Good Budget Build

[Darkness134]

Hey guys again, in case you dont remember me i was the one that was going to get the openpandora ds looking thing. Well guess what, windows completely crashed on my laptop and i am actually typing this through a linux protable distro. Which means its the perfect time to sell this laptop and build a pc. I already have a sweet amd build and i just wanted to share it with you guys (i already know it works all together)

Motherboard - $75 - ASUS M4A785-M Motherboard
CPU - $100 - AMD Athlon II X4 635 Quad Core Processor
RAM - $90 - Centon 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz KIT
HDD - $60 - Seagate 7200.12 ST3750528AS Barracuda Hard Drive
Opitical Drive - $20 - Lite-On IHAS124-04 Internal DVD Writer
Case/Fan - $45 - Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
PSU - $45 - Ultra LS500 Lifetime Series 500W Power Supply
GPU - $70 - XFX HD467XZDF2 Radeon HD 4670 Video Card

Total = close to $500

Pretty sweet for $500, huh? though i am pretty sure i will change the ram to kingston though

Links:
Mobo = ASUS M4A785-M Motherboard - AMD 785G Socket, AM2+, MicroATX, HDMI, USB 2.0, PCIe at TigerDirect.com
CPU = AMD Athlon II X4 635 Quad Core Processor ADX635WFGIBOX - 2.90GHz, Socket AM3, 2MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s), Retail at TigerDirect.com
RAM = Centon 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz KIT at TigerDirect.com
HDD = Seagate 7200.12 ST3750528AS Barracuda Hard Drive - 750GB, 7200rpm, 32MB, Serial ATA-300 (OEM) at TigerDirect.com
Opitical Drive = Lite-On IHAS124-04 Internal DVD Writer - DVD+R 24X, DVD-R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD+R DL 8X, SATA (OEM) at TigerDirect.com
Case/Fan = Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with Front USB, FireWire and Audio Ports at TigerDirect.com
PSU = Ultra LS500 Lifetime Series 500W Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, PCI-Express, Lifetime Warranty w/ Registration at TigerDirect.com
GPU = XFX HD467XZDF2 Radeon HD 4670 Video Card - 1GB GDDR2, PCI Express 2.0, Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support at TigerDirect.com

[Nuclear Krusader]

You will definitely want to change the RAM to Kingston. Who has ever heard of Centon?

You also want to change from XFX to something good such as Asus, Diamond or HIS. And you also want to change from that POS Ultra to something decent like Antec or at the very least Sparkle.

And I'd also go with Western Digital over Seagate.

[glc]

And also stay away from Tiger Direct.

[Darkness134]

R2:
GPU - SAPPHIRE 100289L Radeon HD 5670 - Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100289L Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity

PSU - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power - Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 Modular Active PFC Power Supply

HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB - Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

RAM - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 - Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory Model KHX8500D2K2/4G

Will this fix it?

[Raiden619]

If your looking for a Quality GPU...which im sure you are..
check the link

Video Card Rating

[glc]

You only need DDR2-800 ram, Save some bucks.

Sapphire cards are okay, they just don't have any end user support.

[Darkness134]

Motherboard - $75 - ASUS M4A785-M Motherboard
CPU - $100 - AMD Athlon II X4 635 Quad Core Processor
Opitical Drive - $20 - Lite-On IHAS124-04 Internal DVD Writer
Case/Fan - $45 - Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
PSU - $50 - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power
HDD - $70 - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB
RAM - $90 - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
GPU - $65 - ASUS EN9500GT/DI/1GD2/V2/A GeForce 9500 GT

I at looked the the Kingston HyperX DDR2 800 and it was the same price, and if i am not mistaken the higher the number the faster it is.
btw the link for the GPU is here:
Newegg.com - ASUS EN9500GT/DI/1GD2/V2/A GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

So what do you guys think?

[glc]

I think that's an old obsolete video card. Read this article:

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: September 2010 : September Updates

[Darkness134]

Thxs glc, so you could see, gpu's were not my thing at all. I keep track fo the cpu products but when it comes to gpu's i am lost. Also i just realized that you aren't that far from me, i live in Jefferson City

I do have one question about the link you gave me, the only two under the $100 range was a sapphire and XFX cards, should i just get the sapphire one from Amazon anyways?

[asielcs]

Im also building a machine with the same budget...

Now this is my first build so dont take me seriously, but why would u get Quad core processor and DDR2 motherboard? when u can get a ddr3 mobo for $10 more and ram prices are the same?

