Advice on new build

[Lorduss]

Hello all, my 8 year old gaming pc finaly took a dump on me
so im trying to figure out an upgrade. being AGP and socket 754 im not to interested in repairing.
This is allmost purely for gaming, i dont push the pc with anything else.
Using my old case, 22 inch widescreen LCD monitor, win xp, cd rom, mouse etc.
since im coming off an amd 3200 i have no expectations for resolution or anything else, just a good balaced and reliable system for a good price. i do intend on overclocking.
so far with this im at $548.
please tell me where im going wrong or how i can save some money with this. thanks

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3250318AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148451

GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (replacing k8t neo, correct size for case?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128445

MSI N250GTS TwinFrozr 1G OC GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127445

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341016

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277

AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision HDZ555WFGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103846

i have no real desire for crossfire, items just happen to be compatible.

what would you change? how can i save some money?
thanks

 

[Sp12]

Not so great price/performance on that hard drive/GPU. Modxstream series PSUs are very much trash.

For 50% more you get 4x the space and a performance boost, not to mention Seagate has terrible hard drive reliability.

GPU is overpriced for what it is. GTX 460 would probably give you some good longevity, depending on your resolution an ATI 5770 could be appropriate.

Modxstream is fail. Combo with the hard drive+quality PSU for 150$. Before code: Aug10 for 10% off the PSU.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Hammer Legion Member, AMD-Hammer Legion Member, ATI-Hammer Legion Member, nVidia-Hammer Legion Member, Seagate-Hammer Legion Member, WD-Hammer Legion Member, etc.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

10. Do you need a monitor? Windows? Mice? Speakers?

 

[Lorduss]

Not so great price/performance on that hard drive/GPU. Modxstream series PSUs are very much trash.

For 50% more you get 4x the space and a performance boost, not to mention Seagate has terrible hard drive reliability.
saving 30-40 bucks helps. any cheaper options? size does not matter as much as just fairly faster than ide

GPU is overpriced for what it is. GTX 460 would probably give you some good longevity, depending on your resolution an ATI 5770 could be appropriate.
both of those are more expensive, cheaper options?

Modxstream is fail. Combo with the hard drive+quality PSU for 150$. Before code: Aug10 for 10% off the PSU.
again more expensive, cheaper options?

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
as mentioned, gaming.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
as mentioned $548 and hoping to spend less.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Hammer Legion Member, AMD-Hammer Legion Member, ATI-Hammer Legion Member, nVidia-Hammer Legion Member, Seagate-Hammer Legion Member, WD-Hammer Legion Member, etc.
other than AMD for price to performance ratio, no other preferences.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
as mentioned, case, dvd room, mouse, win xp, monitor, speakers

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
some

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
as mentioned yes to overclocking

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
as mentioned no preference

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
soon as i can

10. Do you need a monitor? Windows? Mice? Speakers?

As mentioned no.

 

[Lorduss]

ok i have made some changes

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136098

GIGABYTE GV-R485OC-1GH Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125236

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision HDZ555WFGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103846

one question i have is should i go with ddr3, going with ddr2 i would have to go to another mobo, am i better off with the same mobo and ram or can i cut some costs here?
should i go with more watts on the psu?
thanks

 

[Sp12]

Re: DDR3. You don't have a socket Am2 mobo lying around, right? If not, it makes little sense to invest in an Am2 board unless you have 4GB+ of DDR2 lying around.

I would personally go for an Athlon x4 635 (the 101$ version) instead of the Phenom 2. If you can unlock the dual core, it's a great value, but if you can't, then the A2 makes more sense.

Tough call seeing as you don't know your unlock until you buy/install it.

You can move to a 4870 with GDDR5 for 5$ more, but the cooler is a bit loud on it. Your call.

 

[Lorduss]

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136098

ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131603

GIGABYTE GV-R485OC-1GH Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125236

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277

AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX635WFGIBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103702

So far this is where im at, im now at 506$. have changed the mobo (still need to remesure to see, i know im not micro atx now) any disadvantage to my new mobo choice? am i pushing enough watts?
any problems installing xp with something likethis?
thanks for all your help

 

[jchu14]

Athlon X4 620 2.6GHz $89
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO
Patriot 2x2GB DDR3 1333 -combo with motherboard $165-$20MIR
Antec Neo-Eco 620 wtat $60-$20MIR (use coupon code 'EMCYWZP25')
Sparkle 768mb GTX 460 $190
Samsung F3 500gb at ewiz $45 after coupon code 'PREPPY'
OPTION: Cooler Master Hyper 212+ $27 after coupon code 'PREPPY'

Total $550-$40MIR without the HSF, $577-$40MIR with HSF. I highly recommend getting some kind of aftermarket hsf if you're going to overclock.

