Budget gaming build, need help finding PSU & checking parts

[bkc1014]

Approximate Purchase Date: within the next week or so

Budget Range:400-600

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Digital Audio Workstation, Photo/video editing

Parts Not Required: monitor, mouse & keyboard, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences:

Overclocking: Maybe (depends on if I have to buy an aftermarket fan/heatsink)

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: Not very sure how to determine what resolution I should use. I have a 19" 720p TV/Monitor currently, if that has any effect on what resolution I should use..

Additional Comments: I'm going for low priced, around mid level gaming pc, and upgradability.

I've selected a few parts already but I'm not exactly sure if they're all optimal(I'm a newb, go easy on me haha ). Here they are:

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans $50

MOBO: BIOSTAR A870U3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard $65.

Gfx card: SAPPHIRE 100287L Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 $73 before rebate, $63 after

Ram: G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) $32

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz $120 with promo code

Dvd burner & HDD combo: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM $72.50 combo

Before MIR, promo codes, tax & shipping, the pricetag is $422.43
Grand total(including MIR, promo, tax & shipping) : $440.80 **so far, w/o a PSU**

Power supply: As for psu, I have no idea how to select one. I need help finding one that is (relatively) low in price, reliable, and can power my system adequately.

Rosewill Power supply(will it work for my system?)- Rosewill RV2-500 500 W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready Power Supply

This link has a list of $10 off combo(psu's) with the computer case i've selected.


Questions:
1. How do I know if a certain power supply can power my system adequately?
2. Is there a way to overclock the Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition and still use the stock heatsink & fan?
3. What are the benefits to getting an AM3+ mobo instead of an AM3(if any at all)?
4. Are the parts I've selected going to work good together? if not, what are some improvements that could be made?
5. Will I need to buy any extra parts? (any cables, thermal paste, screws, standoffs)

Thanks for reading If anyone can help me, I'd appreciate it soooo much!

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

1. Go to the Details section and see what cords the PSU has, You will probably need a 24Pin MoBo, 4-8Pin MoBo, and a few molex and PCIe cords
2. You can, but it's going to overheat your system and may cause system failure (chances are it won't destroy the CPU because they have safety systems)
3. AM3+ allows you to upgrade to the upcoming Bulldozer CPUs, and ARE compatible with the AM3 socket CPUs
4. gonna work, only I would suggest a cheaper case so you can get better parts such as a better MoBo and graphics card.
5. No, unless you are buying a aftermaket heatsink and fan, then you don't need anything.
Here would be my build suggestion:

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 $120
Graphics: Radeon HD 6850 $160
MoBo: ASUS M5A97 $95
PSU: Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-520 $69
Case: RAIDMAX Tornado ATX-238WU $40
HDD: COMBO
RAM: Team Elite 4GB (2 x 2GB) $32
Heatsink+Fan: Stock $0
DVD-ROM: COMBO
COMBO: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 $73
Total: $589

 

[zooted]

Drop down to the 955 be. It's the same thing just one multiplier notch lower than the 965 and is cheaper. You should be able to get a few hundred mhz overclock with the stock cooler.

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

No, don't, not this time. Normally I would say the same thing as zoot but since newegg is giving $10 off the 965 but not the 955, the prices are the same, but the 965 already has its CPU running at 3.4GHz

 

[zooted]

Didn't see the promo code.

 

[bkc1014]

How do I know how many amps I need to be running on a psu?

Can I overclock the 955 be higher than the 965 be without buying aftermarket cooling?

What is the difference between the g skill ram i chose vs the team elite ram?

if i chose to use the Rosewill RV2-500 500 W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready Power Supply can i run my gfx card, and all the rest of the system across both the 12v rails @20a each?

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

You can OC the 955 higher than the 965, but you can also OC the 965. As for the w/o the aftermarket HSF, I wouldn't recommend it, it would overheat your CPU if you don't buy an aftermarket one.

The TeamElite one has heat spreaders, preventing one area of the RAM being too hot, the G.skill one doesn't have the heat spreaders

DO NOT BUY THAT POWER SUPPLY!!!! Do not buy a cheap power supply, they are unreliable and could potentially damage your system if it fails. Buy from trustworth brands like: Corsair, Seasonic, and Antec...yes they will be more expensive but the money is well spent because chances are, you can re-use that PSU in another build later.

 

[Onus]

Rosewill's cases are nice; not too expensive, and have quiet fans.
Ding me for not having the link, but I could have sworn Tom's did some tests and found that heat spreaders on RAM really doesn't make a difference.
If that particular Rosewill PSU is internally identical to the RP500-2, Jonnyguru passed it with a score of 8.5, so isn't a cheap system-killer. The only trouble is, that was a little over four years ago, and there are MUCH better choices available today. A quality modern PSU has full range active PFC (no little voltage switch), and some level of 80+ certification for efficiency. Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XFX, and Enermax/LEPA are among the better brands. Except for the case (I prefer your original selection), r0aringdrag0n's parts list is good. If $589 is really more of a strain than you'd like, with your current monitor resolution (on the order of 1366x768), you could safely reduce the graphics card to a HD6770 without suffering for it, and quite frankly would do well even with "only" a HD6670.

Edit: Actually, if you're not really all that interested in overclocking, and are indeed willing to spend up to $600, and don't really care what Bulldozer may or may not bring to the table, you would get better performance out of an Intel Core-i3 system. Take a look at the last $500 (actuall $526) SBM article at Tom's, but plan to spend a little more to get a better mobo than the deadend they chose.

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

NVM, you're correct, go with the G.skill RAM, it has lower Voltage and it's better (1333 vs the team's 1066)

EDIT: You can go with an AM3 MoBo if you know you are not going to upgrade to bulldozer

 

[bkc1014]

I'm not too sure whether I'm going to upgrade to a bulldozer..for me, I guess it depends on how much better they are than the Phenom ii x4's.

@jtt283, yeah i have a 400-600 budget but i'm trying to save as much as i can thanks for the suggestion on 80+ psu's. do you think this one will work alright for my system?
Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC

I calculated the wattage & amperage of my system(came to about 33 amps) and the above psu should be able to handle it with a 41 amp +12v rail, right?

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

1) the bulldozer is suppose to be AMAZING, but since that's just talk...we really don't know.
2) That works fine, but once again, I would choose between: Corsair, Antec or Seasonic, just because they have a reputation of being good. If you are lucky, the Rosewill might perform better than a Corsair. It works though.

 

[bkc1014]

okay, thank you guys! I'm so excited to be ordering my parts so I can get to put this machine together already!