Tight budget build

[vigorvermin]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: september ish

BUDGET RANGE: 300 - 400

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: multitasking, photoshop and illustrator CS5, Starcraft II, watching videos

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, monitor, speakers, PSU (I have asus earthwatts 500W), Case (Sonata III), DVD Drive

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: biz.newegg.com, or www.newegg.com whichever is cheaper. Also Tigerdirect.com and mwave.com are fine too.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD probably, for both CPU and GPU. I'd like the 445 Athlon if possible.

OVERCLOCKING: Not at first

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION:1280x1024

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Low power consumption would be awesome.

 

[Cs342]

You can definitely get the 445 Athlon, and if you want an AMD (ATI) graphics card then the Radeon HD 5770 will definitely be able to play all your games at 1280x1024. If you want some extra performance then get the Gigabyte Super Overclock version (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125338)

and if you're planning on upgrading your monitor in the future (I strongly recommend it), then go for a GTX 460 from nVidia or the 5850 from ATI. The 5830 isn't worth the money and the GTX 460 clearly beats it at almost every game.

For the motherboard, you can try this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130266

and for RAM just get a dual-channel kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122


Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022

You may want to get a pricier PSU if you want to overclock, but you should be fine for now

 

[batuchka]

$355AR

 

[vigorvermin]

I don't think I need a micro ATX board is there a reason I should go with them? Is the HD 4250 in the thing good enough to run SC2? I might just add a GC later. Also I need a HDD.

 

[batuchka]

Not stating u do need an mATX but it's a great board for the $$ in an even juicier combo hehe Just add in a Samsung F3 500GB and u set ^^ Hmm interpolating from HD 4290 data for SC2

HD 4250 IGP is fine with
a. 1024 x 768 medium with a slight OC
B. 1024 X 768 low