$600 Home office / Digital Imaging, Non-gaming PC

[Guest]

I would like input regarding plans to build a new PC... Here is info as requested in *How To Ask For New Build Advice*

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within next two weeks

BUDGET RANGE: $500 - $600 Before Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Home office use, no planned gaming, surfing the internet, burning movies, web design and digital imaging (wife is an artist and photographer)

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

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I've used newegg.com in the past but am open to other sites if significant savings

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: None

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, haven't really explored that area much

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not sure

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280 x 960 for the time being.. may upgrade to another monitor on a later date but for now biggest focus is on getting the PC built and running.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My current PC case is black, has a window and blue lights.. want black and red this time, window is optional. I have built one PC 3 years ago and performed a few upgrades and replaced the motherboard and have a general understanding of computer build and repair but not much knowledge of overclocking and CPU, BUS specifics.

I'm planning on running Vista but may want to upgrade to Windows 7 on a later date so I would like to have that freedom if not much $$ is required. Also, one of my pet peeves is lag, "not responding" messages or waiting for a program to open.. when I click I want action! so speed is one of my main goals.

Here goes:
Thermaltake V9 Black Edition ATX Computer Gaming Chassis with Dual Oversized 230mm Ultra-Silent Cooling Fans VJ400G1N2Z Mid Tower - Retail
PNY VCG951024GXEB GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.265765

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail


AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103706]

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006]

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184]

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support - OEM
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188]

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181]

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007]

Any comments / recommendations / suggestions??

Thanks!

I just noticed when I went back to view this that the links don't appear to work even though they worked before I posted it and they still work when I click them from within my wish list. Any suggestions?

 

[build]

If no gaming is involved, you could get away with just the onboard graphics on that motherboard.

The PSU is overkill, a decent 450W will do.

Thermal paste already comes pre-applied to the stock cooler if your buying a boxed retail processor.

You can then use the money saved to get a better processor.

 

[Guest]

Thanks.. will the onboard graphics be sufficient to run Vista or later Windows 7 if I decide to upgrade? Guess I should have mentioned my OS in the original post. I'm generally running digital camera, printer, smart phone, walkman off my USB ports, sometimes all at once, will that affect my PSU needs?

 

[build]

Yeah, you generally won't need a separate graphics card unless your gaming.


The programs you use doesn't affect power usage, the hardware does. A 9500GT doesn't use that much power and for just onboard graphics you will need a whole lot less.

For example:

AMD Phenom II X2 550
+
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2
- Combo Price: $160.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.271891

Antec Basiq BP430 430W Continuous Power
+
Antec Two Hundred Black
- Combo Price: $79.90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.265972

OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 - $62.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227267

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB - $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW SATA - $27.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

Grand Total:* $381.86

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I agree with build's suggestions. There is no need for a separate GPU. The integrated GPU on the 785G board is plenty. A quality 450W is also plenty for your system. None of your intended uses will require a big PSU.

I would get the AM3 version of your motherboard along with DDR3 RAM with some of the money saved.

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $94.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT - Retail $70.99

Even a Corsair 400CX PSU would be plenty for your system with the 95W quad core CPU.

 

[Guest]

And I guess getting the Corsair 400CX PSU at 29.99 after rebate, even if i do have to upgrade to a larger PSU later it's no big loss!

Thanks everyone for your help, saved me some $$ and allowed for a faster system!

 

[build]

Good luck with the build