Advice on building a pc

[jchambles]

I'm thinking i'm going to be building my first pc. I just don't know if all the parts are going to be compatible.

Optical drive:
SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model SH-S222A

Case and Powersupply:
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

MotherBoard
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2 /AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Video Card
SAPPHIRE 100274L Radeon HD 4350 1GB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Spt Video Card

RAM
G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) X 4

Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200 Brisbane 2.7GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor


My appologies with the randomness of this post.

I'm trying to keep everything under $700. and yes i'm in the US.
Probably getting everything from newegg
My goal with this build would be to build a somewhat cheap weekend gaming computer. But also something that i could upgrade later on.

Please tell me if what i'm thinking is bad wrong or stupid. I honestly am getting lost on all this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[hunter315]

The case is about the only part i agree there. Yes all the parts would be compatible but it really wont perform well, you can get significantly better for the same. Definitely swap the IDE DVD burner for a SATA one. Rather than get the 4350, why not get a 785G motherboard, it will come out cheaper and you wont be able to do gaming on either. The 320GB Caviar blue also tends to be about the same prices as the Samsung F3 which is significantly faster. If you post your budget, intended uses, and where you are buying parts from we can help you get a better build.

A quick check on newegg shows the Athlon II 240 as $16 cheaper than the 5200 and it would perform better so there are definitely places that your build can be improved for less if you are in the US.

 

[jchambles]

My appologies with the randomness of this post.

I'm trying to keep everything under $700. and yes i'm in the US.
Probably getting everything from newegg
My goal with this build would be to build a somewhat cheap weekend gaming computer. But also something that i could upgrade later on.

Please tell me if what i'm thinking is bad wrong or stupid. I honestly am getting lost on all this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[hunter315]

How does 548 sound? It will be quite a bit faster too

Samsung f3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&Tpk=f3%20500gb

SATA DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

ASUS 785G motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398

4GB DDR3 1333MHZ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231253

Athlon II 620 x4/4670 combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.315903

Sonata III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

The 4670 is around 5x more powerful than the 4350 and will allow you to play games on moderate settings. That build will be significantly faster in everyday tasks and a ton better in games.

 

[Onus]

Hunter posted [another] nice build. What is the resolution of your monitor? If it is 1680x1050 or higher, you might want a stronger video card (e.g. a 5770), but especially if it is no higher than 1680x1050, you may be pleasantly surprised at how well a 4670 does.

 

[jchambles]

I gotta say Hunter your advice was great. You defiantly got everything in there that i was looking for. Thanks for the great advice.

 

[EasternFront56]

Friendly advice:

I tried my first 'trial' order with Newegg last week. Perhaps I missed something when I placed my order but I find that 2 days for 'order processing' is ridiculous. I also find the practice of charging my credit card the day the order was placed knowing there was a 2 day order processing delay to be even more ridiculous.

As I said, that was my first ever order with Newegg and maybe I missed something. If so, then I apologize. However, maybe you would like to look at www.provantage.com . I haven't searched Provantage for any of the parts that Hunter listed but I found everything I needed to build my own PC for less money at Provantage except the RAM. (I am not associated with Provantage other than being a very satisfied customer for many years.)

edit: Sorry, missed the date of the last post so maybe I might be too late with my advice.

edit: So I compared prices on a couple of items in Hunters list. Provantage was cheaper but didn't offer free shipping and that would probably make them slightly more expensive. Still, that 2 day delay AND charging my credit card before the 2 day delay goes against the grain for me. Perhaps others feel differently.

 

[JDFan]

Just did a quick compare on a couple CPUs and newegg was much cheaper :

AMD 720 Provantage OEM $132 boxed $149 - Newegg OEM $109 boxed $140 and free shipping @ newegg

AMD 955 Provantage $184 Boxed Newegg $165 + free shipping

So not sure where you get their cheaper ? - Also on the 720 @ Provantage it is a special order item so requires an extra 8-10 days for them to get it before sending it to you. As for Newegg I've ordered many times and as long as you get the order in in the AM. it usually ships the same day or at least the next day ! - did you order late in the day (if so they may have processed the paperwork the following morning and the warehouse didn't pull until early in the morning the next day (Most shipments I've ordered leave their warehouse around 4AM so the date will have changed again) - Or it might vary depending on where you live but I've always had fast turnarounds from them.

 

[jchambles]

Eastern,
Actually that practice of charging your card while there is an order processing period is pretty standard for online shopping. Keep in mind the order processing period is kinda general. That can be anything from running your credit card, waiting for the credit card to be approved, packing, and let us not forget protecting against fraud. I guess i'm just saying that yes it does suck that they delay, but most everyone else does it too.

 

[EasternFront56]

Admittedly, I am a newbie at building PC's and maybe Newegg's policies are normal in this field. Newegg definitely offer extreme diversity in the products they offer and the prices were excellent. For the parts I needed to purchase Provantage offered slightly better pricing (I am talking about 20 cent or 50 cent) and lower shipping charges (there were only one or two parts that I was ordering from Newegg that had free shipping) and Provantage had a few items in stock that Newegg and ZipZoomFly did not. Below is a comparison between Newegg and Provantage:

Newegg
Order confirmation - Tuesday, 4:35pm
Payment charged - Tuesday, 4:42pm
Invoice - Thursday, 6:17am
DHL tracking - Thursday, 9:15am

Provantage
Order received/confirmation - Tuesday, 4:27pm
Shipment notification - Tuesday, 4:30pm
Tracking information - Wednesday, 8:49am

I was probably wrong to diss Newegg on this forum based on just the one order, for that i apologize. But I am still not happy that it took 2 days to process an order (and Newegg tells you that somewhere on their site - I just didn't read it before ordering, my bad).

Also, it is probably correct that your credit card is charged before or during the processing period. However, I must be spoiled. I have ordered from places like Digi-Key, Mouser, McMaster-Carr, etc., etc., for many, many years (yes, I am an old geezer ) and, many times, I can actually receive my order in the period that Newegg was processing my order.

But, it was not my intention to anger anyone and if I have I apologize.

Take care,
Steve

 

[hunter315]

you appear to have had a very unique newegg experience, im actually rather surprised that it took so long for it to get to you. There are always exceptions to the norm, from my experience though newegg is usually very quick, with stuff usually shipping out the next morning. They may have had a reason for their wait but your case is definitely not the norm so i wouldnt give up yet!

That said, its always a good idea to check around and see what sites give you the best deals, i always post links off of newegg because they are often the cheapest or very close, and im very familiar with their site. To some people saving $15 by shopping around is worth it, others would just prefer a single transaction so it depends on your preferences.

@jchambles since we are into a new month make sure you keep an eye out for combo deals, i found an $85 combo with my CPU/mobo and decided to buy then, most of the time they are only about $20, but a few $20 off combos adds up.