Budget Build

[sonaten]

Approximate Purchase Date: 1week - 1 month

Budget Range: 500-700

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: Mouse, OS, speakers
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg / amazon

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: No Preference

First time doing this.
I just want some feedback on my selection. I still want to drop the price down a little though.

APEX PC-389-C Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154095

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6770 100328L Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814102940

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231314

Seagate Barracuda 250GB 3.5" SATA 6.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822148699

LITE-ON SK-1688U/B Black Wired Keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16823107128

MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 Case Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835150007

ASUS F1A75-M LE Micro ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131769

AMD A8-3850 2.9GHz Socket FM1 Quad-Core Desktop APU with DirectX 11 Graphic
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819103994

Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817341018

LG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS70 OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827136238

ASUS VH192D Black 18.5" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16824236070

 

[Proximon]

It's a fine start but I don't see any reason to use the board and CPU you selected. I'll just toss a similar build up in a sec.

 

[Proximon]

OK here is a build under $700. You get a much better MB, case, and monitor and sacrifice a little CPU power:

■LG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS70 OEM - OEM
■Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
■Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■Acer S200HLAbd Black 20" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
■ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
■HIS H677FN1GD Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
■HIS Gift - DIRT3 Game Redemption Coupon
■Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
■G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR
■AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX450WFGMBOX
TOTAL: $696.00

 

[Love_Peace]

I'm new at building computers, but I understand building budget computers best. this is similar to the build I'm going to use, but it's not exactly the same. It comes to about $630, after rebates and stuff. Take a look and see how you like it.

*note*: I didn't see anything about wanting to overclock, so I'm just going to assume that you just want to go with everything stock.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($121.43 @ Amazon.com)
Great reviews on Newegg, Tom's chose this CPU as the best bang/buck in its price range in one or two of their articles. Definitely recommend

Motherboard: ASRock M3A770DE ATX AM3 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Amazon)
AMD processors allow you to use cheaper Mobos, and it's also used in the $500 budget PC challenge here on Tom's, so why not use it?

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($26.87 @ Amazon)
I chose this RAM over the one you chose because 1. if you're only gaming, 4gb(2x2gb) is all you need 2. RAM at a speed of 1333 is recommended for AMD processors, I believe.

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Cheap HDD, didn't go higher on storage space than the one you picked. I would advise to not purchase one right away, since prices on HDD's are inflated due to the flooding in Thailand. I would recommend waiting for Black Friday or check on Newegg daily for a deal on HDD's.

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
The Radeon 6870 is a good card, from what I hear it can handle BF3, Skyrim, etc on at least high (I think it can handle Ultra). I think this model is also used in the $500 PC challenge article that I mentioned earlier.

Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Tom's Hardware recommended, good airflow, looks good, bottom mounted PSU, lots of tool-less features, great overall case. Definitely Recommend

Power Supply: Corsair 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
600W should work well enough, it should handle most upgrades well enough.

Optical Drive: Just pick any $20 drive

Monitor: Asus VW193DR 19.0" Monitor ($90.02 @ Amazon)
I'm not too educated with monitors, but this one has 5 eggs on Newegg, so I trust that it's good enough for a $90 monitor. Also is slightly larger than the monitor you chose.

Total: $608.37

Quick Overview:
The CPU and case, I'm totally sure about and I definitely recommend. RAM is simple enough, just keep that 1333 speed in mind for AMD processors. The mobo should suffice for your needs, but if someone more experienced than I can recommend something better, I won't be sad if you choose what they recommend Radeon HD 6870's are good, I'm not totally sure about this model though, so same as the mobo. Wait off on HDD's for a bit, but if you really want one asap, go for cheap, then pick up another all of the good ones drop back to low prices.

Hope this helps!

 

[Proximon]

That's not a bad build, but it may not reflect shipping. As you say, the MB is a slight problem. No USB 3 or SATA 6GB/s, and no support for future CPU upgrades.

Still, you have a stronger GPU there as well, somehow.

 

[Love_Peace]

That's not a bad build, but it may not reflect shipping. As you say, the MB is a slight problem. No USB 3 or SATA 6GB/s, and no support for future CPU upgrades.

Still, you have a stronger GPU there as well, somehow.

I sacrificed storaged space for a better performing GPU. If the HDD on your build is replaced by an HDD at similar price to the one on my build, your build could easily have an HD 6870 or better while staying under budget. I would also like to recommend a Samsung Spinpoint F3 as well as purchase one at 500gb for myself, but at over $110, I simply cannot :/

 

[Proximon]

Yep the HHDs have really put a squeeze on our budget builds. Anyway, waiting two weeks for Black Friday and Cyber Monday will probably save enough to get it all.