Budget Build: Need Review.

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NyteBlade

Weaksauce
Joined
May 25, 2007
Messages
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I'm looking to get a build for "general" use...mostly internet, development, photoshop etc. I'm a geek though, so I'm sure I'll find some other uses. I've delegated gaming to my 360 almost exclusively.

I'm looking for a build around $500 (this is somewhat flexible). I've been using my AMD Athlon 64 with 1 gig of DDR RAM for about 3-4 years now, so I think any upgrade might be night and day. :D

Here's what I have in mind...
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb
 - $170

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Mobo - $70
(seems horribly cheap for a DDR3 mobo...am I missing something here?)

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit - $71

ASUS EN9600GSO/DI/512MD3/V2 GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - $40
(hey, I've been using a geforce 6800!)


Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM - $43

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $55


Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail - $60

TOTAL: $510

Not sure whether the DDR3 is worth the money, whether the motherboard is worth a crap, and whether the video card will catch fire and I should upgrade in that department..
Right now I'm considering bumping it down to a "good" DDR2 motherboard, bumping down the CPU a notch, and spending the freed budget in a better video card and a "quiet" cooling system.
 
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I think DDR3 ram is not worth it... but if you are going for the long run (5+ years), then it will do just fine.

The mobo is cheaper, because the chipset lacks an IGP, requiring a graphics card.

The PSU you have selected is fine, but you are limited to basically what you have in that list, right now. (little room for upgrades, unless if graphics cards end up drawing less power in the future...)
 
jeremyshaw said:
I think DDR3 ram is not worth it... but if you are going for the long run (5+ years), then it will do just fine.

The mobo is cheaper, because the chipset lacks an IGP, requiring a graphics card.

The PSU you have selected is fine, but you are limited to basically what you have in that list, right now. (little room for upgrades, unless if graphics cards end up drawing less power in the future...)
Click to expand...

Would you consider DDR2 right now a better buy? I guess the only thing that matters is the performance of the computer. I usually end up upgrading or buying a new system every 2-3 years it seems...by that time my computer is usually so dinosaur-like there's not much that's worth saving. DDR3 RAM didn't seem to be any more expensive than DDR2.

Would it be better to get the higher-watt earthwatts too?
 
NyteBlade said:
Would you consider DDR2 right now a better buy? I guess the only thing that matters is the performance of the computer. I usually end up upgrading or buying a new system every 2-3 years it seems...by that time my computer is usually so dinosaur-like there's not much that's worth saving. DDR3 RAM didn't seem to be any more expensive than DDR2.

Would it be better to get the higher-watt earthwatts too?
Click to expand...

DDR2 prices have gone up 50% in the last year and within $15 of DDR3. Its not worth it to build a new system around DDR2 build.

i will post a build in a few.
 
NyteBlade said:
Would you consider DDR2 right now a better buy? I guess the only thing that matters is the performance of the computer. I usually end up upgrading or buying a new system every 2-3 years it seems...by that time my computer is usually so dinosaur-like there's not much that's worth saving. DDR3 RAM didn't seem to be any more expensive than DDR2.

Would it be better to get the higher-watt earthwatts too?
Click to expand...

A higher watt PSU will allow you future upgrades, but since you restart every 2-3 years?

I'm sorry, IT_Shiro, I didn't keep up to date with DDR3 (HP OEM comps still only have DDR2...)
 
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail and Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail Combo $105

ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $100

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM - Retail $75

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX620WFGIBOX - Retail $99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM $55

while the x4 620 isn't as fast as x4 940 (which is DDR2 only Phenom 2 btw), It will give you good performance for the money.

if you are not gaming, 785g board would fit your needs better.

Antec EA 430 would be more than enough for this build and listed combo deal to save some cash.
 
Performance-wise, no, DDR3 isn't worth it. Future upgrade-ability, yes, it's worth it, simply because of the spike in DDR2 prices recently. However, if you don't plan on upgrading past 4GB of RAM, then DDR2 is fine -- you could also find some kits cheaper in the FS/T forum.

If you decide on DDR3, shiro's build is good.

lt_shiro said:
DDR2 prices have gone up 50% in the last year ....
Click to expand...

You mean in the last two months. I bought some brand new DDR2-1000 (4GB) for $50 taxed/shipped in July. :p
 
@OP

1) The AMD Phenom II X4 940BE U will not work for that motherboard. You need an AM3 CPU.

2) That motherboard is rock solid. I'll vouch for it.

3) I say go for DDR3. It seems though DDR2 prices has gone up (too much).

I mean look at the prices of DDR2 2x2GB sticks on newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ark=False&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICE

Just 6 months ago I bought a few G.Skill Pi 2x2GB DDR2-800 sticks for $50 shipped each. Now they are $70 + shipping.

The cheapest 2x2GB DDR2-800 on newegg is the OCZ for $63 + FS and DDR2-1066 is the G.Skill for $70 + FS.

Normally I would say go for DDR2 since it is cheaper but it seems lately rather than DDR3 prices dropping it seems DDR2 prices has gone up. I would only stick to DDR2 if you already have a 2x2GB kit(s) laying around or hunt the for sale forum. The prices of new are getting DDR2 are too high... you might as well just go DDR3 anyway.
 
