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Help finishing off Christmas Build (~$600)

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Hey guys,

I've been perusing the forums since around Black Friday, attempting to put together a system for Christmas. That has come and past, and I have gotten some parts as well as gift cards and money to complete my build. Also, my birthday is coming up on the 18th, so was looking for suggestions to tell people about for presents.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Before January 18

BUDGET RANGE: Less than $600 after rebates and shipping

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (WoW, Mass Effect 1, 2, World at War), Nothing, Light Programming, Movies

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Mobo, RAM, Case, Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US, state = LA

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680 x 1050

Parts already acquired:

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM - Retail

Additional Comments: Newegg has the Core Contact Freezer available for 25 bucks after rebate. I saw somewhere that it was rated as one of the better AMD coolers. Would it be worthwhile to get for a computer on this budget? Also, the proposed budget needs to include an OS.

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Core Contact Freezer or Coolermaster Hyper 212 will let you overclock for under $30. Both are good coolers.

Get a Samsung F3 500GB ($55) or 1TB HDD ($85). They are faster than velociraptors.

Windows 7 Home premium 64 OEM ($105)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Graphics card and PSU:
ATI 5770 ($160-75) (should max WoW at 1680x1050, may have to turn AA down)
Antec Earthwatts 650W 80+ certified. ($80)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

or for a more powerful graphics card get a 5850 ($300-325)

Thanks for the advice thus far. I had already been looking at the F3. Thanks for confirming that. I also knew that I would be dropping ~100 on the OS. Is there any tangible benefit from picking up the Professional Version when running in a home network?

I guess the only component left in my list is the processor. What are your recommendations for that? I was looking at an x3 425 or 435.
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Thanks for the information on the speakers. I completely forgot to include those in the parts not needed. Currently have a set of Logitech surround sound speakers just collecting dust. I will edit the original post with the correction.

culpedr said:
Thanks for the information on the speakers. I completely forgot to include those in the parts not needed. Currently have a set of Logitech surround sound speakers just collecting dust. I will edit the original post with the correction.

jsc is talking about the small speaker you plug into your motherboard for troubleshooting (not your "sound" speakers), which provides the beep codes to point where the error might be.

The website went down last night and lost the rest of my post.

Either Athlon II x3 435 or Phenom II x3 720

I think the professional version includes XP compatibility mode, which is either crucial or useless (depends on if one of your applications needs it). Hopefully not necessary unless you are bound to some legacy application.
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