Overkill no doubt???

[ribby_1310]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP... I have an itchy trigger finger!

BUDGET RANGE: ~$700... forget rebates, I hardly ever seem to get them. Give me the combo/instant credit!

SYSTEM USAGE: Gaming (specifically Battlefield: BC2), surfing the internet, Youtube, DL'ing movies, charging phone/iTouch

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Everglide KB, MS opt mouse, monitor, speakers/headphones, Windoze XP

PREFERRED WEBSITE FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Texas

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD CPU, ASUS/Gigabyte mobo, Antec Illusion Case

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe (recently learned how to root Android, OC'ing can't be THAT hard right? LOL)

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe (would have to wait for Santa to bring me another card to go with what I get)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Replacing my old ASUS Crosshair/AMD2 4200+ that Oncor fried when they replaced our old meter w/ a "Smart" meter

Although I thoroughly castigated Oncor for (possibly) being the cause of my fried mobo I'm silently cheering b/c I needed a reason to upgrade. W00t... here it is!! Being a complete n00b however I've had to rely on the advice of the guys at Fry's (who built my last system in '06). I know those guys work on commission and can see my eyes light up when they explain all the bells and whistles of mobo's and such but I recently found this place and figured I'd see if I could illicit some advice/suggestions to keep my costs in check for what I need. I basically would like something that I can game with maxed out and stay ahead of the curve technologically (if that's possible these days).

This is what I've pieced together so far from the advice I've gotten from the guys at Fry's and checking out Newegg. After looking around here I suspect the mobo is overkill for my needs however and can probably save a little there. I would like to see what else may be interchangable and possibly free up some money to replace the 4650 card from my old system. Anyway, this is what i've got so far:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=20052028

GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
CORSAIR 650HX 650W PSU
ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW
Antec Three Hundred Illusion

Thanks in advance for your time and any suggestions you may offer.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Get the Phenom II 955. You can overclock it to 965 specs with stock cooling with no problems.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

That power supply is massive overkill. Actually looking around the 650TX is on sale for less than the 550 I was going to recommend. This will power any single graphics card out there and most Sli/Crossfire setups. Corsair rebates work fine. I have used dozens.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

This motherboard save a few $$ and still gives you the same basic features including SATA 6/USB 3.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128438

I would add Windows 7 x64 myself. It blows XP away and you would need a 64bit OS to make use of 4GB of RAM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754&cm_re=windows_7_home_premium_oem-_-32-116-754-_-Product

The Antec 300 Illusion is my favorite case in the price range. The RAM is fine. Save some cash and add a HD5850 or GTX460 when you can spend the money and you will have a pretty good gaming computer.

 

[4745454b]

Your build with the adjustments looks good. Not sure how much of the budget you've used there, how much is left for video? If you have $200, then the GTX460 is a good card. Not sure how well the 5770 will hold up at 1080.

 

[batuchka]

A suggested $649AR config ^^

 

[ribby_1310]

Thanks a million for all the suggestions guys. Pulled the trigger last night. Minor changes to my list. Threw in some Actic Silver 5. Went with the Corsair 650TX to save a little money. I liked the thought of a modular PSU but at the end of the day the TX was more cost effective. The price was right after the discounts and rebate. 12 months no interest... sweet!

Going to consider picking up the 460 w/in the next month or so. I think I can swing that. Would it be to my benefit to consider a better HSF? Anort mentioned I could OC to 965 specs. One, do I really need to OC if my main use at this point is to run BF:BC2? Two, is the stock HSF w/ 4 case fans running enough? I have another 120mm fan I can add to the side of the Antec 300. That would be 5 case fans.

Again, the response was much appreciated! No buyers remorse whatsoever today!

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Look around for a Coolermaster Hyper 212 for a really good HSF for a great price. I do not have time to check around for the cheapest price but it should be around $30...Maybe Amazon was cheaper than newegg last I looked?

You can overclock a bit with stock cooling but you will need a better one to get the most "bang" out of any CPU.

If you have a decent fan you want to add to the side of the 300 Illusion then go for it. I have a side fan on my 1200 and the extra internal one for a total of 7 x 120mm and the top 200mm and the 120mm on my HSF and the 140mm on my PSU and the one on the GPU..........lol. You can never have too much cooling.

 

[ribby_1310]

Build is complete and up and running like a champ!!!

What I ended up purchasing from Newegg:

-- GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3 (originally considered the FXA but for the price and my needs the GPA seemed ok)

-- AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition (originally considered the 965 but will learn to OC and try to hit ~965 specs)

-- G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 PC3 10666

-- CORSAIR 650TX 650W PSU (originally considered the HX but went TX to save a little)

-- ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW

-- Antec Three Hundred Illusion

Added a Cooler Master n520 HSF which I picked up at Fry's. Considered the CM 212+ but was concerned about the Ripjaws not fitting due to the fan. The n520 is a perfect fit and should suit my needs as I don't expect any extreme OC'ing. Easy access to the 1st 2 DIMM slots. No sweat there.

Only thing I feel I should've done differently is stick with the 650HX (modular) PSU. The 650TX is awesome but ALOT of cables/connectors I don't/won't ever need. No biggie though. It just took me a little extra time with cable management.

Will be replacing the 4650 from my old machine with a 460GTX soon. Otherwise, I'm good to go.

Let me say that I never thought I was capable of building my own machine. However, after reading through the forums here and watching numerous Youtube videos I decided to give it a shot. Best decision I ever made. Not only was it super easy to do but I actually enjoyed the sh#t of it! From unboxing to booting up after installing Windows 7 it took about 5 hours (would've taken less time but I originally installed the HSF upside down. D'oh!).

Anyway, many thanks to those who responded w/ suggestions as well as tomsharadware forums for all the priceless info!

Cheers!!!

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Good for you and congratulations! Feels pretty good when someone asks you what kind of computer you have and you can say "Oh it's one I built myself."