Build for about 650 (no monitor, keyboard, mouse, OS)

[lazylink]

Approximate Purchase Date: this week

Budget Range: 600-650 before shipping, rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, movies, internet

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: none

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Location: Santa Cruz, CA

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking:No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024

Additional Comments: I really need advice on the PSU, I have no idea how much power I need, I don't want to get too much and waste money or too little and have malfunctions. Please also check the fan controller, I've never owned one before.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I have a really old laptop that barely runs any new games, finally settled in and can use a desktop.

Parts:

SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244

APEVIA X-TROOPER Junior Series X-TRPJR-NW-BK Black Steel MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144273

Sunbeam RHK-S Rheobus 20W Fan Controller (Silver)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811995011

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136770

VisionTek 900505 Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129230

hec ZEPHYR ZEPHY580MX 580W Continuous @ 40°C ATX12V V2.3 / SSI EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339034

Kingston HyperX Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model KHX16C9B1RK2/8
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104344

ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM R2.0 LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131860

Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

Total cost: $620

 

[lazylink]

Can I get some feedback on this? Especially with regards to how much power I need?

 

[lighter17]

A 500 Watt PSU is enough for a single video card system. Go with one of the reputable brands.

Here's an improved version of your build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($107.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($35.02 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $530.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Price is after $30 in rebates, but there's another $10 promo code on the PSU

Why do you want to get a fan controller?

 

[lighter17]

And here's a build that maxes out your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $648.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This is after $50 in rebates, but there's the promo code for the PSU and a combo deal to cut a total of $18 off the price

 

[lazylink]

Thank you for the replies! I noticed both of you selected Asrock motherboards. I've heard that they are of inferior quality compared to the Asus and Gigabyte motherboards, is this true?

I also noticed that both of you recommended an ATX mid tower case, it costs more and I would like to know why you picked it over the one in my original post.

I want a fan controller in case the fans are really loud so I can turn them down when I not making the computer do intensive work.

 

[lighter17]

Thank you for the replies! I noticed both of you selected Asrock motherboards. I've heard that they are of inferior quality compared to the Asus and Gigabyte motherboards, is this true?

I also noticed that both of you recommended an ATX mid tower case, it costs more and I would like to know why you picked it over the one in my original post.

I want a fan controller in case the fans are really loud so I can turn them down when I not making the computer do intensive work.

I posted both of the systems. The first was just to try to save some money using your build as a base, and then when I saw how much below budget it came to I created the upgraded build.

I don't know of any quality differences between Asrock and Asus and Gigabyte. Those 3 and MSI are really equivalent in quality and it's just the luck of the draw as to whether you get a defective board or not. Asrock and MSI tend to be a little cheaper than the other two.

I normally recommend mid tower cases because it's a component you can re-use from one build to the next and if you go with a microATX case you're limiting your options when it comes time to upgrade. With shipping figured in the case I chose is only $1 more expensive pre-rebate, $11 post rebate. Really choosing a case tends to come down to a personal choice for some since they want a case that looks good to them. There's no problem with your case (that I know of) for the first of my builds. The video card in the second build is quite long and if you go with that you're probably going to need a mid tower case.

You can always add the fan controller later if you find the fans are too loud.