First build - price/performance without unnecissary features

[Guest]

Hey guys, I'm taking the slow death of my Dell Inspiron 530 as an opportunity to try a home build. I've been looking at components for over a month. I want to spend $800.00 at most, coming in under budget would be great as long as it didn't sacrifice too much. I want to try and keep my options open for upgrades and system expansion.

I figured it was time to come to the Tom's Hardware Forum for suggestions and a compatibility check.

System Usage: General use, media, occasional games.

Budget Range: $800.00 maximum, including OS.

Not Required: DVD drive, mouse, keyboard, Hard Drive

Website: newegg.com

Country of Origin: United States

Overclocking: Probably not, but maybe

SLI/Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1600x900 monitor and 1366x768p 32" LCD TV


Parts I was considering:


Case - Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced $89.99

PSU - Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W $74.99

CPU - Intel Core i5-2400 $189.99

RAM - G.Skill RipJaws Series 4GB (2x2GB) 240 Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 $39.99

GPU - Sapphire Vapor-X 100284VXL Radeon HD 57560 1GB GDDR5 PIC Express 2.1 x16 $107.99

Wireless Adapter ASUS PCE-N13 IEEE 802.11b/g/n $27.99

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium x64 $99.99

HD - Already purchased

DVD - Taken from current system

MOBO - Need advice, I was considering:

ASRock Z68 PRO3 $129.99 (bundled with CPU for $301.98)

or ASUS P8P67 LE $134.99

or their mATX equivalents.

Additional comments: If I can buy similar or better components while staying at, or coming in under budget, I am all ears. Also I'm on the fence case-wise between the CM 690II and the HAF 922, I like how solid the HAF 922 feels, but it might be a bit large for my needs.


I look forward to learning a thing or two from responses, it's appreciated, and I hope I didn't leave anything out. Thanks.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Get the Asus w/ it's 3 year warranty .... Asrock is only 2 years (pre B3 it was 1 year)

 

[mlcaouette]

You know with the i5 2400 the overclocking features of the p67 and the z68 will be kind of wasted.

 

[cmadrid]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131713&cm_re=h67-_-13-131-713-_-Product

 

[cmadrid]

h67-m motherboard by ASUS

 

[etk]

I would go the other way and say to go for a 2500k. It's like $30 more, and it will pay off down the road. $30 bucks now is a lot better deal than a few hundred later for an upgrade.

 

[Guest]

etk thanks for the reply. Would the 2500k still be preferable to the 2500 if I'm not overclocking. Other than the 2500k being unlocked they appear to be identical, so I would think the 2500 would be fine.

 

[etk]

^The only advantage is over-clocking.
Obviously not something you need at the moment, but in a few years if you find yourself needing more performance it will be cheaper/easier to bump up the multiplier a few notches that re-build a computer. I generally am able to squeeze in another 18 months or so by overclocking components-it's not something I do from day one.