Advice on PC build!

[SteelStallion]

Hey guys! I've never built a PC before, but after hours of research and browsing through newegg and browsing comments and stuff, I've devised the following budget build:


- AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819103808
- Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 GPU http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102948
- G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB DDR3 RAM http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820231311
- ASUS M5A97 Motherboard http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813131767
- Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB HDD http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822148697
- CORSAIR Builder Series 600W http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028
- Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower case http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811147153
- Samsung CD/DVD Burner http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16827151233



This runs me a total of $756.43

So because I'm a newbie at this thing, I just want to make sure everything is compatible with each other and if this is a decent rig!

I still need to buy windows 7 and a monitor, but I have money set aside for those two. I absolutely cannot go over $800 on my actual rig.

Oh yeah, it's a gaming rig. I want to max out Skyrim! So any advise would be great.

 

[SocalMark]

opps on the motherboard.

 

[SteelStallion]

Yeah I noticed that. I might switch to a AMD Phenom ii six core, not sure yet.

I've just been hearing so much praise for the i3 Sandy Bridge that I thought it would be best. Should I go for an intel mobo and an i3 or the same mobo and this bad boy http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851

 

[SocalMark]

Newegg has some nice combo deals.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.738339

 

[SteelStallion]

yeah but I just can't bump up my budget over 800. I'll bite the bullet and go for a budget rig that can run everything at high rather than super ultra if it means I can pay my tuition and eat for the week, lol.

 

[SocalMark]

Yes I'm a Big fan of food.

 

[oynaz]

730 W is way overkill. 450 W is fine for your build.

 

[mikeymikec]

Following on from oynaz's advice, 450W is fine if it's a decent PSU (one manufacturer's "700W" is another's "500W"). I don't know that one so I can't say. I'm using the Antec HGC 520 at the moment.

One other piece of advice - I recently changed away from using AMD chipsets because I had a number of poor experiences with the M4A89GTD PRO/USB3. If you have a look at the Asus support forums and see whether your board choice has any worrying threads - the one I'm thinking of with the M4A89GTD PRO is a 16-page long thread where the video shorts out if you plug in something on a front USB port (intermittent issue), where everyone is saying "me too".

Judging by support forum threads needs to be done carefully IMO. Sometimes there are idiots who didn't build their system carefully/properly, some people will slate a product because they had a bad experience with only one board and say "DON'T USE THIS PRODUCT", etc.

The board is the most important thing to get right IMO. It can be the difference between constant niggling little (or not so little) issues or the easy life in computing.

 

[Blain]

Once you've collected a nice pile of parts, then what happens?
You've done "hours of research and browsing through newegg".
Have you spent 1/2 hour learning about the assembly process?

 

[lehtv]

Can do much better than that AMD setup for $800.

Mobo Gigabyte Z68P-DS3 $105 AR http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128520

CPU i5-2400 $200 http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...164&CatId=6988

GPU XFX 6950 2GB dual-fan $255 AR www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150549
XFX 6950 1GB dual-fan $220 AR http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814150552
OR Galaxy 560 Ti + free batman game $205 AR http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814162074

RAM G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB $47 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820231311

HDD Hitachi Deskstar 1TB $60 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822145304

ODD DVD-RW $20

PSU XFX Core 650W $50 (expires tomorrow) http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59616&vpn=P1650SNLB9&manufacture=XFX
Antec Neo Eco $55 (shell shocker deal) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817371031
Corsair CX600 V2 $50 AR http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817139028 [in that order]

Case CM HAF 912 $60 http://ncix.com/products/?sku=55583&vpn=RC-912-KKN1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER or http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6531504&CatId=1509


Total = $750 to $800 after rebates, depending on choice of video card

 

[anti.machine]

I am with Lehtv on that one even though I do like AMD, you can't beat Intel for performance.

 

[lehtv]

It seems like the OP calculated tax (and shipping?) into the $756.43 total, while I didn't. If you want to stay at 800 with tax, then I recommend the setup above but with the following changes: i3-2100 -$70, and MSI PH67S-C43 microATX board -$20.

 

[SteelStallion]

Can do much better than that AMD setup for $800.