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Thanks for all the advice guys and pointing out that my CPU isn't compatible with my motherboard...whoops.

I've been looking over lt_shiro's build advice and just have a few questions...
Does the AMD II X4 Propus 630 have a lot more bang for the buck than the 620? Is the lack of an L3 cache a concern? (I'll have to see if I can dig up some reviews on the Propus).

Would it be better to buy the Asus with integrated graphics, or buy the Gigabyte and just get a cheap Geforce 9600?
 
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Thanks for the help guys!
I guess my knowledge about computer architecture is a bit off....
Assuming I wouldn't be using the computer for much gaming (I think I've only fired up The Sims 3 so far this year), would an onboard video card with the Asus cause a significant bottleneck in anything but gaming? Would a dedicated video card provide much of a gain in anything but gaming? I'd probably never use anything bigger than a 24" monitor anyway... ;)
 
NyteBlade said:
Thanks for the help guys! I guess my knowledge about computer architecture is a bit off....
  1. Assuming I wouldn't be using the computer for much gaming (I think I've only fired up The Sims 3 so far this year), would an onboard video card with the Asus cause a significant bottleneck in anything but gaming?
  2. Would a dedicated video card provide much of a gain in anything but gaming?
  3. I'd probably never use anything bigger than a 24" monitor anyway... ;)
Click to expand...

  1. No. It has ATI Stream, which is equivalent to NVIDIA's CUDA, so no bottleneck for photoshop.
  2. No. 785G is an onboard HD4200 GPU and encode/decode HD with ease. You didn't list 3D modeling, so you'll be fine. :p
  3. If the game gets too choppy at 1920x1200, then simply lower your resolution. ;)
 
Assuming I wouldn't be using the computer for much gaming (I think I've only fired up The Sims 3 so far this year),
Click to expand...

785g would run Sims 3 just fine.

would an onboard video card with the Asus cause a significant bottleneck in anything but gaming?
Click to expand...

no

Would a dedicated video card provide much of a gain in anything but gaming?
Click to expand...

kinda... 9600 GSO has support for CUDA but at this time CUDA support isn't widely used (but photoshop does support it).
 
Thanks guys! With the Asus mobo, I guess I'd always have the option of adding a dedicated video card down the road if I require it, right? I guess there's no point in a 9600 unless I'd be utilizing it...could spend the extra money somewhere else.

I guess my question is:
The Gigabyte + 9600 GSO = $110
The Asus = $100

I'm not sure whether there's a huge difference between the Asus and the Gigabyte motherboard, but the prices look considerably close. Is there a compelling reason to go one way or another?
 
rebates are never 100% sure thing.

Gigabyte + 9600GSO is $140 minus $20 in rebate

it really doesn't matter as both boards are very good.
 
770s have no onboard graphics, so they're simpler/cheaper but with a $40 video card that is maybe in no-man's land. I would get a 785G or the 4830 or something. But the 785G is fine for non-gaming.
 
Get the 785G and add a vidcard later when the games you play can't be played with the onboard graphics.
 
Thanks guys. Is the Antec Three Hundred Illusion case decently quiet? I see it has quite a few fans attached :) I'm in between that or the Antec Sonata III (looks like there's a coupon that'll bring that down to $85).
Does the CPU need a beefed up cooler if I'm not looking to overclock, or is the one that comes with the AMD CPU decently efficient/quiet?

Also, is the g.skill RAM lt_shiro recommended as good as any?

Thanks!
 
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NyteBlade said:
Thanks guys. Is the Antec Three Hundred Illusion case decently quiet? I see it has quite a few fans attached :) I'm in between that or the Antec Sonata III (looks like there's a coupon that'll bring that down to $85).
Does the CPU need a beefed up cooler if I'm not looking to overclock, or is the one that comes with the AMD CPU decently efficient/quiet?

Also, is the g.skill RAM lt_shiro recommended as good as any?

Finally, should the video card RAM and system RAM match up? (ie. both DDR3)?
Click to expand...
The Antec 300 case is a bit on the loud side IMO. No you don't need a 3rd party HSF unless you live in a hot place or are planning to overclock. The stock AMD HSF, to me, is relatively quiet.

G.Skill RAM is good as any.

No, video card RAM and system RAM do not have to match up.
 
if by loud you mean 20 db yeah its loud. I have done 3 builds with that case and it more than quiet enough. Its not silent but I would not say its loud.
 
Loud is subjective. If you find the case fans too loud, do a simple 5V mod to slow the fans down. ;)
 
I am with hossdaddy... on low, video card keeps far more noise than the stock fans.

i am using the 2 stock tri-cools and 2 thermaltakes (front) with 5v mod.
 
Based on all of your input (thanks!) here's my slightly modified build.

Antec 300 Black Case + EarthWatts 430 power supply ($105 combo)

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Mobo - $70

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM - Retail - $75

AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX620WFGIBOX - Retail $99

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $43

GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail - $65
(I decided that the extra $35 for a video card that blows the onboard one out of the water was a good choice. While I might never fully utilize it, if I do decide to game, it'll be a nice touch. The other thing I liked was it uses a Zalman cooler which everyone seems to think is cool and quiet, and this card also does not need an additional power plugin.)

TOTAL: $457 + S/H after MIR's.
 
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