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11-24-2010, 02:55 AM
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#1 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 8
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~$600 Budget Build
Hi, I currently have $645 and I plan on building my first gaming desktop.
Nothing super hardcore, I don't need to run games at max settings at 1900x1200 bajillion resolution, something more modest haha... I plan on playing Source Engine games and maybe StarCraft 2 and I want to be able to run pretty much anything at modest settings, which is probably easy pie given the cards I'm looking at can power through all the stuff I already own. This computer will also be doing normal college student stuff, light multi tasking (chrome, im client, itunes, security software, some Visual Studio, etc...) which I shouldn't even need to say since the power needed for gaming should cut through said multitasking like butter... --------------------------------------------------------- I've done quite a bit of shopping the past week or so and I feel semi-confident with what I need to pick but I want help to avoid any royal screwups I might run into (I almost bought a kind of cheap PSU when I gather just today that I shouldn't). Brief (guestimate) overview: 645-40case-75ram-43hd-155cpu=332 332 for GPU, PSU, MOBO. about 150-180 going for GPU 182-212 for psu&mobo... ============================================= Case: $40 - NZXT Apollo Mid Tower Gotta buy this in the next 24 hours. HECK YES? Yes? Or am I just naive? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146025 PSU: $30 Rosewill 500W eh... iono what now (reconsidering due to iffy brand and after using NewEgg calculator, I have slightly more than 50w overhead... upgrade to 550w+?) I'm willing to commit more to the PSU obviously haha, probably $50 is decent considering BF/CyberM...? Newegg.com - Rosewill RV2-500 500 W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready Power Supply RAM: $75 - Kingston HyperX 6gb DDR3 SDRAM Should I hop on this right away? Is it that good of a deal? It expires 11/30 but I'm scared it might sell out. Or waiting for a BF/CyberM deal on 8GB even better? Buy.com - Kingston HyperX 6GB (3 X 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1600MHz SDRAM 240-pin Desktop Memory CPU: $155 - AMD Phenom X4 965 or 970. Seems like it's decent. Listed here: Best Gaming CPU: $160-$200 : Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: November 2010 Not much benefit in upping to 6 cores correct? I don't do photo editing or anything that I'm aware of that utilizes so many cores. HDZ965FBGMBOX AMD Phenom II X4 Processor 965 (3.4GHz) AM3, Retail - AMD Phenom II - SuperBiiz.com MOBO: ? This is where I am least knowledgeable. I thought I could skimp on this, 50-80 as long as it has the needed slots and plugs haha... But then I read some random forum that stated that many newbies skimp on the mobo and end up gimping themselves. Not true? Or true? GPU: Radeon 6850 or GTX 460 equivalent. Sitting on deals. Best PCIe Card: $170 To $250 : Best Graphics Cards For The Money: November 2010 Based on that and how much extra cash money I have, I'm aiming at tier up from what I was guessing. I was originally going for 5770 but now I think I can hit a Radeon 6850 or a GTX 460 no problem. If deals on BF/CyberMonday are cheaper than what I'm seeing at the moment, gonna have extra money to upgrade ... iono what. Hard drive? This: has some deals but common sense tells me to sit through BF/CyberM and hope for better. Newegg Bargain Blowout Graphics Cards: Zotac GTS 250 $90, XFX 5830 $130 AR, MSI GTX465 $130 AR, Palit GTX460 $155 AR - SlickDeals.net Forums Hard Drive: $43 - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD322GJ/U This one APPEARS to be the best HD I can find that isn't a SSD. PassMark Software - Hard Drive Benchmark Charts I have an abnormally low storage need... Nothing less than 150GB. I want something that's as good as possible without spending huge money on it... Maybe I should since the HD would be my bottleneck? And I probably will have extra money lying around from my CPU & GPU. If I have an extra 100 or so dollars, should I add a SSD? Or would upgrading the GPU/CPU be better? Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD322GJ/U 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Thanks for your time in advance. Much appreciated  P.S. I have a monitor, speaker system, keyboard & mouse because I'm running my laptop as a desktop at the moment. Most mobo's come with integrated lan so I shouldn't need to buy a NIC right? Wireless obviously duh, but both?  I dunno.I'm pretty blown away by how much 600 can garner. I originally thought it'd be like amd tri-core with 4gb ram, radeon 5770 and pretty much that's it... now it's super beefy >:O Last edited by FlashFir; 11-24-2010 at 03:07 AM. Reason: purpose of computer not included. |
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11-24-2010, 03:55 AM
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#2 |
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Forum Administrator
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 41,186
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That power supply is junk. That's a triple channel ram kit and you don't want that for an AMD board. You want a dual channel kit. You CANNOT skimp on a motherboard if you want a stable, reliable system. You don't want a Samsung hard drive.
