$800 Well Spent? What Do You Think?

[b easy]

1. web design, school work, gaming, movies. (not in any particular order)
2. $800 or less
3. US
4. No preference.
5. All new parts
6. I've read other threads, but looking for the current best $800 build. (as of 5/31)
7. Plan to OC
8. Within the new couple weeks

Phenom II X3 720BE ? $140
Gigabyte 790X-UD4P ? $110
Corsair TX 650W ? $100
XFX 4850 512MB ? $120
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 1066 ? $56
WD Caviar Black 500GB ? $70
Samsung 22x DVD Burner ? $24
Vista Premium OEM ? $100
Antec 902 ? $130

$50 in combo discounts and it totals $800.

Comments or suggestions? Anywhere I can go cheaper without loss of performance?

 

[JaYp146]

That Caviar Black is overpriced. See if you can't get a 640GB Caviar Blue for around the same price (or less).

 

[b easy]

Originally posted by: JaYp146
That Caviar Black is overpriced. See if you can't get a 640GB Caviar Blue for around the same price (or less).

What's the difference between the two? I know there's the Caviar Green, but they run slower which is how they save energy. I couldn't find any Caviar Blue's with that amount, only a 80GB.

 

[MagickMan]

I'd drop to a Corsair 550vx and bump the video card up to a 4870.

 

[Lunyone]

Originally posted by: MagickMan
I'd drop to a Corsair 550vx and bump the video card up to a 4870.

Good idea there, but the 650tx is just about the same $ these days (~$5 difference usually). I'd also change the case to a Cooler Master 690 (~$100 shipped!).

 

[b easy]

Originally posted by: Lunyone

Originally posted by: MagickMan
I'd drop to a Corsair 550vx and bump the video card up to a 4870.

Good idea there, but the 650tx is just about the same $ these days (~$5 difference usually). I'd also change the case to a Cooler Master 690 (~$100 shipped!).

The TX 650W is actually cheaper than the HX 550W on Newegg, which is why i went with that instead.

 

[b easy]

Any other suggestions?

I may Crossfire in the future if I need more power. I'll most likely add another monitor to go dual. I wanted to be able to upgrade in the future and swap out as few parts as possible, with that said, Should I go with an AM3 mobo?

 

[Lunyone]

Originally posted by: b easy

Originally posted by: Lunyone

Originally posted by: MagickMan
I'd drop to a Corsair 550vx and bump the video card up to a 4870.

Good idea there, but the 650tx is just about the same $ these days (~$5 difference usually). I'd also change the case to a Cooler Master 690 (~$100 shipped!).

The TX 650W is actually cheaper than the HX 550W on Newegg, which is why i went with that instead.

The Corsair 550 VX is about $7 cheaper at Buy.com, but the 650 TX is a better and more sensible buy at this time.

If your going to go crossfire than I'd do it now or just upgrade to the latest/greatest single GPU solution when you feel you need an upgrade. The cost for buying the extra parts (PSU upgrade, mobo that supports 2 x GPU's, extra cooling, better cooling case, etc.) now would be better spent later on a single GPU, IMHO. It's up to you, but I'd rather use a single GPU now and just upgrade later to a single GPU, which would probably be faster than 2 x what you get now.

If you want X-fire compatability in the PSU, the Corsair 750tx is a good option. It has 4 x 6+2pin (8pin) PCI-e power connectors, so you won't have to get any adapters when you buy the 2nd GPU.

 

[b easy]

Originally posted by: Lunyone

Originally posted by: b easy

Originally posted by: Lunyone

Originally posted by: MagickMan
I'd drop to a Corsair 550vx and bump the video card up to a 4870.

Good idea there, but the 650tx is just about the same $ these days (~$5 difference usually). I'd also change the case to a Cooler Master 690 (~$100 shipped!).

The TX 650W is actually cheaper than the HX 550W on Newegg, which is why i went with that instead.

The Corsair 550 VX is about $7 cheaper at Buy.com, but the 650 TX is a better and more sensible buy at this time.

