Budget build

January 31, 2010 9:16:53 AM

Hello,

I am planning to put together a new system and looking for some advice...

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: asap

BUDGET RANGE: +- 500 $

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT:
surfing, schoolwork, modest gaming(very low resolution; 1280x1024 max)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:
http://www.tones.be/ (Belgium)...Other stores are also possible, but I had some bad experiences with paying in advance. This store allows payment on delivery.

PARTS PREFERENCES:
CPU: Intel(my first guess would be i3)
Memory: Corsair
PSU: Corsair
Case: Antec
Harddisk: Western Digital
Motherboard: Asus

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024 max

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Cheap build.
Atx form factor

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the following chipsets ? Intel H55, Intel P55, Intel H57, Intel Q57.

More about : budget build

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tomvertommen

January 31, 2010 10:12:49 AM

I put together a list allready; comments are more then welcome:

INTEL CORE i3 530 32nm ( 2.93Ghz ) 3MB + GPU ( 733Mhz ) Boxed with cooler

INTEL BOXDH55HC Hunter Cave (Socket 1156, atx, PCI 2.0 Express x16, Intel® H55 Express Chipset, 6 SATA, 4DDR3 1333 Dual Channel, 3 PCI, 8 Channel Sound, Gigabit LAN, 12 USB2.0 )

SAMSUNG 160GB 8MB SATA II (7200/300) HD161GJ
CORSAIR 2GB Kit (2 x 1GB) 1333Mhz DDR3 9-9-9-24 TWIN3X2048-1333C9G

MSI R4650-MD1G Radeon R4650 600Mhz Core, 1024MB 1000Mhz GDDR2, HDMI, DVI, Crossfire ready, Retail

CORSAIR CX400W, whisper quiet operation and active power factor correction circuitry (CMPSU-400CX)

ANTEC Three Hundred Versatile Case ( zonder voeding )

Are the above parts compatible with eachother ?

Would that Ati Radeon 4560 be better then the build in graphics solution in the CPU ? Would it allow for some very moderate gaming on 1280x1024. I am not talking about Crysis or something else very demanding. I am talking about 3D gaming, but not all eye candy is needed and it doesn't have to play well all new and most demanding games.

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tomvertommen

January 31, 2010 10:40:45 AM

I forgot something...I'll also need a dvd drive:

DVD-RW Intern Sata Zwart SAMSUNG 22X Writer Bulk SH-S223C ( Nero kan u terugvinden in de categorie software )

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tomvertommen

January 31, 2010 12:00:37 PM

After comparing some prices and considering the fact the i3 comes with a build in gpu(wich I wouldn't need), I am starting to think AMD would give me better value for the money.

I put together a new list:

AMD Athlon II X2 250

ASUS M4N78

ANTEC NSK4000 II Black en Silver

MSI R4850-2D512-OC Radeon R4850 512MB DDR3, Clock Rate 640Mhz, Memory Clock 1.986 GHz
or
MSI R4650-MD1G Radeon R4650 600Mhz Core, 1024MB 1000Mhz GDDR2

CORSAIR 2GB Kit (2 x 1GB) 800Mhz DDR2 5-5-5-12 Mainstream XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400G

CORSAIR VX450W

I still have an old CD-RW drive lying around(Lite-On LTR-40125S) and an old 80GB hard disk(Maxtor 6L080P0) which I intend to use.

Am I right thinking AMD is the way to go in this case ?

If I put the Ati 4850 in this system instead of the 4650, will it make a serious gaming performance improvement ? Will the system hold the 4850 back in such a way it makes more sence to use the cheaper 4650 ?

How does this system compare to the previous system I layed out when looking at gaming performance and office tasks performance ?

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