Budget PC Specs - Advice?

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Mac the Geek

Junior Member
Feb 27, 2009
2
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"Hi, my name is Mac, long time listener, first-time caller."

Or something like that. :laugh:

I'm about to build my first new PC in five years. The last build "works fine", according to my wife, who knows as little about computers as I know about nursing. She's fine with running Oblivion in 800x600 and medium-low detail. Me, I'm a geek. I know I can do better.

I have an E6850 C2D that came out of a physically-damaged work PC. I also have 2x160GB SATA drives that I got from a friend. Since this is a budget build, those pieces of the puzzle are non-negotiable. My goal is to build a PC where the CPU is the bottleneck; and then, in a year or so, I can drop in a better processor and not have to replace other components.

My budget is about $700. I might be able to stretch it a bit, but not much. Here's what I'm thinking for other components (all prices Newegg today):

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5, $54.99

PSU: Cooler Master RS-650-ACAA-A1, $139.99 before $20 Instant

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, $134.99 before $20 MIR

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK, $64.99 before $10 Instant

CPU: E6850, already own, $0

CPU Fan: Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX, $39.99 before $15 Instant

Graphics: PowerColor AX4870 1GBD5-PPH, $234.99 before $25 Instant and $10 MIR

System Drives: 2x160GB SATA, already own, $0

Storage Drive: Western Digital 640GB WD6401AALS, $79.99

Optical Drive: Lite-On 22X iHAS422-08, $27.99

Total cost: $777.92 before discounts, $677.92 after

----

I think that I'm hitting the best possible sweet spots here; but I'm posting the specs in case I'm missing anything. Other thoughts:

1) This is the hardware budget, so I didn't include operating systems; but I plan to dual-boot Vista 64-bit and XP 32-bit. The 2x160 drives will be RAIDed together, but I haven't decided between RAID 1 and RAID 10. Any hints on choosing between the two are appreciated.

2) The biggest question I'm facing is whether to stay with the HD4870 or upgrade to the Sapphire HD4850X2-2GB. The Sapphire card gets better results than the single HD4870 in every review I've seen; but it's also a net $75 more. (Not to mention the extra nudge to the electric bill.) I think that with either card, my system will be bottlenecked right now by the CPU; but I'm trying to look a year ahead, too. If I dropped (for example) a Q9650 into this setup, could it choke the HD4870?

3) I haven't yet decided whether I want to overclock this system, but I'm trying to buy hardware that can stand up to the attempt. Again, pointing out weak components (or point me toward similarly-priced but hardier parts) is much appreciated.
 
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somethingsketchy

Golden Member
Nov 25, 2008
1,019
0
71
For now I'd say your system won't be too heavily bottlenecked by the E6850. If you overclock it a bit, the CPU will actually last ya for a while until you can purchase the Q9650. My friend had a E6850 for about 1.5 years (overclocked to 3.7GHz) and he had very little issues with bottlenecking. If anything it would be the memory or RAID configuration before the CPU becomes and issue. At 3.0GHz stock speed I would highly doubt it could be a bottleneck right now.

To answer your question on your 2nd thought, the new quad core (if you decide to buy it) will not be a bottleneck.
 
LokutusofBorg

LokutusofBorg

Golden Member
Mar 20, 2001
1,065
0
76
I'm not up on the obsession with the UD3P. IMO the lower-priced Gigabyte boards are worth the money and you don't lose all that much.

The Western Digital SE16 saves you a bit over the Black series, and is more than up to the task if you're just using it for storage.

You don't need that fast of RAM at all. There are several G.Skill kits that are going to be much better bang/buck. This set will give you plenty of headroom for overclocking, and is $10 cheaper.
 
B

Beanie46

Senior member
Feb 16, 2009
527
0
0
First, decent selection of components. But I'd honestly not limit yourself to just shopping Newegg.....look around. Even with shipping, you can do better than Newegg in a lot of instances.

What I'd look at, personally:

I'd really consider that Corsair TX650 power supply that was linked for you. Honestly, I've never been a huge fan of Cooler Master branded power supplies and much more trust Corsair's warranty services.....and their products.

Another power supply I'd consider is the Antec Earthwatts EA650...has tested out as a very solid, great performing power supply. $75 + shipping at ProVantage.


For your case....I'd again go to ProVantage, assuming you've not got a MicroCenter B&M store anywhere near you, and look at the Antec Three Hundred case. $39 + shipping at ProVantage.



Take their advice and get the Xigmatech cpu cooler......works great!


Good luck!
 
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polarbear6

Golden Member
Jul 14, 2008
1,161
1
0
Hey
i feel that you should go with the 4850x2
cause like they say in my country
nothing is a overkill if you can afford(they dont, but i say :) )
just to be on the safe side

AND YOU HAVE TO OVERCLOCK ITS A CUSTOM
its a shame to own a 1283 just for the sake of decoration
and i feel u need not bother about the psu
i have been using a local made psu 6 years now(actually my father is using it)
unless ur not satisfied with the amp on rails or worried abt the supply line
dont change
it is believed to be safe if you go with a nice psu
BUT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT GAMBLING
and atleast u will have a reason to buy a decent rig if this burns out(in the future)

 
VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,587
10,225
126
Stick with the UD3P, definately. It's an awesome board, and will help you overclock a nice 45nm quad-core later on when you decide to upgrade. You can also use 2x video cards to upgrade later on too. For another $25, it's a good investment in the future.

I'm a little iffy on the CoolerMaster PSU, but I'm not a PSU expert so I'll defer.
 
yh125d

yh125d

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2006
6,886
0
76
Get the corsair 650, and stick with the UD3P. Who knows, in the near future your budget may allow for a second 4870 or even a 4870x2 ;)
 
M

Mac the Geek

Junior Member
Feb 27, 2009
2
0
0
Originally posted by: JaYp146
Much better CPU cooler that's only $2 more (after MIR) than what you chose originally: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003

Power Supply you've chosen is pretty meh, especially at that price point. This Corsair's a pretty nice deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005
Click to expand...

I'm adopting both these changes. With the case styles I'm looking at, the extra height on the CPU cooler shouldn't cause a problem... and all the reviews I looked at show much better performance for almost the same price.

And the PSU... again, no negative reviews, and the price is a significant improvement.

I'm still waffling on HD4870 versus HD4850X2. If I go the 4850X2 route, I don't need to worry about eventually adding a second physical card, and could downgrade the UD3P mobo to the UD3R. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the two boards is the extra high-speed PCIe slot on the UD3P. (If anyone has seen an overclocking review comparing both these boards, I'd love a link.)

Beanie46, I'm eyeing that Antec case right now. ;)

Thanks to everyone for the input so far!
 
krnmastersgt

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
0
0
PCI-E 2.0 =/= high speed, = more bandwidth.

Also, keep in mind that if the CF doesn't scale well with whatever game you're playing, you'll get performance closer to a 4850 1gb.
 
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