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Help with $600 General Purpose build

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jabrony76   10-16-2009 at 07:05:50 PM

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Next few weeks

BUDGET RANGE: ~$600

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Internet Surfing, modest gaming (most intensive game would be Sims3), watching videos, light video editing of home movies.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: mouse, keyboard, speakers, case, optical drives, power supply (Recycling a Super-Flower TT550ss 550W from old machine)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: None

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: highest would be 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:


Must be easy to upgrade for next 3-5 years which is why I’m leaning towards AMD with an AM3 socket for future upgrades to CPU/RAM if needed

Here is the build I’ve put together, please comment:

CPU:

AMD Athlon II X4 620
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103706

This was a toss up between X3 or Athlon X4 but I chose to have the extra core instead of the L3 cache, thoughts?

Mobo:
BIOSTAR TA790GXE 128M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138146

Combo for CPU & Mobo = $164 - $10 MIR = $154
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.273426

Graphics Card:
SAPPHIRE 100295HDMI Radeon HD 4670 - $67 - $10 MIR = $57
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102854

RAM:
OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1066 - $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227346

HDD:
WD Caviar Blue 500GB - $57
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136073

Monitor:
Hanns•G Hi-221DPB Black 22" - $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824254035

OS:
Windows Vista Home Premium with intent to upgrade to Windows 7 - $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116677

This puts me at about $620 ($600 after MIR).


Questions I have are:

1. Should I go for a CPU with L3 cache vs the Athlon II X4?
2. Is my RAM overkill (would cheaper DDR2 be sufficient)?

Thanks for reviewing and any comments you may have.

Andy

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dirtmountain   10-16-2009 at 10:24:51 PM

The motherboard you have linked is an AM2+ motherboard that uses DDR2, not DDR3. Since you're going with a discrete graphic card perhaps this AM3 770 motherboard might be a better option with the combo deal for a HD4670.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.255558

All the benchmarks i've seen of the AthlonII x4 620 show it's a good CPU for the price. The recent test here at Toms comparing $100 CPUs is an excellent test.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2439.html

This hard drive - Samsung F3 500GB SATA with combo deal for the operating system.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] 22-152-181

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