[glc]

Sapphire is preferable over XFX. What is it - a Radeon 5670 1gb?

[Darkness134]

@glc yes it is a 5670, it was superior than the XFX and cheaper, but is it worth it over the latest one i have. If i you look back i actually picked this one in my second revision and someone told me that it was better it go with a different company altogether. i just dont know how to compare radeon to nividia.

@asielcs in my experenice i have found ram speeds are minianal in comparison to other ram also the speed of this RAM is in the same league as the DDR3. It doesn't matter too much you can do what you want.

I am hoping to update this some more for others looking at about this price of a build. I am currently looking at other parts and will update this post becuase i think i found some better parts

UPDATE: heres some better parts
Case - $40 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119203
(i like coolermaster plus i had never really heard of Ultra, its cheaper and is colored blue, my favorite color )

DVD Burner - $20 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=2787415&SID=

Mobo - $63 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131656R (No Video but more ram limit and USB 3.0, since its going to have a video card i figured its a steal plus its $15 less)

RAM - $105 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104183

CPU - $88 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103846

The CPU i was a reluctant to change, but for a $500 build i figured it was fine, its faster on things that arent optimised for Quad Cores. Which most apps i am going to use have not been optismed, also becuase the new mobo i picked has AM3 i can always upgrade, i am sure i wont be using any AM3+ for a long time
This revision allows me about $100 for a gpu, so suggestions are wanted
Ah yes and also about the RAM, should i get less to get a better Graphics Card, cuz i can always just addon to the RAM, but for the Graphics i have to buy a entirely new one?
If anyones lost on what parts we are on now just say so, i can put a complete list on later

[glc]

Do not buy an open box motherboard, and do not waste your money on 1800 speed ram.

[Darkness134]

@glc first off the mobo - sorry i completely didnt see that it was open box, here is a better one
Newegg.com - ASUS M4A77T/USB3 AM3 AMD 770 USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Now the RAM - i really dont see why i should go lower, i mean the lowest you can buy is the 1600 for DDR3 that thats like $1 cheaper. Now though if i went up one to 2133 then it would go up like 20 or 30 dollars (i forgot how high it was)

[glc]

All you NEED is 1333. Anything over that requires overclocking to take advantage of it. I much prefer the stability of the lower speed and voltage ram. Don't you see the "OC" after 1600 and higher in the board specs? If you want Kingston ram, get this:

Newegg.com - Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3N9K2/4G

[Darkness134]

gotcha, i see what you mean... i will edit this once i have found a good gpu

[Darkness134]

BIG Update: I have been looking all over for the best deals, at the cost of 2 GB of ram i have added USB 3.0, the Propus 3 GHz Quad core, a much better case, and 6.0 GB/s SATA drive. Heres the updated list (all are five stars except for the hard drive, its 4 stars, there were no 5 star 6 GB/s hard drives)

Motherboard - ASUS M4A89GTD PRO - $135

CPU - AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz - $100

Optical Drive - ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL - $19

Case/Fan - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WWÂ - $60

PSU - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power - $65

HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX - $90

RAM - Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 - $41

It all totals about $500 and i dont have to find that GPU. Just so you know, i am not using this for graphics, just speed and i wanted something that includes the newest technology so its pretty future-proof. Tell me what you guys think about this new build? i want to make sure i have it perfect

[Nikon]

for futureproofing, and upgradeability, you chose a good mobo. your psu is strong enough to power all but the most demanding videocards, so an upgrade there in the future is definately possible, and the am3 socket will take any cpu up to the 1090t 6core cpu, which will be here for a while. from a functional standpoint, you should be OK, and the first upgrade i would suggest in the future would be to go for 4gb of ram.

[Darkness134]

thxs for the info, i don't mutitask alot but i do know that eventually (most likely after about 2-3 months after i build this thing) i will probably buy two 2 gb sticks to upgrade it to 6gb. But for now i think i am happy with 2 gb. The main thing i will worried about was if i COULD use this low amount of memory on this motherboard, because i did hear that some have minimum...

[Darkness134]

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333:
Newegg.com - Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3K2/4GR

Should i get this ram or not? i am confused on why this is such a good price, is it bad or something? maybe i am just paranoid

[glc]

It should be fine. Run memtest86+ on it to make sure it's good. It has a lifetime warranty.

[Darkness134]

So a quad-core, USB 3.0, SATA 6gb, 1tb storage, 4gb ram, 550W modular PSU, cooler master casing, and a optical drive for about $500. Sounds like an awesome deal to me, i think i am going with this build