$600 Office Productivity Build

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: In one week
BUDGET RANGE: $550 - $650 Including shipping and rebates
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Surfing the internet, Microsoft Office, Watching YouTube, Watching DVDs, World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2 (eventually)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US
PARTS PREFERENCES: None
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, but if so, not by very much
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I will try to unlock the other two cores on the Phenom II X2. I will use Windows 7 x64, and I am going to move the Program Files, Users, and ProgramData directories off of my SSD using hard links, but Microsoft Office, Firefox, and Skype will be installed on the SSD.


CPU: AMD Phenom II X2
Motherboard: Asus M4A785-M (Motherboard+CPU Combo 139.98)
Memory: OCZ Platinum 2x2GB DDR2 1066 (109.99 - 30.00 MiR)
GPU: Asus GT 240 512MB GDDR5 (99.99 - 20.00 MiR)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 30 GB(139.99-20.00 MiR)
HDD: WD Black 750 GB (79.99)
ODD: LG DVD Burner
PS: OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W Modular 80 Plus (PSU+DVD Combo 75.98 - 25.00 MiR)
Case: APEX TX-381-C (24.99)
Misc:SATA II Cable (1.99)

Subtotal: $680.89
Shipping: $29.85
Mail-in-Rebate: $95.00
--------------------------
Total: $615.74

Any advice or notes that anyone has about this build would be greatly appreciated! I'm not terribly into gaming, and I don't mind playing WoW and SC2 on medium settings. I've heard that adding an SSD is one of the most dramatic performance increases that a consumer will see these days. Do you guys think it's worth it here?

(I also want to make sure that I will be able to build the system, buying exactly the above components. I think I need the additional SATA II cable, since the Mobo only comes with two. I don't think I need anything else, but I might be mistaken.)

No, SSD is for a big budget. A 30GB Vertex sets you back $130-ish. If the budget is $1500-ish for semi-office/gaming pc, then yes.

The specs look good.

For office apps, the cheaper Athlon II line is the Phenom's equal. The new Athlon 635 should do the trick, at a lower cost.

The Samsung Spinpoint F3 (500GB or 1TB) is A LOT faster than the WD.

I'd get a case by a better quality brand like Antec if I were you. Take a look at their NSK series with built in PSU. Affordable and of very high quality.

The 4870 is also $45 more expensive and consumes more power than the 5750. I'm only going to play games infrequently on this computer, and even when I do, they will should not be particularly graphics intensive. (Think WoW, PopCap games, Braid, etc.)

Silmarunya, you're right about that Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB being better. Thanks!

Thank you for the suggestions, Gnome. I have to say, though, that I'm not keen on the idea of moving to DDR3 because the marginal benefit doesn't appear to justify the cost. Your Motherboard+CPU+Memory combination comes to $299.84, while the Motherboard+CPU+Memory I posted earlier totals $276.97 and has a noticeably better CPU at the expense of marginally slower RAM. Maybe I'm mistaken, and please correct me if I am, but I don't think that the $23 extra for that part of the build is justified.

You're probably right about the 5750 struggling on WoW at 1920x1200 resolution. I need to research and think about this part of the build a little more. I can't seem to find any benchmarks of WoW for any of these cards: I guess WoW just considered too low-end graphically.

I would also really like to keep the budget under $600 shipped.

The $23 difference is not due to the RAM, unless you actually expect to receive that MIR. Also, if this is an office build, you won't notice the difference between the CPUs.
The mobo I suggested has SATA III and USB 3.0, which I think you will come to appreciate, despite the higher cost.

The only way you'll keep this under $600 is if you remove the gaming aspect (meaning the GPU), and get a mobo with integrated graphics:
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO/U3S6 AM3 AMD 785G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131627
$119.99

The onboard HD 4200 on that board @ stock will be fine for PopCap games and Braid, but not for WoW/Starcraft 2. I've heard that the core clock can be OC'ed 100%, though at the same time you shouldn't expect too much.

What do you expect the lifespan of this build to be?

If you intend to build a new box in 2 years, then stick with DDR2. If you're the kind of person that likes to build a new computer every couple of years, there's no reason to switch to DDR3 yet, if you're budget-oriented.

If, instead, you expect to upgrade anything other than the GPU in order to extend the life of the box to 3-5 years, I highly suggest you reconsider your mobo/RAM combo and go with an AM3 board and DDR3. While the performance gains going from DDR2 to DDR3 may be negligible, you do add a lot in terms of future-proofing your build.

5770 for $130!
512MB version but $40 less.

http://promotions.newegg.com/NEema [...] -O100#O100