This will be the first computer I have built, and there is still a lot to learn! My laptop just isn’t cutting it anymore, so I plan to downgrade that operating system and get a desktop for most everything else.
I primarily surf, watch movies, and use it for office applications. Though, I’m an avid Civilization player, and the new one is coming at the end of the month, and I want to experience it in all of its glory. So, I’m looking to make a balanced desktop that can smoothly play something like Civ 5 (hopefully, for years to come). I have a 27 inch 1080p monitor I’ll be using for quite some time.
I think I understand the basic concept of overclocking, and I may give it a try. Though, if the system I get is plenty fast, I may wait a bit and then try my hand at it in a year or so. I’m looking at the following system. I’m just wondering if this seems like overkill, if the hard drive is too loud, if there’s something incompatible, if I would kick myself for not implementing X motherboard instead of Y motherboard because of upgrade technology, etc.
I chose a Micro ATX motherboard because I just like the idea of a smaller sized case. The prices are from newegg, and I just typed in what the final price would be, after the rebate. There’s maybe 19 dollars total in shipping with these items, so in total, it’s around $950.00:
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe
Item #: N82E16827106335
$23.99
NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Black Steel / Plastic Gaming mATX
Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811146065
$69.99
Recertified: HITACHI Deskstar 7K500 HDT725032VLA380 (0A32161)
320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822145342
$34.99
GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128445
$99.99
Palit NE5X460SF1102 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Sonic 1GB 256-bit
GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814261075
198.99
Tuniq Potency PSU-POT650-BK 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready
CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817611007
$39.99
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3
12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
Item #: N82E16820145260
$79.99
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W
Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103727
$164.99
LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Disc Reader SATA Model iHOS104-08
Item #: N82E16827106326
$64.99
OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal
Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820227542
$139.00
There are two components in particular I might wait on/change. The SSD drive and/or the CPU. I might elect to go with just one HDD drive, for now, and save the 140.00, and right now I have the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz, but I might change that to the Athlon II X4 635, at $99.00. I do want Quad Core, though.
I just don’t know if the higher version is worth the cost. So what do you guys think? Is this overkill? Am I going to regret spending too much on the CPU for what I get (i.e., that it’s just not going to be that much of a difference)? Thanks!
I primarily surf, watch movies, and use it for office applications. Though, I’m an avid Civilization player, and the new one is coming at the end of the month, and I want to experience it in all of its glory. So, I’m looking to make a balanced desktop that can smoothly play something like Civ 5 (hopefully, for years to come). I have a 27 inch 1080p monitor I’ll be using for quite some time.
I think I understand the basic concept of overclocking, and I may give it a try. Though, if the system I get is plenty fast, I may wait a bit and then try my hand at it in a year or so. I’m looking at the following system. I’m just wondering if this seems like overkill, if the hard drive is too loud, if there’s something incompatible, if I would kick myself for not implementing X motherboard instead of Y motherboard because of upgrade technology, etc.
I chose a Micro ATX motherboard because I just like the idea of a smaller sized case. The prices are from newegg, and I just typed in what the final price would be, after the rebate. There’s maybe 19 dollars total in shipping with these items, so in total, it’s around $950.00:
LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe
Item #: N82E16827106335
$23.99
NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Black Steel / Plastic Gaming mATX
Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811146065
$69.99
Recertified: HITACHI Deskstar 7K500 HDT725032VLA380 (0A32161)
320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822145342
$34.99
GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128445
$99.99
Palit NE5X460SF1102 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Sonic 1GB 256-bit
GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814261075
198.99
Tuniq Potency PSU-POT650-BK 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready
CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817611007
$39.99
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3
12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
Item #: N82E16820145260
$79.99
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W
Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103727
$164.99
LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Disc Reader SATA Model iHOS104-08
Item #: N82E16827106326
$64.99
OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal
Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #: N82E16820227542
$139.00
There are two components in particular I might wait on/change. The SSD drive and/or the CPU. I might elect to go with just one HDD drive, for now, and save the 140.00, and right now I have the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz, but I might change that to the Athlon II X4 635, at $99.00. I do want Quad Core, though.
I just don’t know if the higher version is worth the cost. So what do you guys think? Is this overkill? Am I going to regret spending too much on the CPU for what I get (i.e., that it’s just not going to be that much of a difference)? Thanks!