New AMD computer, need Opinions

[masads]

I am planning on building a new system and this what I have so far:


LITE-ON Black 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS-324-98

Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AADS 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive

ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX

Thermaltake SopranoRS VG7000BWS Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Thermaltake Purepower W0121RU 600W ATX12V V2.0 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply


Due to a limited budget I'm not getting a graphics card just yet, but definitely will in a few months. But other than that how is this build? Is the power supply enough? Any computability issues?

I have selected everything from newegg and the total comes out to be around 600.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Don't get that PSU. Either get a Toughpower from Thermaltake, or any Corsair, OCZ or Antec Earthwatts. These will be higher quaility.

That RAM is pretty expensive for what you're getting. Here's a set from G.Skill that's cheaper, and will perform better: G.Skill Eco DDR3 1333 mhz CAS Latency 7.

Switch that WD for a Samsung Spinpoint F3. This is probably the fastest drive available, and one of the cheapest. If that's not available and you don't want to wait, the Seagate 7200.12 is similiar.

Also it helps to know what you're planning on doing with it. See the thread "How to Ask for New Build Advice"....

 

[Silmarunya]

Caviar greens are slow². Get a Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB. Slightly more expensive, but noticeably faster.

Thermaltake PSU aren't good quality. Get a Corsair, Antec or OCZ one if you don't want to screw your PC anytime soon. 500/550W will already be plenty btw.

 

[masads]

Sorry I didn't read the "how to ask.." But I just want this to be a long lasting powerful system (it's for my sister). She is a programmer and wanted something powerful. There will be some occasional gaming, nothing hardcore though. Movies, pictures and music.

The PSU was $50 AR so that's why I chose it, but will look for the ones you recommended. Basically I don't want to spend more than $650 on the products I have mentioned.

The price difference between the Gskill and Kingston is $6, I was under the impression Kingston just makes better RAM.

Thanks!

 

[masads]

would this be better:

Samsung 500 GB SATA II Hard Drive HD502HJ
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SATA-Hard-Drive-HD502HJ/dp/B002J65AHQ

cache is 16MB


Hopefully this is a better PSU:

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

 

[MadAdmiral]

There's a reason it's cheap. That's because it's crap.

On the RAM, Kingston just charges more. And that G.Skill RAM has better specs. The important thing about RAM isn't the speed (i.e. 1600 mhz for yours vs. 1333 mhz for mine), it the CAS Latency. The lower the better. Mine's at 7, your's at 8. G.Skill is another one of the premeir makers of RAM, but it isn't as expensive because they aren't as famous.

If you want a really long lasting system, take a look at the newer SATA 6 GB/s and USB 3.0 boards (sorry I don't have any links). These will use the new technology that's still being developed. It will probably be a couple of years before the new devices are mainstream, but that will keep the computer more current.

 

[MadAdmiral]

That is the same harddrive mentioned above. Amazon just doesn't include the full name...

 

[masads]

Here's one I found:
GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128416

but there are no reviews on it. Would it be really worth it?

 

[MadAdmiral]

That's a good board. The reason there's no reviews is that it's new.

And you shouldn't trust Newegg reviews. They're mostly written by people who have no clue, and believe being able to operate an iPod should mean they have a "High understanding" of technology...

 

[masads]

How's this graphics card since i'll be needing one with the gigabyte motherboard:

ASUS EN9500GT/DI/1GD2/V2/A GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121339

Once again, I don't need something for heavy gaming. This seems pretty good, with a nice price and connections i wanted (DVI and HDMI). Crossfire or SLI isn't necessary.

If there is something better that would be $80 or less, do tell.

 

[MadAdmiral]

That's probably the best you can get for under $80. That said, if you're going to buy a video card later, you should go with the first board.

Both boards are good, and personally, I think the new ports really aren't going to be effective for many years. They're out now, but there are exactly zero devices that use them right now. There aren't any devices that have been announced that are going to use them. On the SATA side, the threshold of 3 GB/s hasn't been reached yet. It will be a long time before an upgrade is necessary, and when it is, there are sure to be add-on cards and other methods of using it without replacing motherboards.

What is here is a lot of graphics intensive work/games (and DirectX 11). If you're definitely going to spend the money later (probably at least $170 at a minimum) for a good video card, then you should wait for that. Besides, the new nVidia cards should be out in a few months, which will cause the prices to be screwy again. I can't really recommend buying such an out dated card if she's not gaming. You can also take the wait and see approach. If it turns out she need one, and you don't have the extra cash then, buy a cheap one. Most likely it will save some money.