New build <$550. Some parts purchased.

Mettle

Distinguished
Jun 9, 2009
2
0
18,510
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: <1 month

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, media streaming, video/audio encoding

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel CPU

OVERCLOCKING: Eventually

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Not sure?

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Some parts recently purchased.


Parts Purchased:
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
$58.95

Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006
$59.99 - $20 combo deal w/ case = $39.99

SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824
$100 - $15MIR = $85

OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR800C44GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227267
$49.99 - $7.50 (15% off) - $20MIR - $22.49

So far I have spent $206.43

Parts Needed
Motherboard, Processor, HDD. Here is what I am considering

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3LR LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128368
$99.99 - $10MIR = $89.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
$167.99

Western Digital Caviar Green WD6400AACS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (bare drive) - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136298
$67.99

That comes out to $325.97, making it a total of ~$532

Have any recommendations on the parts I haven't purchased yet given the ones I have? I'm not sure whether the processor or video card will be a bottleneck for games, and maybe there is a better deal out there that I haven't seen. Also, I want to make sure my PSU is powerful enough. Any comments/input is appreciated. Thanks!
 

Helloworld_98

Distinguished
Feb 9, 2009
3,371
0
20,790
swap the HDD for a caviar black or AALS model.

then the CPU and Motherboard for an AMD 720 X3 (more cores but otherwise same performance, and costs less) and a motherboard based on one of the 790 chipsets.