AMD Phenom II X3 2.8GHz $477 gaming build (updated)

[mposson]

This will be my first time building a PC, so I want to make sure I am not overlooking anything too obvious in my build.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: soon after Black Friday - I can wait that long.
BUDGET RANGE: $600-ish After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, surfing the internet

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, gfx card (currently running an ATI 4850) Power Supply (currently have a PC Power and Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: I would like to use an AMD CPU & Gigabyte mobo

OVERCLOCKING: Possibly
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe - down the road a bit

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024


COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP -and-
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - combo $90

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - $115, $100 after rebate

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor -and-
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - combo $205 **Updated to Phenom processor and new memory price (grrr)**

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA Black 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support - Retail -and-
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM - combo $129

Approximately $557, before any shipping
**EDIT** $516 going from 640GB to 320GB HD
**EDIT2** $491with another combo - thanks again dirtmountain!
**EDIT3** $524 upgrading to Phenom

 

[dirtmountain]

This chart can be used to compare different CPUs, but it doesn't have the AthlonIIx3 435 yet. I used the PhenomII x3 710 to compare to the AthlonII x4 620. You may want to plug different CPUs in and compare them to what you want to use the PC for.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=84&p2=106

Also make sure you check different CPUs out for combo deals. This deal with the PhenomII x3 710 knocks $20 off the price of your choice in RAM, dropping the 710 below the price of the 435.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.286519

 

[mposson]

OK, wow. I totally missed the combo deals thing, especially the 'show all deals' part.

I think I would rather have the extra 0.3 GHz with the 435 x3 2.9 GHz rather than save $7 on the Phenom II 710 2.6 GHz, but the case/hard drive combo I found is awesome! - updating original post....

 

[stumpystumped]

i'd go for a discrete graphics card

 

[mposson]

I am currently currently running an ATI 4850, and plan to use this in the new system.

 

[dirtmountain]

Knock another $15 off with this combo deal. Your CPU and RAM.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.286559

another $10 off for this combo. Your burner and OS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.282290

 

[mposson]

And now I find that there are multiple pages of combos. dirtmountain, you rule. Thanks again for your help!

But overall, this is a good build?

 

[dirtmountain]

The hard drive is an older, slower hard drive, but at the price it's hard to pass up. In terms of the CPU, i'd probably take the $25 you saved on the combo deals and go for the PhenomII x3 720 BE and same RAM for $194.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.286524

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3663&p=8

As it is it's a good build, personally i'd bump the CPU, but either way it's great performance at that price.

 

[mposson]

Just finished ordering this tonight after some of Newegg's Black...Wednesday deals.


COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $65 w/ $25 MIR = $40

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard $115 -and-
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - $119 w/ -$40 combo AND $15 MIR = $179

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM - $70

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $50

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - $26

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - $105

$477.81 with shipping. The only thing not on some sort of special was Win7. Woot!

 

[mposson]

Wanted to update that it all got assembled yesterday and POSTed the first try!

I also successfully unlocked the 4th core on the Phenom x3 720BE and ran it on a Prime95 blend test for an hour, so I got a good one! It was very easy to do on this motherboard. I did change it back to the tri-core as I don't really need the extra core at this point.

The RAM auto-detected at CAS 9-9-9-24, but a quick change to the BIOS and it is 8-8-8-21 where it should be.

Also, another update; when I took my power supply out I found out I actually have the PC Power and Cooling Silencer 610 and not the 500W model like I remembered.

Thanks again for the help and suggestions!

 

[dirtmountain]

Grats on a great build and thanks for the feedback!