First build ever. Round 1. Suggestions Welcome.

[purebrawn]

Hi all,

It's time to take my Core 2 E7200 out to pasture. Looks like BFBC2 was the straw that broke the camels back.

After doing some research it looks like I can get way more bang for my buck if I contruct this thing myself, so I'm going to give it a shot.

I wanted to run my build by you guys before I placed an order and get some feedback and ask some general questions.

The system will be used primarily for gaming, web browsing & movie watching, and basic daily farting around... but gaming will be the only serious hardware demand. I don't need to set the world on fire with benchmarks, but my goal would be to run current and future releases (BFBC2, Black Ops, Witcher 2, Deux Ex 3, etc) smoothly on med to high settings.

My budget is about $700 ballparkish, and it looks like AMD/ATI is more affordable, so I plan on going that route as well.

CPU - First question. The Phenom 2 X6 series VS the Phenom 2 X4. The X4 970 BE is about 45.00 dollars cheaper than the 1090T on Newegg, and I've heard the 970 would be faster for gaming anyway. What would you guys recommend? Is it better to future proof now with the X6 or should the 970 be the better bet? I would like this purchase to last me a couple years.

AMD Phenom 2 X4 970 BE 3.5GHz - $185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894

AMD Phenom 2 X6 1090T BE 3.2GHZ - $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849

MOTHERBOARD - ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-406&SortField=0&SummaryType=2&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1
My motherboard knowledge is weak. This one seemed to meet my needs, was reasonably priced, and mostly positive reviews.

MEMORY - G SKILL Ripjaw 4GB DDR3 1600 - $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303
I read that anything over 4GB is overkill and not necessary. Thoughts?

HARD DRIVE - Western Digital 500GB SATA 3.0 - $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

CD/DVD - ASUS DRW - 24B1ST - $17
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

GPU - I will initially be using an HD 5770 1GB. This is because I bought this card for my old system over the summer, and it won't cost me anything. I will likely upgrade to a 6870 or 69xx in the near future, but for now I will stick with this to keep the cost down on this build.

PSU - Corsair 650W TX - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-139-005&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=3
Will this be sufficient power? Will it still be sufficient if I do upgrade to a higher end video card as mentioned above?

OS - Windows 7 64 Home Premium - $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

CASE - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Mid Tower - $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
This one was highly recommended and I'm pretty sure it fits my motherboard.

Total cost - $651 with the X4 970, $696 with the X6 1090T

Welp... I think that's it. Let me know if anything is jacked up, if I'm forgetting something, or if you have any suggestions/feedback. Also, let me know if you think I would need additional cooling for this. I'm not sure if stock would be sufficient or not. Any cost cutting ideas are always welcome as well. Thanks in advance !!

 

[batuchka]

That Asus 785G mATX is not weak but definitely overpriced! If u thinking CF have a look at

1. Asrock 870 Extreme 3
2. Asus 790X (in combo)

Else no frills no CF/SLI the MSI 870/SB 710 is now a juicy $55 Free Ship ^^
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130290&cm_re=MSI_870-_-13-130-290-_-Product

By the way if u thinking Thuban hit an entry level 800 series mobo (like that MSI) as one needs a mandatory BIOS update when paired with any 700 series mobo

 

[purebrawn]

That Asus 785G mATX is not weak but definitely overpriced! If u thinking CF have a look at

1. Asrock 870 Extreme 3
2. Asus 790X (in combo)

Else no frills no CF/SLI the MSI 870/SB 710 is now a juicy $55 Free Ship ^^
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130290&cm_re=MSI_870-_-13-130-290-_-Product

By the way if u thinking Thuban hit an entry level 800 series mobo (like that MSI) as one needs a mandatory BIOS update when paired with any 700 series mobo

Awesome thanks for the advice. I will NOT be doing Crossfire or SLI, so that MSI 870 for 55 dollars is looking very nice. Much appreciated!

 

[batuchka]

Yep happy shopping/building and u are welcomed ^^

 

[jcamel24]

Just my .02, but I had terrible luck with MSI motherboards and a Thuban processor. Don't know if it was the 4-pin CPU power (vs. 8-pin), etc. but sent it back twice. Have a 3rd one just sitting here since I broke down and bought a Gigabyte w/8-pin CPU connector.

BTW, if you're looking at that RAM, newegg has a promo code on it for their 72 hour sale that'll knock the price down by $10. Use promo code EMCZNZV33 at checkout.

EDIT: Also grab the Spinpoint F3 1TB for only $5 more!

Good luck!

 

[purebrawn]

Best answer selected by purebrawn.