a computer that will last nearly as long, you'll probably save money in the long run.

As a side note, I just want to point out that buying the kit costs $1234 while the parts cost $1125. They're charging you $109 just to put the stuff together.

Teancum wrote:That's why pricewatch is awesome.

The problem with pricewatch is that most of their vendors ship only to the US (or so it seemed when I looked at HDs there).

Okay, I see what you're talking about, but this really hasn't saved me much money - yeah maybe $100 or so, but nothing really big.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductLis ... rder=PRICE
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/ ... 10|&Sort=4

$97 is the lowest price for a case that I can see.
Maybe I could find a few better deals, yes, but nothing dramatic. As far as I can see, for the awesome system I'm getting, it seems to be a fair price.