Thoughts on my build

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Hello everyone, first time poster here. I want to build my first computer. My Dell Dimension 3000 just isn't doing it for me anymore and playing StarCraft 2 on 1/5 speed is not fun.

I did my own research and was ready to give my build a try until I discovered this website. I really would like to know what you all think. Newegg has this in my cart pricing in at $640.42, or $615.42 after rebate. What are my weaknesses of my build and what can I do better in assuming my price cap is at $650 (OS included)? Is it an upgradable build?

Also, should I purchase any of these extended warranties I keep being offered? Is buying warranty on any specific component cost effective? Thank you in advance for your thoughts! Thanks!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week
BUDGET RANGE: $650 max
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Online video streaming, gaming (StarCraft 2 for now), internet surfing
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Amazon, newegg, tigerdirect, whichever is cheaper.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
PARTS PREFERENCES: No preference.
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, learn it later..
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No idea.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1600x900 / 60 Hz (Acer X203H bd 20-Inch LCD Monitor)
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My Dell has been a loud machine for 5 years. A quieter computer would be nice.

Case $39.99
COOLER MASTER Elite RC-310-BWN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119203

Motherboard $52.99
GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128357

CPU $169.50
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80570E8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

Memory $39.99
PNY 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model MD2048KD2-667
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178134

Graphics Card $64.99, $49.99 after rebate
EVGA 01G-P3-N959-TR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130395

Harddrive $59.99
Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT 500GB 5400 RPM 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136314

CD/DVD $22.99
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Power Supply $89.99, $79.99 after rebate
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

OS $99.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
 
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jesman1985

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if your on a budget you want to go AMD not intel.. i put together a rig with much more performance and bang for the buck.. i made use of combo deals and newegg even threw in a free game.. total cost came out to $636.88

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

antec 900 case + antec 620w 80+ certified psu (COMBO DEAL)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.477435

ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard + ASUS EAH5670/DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5670 <--- DX11 GPU (COMBO DEAL)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.463489

AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core + G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) (COMBO DEAL)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.470118



 
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Awesome man! Should I worry about the warranty? Is it worth it for any of them? Thanks!
 
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spentshells

spentshells

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I like the above build better at least if you get tired of it you could sell it.
the other one you built is a dead duck you might be able to sell the CPU.

on the build above find a smaller case

maybe an antec 200 or 300 more than enough for the micro MB chosen above

and Downgrade the CPU to the Athlon 2 x3 @ 3.0GHZ its a bit cheaper like 25-30 bucks

on those two downgrades you could buy yourself a real graphics card like a 5770 512MB or the 1GB if you can manage a good MIR
 
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jesman1985

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Awesome man! Should I worry about the warranty? Is it worth it for any of them? Thanks!
Click to expand...

your welcome.. i didnt look at any of the warranties.. everything should be good.. all the parts are compatible and are good trusted brands.. this rig would last you another 4 years or so..
 
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jesman1985

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you like my build better or his?? cause i took his duo core to a quad core.. his 2 gigs of ddr2 667 to 4 gigs of ddr3 1333!! a much much better motherboard.. and a 9500gt to a DX11 card.. all for the same price..
 
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Okay, I'll skip on the extended warranties. My friend made his first build a year ago and he recommended that I do so so I thought I'd throw that question out there. Thanks for the reply.



He was definitely loving yours. My build's saving grace was only CPU apparently :p.

You wrote Antec 900 in the description so he wanted to downgrade it to what you intended.

I guess the question is whether I should downgrade your CPU to an x3 in exchange for a stronger graphics card.
 
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jesman1985

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Okay, I'll skip on the extended warranties. My friend made his first build a year ago and he recommended that I do so so I thought I'd throw that question out there. Thanks for the reply.



He was definitely loving yours. My build's saving grace was only CPU apparently :p.

You wrote Antec 900 in the description so he wanted to downgrade it to what you intended.