$600 will get you a good DUAL core gamer. Trying to squeeze in a quad at that budget figure is going to cause you to use other substandard components. |
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11-24-2010, 06:03 AM
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#3 |
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Saved by grace
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,549
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GLC mentioned the hard drive. You should get a Western digital caviar black. You're right, you shouldn't have to buy a nic. You shouldn't waste money on an ssd. You really can't afford it with that budget anyhow.
__________________
My custom work system: ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 / Intel Core i5-750 / CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) / Windows XP SP3 / SAPPHIRE 100292L Radeon HD 5450 / 2 LITE-ON 24X DVD Writers SATA Model iHAS424-98 / 2 W.D. Caviars Black WD1001FALS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s / Antec Sonata III 500 Black with 500W Power Supply / Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port |
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11-24-2010, 01:27 PM
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#5 |
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Forum Administrator
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Premium Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Joplin MO
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I would get ram that's faster than 1066.
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11-24-2010, 01:34 PM
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#6 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 8
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Just a heads up, I already have a copy of Windows7 x64bit and I have access to an external optical drive so no problems there.
It seems like I can get a decent mobo for 80-100 especially with BF/CyberM coming up. My calculations show that I still have money leftover. I feel unsure about the advise regarding downgrading the CPU. Otherwise everything else seems to be going smoothly. Hello new computer! I hope to see you in a week or two
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11-24-2010, 01:59 PM
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#7 |
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Techphile.
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: San Francisco Bay
Posts: 6,546
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For $600 (total price) I would be inclined to buy a refurbished Dell. This way you do not have to cut corners and buy substandard hardware. The refurbs come with warranties.
If you do not like this idea then buy... Two gigs of 1333, 1.5 volt RAM. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-246-_-Product You still need to pick a PSU. Newegg.com - Antec Basiq BP500U 500W Continuous Power ATX12V Version 2.01 Active PFC Power Supply You also need an OS... Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems Forget the $110 Antec case. You do not have the budget for it. Consider this one... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811233068 You won't need a fan if you leave the door cracked open.
__________________
Asus P8P67 WS Revolution | Intel 2600K @ 4.7 GHz | Win 7 Pro 64 |8 gigs Corsair 1600 | Two Diamond 6990's in Crossfire| Corsair AX1200 | Thermalright Silver Arrow | Western Digital Black 2TB 64 meg cache | Lian-Li PC-A71B | Logitec Z-5500 | Three Asus 26" VW266H monitors running under Eyefinity | Last edited by David M; 11-24-2010 at 02:12 PM. |
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11-24-2010, 02:26 PM
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#8 |
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Forum Administrator
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Joplin MO
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For $20, put an internal DVD burner in it.
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11-24-2010, 06:50 PM
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#9 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 8
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Updated:
CPU/MOBO: $200-250 (tax included), 965BE column. *instore pickup. Micro Center AMD Processor Bundle Savings Case: $25 AR, Elite 430 PSU: $30, OCZ 600W GPU: $165-180 AR, (PNY & EVGA respectively) GTX 460 - *Probably. HD: $43, Samsung Spinpoint HD322GJ. RAM: $50, 2x2GB G.SKILL DDR3 TAX&SHIPPING: $11-26 EXCELLENT NO? |
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11-24-2010, 07:55 PM
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#10 |
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Mondsreitersmann
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Skingrad
Posts: 8,969
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No!
