Suggestions On New Desktop Build

[Mark1416]

Hi,

I'm planning on building my first desktop soon and wanted get some advice from experts first.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: asap

BUDGET RANGE: $550 - $700

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Movies, Gaming, Surfing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Antec 900 Case with 550 watt BFG Power Supply (I'll upgrade this if it's necessary), keyboard, mouse, monitor.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I've been finding everything from Newegg but anywhere is fine.

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD Processor. I've been leaning towards Nvidia for video but ATI works too.

OVERCLOCKING: Only if it works with stock fan
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe in the future

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I plan to connect this desktop to a 40" 1080P lcd tv to watch movies. I also have a 22" monitor for gaming.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

Video Card: PNY VCGGTX260CXPB GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133270

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Please let me know if you think this setup is best for my budget/needs. Any suggestions at all are welcome.
Thank you very much in advance.

Mark

 

[Cpt Deadboots]

I think motherboards typically come with one or two SATA cables. You'll need an extra one for your hard drive, obviously.

I'm fairly positive that you can get more performance out of a cheaper PII tri-core build; is there any specific reason you want to get an E8400?

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-43-UD3L $71.49 | $61.49 after rebate
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L Core 2 Quad/ Intel P43/ DDR2/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206 $119.99 Free Shipping*
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731 $53.99 ($43.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
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=N82E16822136319 $74.99 Free Shipping*
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133270 $179.99 ($159.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Free Shipping*
PNY VCGGTX260CXPB GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123107 $1.99
OKGEAR 10" SATA II CABLE-UV BLUE Model GC10AUBM - Retail

Total: $502.44 | $482.44 w/mail in rebates

 

[Mark1416]

I chose the E8400 just based on reviews and felt 3.0 ghz would be fast. I'm not attached to it, but I want to make sure my systems runs well. What exactly is a PII tri core? A triple core processor?

Thank you for the suggestions Why_Me! I like your mobo choice because it looks like it will satisfy what I need for less money. For the ram, is it a significant decrease comparing 800 to 1200 speed?

The new video card looks much better and it fits my budget with the new mobo.

Is it necessary to buy a new processor cooler, or is the stock one good enough? If I were to get the E7400 could I bump it up safely to 3.0 with the stock cooler?

 

[Why_Me]

Move up your fsb (9.5 x 333) and run it at 3.16 @ 1333 fsb. You should be able to do that on stock cooling np.

 

[Outlander_04]

You can get much better value in this price range with AMD , as well as better gaming performance .
Here
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/phenom2_955/8.htm
Phenom spanks ci and intel quad , so your e8400 would be well off the pace

Intel charges WAY too much for its c2d and c2q chips , and even worse the socket 775 is at the end of its life cycle .

 

[Mark1416]

Okay so I liked the AMD specs compared to Intel. I revised the initial post to fit previous suggestions. So now I need some suggestions for a good motherboard to fit the PII x3 and DDR3 RAM. I'm also unsure about the speed for the RAM but I'm guessing it just depends on the particular motherboard. I also upgraded the video card with the savings from AMD and staying with the stock cooler.

I also found a package deal on Newegg for a quad core AMD and a motherboard. It has combo savings and a rebate which makes it a great deal. Would this package be the best choice compared to the PII x3?

AMD Phenom 9950 Agena 2.6GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HD995ZXAGHBOX - Retail

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.198653

 

[Outlander_04]

The phenom 1 series performs below equivalent age Intel cpu's and dont have the overclocking potential of the intels . Its not worth it to save money by buying phenom 1 IMO .

AMD AM3 processors also fit in AM2+ boards that use DDR2 and this is an option that can save you money now , but might limit upgrades in a few years .

So a value AM3 system based on a 720 be looks a bit like

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz $139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&Tpk=720be

GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

The mb is a really good quality board . Its possible to save a little bit here without sacrificing too much . There's an asrock [ made by asus ] board thats a bit cheaper
Either way stick to boards with the 790 series northbridge chip .
There may be better deals on RAM , but that seems very competitive for price and quality

 

[batuchka]

I like Outlanders idea but i would say for non BEs typically SB750 > rest but more the same with BE OCing hehe. Well i would advocate splashing a bit more on GPU actually hehe Since u seem preferring green camp GPU no point paying for CF/CFX mobos i feel

 

[Mark1416]

Thanks guys for all the great suggestions. I revised the setup again with your ideas. I like the PII's and I liked batuchka's motherboard choice. Now I'm just curious about the video card. It's a big price difference to go from the gtx260 to the gtx275. Is it a big enough change in graphics quality? One of the things I like about the current gtx260 is it comes with COD . I'm assuming it's a good enough card to handle that game with a higher resolution. So my question is: is the additional cash for the gtx275 worth the upgrade?

Also does anyone have any suggestions for a good dvd burner with light scribe? It's hard to tell if any are better than others based on reviews. Are they all relatively the same in quality?

 

[Outlander_04]

I agree batuchka's mb is a great choice . It does limit crossfire upgrades but you are better spending the $$$ now on a single good gfx card .

For your gfx card have a look at the charts section of this site .
And also
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-275,2266.html


I had a couple of quality dvd burners flame out on me I started buying cheap ones . The liteon I bought has lasted well .