I guess the question is whether I should downgrade your CPU to an x3 in exchange for a stronger graphics card.
Click to expand...

ahhh.. i see now.. and ya your right.. i did say antec 900.. sorry about that.. well you could take away that combo and replace it with this one.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.457098

thats with the other cpu splentshells suggested.. i think hes right.. that ones a better choice.. more bang for the buck
that brings the price down to 596.37.. but thats with the same video card.. that leaves a good amount of room for a gpu upgrade.. ima look around. :)) well i gotta look for a motherboard gpu combo.. ima try and find one with the same mobo..
 
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jesman1985

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i took splentshells advice and threw a 5770 in there.. i couldnt find a combo deal with the same motherboard.. but it still came out under your budget. :D

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131595

POWERCOLOR PCS+ AX5770 1GBD5-PPG Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131327

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W + Antec Three Hundred (combo deal)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.477435

OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 + AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.457098

total = $641.87
this will murder starcraft 2!! lol
 
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G

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Haha, badass! Can't wait to build this baby up.

Just one issue. The memory sticks from OCZ are getting pretty bad reviews. Over half are 1 egg. Should I be worried?
I looked for alternatives but you pretty much found the best money deal.

Thanks.
 
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jesman1985

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Haha, badass! Can't wait to build this baby up.

Just one issue. The memory sticks from OCZ are getting pretty bad reviews. Over half are 1 egg. Should I be worried?
I looked for alternatives but you pretty much found the best money deal.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

na i wouldnt be worried.. the only 1 eggs were dead on arrivals.. ya it sucks.. but it goes with the combo deal and you get alot of bang for the buck.. if its working itll be good.. its good ram.. just looks like a batch of em were DOA..
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Actually.... If you were going to do that setup.... The best CPU is the is the Athlon II X3 445, not the 440 because the 445 don't look as if you were spending more money by 5$ thinking of it as getting a better OC-able CPU because the 445 is a C3 the 440 is a C2. The difference is during the stepping revision from C2-C3 the C3 is more energy efficient and can be OC'd much easier without messing around to much than the C2. Also, for 5$ more It's worth it.

The HDD spend 20$ (Yes it is pushing your budget) But the Samsung F3 Spinpoint 1TB for 20 more dollars than the 500gb ver. You get 500gbs more storage and has a larger cache, in real world apps you won't see a huge difference but there is a difference, also the price for the extra 500gb is a great deal.

That Asus mobo is just terrible... You might as well go with an AM2+ or AM2 build. The mobo below is a great mobo for the value. You'll actually be able Crossfire later and 16x/4x for your budget is actually great because the real crossfire difference from 16x/16x to 16x/4x is only 5% hardly noticable. That just gives you options in the future. Also this mobo gives your DDR3 support and more room over a Micro-ATX mobo. It also offers greater OC capabilities than that of the Asus 785G mobo. Asrock is not a bad brand though if your thinking that, this board has great reviews.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157195&cm_re=770_Asrock-_-13-157-195-_-Product

As for the combo DDR3 1333 is standard for DDR3, but you can go with DDR3 1066 combo with the 445 and still be of the same price as the DDR2 combo.

DDR3 1333: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.457047
More expensive but the memory speed is the standard for most RAM today.

DDR3 1066:http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.457059
Cheaper your just paying for the extra cpu cost of 5$ from 440-445 But... The memory speed is below the standard DDR3 speed however still usable.

DDR3: Although DDR3 1066 is the same mhz as DDR2 1066, DDR3 is actually faster as the effect speed of the memory is double of the DDR2 speed. Not to say its a huge difference its just it will future proof your comp as DDR3 is the memory standard now.
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Also, usually I would trust OCZ but your on budget, OCZ has a rep for not honoring rebates, customer support issues all that. :p But your on budget. However if you have the money to fork up, I'd actually buy the OCZ memory locally so it's easier to take up returns and such. For me I had no DOAs during my entire build. But then again I bought everything locally so much pricier but much more reliable for returns. The only thing coming from Newegg GREAT DEAL BTW! is my monitor and my fan controller.

