help in first PC Build

[XwolborgX]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: TBA xD

BUDGET RANGE: $1000 Before / After Rebates(better with rebates)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS
*RAM,HDD and Optical Drive maybe not necessary cuz i have a Pc right now and i can use those.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com. ncix.com <-i dont know this website but if they have rebates good xD

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Texas,USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Mm well i dont know about this because it's my first build xD so I dont know how they perform just looking reviews but reading and all ASUS, Biostar, HIS, EVGA, Cool Master, ThermalTake, etc (in other words the "famous" companies xD)

OVERCLOCKING: No / Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No / Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1336x1215(i think is my monitor max resolution or so)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Hello all Im new in the "world" of PC building Im looking to buy a "mid-range" or so PC(i play games but not THAT high end games, I play Perfect World, Left 4 Dead, Starcraft 2, etc).
Right now I dont know how much im going to able to spend maybe $500-1000, in other words a im looking for a budget pc.
Ok here are the parts i found and i saw in some reviews they are good so here we go:

On all parts im open to new suggestions, o and by the way the parts im going to write are almost or the same price on tigerdirect and newegg but i dont know which one would you recommend also.


1.-Motherboard
ASUS M4A785-M Motherboard - AMD 785G Socket, AM2+, MicroATX, HDMI, USB 2.0, PCIe
I found this mother board and I think is good for it's SB710 Chipset that goes with the CPU below.

2.-CPU
Well like i said above i need a budget pc but at the same time a little fast CPU.
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor HDX550WFGMBOX

3.-PSU
The power supply I think that I don't need alot of power for a midrange pc:
OCZ ModXStream Pro Power Supply - 600-Watt, Modular, Dual +12V Rails, SATA, 80Plus

4.-CPU Fan:
Ok i researched into this because I want my CPU not to overheat or be hot so i found this 2 Fans.

*CPU fan 1:
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm Ceramic CPU Cooler

*CPU fan 2:
ZALMAN 9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

5.-The famous Video Card or Graphic Card or GPU or "the-hardest-to-find card" xD:
Ok this is the most tire process I ever done.
Find a good,cheap or "in-budget", Cool and not so power consuming GPU(I know maybe im asking alot xD).
I found this one but Im not THAT sure if i should get it.
I also view TONS of reviews to look if the 9800GT, 9800GTX, 9800GTX+, GT240, GTS250, HD 4670, HD 4870, HD 4850, HD 5770, etc....and I can't find one suitable or I view bad reviews about the cards so I got hopeless.

GPU Card(but i think its not the best one for a budget mid range pc):
HIS H467QR1GH Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

And the last thing that without it you can get in the pieces xD
Case:
i found this sweet sweet case that i found yesterday and its really cheap and cool. It's the thermaltake V3:
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case - ATX, Micro ATX, 120mm LED Fan, 4x 5.25 Bays, 5x 3.5 Bays

 

[XwolborgX]

No one can help me? The post was seen like 20+ times and no reply? ...=/

 

[dndhatcher]

People only check the forums usually once or twice a day. You wont get a response within minutes.

Your motherboard is a really bad choice. Its an AM2+. You want to look for an AM3 socket motherboard.

You didnt include RAM.

For a self built low end gaming system you should expect the following expense.
Motherboard ($75-100)
CPU ($50-$100)
Case($50)
PSU ($50-75)
RAM ($100)
OS ($100)
Graphics card ($70 is bare minimum, $150+ is where you get into the better graphics cards.)

Adding a graphics card to a pre-built was a decent option a couple years ago, but now graphics cards need stronger power supplies than are generally in pre-builts. To make a decent gaming machine you often have to replace the cheap PSU to have enough power for the graphics card, which increases the expense.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Frankly, you're putting together a horrible build. Here's some much better options. I'll even include a new 1080p monitor.

CPU/Mobo: X3 440 and Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 $208
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $93 with promo
GPU: HD 5850 $270
HDD/PSU: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB and Corsair 650W $125 after rebate
Case/Optical: Coolermaster 690 and cheap SATA DVD burner $73
Monitor: Asus 23.6" 1080p $180 after rebate

Total: $949

Or a cheaper one without the monitor:

CPU/GPU: X3 440 and HD 5770 $198 after rebate
Mobo: ASRock 870 Extreme3 $90
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $93 with promo
HDD/PSU: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB and Corsair 650W $125 after rebate
Case/Optical: Coolermaster 690 and cheap SATA DVD burner $73

Total: $579

Throw in the Sycthe SCMG-2100 for $40 if you want to do some overclocking.

