My Best Bang for Buck Build

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fjsarmiento
FJ Sarmiento
Member since
Photographer & Videographer
Markham, Canada
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My Best Bang for Buck Build

Hi everyone! I'm calling this my Best Bang for Buck Build because pretty much all the new components, peripherals, and monitor were bought on sale on Black Friday and Boxing Day and some were Open Box deals too. Other parts were carried over from my previous build that I had since 2010 with some purchased upgrades as well. I've also been pretty lucky with some salvaged speaker sets. My desk was also salvaged.

--- UPDATE 2020 ---
Swapped out the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with the AMD Ryzen 9 3900x
Swapped out the EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti FTW2 with the ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 TI OC
and added another 32GB of ram!
----------------------

So here's a list of all the parts and what I paid in CAD after tax (rounded to nearest $5):

MSI Optix G27C2 27” 144Hz 1ms 1080p Curved = $285 (CanadaComputers 2018 Boxing Week Sale + Open Box Discount)
Dell UltraSharp U3011 30” 60Hz 2560x1600 Adobe RGB / sRGB = $550 (Bought Used in 2014)
LG W2343T 23” 60Hz 1080p = $0 (From Original Build 2010) -- removed
Upgraded to:
Samsung 32A800 32" UHD 3840x2160 60Hz 5ms VA sRGB LED = $380 (CanadaComputers 2022 Sale + Open Box Discount)

Sharp Aquos LC-40E67UN 40" 60Hz 1080p = $0 (Old TV, Futureshop 2008 Boxing Day Sale, $565?)

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 6c/12t 3.4GHz (OC'ed to 4.025 GHz) = $235 (CanadaComputers 2018 Boxing Day Sale) -- removed
Upgraded to:
AMD Ryzen 9 3900x 12c/24t 3.8GHz (OC'ed to 4.3 GHz) = $530 (CanadaComputers 2020 Sale + Rebate)

ASUS ROG Strix B450-F Gaming AM4 ATX = $140 (CanadaComputers 2018 Boxing Day Sale)

Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 x Qty 2 = $340 (CanadaComputers 2018 Boxing Day Sale)
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 x Qty 2 = $180 (CanadaComputers 2020 Sale)

EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti FTW2 8GB = $670 (CanadaComputers 2018 Sale, Includes MIR, plus Monster Hunter: World) -- removed
Upgraded to:
ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 TI 11GB OC Edition = $500 (Facebook Marketplace 2020) -- removed
Upgraded to:
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti FTW3 ULTRA GAMING, 24G-P5 = $2135 (CanadaComputers 2022 Summer Open Box Sale)

EVGA SuperNOVA 1000W G2 80+ GOLD = $155 (CanadaComputers 2018 Open Box)
EVGA CLC 240 Liquid CPU Cooler RGB with 120mm Fans x Qty 2 = $115 (CanadaComputers 2018 Boxing Week Sale)
EVGA DG-76 Mid-Tower with 120mm Case Fans x Qty 3 = $70 (CanadaComputers 2018 Boxing Day Sale, Includes MIR)
ThermalTake 120mm Case Fans x Qty 4 = $0 (From Original Build 2010)

Western Digital Black NVMe M.2 2280 500GB R:3400MB/s W:2500MB/s x Qty 2 in RAID 0 = $290 (CanadaComputers 2018 Boxing Day Sale)
Crucial MX500 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5” SSD R:560MB/s W:510MB/s = $240 (CanadaComputers 2018 Sale)
SanDisk Extreme PRO 240GB SATA 6GB/s 2.5” SSD R:550MB/s W:520MB/s = $0 (Gift)

Blue Yeti USB Microphone = $115 (Costco Sale 2011) -- removed
Upgraded to:
TASCAM DR-60DmkII DSLR Audio Recorder = $230 (Amazon 2018 Sale)
Rode NTG2 Condenser Shotgun Microphone = $20 (Bought Used)

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Headphones = $120 (Amazon Sale, lowest price ever)
Bose SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphones II - White = $200 (Warranty Upgrade Purchase)
Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 Hi-Fi Speakers = $0 (Aeroplan Miles)