If your going to go crossfire than I'd do it now or just upgrade to the latest/greatest single GPU solution when you feel you need an upgrade. The cost for buying the extra parts (PSU upgrade, mobo that supports 2 x GPU's, extra cooling, better cooling case, etc.) now would be better spent later on a single GPU, IMHO. It's up to you, but I'd rather use a single GPU now and just upgrade later to a single GPU, which would probably be faster than 2 x what you get now.

If you want X-fire compatability in the PSU, the Corsair 750tx is a good option. It has 4 x 6+2pin (8pin) PCI-e power connectors, so you won't have to get any adapters when you buy the 2nd GPU.

I think I've made the right choices so far.

I think the 650W had enough power to Crossfire 4850's if I needed. It also has enough juice to run a 4870 if I chose to go with the single GPU. I've also picked out the TRUE and plan to slap an Ultra Kaze on it. I'm going to replace stock fans with S-Flex's.

I agree with what you're saying. I would also prefer the single GPU instead of going Crossfire.

Which leads me to my mobo choice... I see myself going DDR3 when prices drop. I'm also going to upgrade to the 940 or 955. The mobo I picked can't go DDR3 but will allow me to swap out CPUs. Should I go with an AM3 mobo now instead of later?

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: b easy
1. web design, school work, gaming, movies. (not in any particular order)
2. $800 or less
3. US
4. No preference.
5. All new parts
6. I've read other threads, but looking for the current best $800 build. (as of 5/31)
7. Plan to OC
8. Within the new couple weeks

Phenom II X3 720BE ? $140
Gigabyte 790X-UD4P ? $110
Corsair TX 650W ? $100
XFX 4850 512MB ? $120
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 1066 ? $56
WD Caviar Black 500GB ? $70
Samsung 22x DVD Burner ? $24
Vista Premium OEM ? $100
Antec 902 ? $130

$50 in combo discounts and it totals $800.

Comments or suggestions? Anywhere I can go cheaper without loss of performance?

You should try used parts in the for sale forums. This is what I got so far.

New combo e5400 and biostar board (almost garauteed 3.5 overclock)both for 100$ New!
gtx 260 192 sp version 115.00 shipped
4 gig G.Skill ram 40$shipped New!
640g Western Didgital hard drive 60$ shipped
850watt Corsair TX 110$ shipped
Antec twelve hundred case 125$ shipped!
any dvd combo burner 25$
550.00$
I'm waiting for windows 7 so I'll stick to xp for now.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Originally posted by: b easy

Originally posted by: JaYp146
That Caviar Black is overpriced. See if you can't get a 640GB Caviar Blue for around the same price (or less).

What's the difference between the two? I know there's the Caviar Green, but they run slower which is how they save energy. I couldn't find any Caviar Blue's with that amount, only a 80GB.

The 640GB Caviar is only two platters but higher density. I have one and while it's not dead silent it's easily the coolest drive I've ever had. Plus it makes sense to get an extra 140GB for the same price right?

 

[b easy]

Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic

Originally posted by: b easy

Originally posted by: JaYp146
That Caviar Black is overpriced. See if you can't get a 640GB Caviar Blue for around the same price (or less).

What's the difference between the two? I know there's the Caviar Green, but they run slower which is how they save energy. I couldn't find any Caviar Blue's with that amount, only a 80GB.

The 640GB Caviar is only two platters but higher density. I have one and while it's not dead silent it's easily the coolest drive I've ever had. Plus it makes sense to get an extra 140GB for the same price right?

Can you link one for me?

 

[LS]

Originally posted by: b easy

Can you link one for me?

Newegg

ZZF

 

[metroplex]

I just ordered a similar setup:

Phenom II X3 720BE
ECS 790GXM-AD3
Corsair TX 750W
Sapphire HD 4870 512MB
Mushkin 2GBx2 DDR3/1333 CAS 9
WD Caviar Black 500GB
Samsung 22x DVD Burner (SH-S223Q)
Antec 900

I didn't know about the Antec 902 (I guess I should have researched it more) but there was a $30 difference in price between the 902 and 900. Total priced shipped was well under $800 but I don't plan to overclock and will use it only for gaming.

I got Vista Business SP-1 64-bit through MSDNAA at school.