Productivity build for ~$400

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samis

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Nov 4, 2013
16
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10,510
Hey everyone,

I wanted to build a productivity desktop for a home office which I could build on and upgrade into a better machine over the next couple of years. This is what I have so far.

CPU: FX-8320 (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4904560&Sku=A79-8320)
MOBO: MSI 970A-G46 (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1963472&CatId=7244)
Case: NZXT Source220 (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7693056&Sku=N500-1137)
RAM: ADATA Premier Series 8GB (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8686194&Sku=QDA-101773290D)
PSU: Corsair CX430 (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4278581&CatId=1078)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB (http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=744346&CatId=2459)

I have the monitor, keyboards, mouse, etc.

For the graphic card, I am just going to use a very basic GT 610 for now just to connect my monitors and then upgrade to a like HD 7770 or a 650 Ti next month.

Please let me know what your opinion is on whether the stock cooler for the 8320 is good enough (no overclocking yet) and whether the 430 watt PSU is sufficient for this.

Any other suggestions are welcome for a $400 productivity build.

Thanks everyone!
 
Solution
Sangeet Khatri
With the Asrock Extreme 3 you would be able to overclock a lot more better. The MSI G46 is notoroius for getting burnt out under load when overclocked, so stay away from the MSI AM3+ boards. They have a bad reputation in terms of quality of their VRM which really matters for overclocking.

As for the PSU, the 430W should be enough for most graphics cards upto 7870, but for more than that getting the 500W PSU would be the safer option as you can then upgrade to a better card like the Nvidia 770 which can work with 500W PSU.
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

Honorable
May 26, 2013
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What about this build?

A much better motherboard especially if you have overclocking on mind in the near future.

Also what kind of productivity applications are you going to use? Is that Video Editing? AutoCAD? or anything like that? Please mention that too. It is kind of important to know that what applications you are going to use.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($151.27 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($58.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: GeIL Enhance CORSA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($61.79 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Antec VSK-4000 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $425.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-27 03:56 EST-0500)

I hope this helps.
 
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mbarbantini

mbarbantini

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Dec 4, 2013
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If it is video editing he will end up needing a GPU :p
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

Honorable
May 26, 2013
2,640
1
13,460
samis said:
For the graphic card, I am just going to use a very basic GT 610 for now just to connect my monitors and then upgrade to a like HD 7770 or a 650 Ti next month.
Click to expand...

He said that he already has a Nvidia 610 to just connect the Monitors and he will upgrade later to a better card for editing. So, for now the 610 is good enough for connecting the monitor. Anyways he will upgrade later as he already said.
 
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samis

Honorable
Nov 4, 2013
16
0
10,510
Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. I really appreciate it!

Is there any benefit of using an ASRock 970 vs. the MSI 970A-G46?

Also, do you guys think its better to spend an extra $20 to get the 500W PSU vs. the 430W if the 430W is sufficient for the build? (apart from being able to add more components in the future)
 
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Sangeet Khatri

Sangeet Khatri

Honorable
May 26, 2013
2,640
1
13,460
With the Asrock Extreme 3 you would be able to overclock a lot more better. The MSI G46 is notoroius for getting burnt out under load when overclocked, so stay away from the MSI AM3+ boards. They have a bad reputation in terms of quality of their VRM which really matters for overclocking.

As for the PSU, the 430W should be enough for most graphics cards upto 7870, but for more than that getting the 500W PSU would be the safer option as you can then upgrade to a better card like the Nvidia 770 which can work with 500W PSU.
 
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