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[Solved] Building a New System, $850 Budget.

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - [Solved] Building a New System, $850 Budget.

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Best answer from shortstuff_mt.

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buddhav1   11-06-2009 at 07:02:40 PM

i'm building a new Mid-Range System, right after my current system sells.

Current System
AMD Athlon X2 7750+ 2.7GHz
4GB DDR2-1066 OCZ Reaper
2x eVGA nVidia 8800GTs 512s
1x500GB Seagate 7200/32-OS
1x250 WD 7200/16-Extra Storage/Backup
Biostar nForce 750i SLi board.
Asus TV Tuner
Cooler Master HAF 932 Case
Mushkin 600 Watt Modular PSU
Samsung DVDRW

now, i've got several people at my computer store interested in purchasing this machine, and as soon as it sells, i will be putting that money with money of my own to build a new tower. i plan to have $850 bucks for a new machine.

Here's what i do.

-Gaming, usually at 1280x1024 resolution, sometimes 1600x1200 if i really enjoy the game.
-Audio/Picture Editing-Simple edits like Photoshop, and Soundbooth/Audacity
-I run 3 17" LCDs side by side
-I Listen to a LOT of music, stream Videos to my 360, and generally look up things online.

one of my major concerns this time around is size. i love my HAF case, but honestly, since i moved, it's been an eyesore, and since i set it up downstairs in the office, taking it to LAN parties tends to suck.

I've decided to build up a mATX build, for size, and that "wow, you can do all that in that little thing?" effect at parties. I won't be requiring Dual Video Cards for a LONG time, so i'm not worried about that.

some things to remember.

-mATX means small ass setup. so GTX cards aren't really an option.
-i'm more inclined to go with AMD in such a low budget system
-Ati and Nvidia don't matter to me, but i want the card to match the chipset.
-that 850 includes Shipping, lol.
-Operating system is covered. i have plenty of those, Microsoft Partnerships ftw.
-i prefer to buy from reputable online distributors, So Newegg is my primary place to shop online.
-a modular power supply is a must in this small form factor.

here's what i've built up.

CPU-AMD Phenom II X3 720BE 2.8 GHZ 7.5MB total Cache.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103649

Motherboard- MSI AMD 785G Board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813130233

Ram-G Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1333 4GB Dual Channel Kit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231274

Case- Lian-Li V-351B mATX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 811112222]

Power Supply-Coolmax 650 Watt Modular PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817159110

Video Card-Sapphire Ati Radeon HD5770 1GB DDR5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102858

Hard Drive 1-Samsung Spinpoint 750GB 7200/32

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152100

Hard Drive 2-Seagate Barracude 1TB 7200/32

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148433

DVD Drive-Sony Optiarc DVDRW

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827118030

this build comes to a total of USD $838.47 Shipped.

your thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated.


Message edited by buddhav1 on 11-06-2009 at 07:08:59 PM
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Best answer from shortstuff_mt
Here's a combo deal for the Phenom II X3 720 plus faster CAS 7 DDR3 1333 RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.286524

I haven't had good long-term reliability luck with MSI. I would stick to Gigabyte or Asus. Here's a nice Gigabyte board for the same price:

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $89.99

You do not want to use that POS Coolmax PSU unless you want an unstable system. Here's a quality PSU that's actually cheaper after MIR:

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $64.99 - $25 MIR

I wouldn't get an old F1 drive. The F3 drives are faster due to higher data density since they use a single 500GB platter.

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $54.99
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Silmarunya   11-06-2009 at 07:22:48 PM

-The PSU is much more powerful than needed. A weaker (and thus cheaper) will do nicely.

-Why get a Seagate? The Samsung F3 1TB is one of the fastest HDD's and is very modestly priced.

-Gigabyte and Asus motherboards tend to be of better quality than MSI, but MSI isn't junk either.

-Rest looks great.

Reply to Silmarunya
Silver Home Brew badge shortstuff_mt   11-06-2009 at 07:24:19 PM
Best answer

Here's a combo deal for the Phenom II X3 720 plus faster CAS 7 DDR3 1333 RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.286524

I haven't had good long-term reliability luck with MSI. I would stick to Gigabyte or Asus. Here's a nice Gigabyte board for the same price:

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $89.99

You do not want to use that POS Coolmax PSU unless you want an unstable system. Here's a quality PSU that's actually cheaper after MIR:

OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ550FTY 550W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $64.99 - $25 MIR

I wouldn't get an old F1 drive. The F3 drives are faster due to higher data density since they use a single 500GB platter.

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $54.99

Reply to shortstuff_mt
buddhav1   11-06-2009 at 07:56:43 PM

will the 16MB cache of that drive make a difference? i'm planning on it being my OS/Gaming drive, which is why i picked the 32MB

i did switch the PSU, but will that 550 Be enough to power a 125+watt chip if i upgrade later on?


Message edited by buddhav1 on 11-06-2009 at 08:01:56 PM
Reply to buddhav1
Silver Home Brew badge shortstuff_mt   11-06-2009 at 08:34:23 PM

The cache size on a hard drive has very little effect on the drive performance. Platter density has a much greater impact. The F3 is considerably faster.

Yes, the 550W PSU will be plenty. It actually puts out more power than that POS Coolmax PSU even though it's rated at a lower wattage.

Reply to shortstuff_mt
buddhav1   11-06-2009 at 08:36:36 PM

thanks for helping me out, stupid newegg sold out of the 1TB f3s. lol

Reply to buddhav1
Silmarunya   11-06-2009 at 09:08:27 PM

Yeah, they're selling like hotcakes. Another testimony to their quality :)

Reply to Silmarunya
Silver Home Brew badge shortstuff_mt   11-06-2009 at 09:19:45 PM

You can get one here:

SAMSUNG HD103SJ 1TB SATA 3.0 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer Hard Drive Bulk
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Prod [...] t=celebros $92.99 - $15 MIR

ZipZoomFly actually uses better shipping material for hard drives than Newegg does. They use a little foam box instead of bubble wrap. I've ordered drives from zipzoomfly and never had a problem.

Reply to shortstuff_mt
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