 

[Blain]

am i pushing enough watts?

Exactly what are you asking?

 

[mfenn]

So far this is where im at, im now at 506$. have changed the mobo (still need to remesure to see, i know im not micro atx now) any disadvantage to my new mobo choice? am i pushing enough watts?
any problems installing xp with something likethis?
thanks for all your help

You don't really need to measure to determine if your current board/case is ATX or MicroATX. If the board is roughly square, it is MicroATX. If it is very obviously rectangular, it is ATX.

XP can be a little annoying to install on newer hardware.

A 550W will be more than enough for that setup, but I think that jchu's recommendation is much better.

 

[Lorduss]

Athlon X4 620 2.6GHz $89
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO
Patriot 2x2GB DDR3 1333 -combo with motherboard $165-$20MIR
Antec Neo-Eco 620 wtat $60-$20MIR (use coupon code 'EMCYWZP25')
Sparkle 768mb GTX 460 $190
Samsung F3 500gb at ewiz $45 after coupon code 'PREPPY'
OPTION: Cooler Master Hyper 212+ $27 after coupon code 'PREPPY'

Total $550-$40MIR without the HSF, $577-$40MIR with HSF. I highly recommend getting some kind of aftermarket hsf if you're going to overclock.

that mobo seems to get a decent chunk of bad reviews, i did like the combo deal price but i would like to stay on the reliable side. i did change to the pratriot memory to save a bit, still seems like great stuff for the price.
i upgraded to that psu, that video card is a tad out of my pricerange for now, i can allways upgrade in the next year when i can afford to get a great one, i do plan on overclocking but not right away so ill hold off on the cooler also, getting my desktop running again is for now more important and it well still be a insain improvement.

i think im gonna stick with the current processor, any good reason to switch other than saving 10$?
and the mobo is still a touch up in the air.
thanks for your help so far

 

[jchu14]

that mobo seems to get a decent chunk of bad reviews, i did like the combo deal price but i would like to stay on the reliable side. i did change to the pratriot memory to save a bit, still seems like great stuff for the price.
i upgraded to that psu, that video card is a tad out of my pricerange for now, i can allways upgrade in the next year when i can afford to get a great one, i do plan on overclocking but not right away so ill hold off on the cooler also, getting my desktop running again is for now more important and it well still be a insain improvement.

i think im gonna stick with the current processor, any good reason to switch other than saving 10$?
and the mobo is still a touch up in the air.
thanks for your help so far

I wouldn't say that mobo is any less reliable than other motherboard. It has 80% 5/4 star reviews and when there are nearly 600 reviews, there's bound to quite a bit of 1-star reviews. You always run the risk of getting a DOA board, but the chances are about the same across most boards.

The 460 is considerably faster than the 4850, and worth the extra cost if your main goal is to game IMO. Consider going down to an Athlon X3 to save a few bucks if you need to. Not many games utilize the third and fourth core efficiently. You might also consider getting a MSI 5750 1GB for $130-$30MIR. It's the same performance as the 4850, but has dx11 support, quieter, and uses less power.

 

[mfenn]

that mobo seems to get a decent chunk of bad reviews, i did like the combo deal price but i would like to stay on the reliable side. i did change to the pratriot memory to save a bit, still seems like great stuff for the price.
i upgraded to that psu, that video card is a tad out of my pricerange for now, i can allways upgrade in the next year when i can afford to get a great one, i do plan on overclocking but not right away so ill hold off on the cooler also, getting my desktop running again is for now more important and it well still be a insain improvement.

i think im gonna stick with the current processor, any good reason to switch other than saving 10$?
and the mobo is still a touch up in the air.
thanks for your help so far

Number 1 rule of using Newegg reviews: Newegg reviewers are idiots. If they just say "it didn't work," they probably just screwed it up themselves. Newegg reviews are only really valuable for telling how quiet/loud something is or to find specific incompatibilities.

I think you're making a big mistake by not going for the GTX 460. Think about it is way: when you do upgrade, you'll have to add $100 to the cost of every GPU you look at because you're basically sitting on a wasted 4850.

