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[New System Build] Sanity Check

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Hey all.

Im new to building a new system and have educated myself with as much as possible prior to selecting components. If anyone would like to give feedback/opinions/comments to the selections below, i would greatly appreciate it. Im just trying to make sure that there isnt anything ive missed, or if something isnt going to work with everything else (the case & power for example). Thanks in advance.

Processor: AMD Phenom IIX4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Motherboard: ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX 4x240pin, DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


Memory: G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB)DDR3 1600 (buying 2 total for 8GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


Hard Drive: WD Caviar Green 1TB 32MB SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Graphics: XFX HD-487A-ZWFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Optical: Sony Optiarc 24x DVD/CD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Case/Power: HEC Black Steel ATX Mid Tower w/585W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU Cooler (Not sure if I actually need this): Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Still need a Flat Panel, Keyboard& Mouse.

again, if you see anything that doesnt look right, please let me know....thanks guys!

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get the 955 instead and the 790xtd mobo as suggested

the green drives are low power low speed drives get a samsung f3 or western digital black

hec aint a quality power supply anything from corsair,pc power & cooling,seasonic,silverstone,enermax,chieftec and antec will be infinitely better

It will help us a lot if you edit your post to include the information in the "How to ask for new build advice" sticky at the top of the forum. There's some general information like budget, intended use of the system, and what resolution you're wanting to run that we need to know in order to offer meaningful advice.

Right off the bat I have a few suggestions. Be sure to check for combo deals at Newegg. There's one for the CPU and motherboard that you picked that saves $25. You could also drop down to the Phenom II X4 955 to save an additional $10.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

The Western Digital Green drives make nice storage drives, but are too slow for a main system drive IMO. I would check this one out.

SAMSUNG HD103SJ 1TB SATA 3.0 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer Hard Drive Bulk $92.99 - $15 MIR

HEC doesn't make very good power supplies. I would spend a little money on a quality case and power supply. The power supply is the one thing that you don't want to try and save a buck on. A low quality PSU will cause all sorts of problems ranging from system instability to fried components. Are you wanting to leave the option of adding another GPU in crossfire open? If so, I would check out one of these combo deals:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... (Antec 300 Illusion + Antec TP-650 combo)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... (Antec 300 Illusion + Antec TP-750 combo)

Are you planning on overclocking? If not, you don't need the Actic Cooling HSF.

You might want to check out the new HD5770 cards for DX11 support.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

What OS are you planning on running? You'll need a 64-bit OS to take advantage of 4GB + of RAM. You really don't need 8GB of RAM. That money would be better spend on a quality power supply.
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thanks a lot for the help and sorry i didnt go into more detail.

i plan on using windows 7 for the OS. would that still work with 8gb?

as for the case and power supply, i really wasnt sure how much power i needed. and ive read a few things on overclocking, seems more of a risk than reward.

so far im around 850 bucks with the above selections...looking to get a fast computer with plenty of punch to use for a long time...i guess i like the performance of a gaming computer, but i really dont play games...just load movies and pics of my 10 month old....

thanks for your patience, and sorry if im clueless on a lot of this stuff...

after searching around.....does anyone have a recommendation for the amount of power i need?? dont plan on overclocking or anything....and only using one graphics card (no crossfire intended)....350W? 500W?...not sure

On a side note: do you really need 8gb ram? Few applications use 4, put aside 8. Neither gaming or movies need that much, so you might stick with 4 and spend the money saved elsewhere.
If gaming is important, a better GPU, if speed is important you might want to save some more money and get an SSD, it really makes your pc a lot faster.
An aftermarket cooler isn't needed when not overclocking.
As said, a 955 is cheaper and just as good as an 965 and you should consider switching to a Samsung F3 HDD.

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flyingtitan said:
i plan on using windows 7 for the OS. would that still work with 8gb?

Only if it's 64-bit. A 32-bit OS can't even fully use 4GB of RAM. 8GB of RAM is complete overkill, but go ahead and get it if you want. Just make sure to use a 64-bit OS.

The fact that you don't game and are only interested in a single graphics card changes the build suggestions considerably. Here's a suggested build for you:

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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... $243.98 (CPU + RAM combo)

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

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=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... $106.94 (Case + PSU combo)

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $74.99 - $10.00 MIR

GIGABYTE GV-R575D5-1GD Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $144.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $87.99

SAMSUNG HD103SJ 1TB SATA 3.0 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer Hard Drive Bulk
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?Product... $92.99 - $15.00 MIR

Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... $129.98 (DVD burner + OS combo)

ASUS VH222H Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen 16:9 Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor Built in Speakers 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR20000:1) w/ SPDIF out - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $159.99 - $10.00 MIR

Total - $1,041.85 - $35.00 MIR's

OEM software is not supposed to be able to be transferred to a new machine. It also doesn't come with user support from Microsoft, but that's not a big deal. I always use OEM Operating Systems on all my builds and have yet to have a problem.
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