The difference between our dollar and the US is currently .98119 CAD = 1 USD. It's been hovering anywhere from 94 cents to 98 cents for the last couple of months. It was trading higher then that back in the summer where it was worth more then the US dollar, but yeah considering the fact that our economy is growing, it's still shit that everything is so much more expensive.
If it's any indication, a Newegg 25 inch HP monitor is 230 dollars right now, only re-certified monitors are less then 200 dollars on the US website I think I got a helluva deal on my screen.
I have one too We simply don't have the selection up here in Canada available to the states (or even Europe) (at reasonable price points that is)
I ended up buying an 8300...
i7@3.4
16G Ram
2TB Raid0
AMD 6770 (which I`ll most likely replace)
On sale for $999. No shipping, after tax was around $1150.
Although I`ve been buying Dell`s for 12 years with no problems - I did price out before hand using Newegg and Tigerdirect, and when I added in the time for me to put the system together, the shipping costs, and the 'warranties' if something DID go wrong (Considering I have one year next day service from Dell) for me it was a no brainer.
Some of us are just lazy - and for me, Dell was the best 'lazy' option
While it is true our options are a bit more limited, we still have far more variety thanks to Newegg and NCIX, though the former has a much wider array of choices but if you live in the right location, sometimes NCIX's Doorcrasher sales and in-store only deals make it well worth the trip. 5 years ago we were pretty much stuck with Futureshit or Dell as our only options unless we were able to go across the border.
pretty old setup by now but still plays all games smoothly
Intel Quad Xtreme QX9650
Asus Maximus II Formula
4GB DDR200 800Mhz (Think it was)
ATI Radeon HD5870 Vapor-X
Some weird gaming Soundcard
22inch Samsung Monitor
Keyboard and mouse with soms fancy blue lights that don't add shit tbh. Just costed me a lot.
Case: Apevia X-Trooper
Processor: Intel Quad Core i7 3.4GHz
RAM: 8192MB DDR3
HDD: 2TB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Monitor: Viewsonic VX2250 Series (Got two of 'em)
Headphones: Astro A40 Audio System
Keyboard: Razer Black Widow Ultimate
Mouse: Razer Mamba
Mousepad: Steelseries Starcraft 2 WoL Mouse Mat
OS: Windows 7
Pulled this from xfire, and I cant post pictures due to a new account
Case: Thermaltake Dokker
Processor: I5 2500K @ 4.5Ghz
Processor fan: Hyper 212
Ram: 8GB Cosair XMS3
HDD: Crucial M4 128GB and 2x 1TB 7200RPM
GPU: KFA2 GTX 560Ti
Monitor: Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM 23 inch and Samsung Syncmaster T200HD
Keyboard: Logitech G19
Mouse: Razer Naga
Honestly, and I know I'm in the minority here, I'd go for better monitors rather than better hardware. You have an SSD, you've replaced your GTS 450, the i5 2300 is by no means a bad CPU just because it's slightly inferior to the i5 2500.
Wait a generation. It's not like you suffer with the i5 2300.
However, viewing pleasure, and having monitors whom last you longer than your next 2-3 builds is a good investment. What good is it having thousands of dollars in the box, if it's not as beautiful as it should be?
ASUS PA238Q would also be my recommendation. Or a nice PVA monitor.
Gasp! Tetris! I thought you loved the Dell IPS monitors for gaming and the Apple Cinemas for picture editing and the like. :P This Asus monitor must be special!
Sound advice. You failed to comment on my audio setup, you silly audiophile.
I was thinking this : http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CJoCEPMCMAQ
Much more affordable, still an awesome monitor. (two of them mind you.)
That would be hypocritical though, seeing how I have a set of X-530, because I wanted "something with bass, for parties", since I listen to music and stuff with my headset anyway.
The problem (And this is an answer for you as well, Deltrus) is that e-IPS 6bit monitors are not as big of a step from TN as IPS proper are. The '12 edition (meaning, year 2012 edition, u2212HM for instance) are a further step down from the '11 versions. Meaning, better than TN for sure, better buy for picture-quality, but still not good enough for photo-editting (which even if you do, it will likely be good enough) it only has a 6bit colour palette, meaning it has to emulate colours to reach 8bit. Just like TN-panels.
The viewing angles do help as well.
So. I'm just being pedantic here. It's a step up every day in the week. But not to IPS-proper levels. OTOH, since they are more inexpensive, they are better buys, moneywise, if you don't work with it.
BF3 is not among the faster games iirc. Quake 3 Unreal tournament et c do qualify though.