$700 Budget System, need to cut down costs.

[tippmann01]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: June 10th, 2009.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: 3D Animation, Video Editing, Graphic Design, Gaming, Internet, LAN

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, OS, speakers, monitor, case

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: www.shoprbc.com, www.pccyber.com
[Need something Ottawa based, picking up the parts myself.]

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x720 or 1024x768

BUDGET: $700 MAX.


Currently Selected Parts

CPU:
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Quad Core 3.0GHz AM2+ 2000/8MB Processor
$242.00 CAD

Video Card:
eVGA GeForce 9600GT 512MB DDR3 PCIe 2.0 Video Card
$127.00 CAD

Motherboard:
ASRock A780GXE/128M AMD 780G AM2+ ATX Mainboard (Video/Audio/Gigabit LAN)
$106.00 CAD

PSU:
CoolMax V-600 600Watt ATX Power Supply w/140mm Fan
[Not sure if this is powerful enough]
$44.00 CAD

HDD:
Seagate 7200.11 320GB 7200RPM 16MB 3.5" SATA Hard Drive
$60.00 CAD

RAM:
OCZ Platinum 4Gb DC PC2-6400 DDR2 Memory Kit
$66.00 CAD

DVD-ROM:
LG DH16NS10 Internal 16x DVD-ROM SATA Optical Drive
$19.00 CAD

OS:
Ubuntu Studio

----------------------
Subtotal:
$664.00 CAD

Total:
$750.32 CAD
----------------------
Budget: MAX $700CAD.

 

[WR2]

If not for the gaming requirement you could leave out the video card and use the onboard graphics of the 780G motherboard.

@ 1280x1024 res gaming you could cut back the GPU to a HD 4670 and just about balance your budget.

Phenom II X4 920 if you need further savings.

Your PSU requirement is more like 400watts (+12V 26Amps) than 700W. But no one here will suggest a Coolmax PSU.

 

[WR2]

Ok - looks like Phenom II X4 920 and Phenom II X4 940 are priced the same for some reason.
So if you need more savings you'll have to look at other CPUs.

 

[tippmann01]

Your PSU requirement is more like 400watts (+12V 26Amps) than 700W. But no one here will suggest a Coolmax PSU.

Wait...so...is CoolMax a bad brandname then?

 

[ke7diz]

THE ONLY THING I SEE IS THE PSU I HAVE NOT HEARD OF THAT BRAND AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT, BUT MAKE SHEER YOU GET A HIGH QUALITY ONE a bad psu can easily ruin the rest of your components.
if you do change the BFG Tech LS SERIES LS-550 550W has gotten excellent reviews

and 600w is more than you will need

probably go with a larger hdd if you are into video editing you will need the space
1tb in the us cost around $100 so see if you can fit it into your budget

 

[tippmann01]

THE ONLY THING I SEE IS THE PSU I HAVE NOT HEARD OF THAT BRAND AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT, BUT MAKE SHEER YOU GET A HIGH QUALITY ONE a bad psu can easily ruin the rest of your components.
if you do change the BFG Tech LS SERIES LS-550 550W has gotten excellent reviews

and 600w is more than you will need

probably go with a larger hdd if you are into video editing you will need the space
1tb in the us cost around $100 so see if you can fit it into your budget

Do you have any idea how to calculate what size of PSU you'd need? I honestly have no idea...

 

[ke7diz]

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

the thing you need to be aware here is that this is the actual draw of power not what your psu should be rated fore.
fore efficiency you want the max output to be 25-75% of the use

fore example you use should be around 250w so you need a max of 330-1000w
so 500w or so will give you a good amount of head room and not be to expensive

 

[WR2]

Do you have any idea how to calculate what size of PSU you'd need? I honestly have no idea...

An easy shortcut is to check and see what the video card MFGRs recommend for the video card you've chosen.
EVGA 9600GT - look under System Requirements and you'll find a recommended power supply size.

 

[tippmann01]

An easy shortcut is to check and see what the video card MFGRs recommend for the video card you've chosen.
EVGA 9600GT - look under System Requirements and you'll find a recommended power supply size.

Doesn't the amount of RAM affect the PSU size though, as well as the CPU?
The CPU takes up 125W apparently, and I'm not sure how much 4GB of RAM will consume.

 

[tippmann01]

Would a different motherboard be a good idea? Or do you think my motherboard is alright?

 

[WR2]

ASRock A780GXE gets decent customer reviews over @ NewEgg
No real red flags from review sites: http://www.anandtech.com/

 

[tippmann01]

Do you think that decreasing the CPU power would be a good idea? I just want to be able to keep up with the new games. And...play above the low settings.

 

[WR2]

Most of the time better gaming performance means a better video card. If gaming is important to you I'd get the best video card you can squeeze into your budget and then find a CPU that fits the rest of the budget.

Like HD 4770 video card and Phenom II X3 720 BE

 

[sanders4617]

I don't know if your shopping with Newegg.. but the AMD Phenom II X4 940 is $189 on there... same price as 920.

 

[tippmann01]

I don't know if your shopping with Newegg.. but the AMD Phenom II X4 940 is $189 on there... same price as 920.

I'm not shopping with newegg, and I think that you're looking at the American NewEgg site, because the AMD Phenom II x4 940 is...$229.00 or something like that, on Newegg.ca.
I'm buying locally.

 

[sanders4617]

Oh ok.