Checking This New Build

[bkimbrell0]

Hello! I'm pretty much ready to pull the trigger with this new build, but I wanted to gather any suggestions anyone may have for reducing the cost or just obtaining better performance. Thank you for your opinions.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, watching HD content, programming..
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Under $400, and if I can get it under $350 without compromising that would be even nicer. (Don't include tax and shipping)
3) Where do you live?
California
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything except sound card, mouse, keyboard, speakers, and DVD drive.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Just a PCI Creative Audigy sound card.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably not, but I may look into it.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I plan to have a multi-monitor system. Don't include monitors in the build.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
I would like onboard graphics with DVI out.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes, and will probably try out Win7 64-bit on it.


My requirements are that the video card has 2 DVI outs, and the motherboard has a DVI out. I am also partial to AMD and NVIDIA, but if someone wants to try to convince me otherwise I'm open to it.

I was thinking this setup:

Antec Three Hundred + BP430 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply - $89.99
A great case and PSU for that price? Sounds good to me.
ASRock K10N78M AM3/AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $54.99
It looks like it has good onboard graphics.
Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2/2GR - $23.99
Since the mobo only has two RAM slots, I wanted to keep one open by purchasing a 2GB stick.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - $69.99
If anyone has other suggestions please let me hear them.
EVGA 01G-P3-N945-LR GeForce 9400 GT 1GB DDR2 PCI-E 2.0 Graphics Card - $58.39
I just need a great video card with 2 DVI outs. Other suggestions welcome.
Western Digital Caviar Blue 320 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 8 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WDC3200AAJS - $49.99
__________________
Total = $347.34 (before shipping/tax)

So, that's it. Please and thank you for your help.

 

[HardwareGuru]

It's a good thing you asked before pulling the trigger on this. There is several things that can revise.

 

[Dangman]

What HG said. That build is not good in terms of quality as well as best bang for the buck for the following reasons:
- The Antec Basiq PSU is not good of a PSU
- The X2 5400+ is easily outperformed by the cheaper Athlon II X2 245.
- The 9400GT is not a good choice at $60.
- If you're willing to buy from Amazon.com (no tax for CA residents), you can get this significantly faster hard drive for just $10 more:
$60 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Working on an alt build right now for ya. So gimme a few.

 

[Dangman]

Here's what I'd get with your budget and needs in mind:
$110 - AMD Athlon II X2 245 CPU + ZOTAC GF8200-D-E AM2+/AM3 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard FS
$50 - Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM FS
$47 - VisionTek 900254 Radeon HD4650 512MB PCI Express Graphics Card FS
$50 - Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU FS
$45 - Cooler Master Elite 332 RC-332-KKN1-GP ATX Case FS
$60 - Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive FS
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Total: $362 shipped plus tax for the items from newegg.

I chose the parts from Amazon.com since tax is not charged for us CA residents. The HD4650 does have dual DVI and is slightly faster than the 9400GT.

 

[bkimbrell0]

Thank you for your suggestions. I've never heard of Zotac, how do they compare to other brands?

Also, this may be a bad time to ask this, but if I wanted to add 3 monitors to my setup would I be able to use onboard DVI + 2 GPU DVIs simultaneously?

 

[Dangman]

Thank you for your suggestions. I've never heard of Zotac, how do they compare to other brands?

Also, this may be a bad time to ask this, but if I wanted to add 3 monitors to my setup would I be able to use onboard DVI + 2 GPU DVIs simultaneously?

Zotac is a relatively new player in the industry but they make pretty decent motherboards and video cards AFAIK. I'd rank Zotac about the same as Asrock, if not better.

As for the 3 monitors thing using the onboard GPU. it''s doable with some chipsets (AMD's 780G and 780V chipsets IIRC) however your resolution would be limited to 1280x1024 per monitor in such a configuration. So if you're planning on getting a monitor larger than 17", then don't bother using the onboard video for multiple monitor usage.