Samsung HDDs are not very reliable. There's a reason why jdeb advised to buy a Western Digital. G.skill memory has had so many problems that it's hardly reliable either.
__________________
Darum still, füg' ich mich, wie Gott es will. Nun, so will ich wacker streiten, und sollt' ich den Tod erleiden, stirbt ein braver Reitersmann. |
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11-24-2010, 08:15 PM
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#11 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 8
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Western Digital WD5001AALS Caviar Black Hard Drive - 500GB, 7200 rpm, 32MB, SATA-3G at TigerDirect.com
In that price range, is there any difference in performance? |
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11-24-2010, 08:41 PM
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#12 |
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Mondsreitersmann
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Skingrad
Posts: 8,969
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Your link is not opening. What's the price of the WD Black on Tigerdirect? If price is a concern you can go with a WD Blue.
You're not concerned anent performance here, your main concern is quality and reliability. |
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11-24-2010, 08:51 PM
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#13 | ||
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Saved by grace
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,549
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Quote:
 Quote:
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11-24-2010, 09:59 PM
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#14 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 8
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Price isn't a concern haha
What else should I pay attention to besides the WD Caviar Black over the next few days of deals? Pretty much anything WD 7200RPM? |
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11-24-2010, 10:43 PM
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#15 |
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Saved by grace
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,549
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Western digital black is the best hard drive with the best warranty. You could get a blue (especially for a storage drive), but you sacrifice some of the warranty and durability. Western Digital greens use even less energy than the blues, but once again not as good. However, compared to Samsung and many others, you still might be better off. However, bear in mind that getting a drive because it was a bargain could end up costing you to replace, cause you to lose data, and cause you to have to reinstall your programs. Is it worth the risk to catch a sale or save a few bucks?
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11-24-2010, 10:45 PM
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#16 |
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Mondsreitersmann
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Skingrad
Posts: 8,969
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WD only has two 7200 rpm models (for desktop computers anyway) the Caviar Black (high performance) and the Caviar Blue (middle of the road). The Caviar Green is 5400 rpm and it's more intended to be a storage unit than an OS/applications drive.
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11-24-2010, 10:49 PM
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#17 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 8
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I think I'll be hunting for any deals on a WD Black.
I got the message after re-asking the question again  Sorry for the miscommunication. I laughed when I saw Nuclear's response to my excited "EXCELLENT NO?" *No!Everything is pretty much figured out. Found the board. Combo: $206 (with tax) AMD x4 965 BE + MSI 785G-E53 AM3 785G ATX AMD Motherboard HD: WD Black ($65 if no deals on BF/CM) Card: Deal hunting! Everything else is the same. Now its just poking around for saving money. Thanks for your help guys
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11-25-2010, 01:50 AM
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#18 |
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Forum Administrator
Staff
Premium Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Joplin MO
Posts: 41,186
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Can you find an Asus board and a better brand power supply?
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11-25-2010, 02:30 AM
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#19 |
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Member (4 bit)
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 8
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Asus board it is! They aren't listed for each other specifically on their manufacturer's tested mobo/tested ram but the specs look like they match.
Micro Center AMD Processor Bundle Savings This chart makes me facepalm. the $170 option for the 965BE isn't there... HAH. Jokes on me. Unfortunately, the Gigabyte board isn't compatible with DDR3 RAM because I jumped on a deal a little early. Upgrade to next cheapest ASUS board is, $220 - M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 870 & x4 965BE combo. Product website. ASUSTeK Computer Inc. --- Final nails in the build coffin it seems *Oops. It seems that OCZ is listed to have very specific lines of PSU's that are rated well. What Power Supply should I get? How many Watts? Who made it? Guide Inside. ... I already bought one, with the RAM I jumped on earlier. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341039 Reviews online seem almost solid. It seems good enough to warrant not returning it. Last edited by FlashFir; 11-25-2010 at 02:40 AM. |
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11-25-2010, 09:22 AM
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#20 | |
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Moderator
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