Some building advice would be appreciated.

[BlackThought]

First let me say thanks for reading this and even more thanks for trying to help.

Budget 700 (ok if the build goes over but not more than 25)
Main things i'll be doing on this PC

• Browsing the net ( LOTS of tabs , my laptop seem to not be able to handle that so well)
• Watch HD MKV movies with x264 codec (laptop can't handle that too well either if the file is bigger than 4GB)
• Encode videos using Sony Vegas (x264 codec for MP4 and MKV files)
• Watch Netflix
• Stream videos,pictures,movies to PS3 using PS3MediaServer
• Only gaming i'll do is MAME and maybe a PS1/SNES emulator so a high end graphics card isnt a must

I do a ton of multitasking & encoding, i don't want any hiccups

This will be my first PC build, im nervous, i've opened a few PCs and put them back togehter and they still worked some how, so im not a complete rookie at this, but im still nervous as hell. I don't know if i should build it myself phsically or use a custom configurator website that lets me pick the parts that i want, i've picked the parts usign a site, and i've went to newegg to see if it would be cheaper to actually assemble it myself.
I only saw a 30 buck decrease when i used Newegg.

EDIT: My pc is on for long periods of time, when im encoding it could be on from 2-3 with no reboots and disk never spin down, so please keep that in mind.

Anyhow..heres my list





Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

PSU: Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-870A-UD3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-870A-UD3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4Ghz 6MB Cache FSB 4000MHz HT $159.99
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

HDD: Western Digital AV-GP WD5000AVDS 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal AV Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Western Digital AV-GP WD5000AVDS 500GB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal AV Hard Drive -Bare Drive

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

Pri Optical: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Newegg.com - ASUS 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 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners



Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-N220OC-1GI GeForce GT 220 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-N220OC-1GI GeForce GT 220 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card




Total $721.58


Anything i can add and or remove to make this better or cheaper?

[glc]

I would make 3 changes:

1. Replace the AV-GP drive with a Caviar Black.
2. Replace the G.skill ram with Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, or A-Data - and 1333 speed is all you need.
3. Replace the GT220 with a Radeon 5670 - you could actually use a less expensive card such as the 4670.

You can save some money with a less expensive case. Look at the Antec Three Hundred.

[BlackThought]

Thanks for the fast help, would the Caviar Black be better than the AV-GP ? i read on WD that they're designed to be on continuously, idk if you read the bold font i added since you posted at the same time but yeah i do leave it on a lot, but i'll change it to black

Changes per your wisdom.
1.Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

2.CORSAIR XMS 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3A1333C9
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3A1333C9

3.SAPPHIRE 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card


4.Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case


Subtotal: $623.88

[BlackThought]

Also, since i dont plan on OC'ing, but im still paranoid about leaving it on extended periods of time, would it be wise to get a new heatsink to replace the one supplied by AMD?

[glc]

That is not a triple channel board - buy dual channel ram. Stock heatsink is fine, that's all I ever use and I keep my machines on 24/7 with the CPU at 100% running Folding@Home.