Thoughts on build...before I go buy and build

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US23soccer

US23soccer

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Approximately within the next 2-3 weeks

BUDGET RANGE: $500-$700 (not firm, but will most likely be above $500)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, burning DVDs (maybe in the not too distant future), watching movies, playing/storing music, writing papers, creating power points and/or spread sheets, surfing the internet

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe?


ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Initially, I was looking into upgrading my current desktop computer so that I could play StarCraft II. After looking at my hardware (my dad built it back in 2003: AMD Athlon +2500 cpu, Asus A7N8X-VM mobo, etc.) I decided that it would be better to just build a new desktop computer.
While the short term goal is to be able to play SC2, I would like to start burning my movie collection onto blank writable DVDs in the near future. I suppose a longer-term short term goal would be to play Diablo III when it comes out.

I did my share of research and put together a list of parts that were fairly budget friendly. So before I start spending any of my hard earned money, I'd like to get the thoughts of computer-building/gamer enthusiasts on the hardware I've selected. In addition and most importantly, I want to be sure...no, positive, that this whole setup will work when I put it together. Nobody likes spending more money than they have to because they bought the wrong part.
So if anyone has any suggestions or tips, I would love the insight.

*Just a note, I do plan to upgrade the system when I get more money. I've read on multiple sites that the GTX 460 is the way to go for a mid-priced graphics card.

- CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Dual-Core Desktop Processor ($88.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846
- MOBO: ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO/U3S6 785G ATX AMD Motherboard ($109.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131627&Tpk=ASUS%20M4A785TD-V%20EVO%2fU3S6
- RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBPK ($88.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231179
- HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM ST31000528AS Internal Hard Drive ($74.00)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433
- PSU: LOGISYS Computer PS550ABK 550Watts ATX12V Power Supply ($20.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170010
- GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 460 768MB Video Card ($179.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130562
- DVD: ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner ($19.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
- Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($44.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

I haven't checked for any combo deals yet, but the rough subtotal is $628.42
Anyways, please voice any opinions or suggestions. I really appreciate the help.
 
Solution
batuchka
Our very own forums had concluded, over a spread of current games and this also applies to future titles, X3 would be the sweet spot ^^ Since burning is on the table i'd also wouldn't go with an X2 unless $$ is super tight

With carefully picked out parts though one could land a 955BE/GTX 460 for $600 hehe

$570AR
Untitled-1313.jpg
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Proximon

Proximon

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Apr 10, 2006
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Your build is fine except for the PSU. See the guide linked in my sig, make that change, and you have it.

X2 555 and OCZ DDR3 Platinum
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.488674

Asus 870 board and DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496441

Palit GTX 460
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261074

Rosewill 630W and Samsung Spinpoint F3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492765
This particular Rosewill is good.


 
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gkay09

gkay09

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Jul 28, 2008
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^ You have come up with a good build, but you need to change some parts there though...

1. PSU - Definetly a better one...never skimp on the quality of the PSU...

2. HDD - The Seagates drives of late have very high failure rates...So get a different one instead...

Here is a build with combos -
Phenom II X2 555 + Rosewill Challenger
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493009

A newer mobo -
ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 + ASUS DVD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496848

GTX 460 + Free Game -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.456537

OCZ Fatality 550W + Samsung F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492760

RAM -
Mushkin Silverline 4GB DDR3 - Comes with a free 4GB USB flash drive w/ purchase, but ends 9/10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226092

Total - ~$612 | $582
So with the better PSU, you are still inside the budget...
 
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batuchka

batuchka

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Dec 31, 2007
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Our very own forums had concluded, over a spread of current games and this also applies to future titles, X3 would be the sweet spot ^^ Since burning is on the table i'd also wouldn't go with an X2 unless $$ is super tight

With carefully picked out parts though one could land a 955BE/GTX 460 for $600 hehe

$570AR
Untitled-1313.jpg
 
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Solution
US23soccer

US23soccer

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Wow, I agree. That is a pretty nice looking build. Originally, I was looking at the AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE, but I convinced myself that it wouldn't be worth spending money on the two extra processor cores. Then again, I wasn't quite sure what would be a good motherboard combo deal match with it. Would it be worth getting the PII X4 965 instead of the PII X4 955? The 965 does have an operating frequency of 3.4GHz compared to the 955 at 3.2GHz, but is upgrading Batuchka's cpu-mobo combo for the extra 0.2GHz worth the extra $15 ($199.98/$214.98)?
In terms of the motherboard manufacturers, I did not know what was considered "good" or "reliable" besides Asus. One of my friends had said that he tended to buy Asus mobos a few years ago because they were the best at the time, but he wasn't sure of what was considered the best now days. Wasn't quite sure what the judgement on Biostar or ASRock because my father has used both in the last 2 DVR machines he built for using SageTV on our TV (which by the way, excellent TiVo-like program). Same uncertainty with MSI, but if you all suggest it then it's good enough for me.

