Building on a budget

[holcombsean33]

First time computer build! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Components are all coming in the mail with the next few days. Let me know if there’s anything else I need to list as I’m new to this.

Component List

-Asus M3n78-vm motherboard
-Amd phenom II x4 955 3.2 ghz cpu
-Corsair cx750 750watt 80 bronze certified psu
-Corsair dominator 4gb (2x2gb) pc2 8500 1066mhz ddr2 (should I get 2 more sticks?)
-wd 1tb 7200 rpm 32mb cache 3.5 internal hdd
-wd 250gb 7200rpm 64mb cache 3.5 SATA hard drive
-Tp link tg-3269 10/100/1000mbps network card
-dell amd Radeon hd 6450 1gb high profile 3173k video card
-gpu chipset GeForce 8200 (can I use this with the Hybrid SLI?)
-creative labs sb0570 sound blaster audigy 7.1 channel hd pci sound card
-noctua nh-d15 cpu cooler

What do I have wrong, what am I missing, and any advice for rookie?

 

[clutchc]

Old equipment, huh? But if you aren't planning on gaming with the build, it should be OK for web-surfing and general usage. The HD-6450 is a 720p card for gaming at best using low-mid settings.
Yes, more RAM!
Unless the board is used and has a defective LAN chip, you won't need the separate LAN card.
Unless the board is used and has a defective audio chip, you won't need the separate audio card.
Unless the Phenom II X4 955 is a black edition, you won't need the expensive cooler. Can't OC the locked multiplier version of the CPU enough to generate that much heat.
The 750W PSU is massively overkill for the system as-is.

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah the PSU is massively over powered and you probably could have gotten a more efficient smaller PSU for less or the same price. Not sure what sort of build you are going for.

 

[holcombsean33]

Old equipment, huh? But if you aren't planning on gaming with the build, it should be OK for web-surfing and general usage. The HD-6450 is a 720p card for gaming at best using low-mid settings.
Yes, more RAM!
Unless the board is used and has a defective LAN chip, you won't need the separate LAN card.
Unless the board is used and has a defective audio chip, you won't need the separate audio card.
Unless the Phenom II X4 955 is a black edition, you won't need the expensive cooler. Can't OC the locked multiplier version of the CPU enough to generate that much heat.
The 750W PSU is massively overkill for the system as-is.

I went with some older equipment to keep my cost down since this is my first build. Mistake? Ha I’m bidding on an amd Radeon r9 270x double dissipation edition currently. Is it worth it? I have a separate 450 watt psu if that would be more adequate for this build. Anything else I should add outside of more ram? I’m looking at some right now.

 

[clutchc]

Old equipment, huh? But if you aren't planning on gaming with the build, it should be OK for web-surfing and general usage. The HD-6450 is a 720p card for gaming at best using low-mid settings.
Yes, more RAM!
Unless the board is used and has a defective LAN chip, you won't need the separate LAN card.
Unless the board is used and has a defective audio chip, you won't need the separate audio card.
Unless the Phenom II X4 955 is a black edition, you won't need the expensive cooler. Can't OC the locked multiplier version of the CPU enough to generate that much heat.
The 750W PSU is massively overkill for the system as-is.

I went with some older equipment to keep my cost down since this is my first build. Mistake? Ha I’m bidding on an amd Radeon r9 270x double dissipation edition currently. Is it worth it? I have a separate 450 watt psu if that would be more adequate for this build. Anything else I should add outside of more ram? I’m looking at some right now.

We don't know what your budget is or where you can shop. US, Europe, UK, etc.
The 450W would be adequate for the HD 6450, but not for the R9-270X. That requires a 500W or better. And not allPSUs are created equal.
Depending on how much you are spending on the gfx card, you may do better with a more modern card. Like the GTX 1050 Ti. It is generally around $160 (US) and a bit faster than the R9-270X. It can run on the 450W PSU.

 

[holcombsean33]

[/quotemsg]

We don't know what your budget is or where you can shop. US, Europe, UK, etc.
The 450W would be adequate for the HD 6450, but not for the R9-270X. That requires a 500W or better. And not allPSUs are created equal.
Depending on how much you are spending on the gfx card, you may do better with a more modern card. Like the GTX 1050 Ti. It is generally around $160 (US) and a bit faster than the R9-270X. It can run on the 450W PSU.[/quotemsg]

I’m in the US. I’m closing in on getting the r9-270x for about $60 right now. Budget is no more than another $200, is I’m already in for $200 so far. Should I just try to get a more modern motherboard that is compatible with my current components? Are possibly compatible with ddr3 ram as I have 8gb of that already from a broken down hp pavilion. Any motherboards you recommend?

 

[naseemwidad215]

Many parts of this build is unbalanced. The power supply doesn't need to be 750w. I have a GTX 1070 TI and the whole PC only uses 440w. You should invest more into the motherboard for later upgrades to your GPU and CPU. Speaking of the GPU, I know it's budget but i would advise to get a better one because at most you would be playing Half Life 2 at 60FPS max. CS:GO would go for around 25FPS. It's worth the upgrade on the GPU.

 

[clutchc]

We don't know what your budget is or where you can shop. US, Europe, UK, etc.
The 450W would be adequate for the HD 6450, but not for the R9-270X. That requires a 500W or better. And not allPSUs are created equal.
Depending on how much you are spending on the gfx card, you may do better with a more modern card. Like the GTX 1050 Ti. It is generally around $160 (US) and a bit faster than the R9-270X. It can run on the 450W PSU.[/quotemsg]

I’m in the US. I’m closing in on getting the r9-270x for about $60 right now. Budget is no more than another $200, is I’m already in for $200 so far. Should I just try to get a more modern motherboard that is compatible with my current components? Are possibly compatible with ddr3 ram as I have 8gb of that already from a broken down hp pavilion. Any motherboards you recommend?
[/quotemsg]

If you're tapped out money-wise, and you're trying to make do with some older parts you already have... then yes, grab a faster gfx card for now and enjoy some better gaming. The 270X is adequate for 1080p gaming with reduce settings. Some older and some less demanding games may even run at highest settings.