Coastaltuba

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Jun 11, 2011
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Alright, I'm new to building, and I need to know if this is a good build, and what I can do to improve it. Also, once I have a desktop, do you think I need a laptop? Just wondering whether or not I should sell my laptop.

MOBO: ASUS M4A78LT-M AM3 AMD 760G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131672

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDX840WFGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103921

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100328L Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102940

Case: RAIDMAX Tornado ATX-238WU Black / Blue SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156223

RAM: G. Skills Ripjaw Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (I have decided to get 2 of these, resulting in 8gb)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136490

PSU: Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2SB 500W ATX12V v2.2 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182076

Monitor: Asus VE198D 19" LED BackLight LCD Monitor 250cd/m2 10,000,000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236114

Wireless Adaptor Card: Rosewill RNX-G300LX IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Adapter Card Up to 54Mbps Data Rates 64/128bit WEP WPA WPA2 802.1x, 802.11i, AES, TKIP with 2 dBi Antenna
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166021

Any recommendations to make it cheaper or better? Right now, it's running around $690.
 
Solution
First off, its helpful to know what purpose you'll be using the machine for. Hard to tell if this would be good for you or not.

Also, what about upgrade path? AMD is already selling their AM3+ platform motherboards now, should be selling new desktop CPU's in the next two months. Basically, AM3 is a dead end, no future products will be coming out for that. So I would recommend an AM3+ board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%20600138080&IsNodeId=1&name=AM3%2b

Rosewill is not a PSU I would recommend. There are other brands I could make recommendations for, including Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, etc.

The raidmax case is cheap. They are not a quality case manufacturer. They have doctored up the photos...
First off, its helpful to know what purpose you'll be using the machine for. Hard to tell if this would be good for you or not.

Also, what about upgrade path? AMD is already selling their AM3+ platform motherboards now, should be selling new desktop CPU's in the next two months. Basically, AM3 is a dead end, no future products will be coming out for that. So I would recommend an AM3+ board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%20600138080&IsNodeId=1&name=AM3%2b

Rosewill is not a PSU I would recommend. There are other brands I could make recommendations for, including Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, etc.

The raidmax case is cheap. They are not a quality case manufacturer. They have doctored up the photos, newegg's been selling that thing for 5 years. Doesn't look as good as the pictures show.

Most of us are gaming at at least 22 inches. I buy 19 inch monitors for my mom and sisters. If that is fine for you, then thats ok but you can find good 22inch models under $150.
 
Solution

Coastaltuba

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Jun 11, 2011
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18,780
I wanted to do some light gaming, not like any serious online gaming, but I'm used to gaming on a 15.6 laptop, so 19 is a good starter size. What case would you recommend for around the same price. I know this sounds vain, but I want something that is kind of flashy. Thanks for telling about the motherboard, but I have another question. If my GPU has a HDMI input, does my motherboard need one too, or will that one suffice.

The monitor isn't such a big deal, because if I want bigger screen, i will just hook it up to my 26inch Vizio.

My purpose is to use the laptop for light gaming, and I am a musician, so I need access to Finale and Sibelius 5.