Can I do better? I need some advice

[newtothis_81]

I am pretty new to this. But here's my try. I want something under 800. I am interested in gaming and know this needs a graphics card, but left it out for now as it didn't meet the budget. I want the best hardware I can get for the money.


SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q - OEM

$24.99



Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

$64.99


Acer H233Hbmid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor

-$30.00 Instant

$249.99
$219.99




OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2F10664GK


-$6.00 Instant
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate

$51.99
$45.99



OCZ Fatal1ty Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2F10664GK - Retail

-$6.00 Instant
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate

$51.99
$45.99




Antec earthwatts EA500 500W ATX12V v2.0 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail



Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail


-$30.00 Instant
-$20.00 Combo


$159.94
$109.94




AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HDZ940XCGIBOX - Retail


GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail


-$19.00 Instant
-$50.00 Combo


$357.99
$288.99

I know the processor is probably overkill but I like the idea of a quad core. And the ability to overclock.

This comes in right at my budget for 781.44 with shipping

 

[xthekidx]

I'd get the WD6400AAKS, its got 320gb platters instead of 250, so it will be faster and is larger.

You need an OS too, Vista 64bit will cost $100.

Not sure if you put the ram on there twice by accident, but if you didnt and meant that you were getting 2 sets, then don't you won't see much of an improvment over 4gb.

 

[gkay09]

Well if u are planning to overclock, get an after market cooler...
Like the Xigmatic Dark Knight...about $35 but will allow u to overclock higher...

 

[huron]

+1 to the WD 640 GB HDD.

I'd ditch the more expensive RAM for DDR2 800 that runs at or near 1.8v. You can OC it if need be.

You can get the Antec 300 for $50 or so at microcenter.

Good PSU choice.

Another +1 to the OS suggestion.

 

[MykC]

It look all good, the onboard video might actually suprise you if you play games from 2007 and previous. I know that Half-Life 2 is fully enjoyable on that system.

 

[aevm]

Don't spend $70 on the Earthwatts 500W. Spend $75 (after rebate) on the Corsair 650TX instead. The Earthwatts will limit your choice of video card to HD 4850, GTS 250 or something of that sort. The Corsair 650TX on the other hand can take any single graphics card, or even two HD 4850 cards (or two HD 4870 cards, with $6 worth of adapters added.)

WD5000AAKS is a good drive - I have three of them still running beautifully after two years. However, the WD6400AAKS is 50% faster, and the WD6401AALS is 66% faster. You would really notice the difference.

If the machine is just for gaming, 4 GB of RAM will do very well.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/07/08/is-more-memory-better/5

 

[newtothis_81]

Thanks for the help. I will definatley go with the faster hard drive. As far as the psu goes, I cant afford the corsair 650tx. The Antec comes in a bundle with that case so its quite a bit cheaper. Will 500w be enough power? And will it be reliable? Also, I have a few operating systems free from school. I will use vista business 64 bit, any good? And possibly put xp on my old hard drive and have dual boot. I wont be overclocking right away but I will buy better cooling when I decide to.

 

[newtothis_81]

also, is that mobo going to be ok or should I look into something else? Asus maybe?

 

[aevm]

Yes the Earthwatts PSU is reliable. It's a very good PSU.

Enough power? Yes for a HD 4850, which can play a lot of games well at 1920x1080, but not all. Not enough for a HD 4850 X2 or a pair of HD 4850 or a GTX 285 or any other combination that can really rock at that resolution. It depends on your favorite games and how demanding they are, and on how much you're able to spend on the GPU. Assuming you don't play Crysis and have $200 or less for the GPU, that PSU is OK, I think.

Vista 64 Business - sure, why not. It's very much like Home Premium 64, plus some features that don't benefit games but won't hurt either. It's good that it's a 64-bit OS, because you get to see the whole RAM that way. It also has DX10, another plus.

Yeah, the GA-MA790GP-UD4H will be OK. Look at newegg reviews, 75% very happy, 21% happy, and no bad reviews at all (no one-egg or two-egg reviews). Asus makes good stuff too, but it will be hard to beat that.