Cheap, Gaming, Vid Editing, Photos (all Light Usage)

[dpritcht]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within a week or two

Budget Range: $500-750 (includes the purchase of Win7)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Working with photos in Picasa, maybe Lightroom (DSLR - 12MP camera: Canon t2i), Viewing and small editing of HD videos from digital camera (1080p - h.264 format), light gaming (specifically Civilization 5), iTunes, general productivity and surfing

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Country of Origin: US

Parts Preferences: no preference

Overclocking: Maybe, but light

SLI or Crossfire: Unlikely

Monitor Resolution: I will be upgraded monitors from a 1280x1024 at some point(but not included in my budget range). I'm looking at something 1920x1080 like this -
ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 20000:1) Built in Speakers
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052

Additional Comments: I currently have a 1 yr old laptop that cannot play my HD files from my new camera. It's choppy and unwatchable, even for 10 second clips. My main goal of this system is to watch these files, light editing of these HD videos and also my photos. Additionally, I'm out of HDD space with 250GB on my laptop and my files are growing quickly with this new DSLR camera. I'm really just looking for best bang for my buck given these requirements and if I could spend less than my budget, that would be perfect because I don't need the latest/greatest. Upgradeability is a 'nice to have' but not a requirement.

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Here's my initial thoughts after spending a little time researching -

Case
Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023
$34.99


Motherboard (Didn't spend a lot of time researching this...)
GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435
$134.99 (-$10 MIR)


Video Card
HIS H485FM512H Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161297
$102.99


PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003
$69.99 (-$15.00 MIR)


Processor
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
$139.99


Memory
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
$94.99


HDD (Didn't spend a lot of time researching this...)
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
$89.99


Optical Drive
LITE-ON DVD Writer - Bulk - Black SATA Model iHAS224-06 LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106333
$19.99


OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
$99.99


Total $787.91

 

[batuchka]

Tower @ $583AR

OS $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

$683AR in Total

Optional:
Scythe YASYA cooler $35
http://www.directron.com/scys1000.html

Review
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3274/scythe_yasya_scys_1000_cpu_cooler/index6.html

 

[Timop]

^Nice build, though there's some small changes I'd make:

I think he will appreciate a 2TB drive, the Samsung F4 for $95 is a pretty nice deal atm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245&cm_re=Samsung_F4-_-22-152-245-_-Product

Then a combo that gives you a free eSATA adapter and shaves $5 off the 1055T: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.412214

Then this Mobo + OS Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157195&cm_re=ASROCK_extreme3-_-13-157-195-_-Product

Saves him $15 for nothing much less.

 

[dpritcht]

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at my proposed build. I took a look at your suggestions and made a couple of changes. What do you think? Based on what I'm using the computer for, do I need to spend this much or could I go with a cheaper processor, mobo, psu, etc.?

RAM - Read somewhere this is better RAM?
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231303
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303
$94.99

Burner - I'd like Lightscribe
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support
Item #:N82E16827106335
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827106335
$23.99

OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders
Item #:N82E16832116754
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16832116754
$99.99

Case/HDD Combo - Slightly bigger HDD than 500GB. Would have like 1TB but seems pricey
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493006

Rosewill Blackbone Black Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811147023

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136319

-$30.00 Instant
-$20.00 Combo
[strike]$124.98[/strike]
$74.98


Mobo/CPU Combo - went with original recommendation
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.509753

ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131651

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
Item #: N82E16819103851

-$10.00 Instant
-$25.00 Combo
[strike]$305.98[/strike]
$270.98


Video Card/PSU Combo - went with original recommendation
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.511357

GIGABYTE GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) GV-N450OC-1GI Video Card
Item #: N82E16814125341

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W Power Supply compatible with core i7
Item #: N82E16817341017

-$45.00 Instant
-$30.00 Combo
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
[strike]$244.98[/strike]
$169.98


Grand Total: $734.91 (before MIR)

 

[sp12]

That G.skill kit is pretty bad. For 1$ you could get the G.skill eco equivalent with the same speed/timing, but .3 lower volts.

PSU isn't the most awesome: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/OCZ-ModXStream-Pro-600-W-Power-Supply-Review/936/7 It shut down twice when asked to deliver it's full 600 watt output, and it's ripple touched the limit of ATX spec.

For 30$ more you could buy the 450+a good Corsair 650 watt separately. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

 

[dpritcht]

Thanks for the feedback.

Am I'm missing something, that RAM kit has 244 reviews on Newegg with a 5 egg rating?

Any other comments on this build? I've got an itchy trigger finger and am ready to fire before the wife steps in and wonders why I'm blowing all our cash...

 

[ScrewySqrl]

go for it.

 

[sp12]

Yes, that ramkit is 1.65 volts. It used to be a non-issue, but the newer 45nm chips with lower and lower Vcore have issues with higher ram voltage. Jedec spec actually calls for 1.5 volts anyways, but lower voltage means your CPU's IMC doesn't have to work as hard, so you can get a higher OC out of it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

It has the same specs except for voltage and price -- it's 1$ more and .3 volts lower. It will pay for itself in power savings, and be nicer for OCing/using with increasingly smaller node CPUs.

 

[batuchka]

How Much Power Does Low-Voltage DDR3 Memory Really Save?
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lovo-ddr3-power,2650.html

It clearly doesn't make sense to go for a low-voltage memory product as the first (or only) step in reducing power consumption. We found differences of up to 1 W during idle and up to 4 W at peak. Although we used an AMD machine for testing, we also tried an Intel P55 platform with XMP support that allows for automatic memory configuration. The results were very similar. Exchanging the graphics card or the motherboard will likely have a larger impact on power consumption, so it makes sense to look at more power-hungry hardware first and optimize your memory last.

So dun fret about lower voltage RAM and waste $$ ^^

do I need to spend this much or could I go with a cheaper processor, mobo, psu, etc.?

Thing is you have increased cost a wee bit on the same performance with just a step up from 500-->640GB hdd hehe

 

[sp12]

Yes, but for 1$ over the kit he's considering, it will definitely pay for itself, plus have better CPU overclocking/less risk of frying an IMC it's definitely worth it.

 

[dpritcht]

Best answer selected by dpritcht.

 

[batuchka]

Yep happy building/shopping and cheers ^^