What do you think of my $680 AM3 Build?

[charlie310]

I bought these parts, and they are all on there way here except the MOBO (which I plan to buy at a local store). I have 3 questions, but 1st, my build:

ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131647

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871

MSI N460GTX Cyclone 768D5/OC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127512

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6402AAEX 640GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136544&cm_re=WD6402AAEX-_-22-136-544-_-Product

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

EDIMAX EW-7128G IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card Up to 54Mbps Wireless Data Rates
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315041

I have an Antec 902 Case, speakers, and usb keyboard/mouse.

1. Is this build compatible?
2. Should I exchange the 1333 RAM for 1600 RAM?
3. I was also wondering if using my 18.5" 720P HDTV as a monitor is a good idea. Should I just buy an actual computer montior?

 

[WR2]

I think we like the 500GB single platter HDDs better than the 640GB drives these days.
Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB or Seagate Barracuda 7200.12.

Do you plan on adding a 2nd GTX 460?

1. Compatibility is good!
2. 1333/CL8 vs 1600/CL9 is pretty much a wash in performance. Go with the less expensive kit.
3. If your 1366x768? resolution LCD TV has DVI or HDMI input you're good to go.

 

[WR2]

Check to make sure your TV PC video input is not VGA.
If so your video card with 2x DVI and 1x HDMI is a mismatch and will need a DVI-VGA adapter and I didn't see any mention of that in the details.

 

[charlie310]

Thanks!

I guess I can stick with the 1333.
No, I don't plan to SLI.
My HDTV is only 720P, so I don't believe I can get above ####x720, but it has both VGA & HDMI.

 

[aznshinobi]

You could check out the 600$ build in my siggy And see how you like that! It's basically the same but it gives you a Phenom II 925 instead of the Athlons and It's pretty much the same perf as your build

 

[WR2]

I was going to suggest that with just the 1 GTX 460 or it's future replacement you could easily get away with going to the Corsair 550VX and still have plenty of power in reserve.
But with the 650TX actually being LESS expensive after rebate - you're coming out ahead with the better PSU anway.

Nice choice of wireless adapter too.

What's the make and model of your TV? Might need your PC attached to get 1368x768. Most I have seen are actually the 1368x768 native resolution.

 

[megamanx00]

Not the motherboard I would have chosen but still a nice build overall. You can go with a good 500, 550W PSU instead but the 650W does give you more room to upgrade latter on. As for hooking it up to the TV it shouldn't be much of a problem. Of course, there are only a few true 720p TVs with a native resolution of 1280×720. Alot of 720p TVs will have the 1368x768 resolution instead.

 

[swifty_morgan]

A television in general is a poor choice for a monitor. having said that, if sitting 5-8 feet away so you can get a clear view is okay with you it's okay with me. You can't sit on top of them as you do with a regular pc monitor. I won't comment on the rest of your build.

 

[charlie310]

I was going to suggest that with just the 1 GTX 460 or it's future replacement you could easily get away with going to the Corsair 550VX and still have plenty of power in reserve.
But with the 650TX actually being LESS expensive after rebate - you're coming out ahead with the better PSU anway.

Nice choice of wireless adapter too.

What's the make and model of your TV? Might need your PC attached to get 1368x768. Most I have seen are actually the 1368x768 native resolution.

WR2, you are right. It is 1368x768! Hopefully that saves me $100. Have to wait til Monday to get all my parts and see if the display doesn't look like dog doo-doo.

I am trying to future-proof my build to some extent; hence, the USB 3, SATA3, 650TX PSU, X4 CPU. Thanks, everybody for your help. Since this is my first build, I might have more questions.

 

[charlie310]

A television in general is a poor choice for a monitor. having said that, if sitting 5-8 feet away so you can get a clear view is okay with you it's okay with me. You can't sit on top of them as you do with a regular pc monitor. I won't comment on the rest of your build.

5-8 feet!? How far do you sit away from your monitor? I thought most people sat around 2-3 feet away from their monitors. Almost all computer desks have a depth in that range.

 

[swifty_morgan]

Using a pc monitor vs using a tv for a monitor is 2 different worlds. You can't sit 2 feet from a tv and expect it to look good. When you try it vs trying a pc monitor at the same distance you'll understand.

 

[aznshinobi]

Swifty is correct with his statement imo.

When I play my PS3 on my 1080P 46in TV I sit like 10 FT away from the TV. When I use my LG monitor I can sit right in front of it and it looks fine, at real close, the TV doesn't really have that insane nice quality.

 

[WR2]

It's a 18.5" 1366x768 LCD TV. I think he'll be OK.

 

[charlie310]

It's a 18.5" 1366x768 LCD TV. I think he'll be OK.

Yes, I think Swifty failed to read that part of my post. I was wondering, "who the heck sits 5-8 feet away from their 18.5" HDTV?". Haha.

Yes, I do understand the concept of sitting 2 feet away from a 60" HDTV vs. sitting 2 feet away from a 19" one. The point of my question that I was trying to get was if it was ok to use a 18.5" HDTV for computer gaming vs an 18.5" HD monitor. Epic fail for me, I guess.

 

[charlie310]

Best answer selected by charlie310.