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Advice for a planned build?

M

MyFriendFreud7Z0

n00b
Joined
Oct 21, 2010
Messages
8
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mid-level gaming mostly. I play a lot of games like Civ V and Empire: Total War so I would like the system to be able to run those at a pretty decent level. Also would be nice to play some FPS. Maybe even Crysis at lower settings.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I already have a build planned out and it comes out to around $650. Mostly I need advice on if there are any parts I can switch out to get a better bang for my buck. I don't want to go any higher than $700 though.
3) Where do you live?
Los Angeles, CA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
I need CPU, processor, case, ram, dvd drive, power source, and a graphics card. Don't need an internal hard drive.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
N/A
6) Will you be overclocking?
Possibly, I've never done it before so I'd just like to buy the system first and figure that out down the road.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a Vizio 23" full 1080.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as possible.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
HDMI support
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I have a legit version of Windows 7 64 bit ready to use.


Since I've never done a build before I thought I'd post this here and let you guys check it out for some advice. Here are the parts that I'm thinking about:

Motherboard: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT

Vid Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1450-TR GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Power: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready

Dvd: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98

Case: NZXT M59 - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
 
Last edited:
MyFriendFreud7Z0 said:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mid-level gaming mostly. I play a lot of games like Civ V and Empire: Total War so I would like the system to be able to run those at a pretty decent level. Also would be nice to play some FPS. Maybe even Crysis at lower settings.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I already have a build planned out and it comes out to around $650. Mostly I need advice on if there are any parts I can switch out to get a better bang for my buck. I don't want to go any higher than $700 though.
3) Where do you live?
Los Angeles, CA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
I need CPU, processor, case, ram, dvd drive, power source, and a graphics card. Don't need an internal hard drive.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
N/A
6) Will you be overclocking?
Possibly, I've never done it before so I'd just like to buy the system first and figure that out down the road.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a Vizio 23" full 1080.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as possible.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I have a legit version of Windows 7 64 bit ready to use.


Since I've never done a build before I thought I'd post this here and let you guys check it out for some advice. Here are the parts that I'm thinking about:

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
Click to expand...

Right now, I don't have time to finish the build, but I would like to make a CPU change:

Ditch the 965 in favor of the slightly slower 955. The 965 is not sufficiently faster performance-wise to justify the $20 to $30 price premium over the 955.

In addition, you do need an internal hard drive. A system with no hard drive or SSD at all whatsoever is totally unusable since Windows 7 installation requires a C: drive to install onto. Also, you did not mention what hard drive you already have: If that hard drive is more than about two years old, it is likely to be too slow compared to current hard drives even if that older drive spins at a higher RPM.
 
Actually what I meant by not needing an internal hard drive is that I already have one. The hard drive is a quite new Western Digital 1TB SATA. Thanks for that call on the CPU though. And check my original post again because I think you replied to it right after I accidentally posted it incomplete. The full thing is there now with my entire planned build. Thanks.
 
MyFriendFreud7Z0 said:
Actually what I meant by not needing an internal hard drive is that I already have one. Thanks for that call on the CPU though. And check my original post again because I think you replied to it right after I accidentally posted it incomplete. The full thing is there now with my entire planned build. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Since you'll be doing some gaming at 1920x1080, I'd recommend stepping up to either a GTX 460 or one of the new AMD HD 6850 cards. The GTS 450 is a bit too weak for anything above 1600x900 unless you're willing to turn down the detail to medium to low.
 
Since you'll be doing some gaming at 1920x1080, I'd recommend stepping up to either a GTX 460 or one of the new AMD HD 6850 cards. The GTS 450 is a bit too weak for anything above 1600x900 unless you're willing to turn down the detail to medium to low.
Click to expand...
This. The GTS450 won't really struggle on those games (except maybe Civ 5; I don't know) unless you want to run everything maxed out (you won't be able to; not just on Crysis either), but it'll feel much better with a 6850 or 460 1GB.
 
Mr. Pedantic said:
This. The GTS450 won't really struggle on those games (except maybe Civ 5; I don't know) unless you want to run everything maxed out (you won't be able to; not just on Crysis either), but it'll feel much better with a 6850 or 460 1GB.
Click to expand...

So I looked up some prices on that video card and it looks like its going to be a good 60 plus dollars more than the one I've got picked. This is the first time I've done anything like this so it's hard for me to really judge what kind of performance these different vid cards will have. Do you think that the performance on the 460 or 6850 would be worth that price jump?
 
ricetard said:
you probably don't need modular power supply

try this one maybe?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139019
Click to expand...
Even though it's a Corsair, even I'm a bit hesitant about recommend that entire CX line since the quality of that line hasn't been confirmed yet. Not to mention that those PSUs have less amperage on the +12V rail than their other counterparts. Plus the relatively lower efficiency and the fact that the PSU design was design for only 30C doesn't lend credence to the qualituy of these PSUs.

I recommend the Corsair 650TX 650W PSU or the Seasonic 620W (Cheapest that you can find)
MyFriendFreud7Z0 said:
So I looked up some prices on that video card and it looks like its going to be a good 60 plus dollars more than the one I've got picked. This is the first time I've done anything like this so it's hard for me to really judge what kind of performance these different vid cards will have. Do you think that the performance on the 460 or 6850 would be worth that price jump?
Click to expand...

Yes those cards are worth the price jump

Also dude, try to pick up as much parts as possible from Amazon.com since they don't charge tax to CA residents.
 
Danny Bui said:
Even though it's a Corsair, even I'm a bit hesitant about recommend that entire CX line since the quality of that line hasn't been confirmed yet. Not to mention that those PSUs have less amperage on the +12V rail than their other counterparts. Plus the relatively lower efficiency and the fact that the PSU design was design for only 30C doesn't lend credence to the qualituy of these PSUs.

I recommend the Corsair 650TX 650W PSU or the Seasonic 620W (Cheapest that you can find)


Yes those cards are worth the price jump

Also dude, try to pick up as much parts as possible from Amazon.com since they don't charge tax to CA residents.
Click to expand...

Got it, definitely would want to go with something that's been proven to work.

And with those graphics cards there are different brands that make them like MSI, EVGA, Gigabyte, etc. Are there any particular brands I should avoid?

Thanks for all the help so far guys...I'm pretty sure I'm going to start ordering the parts so I can get started soon.
 
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