New Gaming/College PC $550-$700 MAX (First Build)

[eiz]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE:ASAP

BUDGET RANGE: 550-700 including shipping and rebates.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (SC2/WoW/HoN), Browsing Internet, Microsoft Office (Word/PPT), Watching Movies/Tv shows

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: OS and Monitor (22inch Acer)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com Amazon.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Only thing I want 100% is a QuadCore Processor

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe (if budget can allow)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Lots of cooling power.

This is what i have come up with so far, note this is my First Build ever. I would Greatly appreciate any and all help I can get.

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363


Combo Case / DVD burner

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support - OEM

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.435629

Combo Mobo/ Processor

GIGABYTE GA-870A-UD3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128443

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871

Combo Power / Ram

Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

Total price including shipping, tax, rebates, and promos is $679.04

 

[TomMario]

Hello Eiz

CPU+GPU:SAPPHIRE Vapor-X HD 5770 + AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
HD5770 for quietness and efficiency+runs cool+Slight OC+DX11 ||| 955 for BE+Very Fast+Easy to install+easy to overclock.

Case+Optical:Antec 300 + SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model
Classic case with good airflow and cable management support.

HDD:SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3
Fast seq R/W speeds+Operates very quietly

Memory:G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB
Fast+Overclocked to 1600 with no problem+Great price

PSU:COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power RS600
Does the job and it is a future PSU in case you want to Xfire that HD 5770

Mobo:ASRock 870 EXTREME3
Turbo UCC, True 333: USB 3.0, SATA3, eSATA3+X8 X8 pcie with crossfire+great price


Total price including rebates, and promos is $680.88 -> Add 50$ more and you can get the better SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 + HSF:Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus

 

[eiz]

Thanks for the reply TomMario

After doing a bit more research I came up with this:

HDD:
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

Processor:
AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor ADX620WFGIBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103706

Case / Dvd Burner Combo:
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

Videocard/Mobo combo:
MSI R5770 Hawk Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127490

MSI 870A-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130275

Memory / PSU Combo:

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030

Total is $684 with rebates/ shipping

I changed the Videocard because the one I had posted previously had lower ratings compared to the one in this build. I also am under the impression that the videocard and processor are the two areas where I want to spend most of my cash. I also like the memory/psu combo better than the one you posted TomMario.

Would you, or anyone else looking at this thread be able to explain why you chose the parts you did and why (if at all) your set up better then mine.

I appreciate all the help I can get

 

[batuchka]

$660AR, less $20 if u swap F3 1TB with F3 500GB ^^

 

[dbq12]

bro, dont use a Athlon II X4, its not as good as a Phenom look at batuchka recommendations

or......

(click on the pic to see the parts)
The GTX 460 is a very powerful graphic card that has the best bang for the buck. It is conveniently price at 200-230 dollars and out performs its ATI rival - the 5830. It is about 20 dollars cheaper than it. You cannot go wrong with it. (If you don't believe me, look at the reviews for the card - GTX 460)

The Phenom II X4 955 is a much more powerful cpu than The Athlon II X4. The Phenom II has L3 cache whereas the Athlon does not. This give an overall better performance in games and so forth. Keep in mind that the Athlon II X4 is for budget gamers, and since you have the money, buy the Phenom II X4 - its worth it.

All that and a better PSU, a more storage (1 tb vs 500gb) and the same price as yours ($677 without rebates), (no offense but....) you should take the parts me or Batuchka recommends, it better that your parts.

sry for coming off like a dick

 

[TomMario]

1st you would want the fastest HDD you can get in your budget and that's the Spinpoint F3 1TB since it's only 20$ more then the Caviar Blue and way faster, if you are not convinced yet here are some reviews for the 1TB one here and if you really want a 500GB one here are some reviews for them here( The better one here is the 500GB WD Caviar Black)
2nd the GPU you can get a DX11 GPU in the budget so you wan't to chose from the HD 5770 and the better GTX 460 which is 30-40$ more but also eats more power then the HD 5770.If you want the HD 5770 i would recommend MSI, XFX or SAPPHIRE Vapor-X if not you can go for the GTX 460 but you wouldn't be a ble to SLI it in the future as you use a AMD 800 chipset.
3rd the PSU i chosed is to assure you a safe Xfire in the future with the HD 5770(you only need a good 500W for 1 card only) but if you decide you like the GTX 460 more i recommend a good quality 550W PSU for only 1 card.( CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ).
4th the mobo is chosed is the AsRock 870 Extreme 3 for the great features, price and the CrossFire-friendly slot layout(x8/x8).I think but not sure that this is the only 870 with that Xfire layout.If you by chance go with the GTX 460 then you can change the mobo to your MSI 870A-G54 AM3
5th the memory i chosed are DDR3 1333MHz because( i can't second this statement) the Mobo will downclock the 1600MHz one to 1333MHz and you will need to Overclock it back to 1600MHz the same thing you can do with the memory i chosed for a few $ less.

 

[eiz]

Question for dbq12 and batuchka:

Would I need to overclock the videocard and other parts?


Thanks for the replys from all of you, im hoping to figure out my final build within the next few days, i want a new pc soo bad !!!

 

[batuchka]

It's an open open to the future but not a must