Final Check Before Purchase (Budget Gaming PC)

[Jaybyrd13]

Budget $550-$650

Purchase Date: Today or tomorrow

System Usage Most-Least: Gaming, Internet, Writing papers.

Parts not required: Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers

Preferred website: Newegg or Tigerdirect

Country: USA

Is the 500W PSU going to be enough to power at least 3 of the fans and all the parts?
Everything compatible?

Case: Antec 300 Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
RAM: G. SKILL Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 6850 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125353
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Blue Hard Drive – 500GB, 3.5”, SATA 6Gbps, 7200RPM, 16MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769
Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc 24x DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
PSU: Corsair CX500 V2 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118067
Motherboard: ASUS M5A97 EVO AM3+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131757


Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[FinneousPJ]

Yeah the PSU is fine. Everything seems compatible as well. Motherboard seems kind of expensive for your budget.

 

[Jaybyrd13]

Yeah the PSU is fine. Everything seems compatible as well. Motherboard seems kind of expensive for your budget.

I am still a noob when it comes to building computers so what would you suggest?

 

[phunky_21]

According to the website your processor does not support 1600 mhz ram. I'm not a pro, I don't know if that means you'll only get 1333 performance out of it or if it means it won't work at all. I'm still pretty new myself. The 1333 is only like 3 dollars cheaper but I'd go with that if that's what your supported for.


From amd website:
Type of Memory Supported:
Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2 8500(DDR2-1066MHz) and PC3 10600 (DDR3-1333MHz)
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/processors/phenom-ii/Pages/phenom-ii-model-number-comparison.aspx

 

[FinneousPJ]

The RAM will work fine.

 

[amkronos]

The AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition on Newegg has some nice combo deals that can lower your costs if you want to shop around. My best advice with Newegg is to shop for combo deals, and look for free shipping if you can.

 

[magnesiumk]

AM3+ supports up to 1866 Mhz. I run the regular M5A97 with a 955 Processor. I can clock the ram above 1600 Mhz, but it's not much of a difference. Altogether I like all the items you picked. It's very similar to my build. The PSU will be very very quiet. I suggest an aftermarket heat sink, so you can overclock that 965 about 1 Ghz higher than stock spec.

 

[FinneousPJ]

I am still a noob when it comes to building computers so what would you suggest?

You could probably make due with something cheap like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157305

Either pocket the money or grab a CPU cooler for a mid level OC.

 

[magnesiumk]

I have a $30 zalman heat sink, and the overclock on the 955 cpu can go up to 4.2Ghz. Very happy with that M5A97 mobo. It was available for $95