New Build Opinions

[abhijitkalyane]

Hi,
I'm planning on building a new PC for light gaming use (on a very tight budget). Please let me know you opinions about it:
AMD Athlon II X3 440
ASRock M3A785GXH/128M
Corsair Value Select DDR3 1333 2GBx2
PoV GeForce GTX 460 1GB
or Biostar HD5850 (suggest)
Corsair CMPSU-600G or Cooler Master GX650 (suggest)
Seagate Barracuda ST31000528AS 1TB 7200
NZXT Gamma
Samsung DVD-RW
Cooler Master Hyper TX-3 (Aftermarket Cooler)
Thanks

 

[gkay09]

^ Good setup.
Graphic card - If going with a single card, the the HD 5850 would be a better choice...

PSU - Save some money and get a 500W PSU - Antec EA or TP Series/ Silverstone Strider are cheap/ Seasonic/ OCA Fatality or ModeXtreme Pro

 

[abhijitkalyane]

OK thanks, 5850 it is. Would be better if want to Crossfire too with the same M/B also right (it has x8/x8 CF). I had been thinking about the GPU for some time now. Also, you mentionsed 'if going with a sigle card'. Won't dual 460s need an SLI M/B?
As for the PSU, would the Corsair be good for 5850x2 in CF? or should I forget about dual card setup and stick with a 500W PSU and upgrade single cards?

 

[asteldian]

I would consider 2 x 5850s as a hardcore gamer set up rather than light.

5850 is a better choice than the GTX460 for AMD/single card builds.
If I were doing 2 x 5850s I would be wanting 750W with my PSU personally.

Single card set up should be plenty of power though and 500W is all you need. In a 2 card set up you may well find your CPU would bottleneck you anyway

 

[gordon_81]

change the x3 440 to an x3 445, get a coolermaster hyper 212+ cooler (best cooler price vs performance IMO and dont buy it from newegg you can get it for $30 on other sites) and also go for a samsung spinpoint f3 1tb hdd. otherwise a decent build

 

[gkay09]

^^^Single card setups are good enough if you are not a hardcore gamer, also a single HD 5850 would play most of the games at High-Very High @1080p, so when you feel the need for more graphics power, there will be newer cards, upgrade to those...

 

[abhijitkalyane]

Looks like I should just stick to a Single card setup then and upgrade two generations later or something. Thanks everyone, much appreciated. Here are a few of my comments:
gordon_81: Thanks, you are right x3 445 would be a good choice given the small price difference. Availability here might be a quetion though.Samsung Spinpoint F3 was my first choice too, but retail availability here is again a problem. Hyper 212 - ok, that seems like a better option too. I live in India, so newegg and other US sites are not an option.
gkay09: Which PSU should I get then? Here are the ones available at a decent price:
Cooler master GX 550W(cheapest); Corsair VX550W; Cooler Master Silent Pro M 500W (lower Wattage, higher price, but silent)
I don't want to get a cheap power supply just to save a few bucks, I'd rather spend a little more and get a stable and trustworthy one. I'd prefer one with a single +12V rail. Hence I'm leaning towards any one mentioned here. But please do add your suggestions.
Also, can anyone confirm if 5850 will fit in the NZXT Gamma?
Thanks again

 

[gkay09]

PSU - Corsair 550VX is hard to beat...How about Seasonic and Silverstone options ??

The HD 5850 would have no fitting issues with that case...
The Gamma can fit cards upto 11.1" long and the HD 5850 is about 9.5" long...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nzxt-gamma-rosewill-challenger-silverstone-precision,2723.html

 

[abhijitkalyane]

Alright, here is my final build I guess:
AMD Athlon II X3 440 (445 if available)
ASRock M3A785GXH/128M
Corsair Value Select DDR3 1333 2GBx2
Biostar HD5850 (suggest)
Corsair 550VX (Seasonic and Silverstone PSUs are overprized here more expensive than the Corsair)
Seagate Barracuda ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 (Samsung Spinpoint F3 if available)
NZXT Gamma
Samsung DVD-RW
Cooler Master Hyper 212

Can anyone see any overclocking potential in this build? I'll be adding a couple of 120mm Fans to the Case as well.

 

[gkay09]

That ASRock board should do well in overclocking...
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1068/6/
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-785g-motherboard,2441-21.html
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2912/asrock_m3a785gxh_128m_motherboard_mainstream_785g_tested/index4.html
And that too with the Hyper 212+, 3.6-3.8GHz wont be an issue IMO...

 

[abhijitkalyane]

Best answer selected by abhijitkalyane.