What would you change in this build?

[jayneo8]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week
BUDGET RANGE: around 1k... plus or minus a few hundred would not be a problem
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: basic usage (unzipping large files), torrents, MATLAB, watching HD video, streaming movies/media from the internet, CAD work, gaming (starcraft 2, diablo 3, gamecube emulation)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com
PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD Phenom II X4
OVERCLOCKING: Absolutely
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Absolutely not
MONITOR RESOLUTION: As large as possible
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I do not need to spend money on parts and upgrades I will not use such as an amazing video card. Also, I plan on upgrading to SSD later when the price is right. I know there are many people who are big fans of specific brands, please do not suggest something to me purely because of the brand. Thanks!



HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
$90

MEMORY: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193
$105

CPU:AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674
* I plan on overclocking this
$161

VIDEO: SAPPHIRE 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102871
$90

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128419
$95

MONITOR: ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049
$230

CASE: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068
$50

POWER: COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-460-PMSR-A3 460W ATX12V V2.3 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171028
$35

DVD DRIVE: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335
$32

WIFI: AZiO AWD102N IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI Wireless Adapter Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates WPA/WPA2; 64/128-bit WEP; TKIP/AES
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833340013
$25

CPU COOLING: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125
$28

MEM CARD READER: SUPER TALENT INTAIN1MCR All-in-one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609298
$10

TOTAL: $953


Thanks for the help!

 

[lauxenburg]

Get rid of the power supply. Yucky quality although its cheap.

450W will probably power the system fine but it might have to work alot to do so, and therefore the PSU will be pretty loud trying to deliver power. I'd recommend atleast 550-605W for this kind of system and it will give you plenty of head room for future upgrades and add-ons. Now although your system will probably never go over 300W at any time, this keeps the volume level down quite a bit and keeps the PSU nice and cool.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207002

 

[joshc123]

Yeah don't get Cooler Master power supplys'.

 

[jayneo8]

Get rid of the power supply. Yucky quality although its cheap.

450W will probably power the system fine but it might have to work alot to do so, and therefore the PSU will be pretty loud trying to deliver power. I'd recommend atleast 550-605W for this kind of system and it will give you plenty of head room for future upgrades and add-ons. Now although your system will probably never go over 300W at any time, this keeps the volume level down quite a bit and keeps the PSU nice and cool.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207002

Although I do understand your reasoning with keeping it open for upgrades and noise level I do not believe it would be worth that amount of money. Seems like complete overkill to me. I used this calculator and it suggested I get a PSU capable of 266W. I highly doubt I will be upgrading to components that will come close to the specs listed in that PSU.

What do you think of this PSU? It's 500W and a reasonable price. At 500W that will leave me with ~250W of wiggle room. I also like the %87 efficiency VERY much. If its that efficient it shouldn't really get too hot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339031

 

[joshc123]

Calculators are not totally accurate and the PSU may blow your whole pc up, so get a decent one. Also the hec one you listed is just as bad, so at least just get a decent PSU with 500w (antec, seasonic etc).

 

[jayneo8]

Calculators are not totally accurate and the PSU may blow your whole pc up, so get a decent one. Also the hec one you listed is just as bad, so at least just get a decent PSU with 500w (antec, seasonic etc).

How bout this one? 550W, %85 efficiency, Antec, modular cables, great reviews

Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

 

[joshc123]

That is much better .

 

[Silvune]

I know you said not to recommend based on brands, however in terms of power supplies you are much more likely to get a good quality unit, even if you look at nothing else beyond brand. The other thing to go on is professional reviews.
I doubt you will find one for that hec, if you can and they approve it, then go ahead, otherwise I think you are more likely to find good reviews for this one: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC $55, free shipping & $15 rebate. As you can see it is cheaper due to no shipping charge, and even more so if you go for the rebate. It also has higher efficiency.
I make your maximum power load to be around what that calculator said.

 

[jayneo8]

I know you said not to recommend based on brands, however in terms of power supplies you are much more likely to get a good quality unit, even if you look at nothing else beyond brand. The other thing to go on is professional reviews.
I doubt you will find one for that hec, if you can and they approve it, then go ahead, otherwise I think you are more likely to find good reviews for this one: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC $55, free shipping & $15 rebate. As you can see it is cheaper due to no shipping charge, and even more so if you go for the rebate. It also has higher efficiency.
I make your maximum power load to be around what that calculator said.

After reading more and more I've decided that many people tend to agree that you shouldnt cheap out on the PSU. I'll go with the one you have above or possibly another Antec. Thanks for the advice.

Anything else?

 

[Silvune]

I tend to think that the Arctic Cooler you linked is meant for a much older generation of CPUs. Maybe it's perfectly fine, but an oft recommended heatsink on here is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, I have seen comparisons where it was amongst the best and it isn't too much more expensive than the Arctic Cooler, so I think you should check it out, or confirm that the Arctic Cooler is still a good performer.

 

[jayneo8]

I tend to think that the Arctic Cooler you linked is meant for a much older generation of CPUs. Maybe it's perfectly fine, but an oft recommended heatsink on here is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, I have seen comparisons where it was amongst the best and it isn't too much more expensive than the Arctic Cooler, so I think you should check it out, or confirm that the Arctic Cooler is still a good performer.

They both seem to be similar but I will switch to the one you listed as it is definitely meant more for the AM3 socket.

 

[jayneo8]

If i use a good DVI monitor as my primary would I be able to plug in a VGA monitor into the port on my video card and use BOTH monitors to expand my desktop? I'm having a really hard time finding that answer. I do not want to duplicate my desktop on both screens, I want the VGA one hooked up to stream live sports as I wont have cable TV.

 

[Silvune]

Yes you can extend your desktop onto the second monitor, rather than just duplicate it. I believe that the drivers/catalyst control centre for the 5000 series make this really easy.

 

[logan the huge]

The 955 BE you have listed is the older C2 stepping model. You want the C3 version(runs cooler, overclocks better) which is actually a buck less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

 

[jayneo8]

The 955 BE you have listed is the older C2 stepping model. You want the C3 version(runs cooler, overclocks better) which is actually a buck less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Wow, thank you. I have this same thread on another forum and nobody noticed. THanks!