Gaming Build Help (complete now)

[willmalcom]

Hello all,

I am new to this community and am putting together a gaming build, and need a little bit of help.
My utmost concern is having a modular system with room to upgrade over the next year to year and a half. I'm trying to keep my budget between 600 - 700$

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This Month


BUDGET RANGE: 600 - 700 Before or After, doesn't matter

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: MODULAR easy upgrades!, Gaming, Inet

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, speakers, monitor, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg, etc

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: usa


PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD, Budget

OVERCLOCKING: Nope

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Xfire probably? Unsure

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Doesn't matter

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: MOBO is the real key here I think, IDK. As I stated, having a modular system is of the utmost importance.



Here is what I have so far:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 530 2.8ghz 45nm AM3 2MB cache

CPU Fan: AMD black edition copper heat pipe, extra quiet

MOBO: ??? Here is where I really need help. I want to have something that I can easily upgrade without going too far over my budget. I was thinking of:

ASUS m4A785TD-V, AMD 785G, Xfire, Onboard Vid, HDMI, GB, Lan, IEEE
Am I spending money needlessly here? What should I do?

RAM: 2GB PC 8500 DDR3, 1066 Dual Chan (will upgrade later)

GPU: Radeon 4350 1gb PCIE. Will defiinitely upgrade ASAP. Can I save some $ here given that I will upgrade anyway. Currently I only play Day of Defeat Source (Competitively), but the game is about to die. I am only getting 20 or so FPS on texture maps, and I really need more (I'm on an OLD Pent IV with an OLD video card)

Hardrive: I just need something cheap for the time being to support my DODs, I will upgrade later. What is my cheapest route?

Optical drive: Cheapest I can find, will upgrade later. Suggestions?

Cases: Cooler Master Elite 310, black. Would prefer a cube case though. I don't mind spending $$ on an easily accessible case, etc since upgrades are a main concern.

Fan: Dual case fans 15 dollar range.

Power Supply: Given that I am going to upgrade, what should I go with here?

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!!!

 

[saint19]

Hi newcomer and welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

CPU $ 95.99 Here
MOBO $ 139.99 Here
RAM $ 114.99 Here
GPU $ 169.99 Here
HDD $ 54.99 Here
Combo CASE + PSU $ 124.98 Here

Total: $ 700,93 + MIR + SHIPPING.

 

[willmalcom]

TY kind sir, how far can I take this MoBo? Also, I was interested in a cube case.
What would be the cons of say this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133044&cm_re=cube_case-_-11-133-044-_-Product

Would there be advantages of having a different powersupply?

And also, what would be the disadvantages of using this motherboard instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138181
I'm guessing I should go with what you suggested if I want to be able to upgrade?

 

[saint19]

Well,

1- The case only support m-ATX and m-ITX, so, the mobo that I suggest to you can't fit in that case.

2- The mobo lokks good, but doesn't support Crossfire, that as you say, maybe you want do it.

 

[willmalcom]

Thanks once again! In the interest of having a modular system, it appears that maybe it would be better to stay away from the cube and follow the build that you suggested. Knowing that a modular system is my 1st priority, is what you suggested the way to go?

 

[saint19]

Yeah, the mind tower is the minimun that you need for a good airflow in your rig.

 

[willmalcom]

OK here is what I am looking into: Compatibility issues?

PSU & CASE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.325697

OR: IS the PSU in this case Xfire compatible?!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156209

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128416

Along with everything else you already mentioned. My main ? is whether or not that PSU is Xfire compatible?

 

[willmalcom]

Best answer selected by WillMalcom.

 

[saint19]

OK here is what I am looking into: Compatibility issues?

PSU & CASE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.325697

OR: IS the PSU in this case Xfire compatible?!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156209

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128416

Along with everything else you already mentioned. My main ? is whether or not that PSU is Xfire compatible?

In the case that you wany buy the case and the PSU individually, these are very good options.

1- Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion

2- PSU: Antec 650W

 

[willmalcom]

Thank you for all your help! Appreciated! Sorry I chose the wrong best answer, i meant to choose yours, but I selected the wrong one :/ thanks though!

Here is what I ordered:



CASE
PSU
GPU
CPU
MOBO
HDD
RAM

Also, got this MONITOR

How does it look?