CHEAT SETUP help needed

[sterzian24]

Before we start my budget is 400-500$, I am looking for a quick and good quality computer but I am not planning to do gaming with it. I may be using it for a few games (Skyrim) but I dont mind playing on medium/low settings) I am also planning on buying from Tiger Direct.ca or newegg.ca so links to those adresses will be helpfull. I am from Canada so please take that into consideration

Have:
- Tower I have an Atex 17.6 x 16.6 x 7.5 (around)
-Dvd/cd slot burner
- I have an externall 1tb drive

Need:

*****Please Give me advice on what would be the best choise or any changes that can be made to this setup.******

EITHER AMD OR im5 PLEASE GIVE OPINION, I would want something that would last the longest.

Motherboard(with Phenom II X6 thuban BLACK edition 200$ or AMD FX 8130-23 8 core $220)

ASRock M3A770DE $75
ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 : http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6813131767
Item #: N82E16813131767 $94.99

or MotherBoard(for intel i5 2500k 230):
GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard 115$

HardDrive:

NEED HELP

Video Card:
MSI-5450- 39.99

Gigabyte HD6770 w/ Free DiRT3 $110

DIAMOND A4870PE5512 Radeon HD 4870 512MB : http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6814103193
Item #: N82E16814103193
$69.99

Power Supply:
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply 50$
COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W : http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6817171046
Item #: N82E16817171046
$39.99


Links and prices will be apreciated it and thank you for any responce

 

[nordlead]

what are you planning on doing besides maybe a few games? That is a lot of processing power for most average users.

You could probably get a Phenom II X4 955, accompanying motherboard, and a better GPU for your occasional gaming.

 

[monkeysweat]

if you have 4-500 and you don't need the tower you can make a pretty decent build with 500,, I'd go with the core i5 --- HOWEVER you do sacrifice some other things, if you dropped back to a core i3 for like 100 less, you can put it towards a MUCH better graphics card like a 560ish (also left over would go toward the SSD)
and i would got with an ANTEC power supply, but the one you got is a pretty decent one, too
Hard drive prices are pretty steep right now, you may be best to just buy a 90 to 120 GB SSD, you will be able to still install about 2-4 games and do storage on your external drive for now and when the prices drop, add an internal HDD

by my calculations though, this will be a bit more than 500 unless you do buy a cheaper card such as the 6770

 

[sterzian24]

I was thinking of 4 core phenom initially But i rahter pay a small diffrence for more, in a year i3 and pheno x4 is going to be really out of date

 

[monkeysweat]

The 4 core phenom (955 & up) can keep up with the 6 cores in terms of gaming and the bulldozer isn't really any better,,,
The i3 can keep up pretty good with any of amd cpu lower than the 955 --

that being said,, you're GPU is going to be out of date way sooner than the CPU in terms of gaming, it is where your money will be best spent,,, a 560 with a i3 or AMD will ALWAYS blow away a 6770 with a i5 2500K -- your choice on what you want,, but if you want to stay in budget, you gotta make some sacrifices,,,

i3 will save you $$ on your electricity bill over the AMD options as well.

 

[nordlead]

If you rarely play games and only really surf the web or use microsoft office, then the i3 or x4 would be sufficient. That is why I asked for more details on what you want to use it for. If you said photo/video editing, then I'd go with an x6 or i5.

I mean, I was gaming on a Athlon 64 X2 up until just recently. I wasn't playing the latest games, but it worked for 90% of the stuff I wanted to do. I mostly upgraded because I wanted to edit more HD videos. My HTPC is used for browsing the web and watching HD content and it is a 2.7GHz Athlon II X2 and I figure that system is good for the next 5-10 years (well, until it breaks and can't be fixed for cheap).

 

[sterzian24]

Well I use my computer for programming and a lot of multitasking for school. I will be playing a few games and want to have the capability of upgrading graphics card later on because I will be taking a few small design classes. Also What would you guys think would be best choice? and what should I get with it thanks for all the help

 

[sterzian24]

Would you be able to put me together a build system please? I have put this set together but what peices would you change and is the motherboard good?

 

[monkeysweat]

If you rarely play games and only really surf the web or use microsoft office, then the i3 or x4 would be sufficient. That is why I asked for more details on what you want to use it for. If you said photo/video editing, then I'd go with an x6 or i5.

I mean, I was gaming on a Athlon 64 X2 up until just recently. I wasn't playing the latest games, but it worked for 90% of the stuff I wanted to do. I mostly upgraded because I wanted to edit more HD videos. My HTPC is used for browsing the web and watching HD content and it is a 2.7GHz Athlon II X2 and I figure that system is good for the next 5-10 years (well, until it breaks and can't be fixed for cheap).

my thoughts exactly,,

even for "multitasking" for most people, the i3 & x4 are plenty good,, you only need lots of cores if you are doing alot of professional work and using expensive programs that will use all the cores,,,, even then it's only a small amount of programs.

 

[sterzian24]

I understand that but for 50 bucks more I rather get an advanced cpu so it can be better long term

 

[monkeysweat]

i always think that way as well, but there is something always more 'advanced' I bought a x3 445 last year,, no where near the top but sure is good enough for me, low power draw and when combined with my 460, it has played every game i tried with no issues although i havent tried anything yet that has come out in past 6 months.
50 here 10 there 15 over there,, before you know it, 500 bux becomes 850.....