Rate my budget build

U

uviuar2

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Messages
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After some help from the fine folks at [H] I tweaked my build a little bit just to shave every possible dollar without sacrificing quality. I knocked off another $25 or so, hurray!

I would have purchased sooner but the unveiling of the Athlon II X3 made me second guess my decision. While this processor probably releases within the week, I realized that it will still cost more than an X2, probably have no combo discount, and may incur shipping fee's. Choosing to wait for this CPU could up my bill by $50, so I guess I'll just forget it.

All performance benchmarks show having the 3rd core will only yield maybe 2-3 extra FPS in certain games anyway. It will give the system overall a little more life I'm sure, but it's certainly nothing next-gen ready by which time I will have to do a total system overhaul anyway. So, on to the build--


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.271175 - Athlon II X2 250 + Biostar MicroATX board: $120.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211188 - A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028 - Raidmax 530W Modular PSU [+3.3V@28A,+5V@34A,+12V1@20A,+12V2@17A,
-12V@0.8A,+5VSB@2.5A] - $44.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161297 - HIS Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 - $99.99

Grand Total: $340.95 SHIPPED!

1) Anyone know about HIS as a brand? I dont see any negative reviews... unfortunately I dont see many reviews at all...
2) I was going to go with a Corsair 400W PSU with single 30A 12v rail, but I *really* dig the modular design of the raidmax and having 2 decent 12v rails for a low power consuming pc as mine I think should do. Agree or disagree?

Free shipping on all components was a huge plus here so that had a lot to do with my decision making process.
 
Other than the Raimax PS, it's a very nice build. And I have to agree with It_shiro and wait for the 5750 to be released into retail channels before you pull the trigger.
 
The $33 increase is well worth it when you consider you're getting rid of the Raidmax. At least on this forum, they're known for only putting out sub-par units. You don't to be skimpy when it comes the the power supply. It might not have the appeal of a CPU or GPU, but it's just as important, especially when it comes to the reliability and longevity of the system.
 
Not only on this forum, but PSU forums everywhere, RAIDMax is crap. If you want to jeopardize your parts by using a PSU that can kill, go for it. While it can save you $33.66 now, it may end up costing you more in the longrun if it kills your parts. I agree with shiro's other suggestions, too.

uviuar2 said:
...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138156 - BIOSTAR A785GE AM2+/AM3 AMD 785G Micro ATX - $59.99
...
Click to expand...
Thats still a DDR2 board. Shiro suggested a DDR3 board because the price of DDR2 is way too high now, considering DDR3 is only $4 more. However, switching to a DDR3 board would cost you $20 more, but it would give you better upgrade options for the future.
 
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I already see the Radeon 5750 available on newegg for $129.99. Am I missing something here? Impending price drop maybe?
 
I never looked for any 5750's myself, but I figured AMD would have a tight supply as they did with the rest of the new cards. A lot of people have had problems finding them in stock, especially at Newegg.
 
uviuar2 said:
I already see the Radeon 5750 available on newegg for $129.99. Am I missing something here? Impending price drop maybe?
Click to expand...

note I said 512MB version which should be priced at $109 as too the current 1 GB version at $129. Most video cards don't take advantage of extra 512MB on 22" displays.
 
I'm definitely going to replace the 4850 for the 5750. Thanks for pointing that out, I hadnt even heard of the 5750. However the DDR3 upgrade is kicking my ass. While DDR3 memory itself might only cost an extra $4, I cant find a processor+mobo combo that doesnt increase the overall cost by at least $50.

My system now has bloated to $442 shipped :mad:

If anyone else can work with me I'd appreciate it, otherwise I think I'm just gonna have to take DDR2, say to hell with upgradeability, just to keep it all around that oh so attractive $350 pricepoint.

Thx again for all replies.
 
If you plan to keep the computer as you build it for awhile (i.e. 2 years or so) then I wouldn't worry about DDR3. And it's almost always better to be at your budget, then to bust it for very small performance increases or some hypothetical upgrade. If you don't see yourself upgrading anytime soon by all means go DDR2, just remember you were warned about it. ;) Either way good luck, and enjoy your new system.
 
$60 - AMD Athlon II X2 240 CPU
$80 - Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 Motherboard
$75 - G.Skill F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$50 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU (FS from this link)
$100 - HD 5750
----
Total: $365 plus tax and shipping.
 
$50 more?!? :confused: ... see Danny's build... like I said... $20 more, lol. ;) oh, big deal, you lost 200mhz. :p
 
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