 

[XwolborgX]

I liked the cheaper one xD. Well I thought it was good xD but anyways.
The monitor i have an LCD 20" monitor and the ram i have 3GB of DDR2(1GB and 2GB).
I also liked the combos I didnt thought and saw them. Mostly the CPU/GPU. but one question the HD 5770 is good for some high end games like BF: bad company 2 or COD4:MW2? in maybe a resolution of 1366x1280(or so Im not in my house right now to tell you the the max resolution of my monitor)? well i liked all the Combos on the cheaper one well its almost the same as the first one without the Monitor.
Also I have a HDD 320GB and optical of my current pc(i bought it on walmart=Prebuilt=crap...) when i get home in like 10 minutes I post which one is my HDD and optical.
And just one thing I raise the budget just to people could answer because i thought the budget i inicially had was to low(I had my budget $300-$500) but I dont have that up to $1000 im not that rich xD.

 

[dndhatcher]

BFBC2 uses more CPU than most games, its not as graphics card intensive.

I played the COD:MW demo at 1920x1080 with a 5770 at high settings (not very high).

the next step up from the 5770 is an Nvidia 460 1GB at around $230. Its nearly as good as a 5850.

 

[MadAdmiral]

$300 is really way to low to get anything that can play at any kind of game at any resolution.

The 5770 definitely can handle everything at lower resolutions.

I'm not a huge fan of the GTX 460. It isn't as powerful as the 5850 (it's actually more like the 5830), which puts it in a strange position of being too expensive for gaming at lower resolutions, but too weak for gaming at higher resolutions.

 

[dndhatcher]

I'm not a huge fan of the GTX 460. It isn't as powerful as the 5850 (it's actually more like the 5830), which puts it in a strange position of being too expensive for gaming at lower resolutions, but too weak for gaming at higher resolutions.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-gf104-fermi,2684.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3810/nvidias-geforce-gtx-460-part-2-the-vendor-cards/1
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3809/nvidias-geforce-gtx-460-the-200-king/1
The 460 768MB runs the same as a 5830 and is in a tie at $200. The 460 1GB is a bit faster, occasionally beating the 5850. It also seems to overclock and SLI better than a 5830 or 5850.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-radeon-hd-5570-gaming,2697-4.html
Between the 470 from above and 460 1GB below, the 5850 didnt even even get an honorable mention in Toms "best CPUs for the money" list for August.

Also factor in Nvidia's more reliable driver history and the 5850 just isn't the top choice anymore.

 

[Cs342]

Don't get the 4670, just buy a GTX 460 768MB. I'm using one now and it runs everything perfectly. You should also get a quad-core processor for better performance but that's up to you, the important part is to invest more cash into your GPU than your CPU because the graphics card does most of the work when you're gaming. That being said, I recommend getting at least a dual-core processor so you don't end up with a bottlenecked system (the CPU being too slow to match the GPU or vice-versa).

You can probably keep your optical drives and your hard drives, unless you're running out of free space or want to switch to a BluRay player.

 

[MadAdmiral]

@dndhatcher: I think you're looking at those benchmarks wrong. The 5830 and the 460 1 GB are basically neck and neck at stock, but the 5850 is a lot better. The only exception to that is the benchmark for Dirt 2, and even then all the cards are well over the maximum FPS you'd need. OC performance isn't guaranteed, so I don't typically count it.

I know the best GPUs for the Money may not have mentioned it, but considering you can get a 5850 by itself (no combos) for only $270 (the 460 1 GB is $230) and I know of at least four $30-40 off combos for the 5850 (which just weren't that useful for this build), you get more performance for the money with the 5850. The 460 just isn't that good by itself. Besides, the best GPU for this budget range was actually dual 5770s, which leads to a slight issue: Tom's didn't include a single card solution. onsidering that when a dual card solution is chosen, they always include a single card as well, I think the 5850 oversight was a big mistake in the article. They didn't for the $270 range, which goes against what they have been doing in the past. I have no arguments against the 460 in SLI, other than the fact that it doesn't have an upgrade path.

