Help me choose my new rig

[gjudd]

I have three possibles but I am open to ideas or suggestions
First:
case: Zalman Z9 Plus ($50@NCIX)

PSU: Corsair TX650 ($63@NCIX)

motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3 ($83@tigerdirect)

CPU: Phenom II 965 Black ($110@NCIX)

RAM: Crucial Ballistix 8gb (2x4) 1333 ($42@tigerdirect)

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500gb ($65@tigerdirect)

Optical: ASUS 24x DVD-RW ($15@NCIX)

Video Card: EVGA GTX 480 ($200@tigerdirect)

$628 total.

#2

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2628602&CatId=332

#3
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2580461&CatId=4910
plus this video card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2522509&sku=E145-0500

 

[g-unit1111]

I wouldn't get any of the above. The problem with the Tiger Direct pre made kits is that they include garbage PSUs and a lot of crap from their proprietary brand Ultra. I wouldn't touch those with a 10 foot pole.

Here would be a better build for ~$600:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.00 @ Mac Connection)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77-DS3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GT 640 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $593.93
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

More on the GT 640: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gt-640-review,3214.html

 

[Ironslice]

I would get the build g-unit1111 suggested but with a GTX 550 ti: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625 and buy the PSU off of Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028&Tpk=cx600%20v2 which has a 10% off promo code and a $20 MIR.

 

[g-unit1111]

I would get the build g-unit1111 suggested but with a GTX 550 ti: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625 and buy the PSU off of Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028&Tpk=cx600%20v2 which has a 10% off promo code and a $20 MIR.

I had a dual GTX 550TI setup and hated it, the GT 640 is based off Keppler, uses less power, and beats the low-end Radeons of the spectrum (7750, 6770, 6790).