Here's a machine reasonably close to what I built from [url=http://www.ncixus.com,]http://www.ncixus.com,[/url] the American arm of NCIX, one of the
best online retailers in Canada. Note I'm assuming you don't need a monitor/mouse/kb.
Intel Core i7 860 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.8GHZ Hyperthreading 8MB Cache Retail Box $304.10
MSI P55-GD65 ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 3PCI-E16 CrossFire SLI 2PCI-E1 PCI-E4 2PCI eSATA GBLAN Motherboard $150.05
G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL7-7-7-24 Core I5 Memory Kit $99.53
XFX GeForce GTX 275 633MHZ 896MB 2.26GHZ GDDR3 2XDVI PCI-E Video Card $220.45
Batman Arkham Asylum (PC Game) Coupon for Digital Download *NVIDIA Promo Only*
Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22X DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black OEM $29.66
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive OEM *3YR MFR Warranty* $58.29
Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 ATX 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Audio $49.31
Antec Truepower New 650W Modular Power Supply ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus SLI Ready 120MM PWM Fan $91.32
PC Assembly and Testing with 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased) $39.64
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64BIT OEM DVD with Windows 7 Upgrade Offer $134.65
Total, $1177. Delivery, including their Express RMA service, should run you about $80.
(Mine was noticably pricier - not only did I get two more expensive HDs, I got double the memory, a more expensive MB; but thanks to freaking customs and duty
the Canadian prices tend to be 10-20% higher.)
If you want to upgrade a bit, swap out that MSI motherboard for an Asus P7P55D model.
As for the brands....
If you go with a Dell, get the XPS 8000, and customize the cheapest machine. If you start on one of the more beefy variants, they limit options. I recommend
you pick up the ATI Radeon 4850 for a video card, it's the best of the lot they offer.
Cyberpower isn't bad. They're not brilliant, IMO, but they're decent. At my work, we've only had minor issues with the couple machines of
theirs we've run into.
ASUS is quality in everything they do. I've *never* had a complaint with ASUS in terms of the quality of machines they build. I'm not fond of their
American support, as they can be a pain to get in touch with, but once you do they're among the best in the business.
Heard nothing about iBuy.
best online retailers in Canada. Note I'm assuming you don't need a monitor/mouse/kb.
Intel Core i7 860 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.8GHZ Hyperthreading 8MB Cache Retail Box $304.10
MSI P55-GD65 ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 3PCI-E16 CrossFire SLI 2PCI-E1 PCI-E4 2PCI eSATA GBLAN Motherboard $150.05
G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL7-7-7-24 Core I5 Memory Kit $99.53
XFX GeForce GTX 275 633MHZ 896MB 2.26GHZ GDDR3 2XDVI PCI-E Video Card $220.45
Batman Arkham Asylum (PC Game) Coupon for Digital Download *NVIDIA Promo Only*
Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22X DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black OEM $29.66
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive OEM *3YR MFR Warranty* $58.29
Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 ATX 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Audio $49.31
Antec Truepower New 650W Modular Power Supply ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus SLI Ready 120MM PWM Fan $91.32
PC Assembly and Testing with 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased) $39.64
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64BIT OEM DVD with Windows 7 Upgrade Offer $134.65
Total, $1177. Delivery, including their Express RMA service, should run you about $80.
(Mine was noticably pricier - not only did I get two more expensive HDs, I got double the memory, a more expensive MB; but thanks to freaking customs and duty
the Canadian prices tend to be 10-20% higher.)
If you want to upgrade a bit, swap out that MSI motherboard for an Asus P7P55D model.
As for the brands....
If you go with a Dell, get the XPS 8000, and customize the cheapest machine. If you start on one of the more beefy variants, they limit options. I recommend
you pick up the ATI Radeon 4850 for a video card, it's the best of the lot they offer.
Cyberpower isn't bad. They're not brilliant, IMO, but they're decent. At my work, we've only had minor issues with the couple machines of
theirs we've run into.
ASUS is quality in everything they do. I've *never* had a complaint with ASUS in terms of the quality of machines they build. I'm not fond of their
American support, as they can be a pain to get in touch with, but once you do they're among the best in the business.
Heard nothing about iBuy.