Help building new rig.

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vdragonlance

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
485
It's been a while since I built a computer and I'm completely out of the loop. :eek:
Here we go.

1. I will be doing light photoshoping, mainly web browsing, listening to music and watching movies.
2. My budget is around $600 before taxes.
3. USA, Arizona
4. I need everything. Ram, CPU, GPU, PSU, case, HDD, MoBo and DVD burner.
5. The only thing I plan on reusing is the K/M and 1 WD1200JB
6. Yes, but nothing extreme.
7. 23" 1080p
8. In about 2-3 weeks
9. Maybe a HDMI connection for my monitor.
10. Yes, I have a legit copy of XP OEM, but I would like to upgrade to Win 7 when it's released.

That should cover everything. :)
 
For your needs, I don't think you need much more than this:
$190 - AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz + OCZ Gold 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Ram Combo
$90 - Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G mATX Motherboard
$95 - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$27 - Samsung SH-S223B SATA DVD Burner
$50 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 331 RC-331-KKN1-GP ATX Case
----
Total: $502 plus tax and shipping.

Since you didn't mention any gaming or having dual monitors, the mobo's onboard video should be enough for your needs.
 
Thank you for the quick response. I should of mentioned that I would like the option of maybe down the road upgrading to a faster CPU/GPU combo so I can do some light gaming, but that isn't a top priority.

This is what I came up with.
$103 - AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz
$85 - GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX
$56 - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD
Same optical drive
$80 Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W (might be overkill.)
$78 G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$60 Antec Three Hundred
$30 ASUS Radeon HD 3450 256MB 64-bit GDDR2

Total of $522.

I'm not sure if the CPU/Mobo combo that picked is any good. I heard that the Black Edition's multipler is unlocked.
 
While unlocked, IMO, the X2 550 is not worth the price since the tri-core X3 720 is only $20 more. That extra core will help out a lot more in the future than a significantly high clock speed. Oh and the X3 720 is also unlocked.

The mobo, case and GPU are a good choices though. Yes the Antec Earthwatts EA650 is complete overkill. But if you want to spend your money, go for it .
 
Thanks once again for the quick response.

Drop the X2 550 and go with the X3 720.

How about the ram? Should I just go with the combo you linked?
 
Thanks for the help guys. Hopefully I will have it complete in a couple of weeks.

I will post pics of the build.
 
If you're not gaming right now, then stick with Danny's mobo suggestion and simply add a vidcard later on, when you start to play games. It has onboard HD4200, so it would be fine for watching movies and super light gaming at lower resolutions. If you are gaming right now, even the HD4650 is week for 1920x1080. So, if you stick with that card, just know that you won't be gaming at native res. :p (so just lower your gaming res to 1680x1050) If you want to just upgrade the card now, bump it up to the HD4870 or similar.

lt_shiro said:
Antec TruePower New TP-550 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE ... - Retail $80

same price as the 650w earthwatt
Click to expand...

With the same amperage available on the +12v rail, lol. Antec better update their EA650. :p Oh, and the TP New is modular!! :D
 
How is this.

$95 GIGABYTE GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G
$119 - AMD Phenom II X3 720
$70 Crucial Ballistix Tracer 4GB
$50 CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX

The rest of the parts are the same as before. I can upgrade the GPU later if I decide to play some games on it(console gamer).;)
 
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Ummm, you linked to the X3 720 but listed the X2 550. So which is it?

Personally, I'm a bit hesistent on the Crucial RAM. The numerous cases of Ballistix RAM dying in the past has left a bit of a bad impression on me. Not sure about the DDR3 Ballistix RAM though. Besides, once you factor in shipping, the G.Skill RAM I linked to before is only $5 more.
 
The audio can't be that bad, can it? lol

I will be using Turtle Beach X1s to pump the audio so the VIA should be fine?
 
The X1 is a headset, right? ... it doesn't look like it has a DSP or anything, just an amp, so it won't improve the sound quality, just the volume.
 
are you going for windows 7 64 bit when its released? your doing 4 gig of ram so i assume your using wondows xp 32 bit for now. or are you gonna do windows 7 32 bit?
 
Yes, I will run Win 7 64 bit when it's released and in the mean time I plan to dual booting XP 32bit and Win 7 64bit RC that is if I can still install it.


EDIT: One last thing. What would an equivalent Intel setup be?
 
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hard to say because as far as i know intel doesnt have a tri core processor. it goes dual core then quad. someone else might be able to list something thats compareable.
 
vdragonlance said:
Yes, I will run Win 7 64 bit when it's released and in the mean time I plan to dual booting XP 32bit and Win 7 64bit RC that is if I can still install it.


EDIT: One last thing. What would an equivalent Intel setup be?
Click to expand...

Equivalent in terms of price or performance? You won't be able to get an Intel setup that's equivalent to your current planned AMD setup in terms of price AND performance. Hence why AMD is so heavily recommended nowadays in this part of the forum.
 
A little bit of both.
All the systems I've built/owned have been AMD and I was just wondering maybe it's time to try out an Intel based setup.
 
vdragonlance said:
A little bit of both.
All the systems I've built/owned have been AMD and I was just wondering maybe it's time to try out an Intel based setup.
Click to expand...

Stick to AMD for now. A truly cost effective Intel setup would start in the $1000 range.
 
Small update:
The stuff should be here tomorrow. Can't wait. :p


I got one more question. What is the best video card that can power a 1080p monitor with all the bells and whistles turned on?

I'm thinking of selling my 360 and getting back into PC gaming. Mainly for Dragon Age and Modern Warfare 2.

Or should I just wait until ATI releases their new goods in a week or so?
 
i agree, wait, since GPUs are the fastest depreciating components in a gaming pc. oh, and dont forget to post pics of your build. :)
 
Not sure if I should post a worklog, but here a few pics.
Cooler Master Elite 335
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X3 730, Asus M4A785TD-V Evo, Antec True Power New 550 and a couple of 120mm LED Cooler Master fans.
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I should hopefully order the remaining parts RAM, HDD and optical drive on Friday.
 
Nice... thanks for the pics! Why does Asus use such an ugly ass pcb color? :mad:
 
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