PC for <$800 Help

[DHeff11]

To start off I would like to thank anyone who tries to help me out. I am not the most experienced when it comes to building a computer. I am looking to build a quality computer for around $800. This is what I have come up with.

MSI 870A-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard $94.99

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX $134.99

EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $189.99

Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $59.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $64.99

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $19.99

TP-LINK TL-WN722N USB 2.0 High Gain Wireless Adapter $19.99

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $39.99

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm $49.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM $99.99

The main questions I have are:

Is there a better moba for the price than the MSI one?

Would everything be compatible together?

Would everything fit in the Rosewill case?

and any other advise would be great.

Thank you everyone!

Dylan H

 

[wintermint]

Do you live near Microcenter btw?

 

[DHeff11]

Closest microcenter is a couple hours away. Why do you ask?

 

[Onus]

If you're going to build an AMD system, get a socket AM3+ board to give yourself the option to upgrade to Bulldozer. Otherwise, you can probably fit a considerably faster Sandy Bridge build into your budget (assuming it doesn't also have to include the monitor).

 

[capt_taco]

You can get a better graphics card for about the same price or even less:

Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB - $154.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

XFX Radeon HD 6950 1GB - $209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150523


Also: If the reason for the 460 is that someone told you Nvidia is "better," that's not really true at all. And PhysX is pretty much unimportant except in like 3 games ever, and will continue to be that way unless AMD goes out of business.

 

[wintermint]

At this price point, you really must go Intel to get the best bang out of your bucks. You won't need to upgrade for a long time. Please make sure you add thermal compound for good measure. The CPU usually comes with some pre-applied but I suggest removing it with alcohol and a cloth and apply some aftermarket one. The Hyper 212+ should come with some. I hope this doesn't get too noisy but this a complete powerhouse. I think it's a little under $800 before tax but including shipping and MIR.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 195$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 212+ $29 or $32 from Newegg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002G1YPH0/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

Mobo: MSI H67MA-E35 after $75 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130569

Ram: G.Skill DDR3 1333 2x2GB $36
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231179

GPU: Sapphire 100314-3L 6870 163$ after MIR and shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Case: Rosewill Challenger $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

PSU: Antec HCG-620 620W $50 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371048

Optical: ASUS 24X DVD Burner OEM $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Miscellaneous: wifi adapter and OS that you chose $120

 

[wintermint]

The Antec HCG is made by Seasonic which is a really reputable and reliable brand. You can always up for Antec Earthwatt 650W. Rosewill Challenger comes with lots of fan but you should play it safe and get the hyper 212+ it's like the best air cooling heatsink around 30$.

 

[spentshells]

At this price point, you really must go Intel to get the best bang out of your bucks. You won't need to upgrade for a long time. Please make sure you add thermal compound for good measure. The CPU usually comes with some pre-applied but I suggest removing it with alcohol and a cloth and apply some aftermarket one. The Hyper 212+ should come with some. I hope this doesn't get too noisy but this a complete powerhouse. I think it's a little under $800 before tax but including shipping and MIR.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 195$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 212+ $29 or $32 from Newegg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002G1YPH0/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

Mobo: MSI H67MA-E35 after $75 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130569

Ram: G.Skill DDR3 1333 2x2GB $36
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231179

GPU: Sapphire 100314-3L 6870 163$ after MIR and shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Case: Rosewill Challenger $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

PSU: Antec HCG-620 620W $50 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371048

Optical: ASUS 24X DVD Burner OEM $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Miscellaneous: wifi adapter and OS that you chose $120

BOING

 

[wintermint]

Oh if I forgot to mention.. Microcenter sells the 2500k for 180$ and you get 40$ off the intel motherboard youre purchasing. The 2500k overclocks way better than the 2400k and comes with a slightly higher clock. However I dont think you really need to overclock.. the 2400 is a boss in its own rights :3

 

[wintermint]

If you do opt for the 2500k by going Microcenter.. then you may want to purchase a p67 or z68 board for overclocking capability. I think the H67 has onboard graphic but no overclocking and the P67 is the opposite.

 

[Onus]

At this price point, you really must go Intel to get the best bang out of your bucks. You won't need to upgrade for a long time. Please make sure you add thermal compound for good measure. The CPU usually comes with some pre-applied but I suggest removing it with alcohol and a cloth and apply some aftermarket one. The Hyper 212+ should come with some. I hope this doesn't get too noisy but this a complete powerhouse. I think it's a little under $800 before tax but including shipping and MIR.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 195$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master 212+ $29 or $32 from Newegg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002G1YPH0/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

Mobo: MSI H67MA-E35 after $75 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130569

Ram: G.Skill DDR3 1333 2x2GB $36
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231179

GPU: Sapphire 100314-3L 6870 163$ after MIR and shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Case: Rosewill Challenger $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

PSU: Antec HCG-620 620W $50 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371048

Optical: ASUS 24X DVD Burner OEM $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Miscellaneous: wifi adapter and OS that you chose $120

While I think this is a reasonable build, the comments about the thermal paste made no sense. The CPU never comes with paste pre-applied; many coolers have pre-applied paste. The stock paste that Intel uses on its cooler is good enough that you shouldn't feel compelled to replace it. If you buy a non-"K" CPU, you won't be overclocking, so the stock cooler will be fine; Intel's is known to be quiet. See www.frostytech.com for more good information on coolers, or check out a cooler review at www.hardwaresecrets.com which will have a chart showing a whole list of coolers.
I probably wouldn't choose a MSI board myself (ASRock or Asus), but that one does look decent, with USB 3.0 and 6Gb/s SATA,

 

[DHeff11]

Thanks for all the advice. I have updated my build and would like to know what you guys think. Thanks for everything. I truly appreciate it!

Here is my updated build:


XFX HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity $166.99

or


EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support $169.99

ASRock 970 EXTREME4 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS $94.99
(IF THERE IS A DIFFERENT MOBA YOU THINK I SHOULD GET I AM WILLING TO LISTEN, thanks)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $64.99

Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $59.99

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX $119.99

TP-LINK TL-WN722N USB 2.0 High Gain Wireless Adapter $19.99

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $39.99

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm $49.99

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM $19.99. (Need confirmed that this burns cds as well, I'm sure it does).

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM 99.99



I'm planning on going AMD processor and use am3+ moba for upgrades down the line.

Right now i am only planning on playing games such as DOTA 2, HoN, and Diablo 3.

Top things I need to know:

!. Is everything compatible?

2. Will everything fit? especially the video card (video card is lifetime warrenty).

3. Suggest a compatible heatsink for the cpu.

I would also like to keep 8 gb for multitasking purposes.

 

[DHeff11]

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel $29.49

I will be getting this as well. I would like to know if it is compatible with this moba or any moba you guys suggest. Thanks

 

[Onus]

That's a nice build. Not as fast as Sandy Bridge, but I don't think that's relevant if it is already more than fast enough to meet your needs.
With very few exceptions, the HD6870 outperforms the GTX460 by a decent amount, and stays cooler while doing it: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=313
The WD Blue series isn't their fastest. Get either WD Black, or Samsung Spinpoint F3.
In addition to the Hyper 212+, check out the Xigmatek Gaia. They are similar heatsinks, but the Gaia didn't have its price jacked the way some places did to the Hyper 212+. Get whichever you can find cheaper.

 

[wintermint]

The ASRock Extreme4 AM3+ mobo is pretty much the best you can get for what you pay for haha. It's a good choice. I'm glad you considered the Rosewill Challenger, its dimensions are: L x W x H -> 18.5" x 7.48" x 17.08"