Are these proposed computer parts compatible? Advice please

[larry38]

My daughters computer failed about a month ago (she lives about 300 miles away) and after some long distance trouble shooting, I decided she needed a new PSU. That didn't solve the problem, and it appears the Mobo has failed and not the PSU. Her computer is similar to mine (as shown in my signature) except for the PSU (Xclio-450 BL), no 750Gb Hdd, and RAM (Crucial CT2Kit12864Z40B, 2 Gb Kit, 184 pin DIMM.) I plan to buy the parts for a new build and then to supervise her building a new one at Christmas when she is home. We will use the Lian Li case (PC-6077), existing keyboard and mouse, monitor and anything else that might be useful such as the Plextor PX-716A optical drive. I want to propose two systems for her to choose from and I have listed the parts for these below. Are the parts for each of the systems compatible? She is married and her husband and son are what I would call "light weight gamers." They are pretty heavy computer users, i.e. they have multiple applications going most of the time, and I would like to have a good solid, stable machine when we are finished. The parts lists are in three parts: Common parts, AMD build and Intel build.

Common Parts

PSU Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply - Retail http://<br /> http://www.newegg.com...82e16817371015 $79.99

HDD Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82e16822136283 $79.99

Optical Drive LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA Black 24X DVD Writer - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106334 $31.99

AMD Build

CPU AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82e16819103706 $99

Mobo ASUS M4A77TD Pro AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Xtreme Design w/ CrossFireX support, DDR3 1800 OC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82e16813131397 89.99

RAM Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82e16820148262 $79.99

Video Card SAPPHIRE 100253HDMI Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82e16814102829 54.99

INTEL Build

CPU Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82e16819115215 199.99

Mobo ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Xtreme Design w/ CrossfireX, 12+2 power phase/T.Probe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82e16813131404 149.99

RAM CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...gb+ddr3%2F1600 $86.99

Video Card SAPPHIRE 100253HDMI Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82e16814102829 $54.99

I have a question about the Intel build. Does this CPU need a better heat sink system such as a Cooler Master Hyper cooler 212?

I would appreciate any comments and help with this. Thanks,

[David M]

You might consider one of the Radeon 5000 series graphics cards but in the $150-$200 price range if they are gamers. They will then be able to run most all of the newer graphics intensive games at higher settings. Gaming performance is largely determined by the graphics card. Right now they are in short supply but by the time Christmas rolls around there should be more available.

[glc]

The 4650 is good enough for "lightweight" gamers - it's plenty cheap, and you can always upgrade later if needed. My grandson has one and it plays WoW just fine, and it WILL play Crysis if you turn the effects down.

I'd recommend you retire the Plextor and get a SATA burner.

The stock Intel heatsink is fine if you don't overclock.

[larry38]

Thanks for the reply, glc. I have one Lite-on 24X DVD writer and thought I would like to add a second burner - perhaps another one?

[cmichael258]

Newegg has this burner:
Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM
It's $27.99 with free shipping. I have purchased 3 of these and never had a problem .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118030

[glc]

If you do the Intel, I'm suggesting that you only use a SATA optical so you can turn the 3rd party IDE controller off. Leaving it enabled will require separate drivers to be installed and will add to the boot time.