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First Time Budget Homebuilt System!

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anonymous486   08-12-2009 at 05:58:31 PM

I am going to build my first homebuilt system primarily for gaming. Not games that are to graphically intense like Crysis, but like Empire Total War or Grand Ages: Rome. please comment about my build and tell me what I can do to make it better, because I am new to building computers. My budget is $850, so if you can make it cheaper, please do!

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119068

SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102801

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231189

DFI LANPARTY DK P45-T2RS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813136050

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 5186134CPU Cooler

Rosewill Xtreme Series RX750-S-B 750W Continuous @40°C ,80 PLUS Certified, ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91, SLI Ready CrossFire and Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.218088

Nippon Labs Beige 15 ft. USB cable A/male to B/male Model USB-15-AB - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6812816019

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM and ICY DOCK MB664US-1S 3.5" USB 2.0 & eSATA Screw-less External Enclosure combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.237956

VANTEC Nexstar 3 NST-360U2-RD 3.5" USB 2.0 External Enclosure Nippon Labs USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA HDD Adapter w/ Power Model USB-SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.217321

plese help! I am totally new to this and I would like it to turn out well. also if you can find these products for cheaper anywhere please tell me!!







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Helloworld_98   08-12-2009 at 06:07:42 PM

get a good PSU from antec, corsair or PCP&C.

and don't use the old 775 socket, use AM3 or LGA1366.

Reply to Helloworld_98
Silver Home Brew badge hunter315   08-12-2009 at 06:08:34 PM

Rosewill bad, this one from corsair will do able better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ir%20650tx

What resolution are you going to be running at and whats your budget for this? You may be able to get a significantly better build by going with AMD rather than intel in this case because 775 is at the end of its life.

Reply to hunter315
Silver Home Brew badge shortstuff_mt   08-12-2009 at 06:15:19 PM

This build comes in well under budget and would be a great system.

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM (Includes free Windows 7 updrade coupon)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116677

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] 11-129-042 $154.94 (Case + OS combo)

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103649 $119.00

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128392 $84.99

Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS34G1333LLK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220286 $78.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] wd6401aals $74.99

Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371015 $79.99

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102825 $149.99

SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151188 $28.99

Total - $771.88

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to shortstuff_mt
Silver Home Brew badge hunter315   08-12-2009 at 06:23:14 PM

If you are willing to do rebates the corsair 650TX provides more power and costs the same after MIR, it also comes with free shipping that the EA650 doesnt.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139005


Message edited by hunter315 on 08-12-2009 at 06:23:25 PM
Reply to hunter315
anonymous486   08-12-2009 at 07:09:36 PM

shortstuff_mt wrote :

This build comes in well under budget and would be a great system.

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM (Includes free Windows 7 updrade coupon)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116677

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] 11-129-042 $154.94 (Case + OS combo)

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103649 $119.00

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128392 $84.99

Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS34G1333LLK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220286 $78.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] wd6401aals $74.99

Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371015 $79.99

SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102825 $149.99

SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151188 $28.99

Total - $771.88





I don't know about going with a tri-core processor, I read that not many game or programes are able to effeciently use all of the cores, but I really don't know all that much about tri-core so. I was thinking I should go with a higher quality dual-core or maybe a cheaper quad-core?

Reply to anonymous486
Silver Home Brew badge hunter315   08-12-2009 at 07:15:30 PM

Very few things use quad cores, most games right now only use two cores so it out performs dual cores and runs cooler than a quad core for most applications. Take a look at this article for comparison.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2373.html

http://media.bestofmicro.com/B/V/218155/original/CPU%20Cores%20-%20Total%20Performance.png

Reply to hunter315
Silver Home Brew badge shortstuff_mt   08-12-2009 at 07:16:30 PM

A lot of new games benefit from triple and quad core CPU's, regardless of what some people say. This article was just posted last week and lays it out pretty well.

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2373.html

 

Of course if you want to max out your $850 budget you could up the CPU in the above build to a Phenom II X4 955.

 

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103674 $199.99

 

Edit: Hunter315 beat me by exactly 1 minute. I'm slacking today. :)


Message edited by shortstuff_mt on 08-12-2009 at 07:18:05 PM
Reply to shortstuff_mt
anonymous486   08-12-2009 at 10:55:36 PM

thanks for all the info on tri-cores, it looks like there almost as good as quad cores and a lot cheaper :)
but are the case, mobo, and PSU up for a crossfire expansion? becasue down the road when I get more money I would like to maybe add another 4870.

Reply to anonymous486
Silver Home Brew badge hunter315   08-12-2009 at 10:59:30 PM

The case should be able to handle it, the mobo only has 1 PCI-E slot so you wont be able to do that without switching up to a 790X or 790GX board which run about another 50 over what you have listed, the PSU will handle it.

Reply to hunter315
Silver Home Brew badge shortstuff_mt   08-12-2009 at 11:03:03 PM

No, the motherboard and PSU in my build will not allow crossfire. You could swap the motherboard and PSU for these and it would be ready for another 4780:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $126.99 - $15 MIR

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail $119.99 - $20 MIR

Swapping those components in with the 720 X3 would make the total $853.88 - $35 MIR's

Reply to shortstuff_mt
Silver Home Brew badge shortstuff_mt   08-12-2009 at 11:04:50 PM

I guess the EA650 could probably technically power 2 4870's, but it would be cutting it a bit close and would require power adapters since it only has 2 PCI-E power connectors. I, personally, wouldn't do it.

Reply to shortstuff_mt
TJ_the_first   08-13-2009 at 03:36:41 AM

As someone who used to run crossfire (x1950pros) & SLI (8600GTs) it's hard to recommend. My advice is to sell your 4870 when it's time to upgrade and get what's comparable in the future (ie a 6870 or whatever).

However the games you want to play aren't going to require an upgrade any time soon - a 4870 will power 1920x1200 RTS/strategy games for a good while yet. CPU will be where those games might demand more in the future so the x3 is future proofing without too great a cost penalty.

Reply to TJ_the_first
Bronze Home Brew badge Outlander_04   08-13-2009 at 03:59:55 AM

does the original post actually include a processor? I cant see it at all , and I bet including one will push the price up a bit

Shortstuffs build is good quality, and latest technology and right on the sweet spot for value ... but you could spend more on a quad . though you wont get a lot for the extra $$$$
and his suggested alternative for crossfire is good too

but the gaming usage required wont need more gfx power than the 4870 . It probably wont even need that much , so crossfire is not worth considering

Reply to Outlander_04
Silver Home Brew badge hunter315   08-13-2009 at 04:07:34 AM

yeah there is a combo with an E8400 and a rosewill PSU.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to hunter315
Bronze Home Brew badge Outlander_04   08-13-2009 at 04:12:35 AM

hunter315 wrote :

yeah there is a combo with an E8400 and a rosewill PSU.



Thank you

I read rosewill and my mind must have gone blank at that point

Reply to Outlander_04
red97vette   08-13-2009 at 04:45:43 AM

Check out my build, it came in at $730 after rebates using Bing.com cashback and zipzoomfly.com. I got a 3.0 Ghz AMD X4, 4890, 4 Gb ram (1600), 1TB 7200 rpm 32mb, etc...

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ing-advise

Reply to red97vette
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