With the PSU, I wasn't too sure what was a decently priced unit that was worth it's price. Good thing that I decided to consult the forums before making any purchases.

For the video card, would it be better to get the GTX 460 in the 1GB version or the 768MB version? Also, I read that Palit's GTX 460 was the best of all the GTX 460s, so should I switch from EVGA to Palit?

This is an updated build showing an AMD Phenom II X4 965 and a Palit GTX 460 1GB card. Basically, my questions are should I go with the PII X4 965 instead of the 955 and should I get the Palit GTX 460 1GB instead of the EVGA GTX 460 768MB? Sorry that the product info is really small.
http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af17/Chris_Kurland/Untitled/untitled2-1.jpg?t=1284044922

As a side not, I'm quite pleased that none of ya'll suggested any Gigabyte parts because I just don't trust that manufacturer. After I watched my friend's Gigabyte gpu and mbo both spark and die in front of us at same time, I have never considered buying a single part from the company. The fact that many of the online reviews of Gigabyte products seemed to indicate the low quality of the parts just reinforced my opinion of them.
 
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gkay09

gkay09

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Jul 28, 2008
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^ The 955 is a better option, as you can easily set it to run at 965's speed without any issues...

Video card - IMO, pay a little more and get a better manufacturer with more warranty if you will be keeping the PC say 2+ years...So that Zotac or the EVGA card I specified are better options...
And 768MB if your screen resolution is less than 1080p, but if going with 1080p, IMO the 1GB version is better because it has a larger memory interface as well as more memory, that would help in high resolutions...

As for the mobo manufacturers, IMO ASUS and Gigabyte are the best when it comes to AMD boards, maybe you just had a bad board thats all or maybe it was because of the PSU or power outage...
Am sure many would agree with this...
ASUS, Gigabyte >= MSI(MSI is catching up real quick in terms of quality and performance) > ASRock, followed by the rest...
 
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US23soccer

US23soccer

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So my most up-to-date build is the one Batuchka suggested. However, I have been trying to verify whether or not the memory he suggested is compatible with the mobo. The manufacturer product page only lists compatible CPU; they don't seem to have a compatible memory list that is available to the public.
MEMORY: Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 4GB (2x2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory (Model No. PGV34G1333ELK)
MOBO: MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
Does anyone know whether they are compatible? And if not, then does anyone know what memory would be compatible with the MSI 870-G45?
Also, does anyone know what the Asus-equivalent mobo is to the MSI 870-G45? Would the ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 be a good board for a gaming desktop?

Current Build List:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor (Model No. HDZ955FBGMBOX)
Mobo: MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.480292

GPU: ZOTAC Synergy Edition ZT-40401-10P GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.455039

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.506653

Disk Drive: LITE-ON DVD Burner (Model No. iHAP422-98)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492959

RAM: Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory (Model No. PGV34G1333ELK)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220435
 
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gordon_81

gordon_81

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lol the ram is compatible, as for the gtx 460 i would go for this 1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518&Tpk=gtx%20460%20hawk, according to somebody 007, linus OCd it past 5870 levels and was comparing it to a gtx 480
 
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US23soccer

US23soccer

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I don't plan on overclocking my gpu or cpu. However, I've been thinking of switching from the Zotac to the EVGA GTX 460.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130562
In addition, the screen resolution is below 1080p (Hanns-G HG216D) so I don't really need to get the 1GB gpu version.

What kinds of things would I need to be setting?
 
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US23soccer

US23soccer

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So I think I've finally settled on a build. Instead of getting the MSI 870-G45 mobo, I decided to get the Asus M4A87TD EVO because I didn't like that MSI wasn't posting a compatible memory list.
What products should I get warranties on? CPU, GPU, mobo, PSU, HDD? And how long should the warranties last, 1 or 2 years?

Combo
ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496441

Combo
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.493015

Combo
OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.506653

EVGA 768-P3-1360-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.456537

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

Subtotal + Shipping = $669.83 (w/o warranties)
 
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gordon_81

gordon_81

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go for a 1gb gtx 460.... and you dont need thermal paste, your stock cooler comes with thermal paste, only reason people would buy arctic silver 5 compound is if they were planning to overclock their CPU but you stated that you wont...
 
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