 

[Lorduss]

in other words i have tradein value with the gtx 460? i adds $100 to the total price to make the switch, little steep.
i understand what your saying about reviewers, but a few people did mention the onboard sound having a loud pop at times, and reviewer for reviewer they tend to have a few more common gripes with it. ill look them over again but i did for the most part go review for review.

why would i want the ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD over the ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard ?

i want to use the ide hard drive out of my old system as a 2nd hd, the m4a785td comes with "1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices" the m4a77td has "1 x ATA133 2 Dev. Max" how are these different, im also using a 7 year old dvd rom also, do i need conversion plugs or is this actually the same thing described differently?

 

[Davidh373]

in other words i have tradein value with the gtx 460? i adds $100 to the total price to make the switch, little steep.

At least get a recent card. You will not be pleased with a 4850, and if you are it won't be 6 months before you aren't. At least consider a 5770, if you aren't willing to take the plunge for a 460.

i want to use the ide hard drive out of my old system as a 2nd hd, the m4a785td comes with "1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices" the m4a77td has "1 x ATA133 2 Dev. Max" how are these different, im also using a 7 year old dvd rom also, do i need conversion plugs or is this actually the same thing described differently?

Don't... Pop $20 for a new CD/ DVD drive, and if you want a secondary drive get one. Don't rely on 7 year old stuff that will only slow your system down.

 

[jchu14]

in other words i have tradein value with the gtx 460? i adds $100 to the total price to make the switch, little steep.
i understand what your saying about reviewers, but a few people did mention the onboard sound having a loud pop at times, and reviewer for reviewer they tend to have a few more common gripes with it. ill look them over again but i did for the most part go review for review.

why would i want the ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD over the ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard ?

i want to use the ide hard drive out of my old system as a 2nd hd, the m4a785td comes with "1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices" the m4a77td has "1 x ATA133 2 Dev. Max" how are these different, im also using a 7 year old dvd rom also, do i need conversion plugs or is this actually the same thing described differently?

Not sure what you mean by having trade in value of the gtx 460. The GTX 460 is considerably faster than the 4850 and you will not have to upgrade in a year or two. If you are planning on upgrading in a year or so no matter what, and your gaming requirements are low, you can consider getting this Gigabyte 9800gt for $50 after rebate. You can probably still get $20-30 for it when you sell it in a year. So you don't lose too much.

The difference between the EVO and the 77TD is that the EVO has integrated graphics and 2nd PCI-express slot. The integrated graphics is a nice thing to have in case your video card dies, you would still have a functioning computer to use while you RMA. Also if you ever get a new motherboard/CPU, you can move the graphics card to a the new computer and relegate the old computer to web/office functions. The 2nd PCI-express slot is for crossfire.

The M4A77TD is a solid board. The combo with M4A77TD and X4 640 and M4A77TD and X3 445 are good choices too.

The ata133/ultraDMA is the same thing. No converters needed. I am using a IDE dvd burner on my M4A77D (ddr2 version of the M4A77TD) without any problems.

FYI the RAM and PSU deal expires in 4 hours.

 

[mfenn]

in other words i have tradein value with the gtx 460? i adds $100 to the total price to make the switch, little steep.
i understand what your saying about reviewers, but a few people did mention the onboard sound having a loud pop at times, and reviewer for reviewer they tend to have a few more common gripes with it. ill look them over again but i did for the most part go review for review.

Maybe I wasn't clear. You have a $100 albatross (the 4850) around your neck.

Thus:
True cost of GTX 460 upgrade = GTX 460 purchase price + (purchase price of 4850 - salvage value of 4850 - amortization of 4850 purchase price).

As your time horizion increases, the sum of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th terms will approach $0. However, for short time horizons, the 4th term is essentially $0 because you have gotten very little "use" out the 4850. Therefore, if you think you will upgrade soon, you're better off just getting the GTX 460 now.

 

[Lorduss]

ended up upgrading to a 5770, and a m4a785td
plus everything else listed recently and pushed the button, 579 with taxes but oh well. did the combo deal for the mobo and x3 processor and saved a bit.
thanks guys

 

[mfenn]

ended up upgrading to a 5770, and a m4a785td
plus everything else listed recently and pushed the button, 579 with taxes but oh well. did the combo deal for the mobo and x3 processor and saved a bit.
thanks guys

Glad we could help. A 5770 is a good card.