G
Guest
Guest
Hey ya'll,
I've been a Tom's frequenter for ages now, but this is my first post seeking opinions. I'm planning on doing a new build this summer, overhauling my machine that hasn't been updated since late 2006.
Here are those specs:
AMD Athlon 3700+ 64 bit
Nvidia 7600 GT 256 MB Ram
2 GB DDR 333
WD 160 GB drive + 74 GB Raptor
ABIT KN8 Mobo
Antec 550 W Truepower
Augidy 2ZS Gamer 7.1 Soundcard
Cooler Master Praetorian Black Case
Here's what I'm currently thinking:
Required:
WD Caviar Black 640 GB
ASUS EVO AM3 AMD 790X Mobo
Sapphire Radeon 4850 512 MB
G-Skill Ripjaw 4GB DDR3 1600
AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9 GHz
^ Planning on OC'ing and cooling w/ Cooler Master Hyper 212
Corsair 550W ATX 12V 2.2 80 PLUS Power Supply
Optional/Alternate:
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Case
Antec NEO ECO 400W PS
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM
LITE-ON DVD Writer
PCI Wireless card
Blu-Ray Drive
Total of the build, without optional/alternates: $630 shipped
I have a pretty firm budget of $700 for the build itself (not incl' shipping). As for the alternates, I'm thinking of just keeping my old Cooler Master Praetorian case rather than buy a new one, it's got some dents in it but it's in pretty good shape overall. I put down a alternate PS because I'm not sure if the Corsair is overkill for what I'm planning to run. SLI may happen in the future, but that's not for sure. I'm planning on keeping the ol' soundcard and my Logitech X-620 because they're serving me pretty well.
My needs for the PC are basically gaming, media (Hulu, etc), and some engineering (CAD, SolidWorks) work. Most of my basic schoolwork will probably still go through my MacBook, but more heavy duty stuff will be put to the PC. For gaming, it doesn't have to fly but I'd like to be able to run most new games at a decent resolution on my 22" widescreen monitor with respectable FPS. Right now my current system can play Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Bioshock at good rates, I'd just like to continue that trend but apply it to newer games like GTA4, Dragonage, Starcraft II, etc. If anyone sees areas that I can reduce cost reasonably, please let me know. If I'm too vague with my needs, I can also expand there.
Thanks!
I've been a Tom's frequenter for ages now, but this is my first post seeking opinions. I'm planning on doing a new build this summer, overhauling my machine that hasn't been updated since late 2006.
Here are those specs:
AMD Athlon 3700+ 64 bit
Nvidia 7600 GT 256 MB Ram
2 GB DDR 333
WD 160 GB drive + 74 GB Raptor
ABIT KN8 Mobo
Antec 550 W Truepower
Augidy 2ZS Gamer 7.1 Soundcard
Cooler Master Praetorian Black Case
Here's what I'm currently thinking:
Required:
WD Caviar Black 640 GB
ASUS EVO AM3 AMD 790X Mobo
Sapphire Radeon 4850 512 MB
G-Skill Ripjaw 4GB DDR3 1600
AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9 GHz
^ Planning on OC'ing and cooling w/ Cooler Master Hyper 212
Corsair 550W ATX 12V 2.2 80 PLUS Power Supply
Optional/Alternate:
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Case
Antec NEO ECO 400W PS
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM
LITE-ON DVD Writer
PCI Wireless card
Blu-Ray Drive
Total of the build, without optional/alternates: $630 shipped
I have a pretty firm budget of $700 for the build itself (not incl' shipping). As for the alternates, I'm thinking of just keeping my old Cooler Master Praetorian case rather than buy a new one, it's got some dents in it but it's in pretty good shape overall. I put down a alternate PS because I'm not sure if the Corsair is overkill for what I'm planning to run. SLI may happen in the future, but that's not for sure. I'm planning on keeping the ol' soundcard and my Logitech X-620 because they're serving me pretty well.
My needs for the PC are basically gaming, media (Hulu, etc), and some engineering (CAD, SolidWorks) work. Most of my basic schoolwork will probably still go through my MacBook, but more heavy duty stuff will be put to the PC. For gaming, it doesn't have to fly but I'd like to be able to run most new games at a decent resolution on my 22" widescreen monitor with respectable FPS. Right now my current system can play Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Bioshock at good rates, I'd just like to continue that trend but apply it to newer games like GTA4, Dragonage, Starcraft II, etc. If anyone sees areas that I can reduce cost reasonably, please let me know. If I'm too vague with my needs, I can also expand there.
Thanks!