mATX build for light gaming/24|7 system

[paperwastage]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Putting it in a college dorm, online 24/7 - need reliable PSU and compactness(looking at mATX)
Medium gaming, File server, TV Tuner/Media Server, running Virtual Machine(looking for 4 DIMM slots)
Looking for GPU better than the current 8400M GS i have in my laptop... can wait a while for PCI GPU upgrade if i get a decent IGP
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
<$400 without Monitor, HDD or DVD or shipping or tax
3) Where do you live?
NJ right now, MD next month
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Mobo - looking for decent IGP mobo, PCIx16, PCI, 4 DIMM slots
CPU - anything
RAM - 2x2GB, upgrade to 6GB maybe later
Case - mATX
PSU - <500W i think
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
reusing a 1TB 3.5" SATA HDD
6) Will you be overclocking?
maybe, maybe not...
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
i have a 15" VGA, looking at a 22-24" LCD sometime down the road, not very important ATM
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
between now and end of year
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
not really
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
spare XP MCE key, Dreamspark for Server 2008


$70 Biostar 790GX mATX on Newegg, looks decent IGP perfomance GTA IV
$100 AMD 550 BE for overclocking/maybe unlock cores
$40 2x2GB DDR2 RAM
<$80 PSU+mATX case

newegg also has combos for the mobo+CPUhenom 9150E, Phenom 9600 or Phenom 8750 .... 9600 has TLB bug

most impt question is whether the mobo is good enough, and which CPU to pair it with? RAM, PSU, case can be sort out later

 

[DTN107]

No to any Phenom 1 CPUs.

Also check out the new 785G boards.

Though most 785G takes DDR3. There is a couple that uses DDR2.

The MSI 785G has my vote. Great SATA ports placements and has a good mosfet cooler too. The mosfet cooler is important when you enable ACC and unlock them disable cores. The Biostar lacks mosfet cooling but you can always install an after market one.

 

[Jospeh]

You arn't going to be impressed with integrated graphics performance in gaming.

 

[Dangman]

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
between now and end of year

Too soon to start planning for a PC build as parts can be out of stock, overpriced, or outperformed in the next 4-5 months. Two months max, two weeks recommended before you can start researching parts.

Can you narrow down the time frame?

 

[paperwastage]

well, i was actively reading up and looking for deals and prices for about 2 months now, just figuring if the right deal comes, i'll start buying... the 790GX deal seems warm, so i'm asking for opinions

ram, psu and case looks fixed, estimated prices: 2x2GB DDR2 (~$40)and <500W($35) and mATX case($45)

just figuring out what is the cheapest combo vs performance i can find to match mobo and processor


i know i'm not going to be impressed with IGP gaming... but it's a step up from my 8400M GS GPU on my laptop, and i know i will upgrade to a discrete GPU, but not yet

785G vs 790GX... difference between the $70 790GX mobo i have on the first post and the $90 MSI 785G that DTN107 linked... don't see any reason i should spend $20 more if the difference is just HD 4200 vs HD 3300 (and i know that i definitely WILL be upgrading the GPU, just that it doesn't have to be RIGHT now

 

[DTN107]

Reason why I mention about the 785G is just for consideration.

Also note that biostar has been removing ACC from their boards and latest bios. So be wary about that. You can get by with a hacked bios if you end up with a bios with the ACC remove.

Plus biostar boards only have 1 year warranty. Your other mATX 790GX boards are jetway and DFI. Not sure how you feel about them but I would take Gigabyte, ASUS, and MSI any day.

 

[paperwastage]

Reason why I mention about the 785G is just for consideration.

Also note that biostar has been removing ACC from their boards and latest bios. So be wary about that. You can get by with a hacked bios if you end up with a bios with the ACC remove.

Plus biostar boards only have 1 year warranty. Your other mATX 790GX boards are jetway and DFI. Not sure how you feel about them but I would take Gigabyte, ASUS, and MSI any day.

okay thanks... more warranty + unlock cores... 785G is worth a look i guess...

 

[QwertyJuan]

HAHAHA!

 

[paperwastage]

i'm between 2 CPUs:
AMD Phenom II x2 550 BE - ~$100
AMD Athlon II x2 250 - ~$80

possibility of overclocking both to 3.5ghz on stock...

is $20 worth it for the chance to unlock the 550BE?

 

[lt_shiro]

Yes in games, L3 cache makes much faster than athlon2.

 

[paperwastage]

Yes in games, L3 cache makes much faster than athlon2.

thanks...

i'm looking at the MSI 785GM-E65 DTN107 pointed to (good layout, mosef cooling means more overclocking)

and newegg just added ^that mobo combo with the AMD Athlon II x2 250 ($154+tax(NJ)+ship = $172)... guess i'll wait for a combo with free shipping for the 550 BE when i'm in MD for no tax

EDIT: newegg's teasing me... they just added AMD Phenom II x2 550 BE with the MSI 785GM-E65 mobo... total combo price is $178, but $13 tax and $7.56 shipping, $198.53...