New build on a tight budget

[archangelzorak]

Approximate Purchase Date: within the next few days

Budget Range: 500 usd

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, CAD, media

Are you buying a monitor: No


Parts to Upgrade: Case, Mobo, Memory, CPU, Optical, SSD.
I'll be moving my storage drives (3xWD Caviars), video card (EVGA GTX 460) and PSU (BFG 650w) from my old PC.

Do you need to buy OS: No, I have an extra copy of Win 7 kickin' around here somewhere.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Location: MA, USA

Parts Preferences: Intel, Corsair, Asus (I have to sacrifice some of my usual's here due to budget restraints)

Overclocking: perhaps after getting an aftermarket cooler, which isnt in the budget this week

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Here is what I've come up with so far.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qtfZ

I really dont want to skimp on the processor; I looked into some AMD solutions but in the end couldn't bring myself to switch from intel.
My current PC is starting to show its age, its done me proud for quite a few years but I know its only a matter of time until something fails catastrophically and I want to update before that happens.

If anyone has any suggestions or concerns in regards to my parts list I'd love to hear them, thank you.

(edited due to error in partslist)

 

[forr3zt]

First off you should get a 3570K not a 3570. The "K" means it is overclockable. Second, I have built PCs with the Pro3, and while it is a decent board, the Extreme 4 is a much better option.The Extreme4 would put you $5-$10 over budget, but it is money well spent

Extreme4:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

 

[archangelzorak]

its supposed to be the K, thats my bad when making the list. I've gone through so many iterations of the build trying to squeeze the most I can out of every dollar spent. I had looked at the extreme 4 as an option a few times but went with the pro3 just to bring the price down a bit, it wasnt an easy decision and I'll reconsider swapping that out. Thx for the input.

 

[forr3zt]

No problem, I know how it is going through a build. With my last one I went through at least 20 different possibilities. By the way do you happen to live near a micro center?

 

[archangelzorak]

Its rather funny you should ask that, as I had originally put in my post 'I live 2 hours away from cambridge, so Microcenter is a bit of a haul'. I wish I did live closer or had access to a more economical transportation method that would make the savings of purchasing a cpu at microcenter more economical. Would that I could get said cpu at microcenter I would be well within budget with ease.

 

[forr3zt]

What do you plan on using the SSD for? If you are just using it for boot, an drivers then a 64GB or 90Gb would be perfectly fine.

 

[archangelzorak]

I'll be using the SSD for the OS, a couple of games and perhaps some CAD files. I imagine a smaller capacity would suffice however the price/Gb goes up as you go down in capacity. It seems counter-intuitive to get less for what I pay for. As it stands right now I may have to cut the SSD out of the purchase order and order one next week, with any luck a sale will spring up.

 

[forr3zt]

For games, if you are using steam all of them have to be on the same hdd/ssd along with the actual program. I tried to put them in separate places, but it just would not cooperate. So, if you do take the SSD out of the equation for now I think that you should go with

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qx1f

 

[archangelzorak]

I think if I was going to drop that much on a motherboard I'd probably go with one of the ASUS models. If I werent working on a budget I'd do that as a personal rule. I've put together 2 systems for myself and another 5 for friends/family over the years and always gone with ASUS boards and never had any issues, ever.

I checked out the Extreme4, newegg is out of stock currently. Any experience working with the Pro4? It seems a decent compromise between price points.

 

[archangelzorak]

Just checked out Microcenter's site; turns out if you put a 3570k and an extreme4 in your checkout the price on the extreme4 drops from 134.95 to 94.95, even after crazy Massachusetts sales tax I'd save about $100. I think its worth the drive at that point. To Cambridge!