BTW: IF you want the best bang for the buck OC your CPU. It'll make a small difference but since Starcraft is RTS it uses CPU power so OCing will help performance. If you do OC don't oc on stock cooling, check out our OCing guides on the Overclocking section. Also the Hyper 212+ is a great budget cooler (Amazon is WAY cheaper than Newegg, newegg is trying to rip off people. :p Amazon is 25$ cheaper than Newegg for that cooler.) Reviews say it's comparable to the Fenrir which is a great cooler and it is also 25$ more than the Hyper 212+
 
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spentshells

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Not sure why that mobo is horrible that was picked above was horrible

smaller maybe but they are both SB710 which actually helps with the overclocking capability of the board
but I don't know much about it and it seems to have all the same features except crossfire whcih 16X4 would be crippling the 5770 if he were to get a second one.... although i too would prefer a full sized board like the one you picked


 
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mgrzTX

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A few thoughts,

The Spinpoint F3 1 Tb is only 5$ more than the 500 Gb on Newegg right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-185-_-Product

Also you can get the quad core athlon and that Ram for only 15$ more...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.457228

Or if you're too nervous about OCZ you can get the quad core with G-Skill for ~30$ more...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.470104
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Wait what do you mean? 16x/4x barely cripples the 5770....

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_5870_PCI-Express_Scaling/25.html

It's clear that, that result can be inferred for nearly all the cards from the ATI line of the 5XXX gen. Plus at the same price why not future proof? The Asrock board offers DDR3 support, USB 3.0 (identified to be put into mainstream next year), and SATA 6(no idea when it'll be mainstream [probably several years or a few years]).
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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OH SNAP PRICE DROP! on the F3. Anywho the Quad would be not so great :p C2 is not terrible but as for OCing concerns it's worse also temps and power consumption the C3 is proven to be better.
 
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spentshells

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Missed USB 3.0 support I'm sold
but the other board supports DDR3 just for good mesure

and thanks for the link very interesting stuff
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_5870_PCI-Express_Scaling/25.html
I guess I don't know much about it i'm not
really a multiple card kind of guy
 
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mgrzTX

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Ok, after much scavenging here's what my take would be...

Windows x64 OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

LG DVD Burner/Rosewill blackbone black steel case combo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.466997

Sapphire 5770/OCZ 4gb (2x2gb) Ram combo (with a free gift I might add)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.443032

Corsair 650 W PSU/Spinpoint F3 1 TB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.466028

Asus AMD 770 Mobo/AMD Athlon II X3 445

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.478169



- Same Ram, Same OS, Essentially the same
- Different Mobo, not too different though, about the same, get's good reviews
- Slightly better CPU just because of the clock, but better none the less
- Essentially the same VGA, but I prefer Sapphire to PowerColor personally
- Equivalent Case, looks nice
- Freaking Awesome PSU one of if not the best 650 W PSU on the market
- Hdd twice as big, with same performance, and that performance is the best in the HDD market

This brings your total + shipping on Newegg to 648.63$...but wait, that's not including a whopping 50$ in Rebates....

Total after rebates = 598.63!!!

Just my take on it though!
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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:p MIRs shouldn't be counted on but some companies honor them. AM3/AM2+/AM2 support is actually a downgrade from my recommended mobo, since no usb3, sata 6(not a big deal but still), most of all no DDR3 :p All future proofing things. Note sure the MIRs and better PSU can justify the fact he has to future proof later :p Specially on a budget.
 
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jesman1985

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so you want to go from an am3 motherboard to an am2 motherboard.. and this is future proof how? 2 years from now when he want to upgrade his cpu then what? actually id prefer the 785g full atx mobo but he is on a budget and he gave his max price.. and i really dont see why your talking about over clocking when the after market heat sink isn't even included in the price.. also he stated abovce in his first post he doesnt know how to overclock.. but i see no point in getting an am2 board over an am3.. actually it would be foolish.. if you want something future proof then why am2?
 
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mgrzTX

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True, but for gaming the SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 won't ever make too big of a difference especially with that CPU. Plus as far as future proofing goes, the better PSU leaves room for a better GPU upgrade in the future as well! But, totally didn't catch the DDR2 Here's another option then...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.478156

Back to the first CPU (once again, no noticeable difference) and a DDR3 mobo with no SATA3/USB3. This brings you in at exactly 650$ on the spot before MIR.



 
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