Mobo Gigabyte Z68P-DS3 $105 AR http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128520

CPU i5-2400 $200 http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...164&CatId=6988

GPU XFX 6950 2GB dual-fan $255 AR www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150549
XFX 6950 1GB dual-fan $220 AR http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814150552
OR Galaxy 560 Ti + free batman game $205 AR http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814162074

RAM G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB $47 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820231311

HDD Hitachi Deskstar 1TB $60 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822145304

ODD DVD-RW $20

PSU XFX Core 650W $50 (expires tomorrow) http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59616&vpn=P1650SNLB9&manufacture=XFX
Antec Neo Eco $55 (shell shocker deal) http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817371031
Corsair CX600 V2 $50 AR http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817139028 [in that order]

Case CM HAF 912 $60 http://ncix.com/products/?sku=55583&vpn=RC-912-KKN1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER or http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6531504&CatId=1509


Total = $750 to $800 after rebates, depending on choice of video card

Yeah but it's well over $1000 after tax and shipping. You might think that build is way better but you need to understand that even $800 is really, really, really pushing on my limit. So I cannot, absolutely cannot go over including tax and shipping.

My build is about $610 before tax/shipping. That tax burns, man!

Wasn't a fan of my PSU, because I've seen bad reviews. Opted for another one and updated main post with my revised build.

Once you've collected a nice pile of parts, then what happens?
You've done "hours of research and browsing through newegg".
Have you spent 1/2 hour learning about the assembly process?

Well, after I make sure everything is compatible, and I order the parts, I'll spend hours researching how to assemble it. lol.

Also, a friend has built PCs before so he'll help me out when the time comes.

 

[lehtv]

Yeah but it's well over $1000 after tax and shipping. You might think that build is way better but you need to understand that even $800 is really, really, really pushing on my limit. So I cannot, absolutely cannot go over including tax and shipping.

Yeah it might have been useful mentioning that in the original post.

Wasn't a fan of my PSU, because I've seen bad reviews. Opted for another one and updated main post with my revised build.

HEC PSUs are also bad. You should definitely go with one of the PSUs I recommended in above . I say grab the XFX 650W while it's that cheap, it's a high quality Seasonic build, infinitely better than the HEC. You won't find a better deal

 

[SteelStallion]

Yeah it might have been useful mentioning that in the original post.

HEC PSUs are also bad. You should definitely go with one of the PSUs I recommended in above . I say grab the XFX 650W while it's that cheap, it's a high quality Seasonic build, infinitely better than the HEC. You won't find a better deal

Sorry about that, I guess I really should have mentioned that.

I don't want to skimp out on the PSU, and I heard great things about the Corsair. I won't be buying it as soon as tomorrow or even this month maybe so those limited deals might be gone. When I buy it I'll shop around for current deals before the final purchase but that Corsair looks good.

Thanks.

 

[lehtv]

I won't be buying it as soon as tomorrow or even this month maybe so those limited deals might be gone.

I see. It's exactly for this reason we've got the sticky for system builders

Corsair CX600 is good, but if you can get that XFX for cheaper when you're actually buying, go for it instead. It's better; essentially identical to Corsair TX650 V2, with two differences. Corsair TX has long cables compatible with full tower cases (which you don't need), while the XFX core 650 comes with four PCI-e connectors which you will need if you crossfire that 6870 or similar in the future.

 

[mikeymikec]

If case/chassis prices are the same in the UK (after currency conversion) as the US, then you can save a small amount by going with a cheaper case. I normally go for the Coolermaster Elite 335 (the power button is most robust than the Elite 330). It comes with a virtually-silent 12cm chassis fan, and I can't fault the case design.

I don't know what RAM prices are like but I'd scale that down to 4GB to save a bit. Do many games take advantage of >4GB RAM yet? I know Civ 5 does, but I'm not terribly up-to-date on gaming.

 

[mfenn]

It seems like the OP calculated tax (and shipping?) into the $756.43 total, while I didn't. If you want to stay at 800 with tax, then I recommend the setup above but with the following changes: i3-2100 -$70, and MSI PH67S-C43 microATX board -$20.

:thumbsup: Same speed as the Phenom II and lower power consumption.

I won't be buying it as soon as tomorrow or even this month maybe so those limited deals might be gone.

If you want a gaming PC for effectively $600 CDN, you have to go after deals, sales, combos, and specials. Your best bet would be to post here a day or two before you plan to buy and let us help you find the best deals at that moment.