Budget Build - AMD - ~$500

[whatname]

This post should be straight to the point following the outline of the sticky about posting builds:


I am planning on building around an Am3+ set up (going with AMD over intel with the CPU, just personal choice). The type of desktop build I'm looking at is to handle light to moderate gaming, 3D rendering and some video production.

Budget is not an issue, just not wanting to spend more than I need to. Around $500 would be ideal excluding what I already own listed below:

--Two monitors: 1080P monitor and a Dell monitor

--Win7 64bit OS - (I also dual boot with Ubuntu but considering placing each OS on separate HDD or SDD. But waiting for SDD to drop in prices in the coming year. So no hurry there.)

--Temporary for now: 160GB HDD 7200 rpm, and an external Buffalo 500GB HDD.

--DVD Burner 24x

My location is Oregon. I search Craigslist, Amazon, Newegg, etc.

I'll admit I'm noob still to a lot of this stuff. So, if any deals or other options I may be overlooking let me know or any compatibility issues.

Time wise, college about to resume soon and I want to get this up and running ASAP. Hopefully the plan below will be a decent attempt at a budget build:

CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 960T Black Edition - $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995

MOBO
ASUS M5A97 AMD 970 AM3+ ($100 - able to pick up at store, so no shipping cost)
http://www.frys.com/product/6696034?site

Heat Sink - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO ($35) - (also considering liquid cooling as an alternative; but stock cooler will suffice until I see what room I have to play with and OC'ing eventually)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

RAM
I'm not worried about ram at the moment. Seems to be priced where DDR2 was a few years ago. 8Gb or higher would be ideal. I've maxed 4GB while compiling some images. lol

ATX Mid Tower – I'm considering one of these two (again no shipping cost since I'm near this retail store):

Cooler Master Elite 371 ($45)
http://www.frys.com/product/6543923?site

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition ($45)
http://www.frys.com/product/6166019?site

Power Supply
Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W 80 PLUS ($60 - might be over kill but I might be expanding and the price is still pretty fair)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200

gfx card/video card - (Not sure which of these two. A few dollars more and a lot more performance I see comes into play)

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5770 ($119 - with a rebate atm)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 - $150 - (it's tempting + w/ rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908


Rebates aren't a deal breaker for me since I've seen some people don't always get one and I feel they are more of a gimmick. Real price drops is what I'm watching for.

Thanks to all responses.

 

[lehtv]

Does it have to be AMD? To me it'd make more sense to either up the CPU/mobo budget by $100 and go with Intel i5-2500K ($205 until 1/2/12) + Z68/P67 (~$100), or forget about overclocking and get Intel i5-2400 ($190) and a H61/H67 ($50-80) chipset motherboard. (Or possibly i5-2300 if you buy today: $166 after promo).

Here's i5-2400 vs Phenom X6 1075T which is the same speed as AMD 960T would be if you managed to unlock the extra cores on it: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/185?vs=363. 2500K would overclock better than the AMD.

Rosewill power supplies aren't very good. I'd recommend Corsair CX500 V2, $30 after promo and rebate until tomorrow. It's a good quality but affordable unit and has 2 PCIe connectors should you upgrade to a more powerful GPU.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Nice build.

If I was picking I'd go 6850. If budget doesn't allow it then get this 5770 instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...MSI-_-14127490 little bit cheaper and is, IMHO, a better card.


The 6850 you linked is a better match to overall system and price is fairly good. Amazon has same price and rebate plus free ship. Save a couple bucks.

 

[mfenn]

Choosing AMD over Intel in the price range that you're looking at does not fall under the category of "personal choice". Instead it goes into the category of "bad idea". Intel is objectively better right now.

What you have listed is about $540 or so once you factor in RAM. Here's an Intel build:

i5 2500 + Intel H67 mobo combo $280
Stock HSF for now $0
Patriot DDR3 1600 8GB $30
6850 $135 AR
Corsair 430CX $15 AR AP
Fractal Core 1000 $40
Total: $500 AR AP

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Choosing AMD over Intel in the price range that you're looking at does not fall under the category of "personal choice". Instead it goes into the category of "bad idea". Intel is objectively better right now.

What you have listed is about $540 or so once you factor in RAM. Here's an Intel build:

i5 2500 + Intel H67 mobo combo $280
Stock HSF for now $0
Patriot DDR3 1600 8GB $30
6850 $135 AR
Corsair 430CX $15 AR AP
Fractal Core 1000 $40
Total: $500 AR AP

nice