New Build Help!!!

[Jon/xpm]

My original plan was to wait and build a new computer when games like Diablo 3, WoW Cataclysm and Starcraft 2 came out so I could build around them and have great performance. However, my current PC seems to be almost dieing and needs to be replaced.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (WoW, CS, CS:S, L4D), movies, web browsing, school programs (words, excel, access)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Up to $1500
3) Where do you live?
Plano, TX
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything! (Expect Keyboard, Mouse, and Monitor)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic Sound Card
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
ASUS VW222U
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
This or next week.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Basic
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Windows XP Pro 32



These are the parts I was thinking about:
Case
Antec P183 ** Buying from Micro Center for $110**
PSU
Corsair 650 HX or 750 HX?
CPU
Core I5 or I7
RAM
4 gigs or 6 gigs
Hard Drive
WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB
CPU Cooler
Open for suggestions
Video Card
Open for suggestions
Mobo
Open for suggestions


Thanks
Jonathan

 

[tiraides]

Define "as low as possible." Give us an exact dollar amount.

How much, at most, do you expect to spend on this build?

 

[lt_shiro]

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail $86

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail $120

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $80

or

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail and Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail Combo $325

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $55


COOLER MASTER Silent Pro 600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $80

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HIS H577F1GDG Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $160

or

XFX HD-487A-ZWFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $145

While 5770 isn't as fast as the 4870, I would still suggest it over 4870 as it uses less power.

and lose the windows xp as a student, you can get windows 7 for $30.

 

[Jon/xpm]

Define "as low as possible." Give us an exact dollar amount.

How much, at most, do you expect to spend on this build?

Sorry I put up a quick post before my computer went down again last night.

I am looking for a low/mid range build around $800 to $1000 but I have funds up to $1500.

 

[engiNURD]

For your budget, go with the i5 + UD3R shiro listed. MC should pricematch the board if you bring a printout of your newegg cart, and they have the i5.750 for $160.

For HDD, switch to the Samsung F3 500GB or 1TB, or Seagate 7200.12, as they use 500GB-platters and are therefore faster than the 640GB cavblack.

 

[Jon/xpm]

For your budget, go with the i5 + UD3R shiro listed. MC should pricematch the board if you bring a printout of your newegg cart, and they have the i5.750 for $160.

For HDD, switch to the Samsung F3 500GB or 1TB, or Seagate 7200.12, as they use 500GB-platters and are therefore faster than the 640GB cavblack.

From my understanding the WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB was the top performing HD expect for raptors and SSD. Is this not correct?

Does the 16MB Cache vs 32MB Cache make any performance difference?

 

[lt_shiro]

WD 640 GB Blue/Black will beat out most HDD in moving large files but the 500 GB Drives are better at random write and reads as they only one platters to search.