Logitech C920 Pro HD Webcam = $90 (Amazon Sale 2016)
Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard = $140 (BestBuy 2018 Black Friday Sale)
Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum Mouse = $60 (CanadaComputers 2018 Black Friday Sale)
Logitech Z-2300 Stereo 2.1 Speakers = $0 (Salvaged)
Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers = $0 (Salvaged)

TP-Link T6E Archer Wireless Adapter = $60 (CDW Sale) -- removed
TP-Link Antenna Extension Cable x Qty 2 = $25 (CDW Sale) -- removed
TP-Link AC1750 WiFi Extender RE450 = $40 (Facebook Marketplace) -- removed

RGB LED 5m Tape Strips x Qty 4 = $40 (AliExpress)
SteelSeries 4HD Professional Gaming Mouse Pad (Black) = $0 (Gift)
World Map Extended Gaming Mouse Pad Desk Mat = $5 (eBay)

Balt 34434 Ergo Ex Ergonomic Mesh Chair = $180 (Employee Discount)
Large Wooden Desk = $0 (Salvaged)

Plus a number of external storage devices (ex. Drobo) and printers I've accumulated over the years.

I wanted the performance boost but still tried to minimize my budget. This is primarily my work machine (photographer/videographer) and I have gotten back into gaming as well. I was running on SATA 2 for too long and it was really time for an upgrade. I focused on getting the parts with the biggest discount promotions. This is NOT a budget build by any means. But I can definitely say I'm getting the Best Bang for my Bucks spent! The plan is to sell my CPU+Mobo combo when Ryzen 3000 comes out. That Ryzen 9 3850 looks BEAST!
Color(s): Black
RGB Lighting? Yes
Theme: none
Cooling: AIO Cooling
Size: ATX
Type: General Build

Contests

This build participated in 1 contest.

Hardware

CPU
$ 415.00
AMD - Ryzen 9 (3900X)
Socket: AM4
Cores: 12
Motherboard
$ 129.99
ASUS - ROG Strix Gaming (B450-F)
Chipset: B450
CPU Socket: AM4
Size: ATX
Memory
$ 159.96
Corsair - Vengeance LPX (3200MHz) (Black) (4x)
Type: DDR4
Capacity: 16 GB
Graphics
ASUS - ROG Strix Gaming OC
Chip Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip: GTX 1080 Ti
Interface: PCIe x16
Graphics
$ 1,329.99
EVGA - GeForce FTW3 Ultra Gaming
Chip Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip: RTX 3090
Interface: PCIe x16
Storage
$ 51.99
Crucial - MX500
Form Factor: 2.5 Inch
Interface: SATA 6 Gb/s
Capacity: 1 TB
Storage
$ 48.99
SanDisk - Extreme Pro
Form Factor: 2.5 Inch
Interface: SATA 6 Gb/s
Capacity: 240 GB
Storage
$ 398.00
Western Digital - WD Black (WDS500G2X0C) (2x)
Form Factor: M.2
Interface: M.2 (M)
Capacity: 500 GB
PSU
EVGA - SuperNOVA G2
Wattage: 1000
Form Factor: ATX
Efficiency: 80+ Gold
Case
$ 199.99
EVGA - DG-76
Type: Mid-Tower
Side Panel: Tempered Glass
Cooling
$ 148.62
EVGA - CLC (RGB)
Type: AIO
Size (WxHxD): 240 mm (2 x 120 mm)
Accessories
$ 149.00
Accessories
$ 107.06
Accessories
$ 449.99
Accessories
$ 69.95
Accessories
$ 474.99
Accessories
Monitor
$ 460.00
Dell - UltraSharp (U3011)
Size: 30 Inch
Panel: IPS
Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
Monitor
$ 1,114.97
MSI - Optix (G27C2)
Size: 27 Inch
Panel: VA
Refresh Rate: 144 Hz
Monitor
Samsung - 32A800
Size: 32 Inch
Panel: LED
Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
Keyboard
$ 148.00
Logitech - G910
Interface: Wired
Key Switch Type: Romer-G
Type: Full Size
Mouse
$ 44.95
Logitech - G502 Proteus Spectrum
Interface: Wired
550
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