Need help / assurance on potential build please.

[r4en4rok]

Hello,

I haven't researched / built a system in about 5 years. Needless to say, my knowledge of current tech specs is a bit outdated. I would truly appreciate any help in regards to going through the following potential component build / purchase. I would like to know if anyone sees any compatibility issues or differerent recomendations.

(1) Sunbeam Transformer IC-TR-US-BK Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply - Retail

(1) ASUS M3N78 PRO AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8300 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

(1) AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION Agena 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 140W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

(1) CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

(1) Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

(2) HP Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail

(1) ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

(1) Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM

Thank you,

R4en4rok

 

[r4en4rok]

anyone?

 

[geofelt]

You will get a better response if you include a link to newegg on your parts.

I like the 4850 in the <$200 price range.

I assume this PC is being built for gaming.
If so, a higher clocked duo like the E8400 will serve you better.
Very few games can use more than two cores, and that will not change soon.

A basic mobo like the Gigabyte EP35-DS3L and 4gb of DDR2-800 ram would be good, and cost less.

I would not buy a case with an included PSU except perhaps from Antec.
The PSU is the last place to scrimp on quality. The included psu is supposed to be 450watts, but only half of that is delivered on the 12v rails where it is needed. That is not a good indicator of quality.

Look at the Antec NSK4480 which includes a 380W PSU. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129031
The Antec 380 watt psu is actually much stronger than the 450w psu in the sunbeam case.

Do you need TWO dvd burners?

I do like Vista home premium 64 bit.

---good luck---

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I can't comment on the motherboard since I'm not to up to speed on the current AMD motherboards. Intel holds the performance crown right now. If you want to stick with an AMD build, the only thing I would suggest would be getting something with a better PSU. You do not want to go cheap on the PSU.

Newegg has the Antec 300 case for $55 shipped right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Pair that with something like this Corsair PSU and you would have a pretty solid setup:

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004 $97.99 - $20.00 MIR

You should also consider the WD 6400AAKS hard drive. It is generally considered the fastest 7200 RPM drive around, especially for the price:

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218 $79.99

I don't have anything against AMD, but at the moment you should really consider an Intel build. Here's some parts to consider:

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128347 $89.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017 $189.99

or

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 $169.99

I would go with the quad if you will be doing video encoding and stuff. Just stick with a dual core if the primary purpose is gaming.

Edit: If you do end up going Intel, your money would be better spent on some good DDR2 800 RAM like this:

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731 $82.99 -$20.00 MIR

That RAM has good timings at the standard 1.8v.

 

[spidy]

@shortstuff _mt: I am planning an intel build similar to the one you outlined, but i plan on having mine for as long as i can, and hope to only have to upgrade the video card after a couple years. what i'm wondering, will quad cores be useful within a couple years, or would it be better to get a duo right now and upgrade to a quad in a couple years? and obviously, the quads and duos use the same sopcket right now, right? so if i upgraded, i would only need to swap the CPU, right?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

That all depends on your intended use for the computer. I personally wish I had a quad core instead of dual core because I do a lot of video encoding and stuff. My dual core at 3.2GHz is anything but slow, but every time I watch both cores max out while encoding, I kick myself for not getting a quad core. I'm not really a gamer, but I know that a lot of games prefer the higher clock speeds of the dual cores to 4 cores.

The best of both worlds would be to get a quad core and overclock it to 3 - 3.2GHz. That should be fast enough to game and last you a while. More and more software should start popping up that take advantage of multiple cores, so IMO a quad core is the way to go if you plan on keeping this for a while. I'm sure others will disagree, but that's OK!


Edit: I forgot to answer your question about the sockets. Yes, the Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad both use the same socket. The only thing to consider when upgrading the CPU is whether your motherboard supports the CPU. You will usually have to at least upgrade the BIOS to upgrade to the latest CPU.

 

[geofelt]

@spidey:
What you see now is all that you will be able to get for socket 775 in the future.
If you will want a 775 quad in the future, it might be best to wait. The new nehalem i7 cpu's are oriented to multicore users. Assuming that they are as effective as planned, the old 775 quads will not be able to compete and should drop in price.

I think games will be very slow to get multicore capabilities. It is not a trivial task to build multitasking into a program. Game developers want the widest audience possible for their games. If a game requires a quad to run well, they will sell very few games.

 

[r4en4rok]

Thank you all for the input. Looks like I need to sit down and do alot more uresearch.

And thank you on the advice regarding the links,.. will do so next time.

Thanks again. Hopefully, after i get my feet wet again, I can become a helpful poster as well.

R4en4rok