I don't consider driver history at all. Hell, the month before Fermi was released, nVidia had a driver update that actually DESTROYED your computer. I'm not saying it handicapped the build, I mean it actually burnt up parts and physically mangled builds to the point were they were irreparable, and there was absolutely nothing you could do to stop it (besides avoid the drivers). If I recall right, it even took nVidia a week or so to stop offering them on their website. I don't call that reliable. Besides, ATI's shaky drivers are almost entirely in their pre-AMD ownership days. The past is the past. We're talking about the present day.

@cs342: Quad cores actually don't do anything for gaming. Tom's did a study comparing the benefit from adding another core for gaming. They found a massive jump in performance with the second and third core, but there was actually a slight decrease when adding the fourth. The 440 is a massively powerful gaming CPU for the money. In fact, the only AMD CPUs I would recommend for a gaming build are the X3 440 and the X4 955. Everything between them is a waste of money.

 

[Cs342]

@dndhatcher:

@cs342: Quad cores actually don't do anything for gaming. Tom's did a study comparing the benefit from adding another core for gaming. They found a massive jump in performance with the second and third core, but there was actually a slight decrease when adding the fourth. The 440 is a massively powerful gaming CPU for the money. In fact, the only AMD CPUs I would recommend for a gaming build are the X3 440 and the X4 955. Everything between them is a waste of money.

Sorry for the confusion, by quad core I meant a Core i5 from Intel, I forgot you wanted AMD, my bad. But I really never knew that quad cores decreased gaming performance! Would you happen to have the link to that article? I would really like to read it. Thanks!

 

[MadAdmiral]

I don't have it off hand. Just go through the search on the articles. I think it was called something like "how many cores do you need".

Even the i5 isn't a great idea. Intel is replacing their current sockets by the end of the year, which means at that point all of their current CPUs will be obsolete and not have an upgrade path.

Besides, gaming performance is not dependent on the CPU. It's driven by the GPU. While there are benchmarks that show drastic differences, most of them are obtained at settings that don't mirror what you'd want to play at in the real world. The differences shown are obtained through handicapping the build in order to have significant differences between the different units.

Given that the i5 and a P55 board is a good $200 more expensive than the X3 440 (and $100 more than the similar X4 955), that's a huge amount of money to spend when you don't get much from it. You'd do better to spend that extra money on getting a bigger GPU.

 

[Cs342]

I guess that's true, but right now I have a GTX 460 768MB and an Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 CPU. My games don't seem to be running as fast as other 460 users tell me, so I'm wondering if this is due to a CPU bottleneck?? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[MadAdmiral]

It depends on what games you're running, what resolution you're playing at, what settings you're turning on and many other factors. Your CPU certainly is fast enough to not be causing a bottleneck for most games, so it could be some other factor.

Keep in mind that there are two 460s out there, the 768 MB and the 1 GB. Generally, when people just say the GTX 460, they mean the bigger one. The difference between the two is actually fairly large, so that could be it as well.

Also, I don't tend to believe anything anyone says about the performance they get. People lie, especially when trying to save face regarding something they care about.

 

[dndhatcher]

If the game you are comparing is BFBC2 then even just replacing your core2duo with a core2quad should make a significant difference. Maybe you dont need to buy a whole new system. Its one of the few games that use lots of cores.

Also like MadAd said, if they have the 460 with 1GB RAM, they are going to be noticeably faster.

 

[XwolborgX]

So should I buy 460? or 5770? I got confused

 

[MadAdmiral]

It kind of depends. The 5770 is a lot cheaper (around $100, depending on the current deals), yet you won't notice a performance difference at lower resolutions (under 1080p). Neither card can really play at high resolutions well, so that's a strike against the 460. If you are able to add a second card in SLI or Crossfire later (i.e. your board has 8x/8x speeds and your PSU is at least a 650W unit), the 460 scales a lot better in SLI than the 5770 in Crossfire. Of course, you'll pay almost double for the 460 SLI than the 5770 Crossfire.

Another question is if you only game on the machine. nVidia cards are a lot more powerful when used for other applications besides gaming. If your doing any rendering, video/photo editing and other tasks, nVidia is going to give you a big performance boost over ATI.

I tend to lean heavily towards ATI's cards. The 460 is the only nVidia card worth any money, and it only really shines in dual card setups. I generally recommend that unless you're doing a lot of the non-gaming activities, you should go with ATI.

 

[XwolborgX]

Best answer selected by XwolborgX.