[Garbee]

I went through and specced out a system on Amazon. This is all USD links, but most of it should be available in Canada as well I hope.

The List

This does not include a keyboard/mouse. I left enough headroom that the one Robbie recommends should fit just fine.

Intel Core i7-7740x https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072KT...=cat5tv-20
MSI Arsental Motherboard https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071WM...=cat5tv-20
FSP Windale CPU Cooler https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07255...=cat5tv-20
ARTIC MX-4 Thermal Compound https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045J...=cat5tv-20
Kingston HyperX Fury RAM https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TPQ...=cat5tv-20
Kingston 240GB M.2 SSD https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BCE...=cat5tv-20
Kingston HyperX Savage 480GB SSD https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W35...=cat5tv-20
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 GPU https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KKJ...=cat5tv-20
Corsair RMx 850W Power Supply https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015YE...=cat5tv-20
Thermaltake Versa C22 Snow Edition Chassis https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZ5...=cat5tv-20

Grand total in cart: $1,576.40 USD which equals about $2016.92 Canadian dollars.

So *slightly* under budget but not by much. But enough that if you feel the need to wiggle some components, like maybe a better GPU or an extra/larger HDD up front you can do it.

The Breakdown

The heart of the system is the Intel i7-7740x. VR ready CPU with plenty of cores to help push a 4K TV output. You'll be just fine here for a good while unless VR systems begin to require big leaps in requirements shortly.

The CPU is going to sit within the MSI Arsenal motherboard. This is a full ATX size board with plenty of expansion availability. With a built in sound card that supports 7.1 and SPDIF out, you're going to be fine on sound without an extra card.

The cooler for the CPU is a Windale air cooler. Honestly, this is because it is the only air cooler I could find for the CPU socket of the 7740x. Water cooling needs more maintenance over time replacing the liquid. Unless you're overclocking, just avoid that need.

This next bit is completely optional. Artic thermal compound. This is used in between the CPU package and the cooler to transfer heat better. While the cooler comes with a small packet of compound, I've often found squeezing that out difficult. For $7 at this level of a build, it's a no-brainer to just get something easy to apply. Robbie may also have some compound you can use, don't be afraid to ask.

The RAM is 16GB of Kingston Hyper X Fury. High performance and 16GB is the bare minimum for VR. This is a 4 pack of 4GB sticks. The motherboard has 8 slots for RAM, so you'll only use one full quad channel. So plenty of place for future expansion as budget allows later if you find yourself needing more.

The primary OS SSD is a Kingston M.2 factor with 240GB capacity. Plenty of space for the OS and your primary software to operate as fast as possible.

Follow up the OS drive with a dedicated SSD for data. That is a 480GB Kingston HyperX Savage. It will hook into a SATA3 port for the best performance. SSDs are super reliable. No need to RAID these. Still, make sure you have a backup or two on other systems of critical files RAID or none. 480GB is plenty of space to start for games and plenty of media content. With plenty of expansion available for more SSDs later in life if needed.

The video card is a GeForce GTX 1060 from ZOTAC. VR-ready in a small package with 3GB of RAM. Not an overly-abundant amount of power but enough to get what is required done.

All of this is powered with an 850 watt modular power supply from Corsair. 80 plus certified to minimize power waste. Simple supply from a trusted brand. If you can find a comperable Thermaltake then go for it. I went with this since it is fully modular and I found it quickly enough. Modularity lets you only have the cables in the box that are required to run the system, so it helps things stay cleaner.

This all fits inside of the recommended Thermaltake Versa C22 chassis. With plenty of space to expand with more components later if you end up needing more resources.