Tweak my newbuild configuration!

C

canderson

n00b
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
14
Greetings! I've been lurking here for a while, and finally got the gusto to register and post. I've been toying with the idea of building my own cpu or buying from Maingear for a few weeks, and have finally decided to pull the trigger and build my own. I've never built my own so I'm a bit nervous my configuration is missing something or even worse - the pieces won't all coexist well.

I've pieced together a machine I believe is a decent deal, with all compatible parts and the like. Would anyone here mind giving me any assurances it's all going to work or raise any red flags if not?

This will not be a gaming machine - it is a machine that will run Adobe CS4 and use the program fairly heavily. Other than that, typical Internet and word processing functions. I have a coupon from Newegg and prefer to order everything there - and that is where the prices below come from.

I've already learned so much from this forum, I cannot thank everyone enough.

Processor
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor $175.99

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD $84.99

HD:
Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3500320NS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 $94.99

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) $99.99

PSU:
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Active PFC $69.99

OPTICAL:
SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA - OEM $26.99

CASE:
COOLER MASTER Elite 360 RC-360-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mini Tower $39.99

WIRELESS CARD:
Rosewill RNX-G300LX IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card $14.99

VIDEO CARD
GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express $74.99

THERMAL PASTE
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound $6.99

CASE FAN
GELID Solutions FN-PX12-15 120mm Case Fan with Intelligent PWM $9.99

Total: $704
 
Get the Samsung F3 500GB HDD instead of the Barracuda ES.2. The F3 is faster.

If you're using the stock HSF, you don't need AS5. Besides, there are other thermal compounds that perform just as well with no curing time needed (like MX-2 or MX-3).

Pick up an Antec Earthwatts EA430 or EA500 PSU instead of the OCZ StealthXStream. The long story short is that OCZ generally doesn't make good PSUs, and you don't need 600 watts to power your machine.

If you won't be gaming at all, buy a motherboard with an onboard GPU. It oftentimes is cheaper than buying a separate board and low-end video card.
 
gwarren007 said:
Can you answer the questions at the top of the page.
Click to expand...

No problem - didn't know if it was necessary since I wasn't asking the typical "should I build or not" question. :)


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Adobe CS4 use.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Prefer to keep the build under $800 all inclusive (not including any monitor, keyboard, mouse, software or OS)

3) Where do you live?
Harrisburg, Pa.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything except monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
n/a

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What size monitor do you have a1nd/or plan to have?
24 inch

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
The next week

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Nothing specific

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
No - I have Windows XP on an old Dell I use but that's it. It came with the machine in 2003.
 
tiraides said:
If you're using the stock HSF, you don't need AS5. Besides, there are other thermal compounds that perform just as well with no curing time needed (like MX-2 or MX-3).
Click to expand...
Thank you for this; I was using the HSF from the board and the case fan.

tiraides said:
If you won't be gaming at all, buy a motherboard with an onboard GPU. It oftentimes is cheaper than buying a separate board and low-end video card.
Click to expand...
Could you perhaps give me recommendations on a good mobo that will work with this setup? Motherboards are the one main area my mind gets lost in and what I have struggled picking out.

Thank you for your other two suggestions - I will make those changes. Greatly, greatly appreciate your time.
 
 
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