Seeking help on a new desktop

[rl168]

Hello,

Here is my request. Thanks in advance.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the month

BUDGET RANGE: ~$1200

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Web Surfing, Photoshop/Lightroom, watching movies

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard/Mouse

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: I have no preferences

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1366x768

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I found this config at a local place for about $1400. Is this a good set for my needs or should I have something different?

i7-920
MSI x58 pro-E
FSP group powermod 700
Thermalatake Element G
Win 7 ultimate 64
Power color X5850
Patriot Viper 6GB tri channel 1333Mhz
Seagate 12 series 500GB SATA2

 

[babachoo]

If you're not wanting a gaming rig, you could really come up with a rig for much less than $1200. $600 could probably get you a nice AMD based rig with a lower end gfx card. But you mention the i7-920, which I do usually tend to recommend. So how important is the i7-920 to you, or would you rather spend half the money to build something that will do what you need?

 

[MadAdmiral]

For $1,200, here's what I'd suggest:

CPU/BPU: i7-860 and HD 5770 $420 after rebate
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 $135
RAM: 2x G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $230
PSU: OCZ Z Series 550W 80+ Silver Certified $80 after rebate
Case: Antec 300 Illusion $70
HDD: Seagate 7200.12 500 GB $55
Optical: Cheap SATA DVD burner $25
OS: Win 7 Home $105 (unless you really need ultimate)

Total: $1,120.

 

[rl168]

MadAdmiral, thanks for the config.

Babachoo, what would the $600 AMD rig looks like?

 

[MadAdmiral]

About the lowest build you can get is making these changes, and it's a lot less powerful:

CPU/Mobo: X3 425 and Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $197
RAM: Only get 1 set
GPU: HD 5770 $150
HDD/PSU: Seagate 7200.12 500 GB and OCZ StealthXStream 700W $95 after rebate
Rest is the same

Total: $757 (w/ OS). You can get cheaper, by dropping the GPU to the HD 4850, but that only saves about $50.

 

[babachoo]

Babachoo, what would the $600 AMD rig looks like?

Well here's the recommended AMD budget rig...

$787.91
■CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor Model HDZ720WFK3DGI - OEM
■MOBO: ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
■RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBECO - Retail
■HSF: Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - Retail
■HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail
■GPU: XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
■DVD: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support - Retail
■Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
■Thermal Compound: Comes with heatsink.
This build will allow you to play games at mid. to max. settings at a monitor resolution of 1920x1080 or less



Or you could save some money, get a couple of better components, a more appropriate non-gaming video card, and go with this...

$637.06 (The HDD is from Amazon because Newegg is out of them, but this total includes the Amazon order which has free shipping. Shipping on the Newegg order should be around $27)


■CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor Model ADX440WFGIBOX - Retail
■MOBO: ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
■RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBECO - Retail
■HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long ... - Retail
■HDD: Samsung 500 GB SATA II Hard Drive HD502HJ
■PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail
■GPU: POWERCOLOR PCS AX4670 1GBK3-PH Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
■DVD: Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
■Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
■Thermal Compound: Comes with heatsink.

 

[rl168]

Best answer selected by rl168.

 

[rl168]

Thanks to all the folks who have helped in the past few weeks. I received my parts on Thursday and started putting everything together Friday night. Successfully booted the new pc at about 12 midnight. By 1:30am I have the OS installed and everything working. Once again, a big thank you to everyone, you guys have been really helpful. Here is my new desktop

Intel i7-920
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7T-6GBPK - Retail
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail

 

[babachoo]

Grats on the new system, I'm very happy to see you decided to go with an i7-920. I love mine, it overclocks like a monster, not to mention was easy to OC, even for a noob like myself. Enjoy the great PC, thanks for the update.