Advice Needed: Budget Gaming and Multi-tasking build

[kja89]

Hi. I'm planning on building my first computer and any advice would be very much appreciated.

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Approximate Purchase Date: This week (up to a few months if I really should wait for something like a new processor to come out)


Budget Range: $500-$600 after rebates


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Light Web Development (Dreamweaver), Gaming, Web Surfing


Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Monitor, Mouse, Speakers, OS (Have Windows 7 Pro 64bit)


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: None


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe


Monitor Resolution: 1280 x 1024 right now, will probably get a new monitor soon with 1920 x 1080


Additional Comments: I will mostly use this build to multitask. I usually have iTunes, Dreamweaver, and several browser windows open at the same time (also some light video and image editing sometimes). I would also like to be able to play modern games at a decent setting. My main concern is having a pc that will be future-proof for some time.

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Parts already purchased:

Power Supply

OCZ StealthXstream II OCZ600SXS2 600W ATX12V v2.2/ EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341039

Case

NZXT M59 - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146058

Combo Deal = $58.98

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Planned parts:

CPU

AMD Phenom II x6 1090T Black Edition ($199.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849

or

AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition ($139.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Is it worth the extra $60 for the 1090T? I know all six cores might not be utilized now, but will it be a better processor into the future?


Motherboard

ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard ($83.99 After Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402

Not set on this. After researching, it seemed to be a good choice that I think will let me crossfire in the future.


RAM

No idea. Whatever works best with Motherboard?

GPU

Radeon HD 5770 seems like a good value. (I'm not going to be playing Crysis at the highest settings or anything) I'm not sure which brand to get though.

One possibility
HIS Radeon HD 5770 1 GB GDDR5 Eyefinity DisplayPort HDMI 2x DL-DVI (HDCP) PCI Express 2.1 X16 Video Card Retail (RoHS) H577FK1GD ($99.99 after rebate)
http://www.amazon.com/HIS-Eyefinity-DisplayPort-Express-H577FK1GD/dp/B003O85IN4/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1297696149&sr=1-4

Hard Drive

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($49.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

CD/DVD Drive

Something $20-$30

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Totals after rebates(if I haven't completely forgotten something or added wrong):
With the 1090t and about $60 of RAM that puts me at about $575.
With the x4 and about $60 of RAM I am at about $515.

I'm new at this, so I hope everything is compatible. Thanks in advance for any advice or comments.

 

[max40watt]

If you can wait a few months, you might as well wait for the dust to settle from the Sandy Bridge recall. For your price range, they would probably be the better choice.

 

[dimamu15]

Nice.
I too bought this case+psu combo. My budget was 650(800 w\ monitor).
Here is gtx 460 with good MIR. Best price i could find on this gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162055
I think it is affordable with this budget. Otherwise refer to this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6950-1gb-geforce-gtx-560-ti-gaming-graphics-card,2857.html

i5-2500(k) or i5-2400 would be better in my opinion, but you will have to wait for lga 1155 motherboards. They will probably be in combos on newegg. Phenom II are not that good compared to sandy bridge, maybe wait for bulldozer if you desire amd product. Anyway value\performance is after sandy bridge right now.

Here is my list for 620$ after rebates (no monitor):
cpu: i5-2500k
motherboard: probably p67 for overclocking
gpu : GALAXY GTX 460 GC
psu+case: same as you bought already
hd: WD 500GB SATA 6gb\s
dvd drive(burner): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
ram: PNY 1x4GB optima: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178332

if you okay with only 4gb of ram get dual channel 2x2GB ram. I will be getting another 4gb soon so one stick is enough for me now.

Sandy Bridge(sure) and newer line gpu(probably) will be more future proof. But they come up with new stuff every 6 month so there is no guarantee. I wanted to go with Radeon HD6850 as the price is similar to gtx 460 but tom's hardware article says for the money gtx is better, performance wise also. My toughts were that hd 6xxx line is newer then gtx 4xx, but older 5850 is better than 6850. There is also thing with drivers that many mention, where radeon's are not that good. Check benchmarks here if you want: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU11/188

 

[kja89]

Thanks for the suggestions. Waiting for the lga 1155 motherboard or Bulldozer seems like a better option to me now. I will definitely look into the GPU suggestions when I am ready to build too. I know it's all speculation at this point, but if I wait for Bulldozer will there probably be an option that would fit within my budget? I had just assumed that Bulldozer would be out of my price range, so I didn't see any point in waiting.

Thanks again for the help everybody.

 

[max40watt]

Thanks for the suggestions. Waiting for the lga 1155 motherboard or Bulldozer seems like a better option to me now. I will definitely look into the GPU suggestions when I am ready to build too. I know it's all speculation at this point, but if I wait for Bulldozer will there probably be an option that would fit within my budget? I had just assumed that Bulldozer would be out of my price range, so I didn't see any point in waiting.

Thanks again for the help everybody.

Even if for some reason there isn't a bulldozer model in your price range, it will inevitably push down the pricing of the current lineup. So you'd either end up saving a bit of money, or getting a higher speced cpu for the same price.

 

[kja89]

Best answer selected by kja89.