Comments/Suggestions on this build appreciated

physcho20x9

Junior Member
Mar 12, 2009
1
0
0
Let me see if I can even handle posting right :)

I will be using this PC for: gaming (mainly WoW; SC2, D3 if they ever come out, and whatever else I decide to give a spin), web browsing, some productivity work (think presentations and simple graphics), and potentially some lightweight .NET or SQL development. I've also considered doubling it as an HTPC.

My budget is $1200 USD, plus up to $250 for a monitor, and I am shopping in the US.

No particular preferences on parts. I used to be an ABIT fanboy. Capacitors scare me now.

I'm starting from scratch. I've read some threads, but I still feel underinformed.

I intend to overclock some (20-30%).

I plan to be posting here from the new build within the next two weeks.


With that said, here's what I have picked out:

Corsair CMPSU-750TX
Antec Nine Hundred
Gigabyte GA-P45-UD3P
Intel E8400
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V or AC Freezer 7 Pro
G.SKILL PI Black 2x2GB DDR2 800 (4-4-4-12)
WD Caviar Black 640GB
LG 22x DVD-R
Sapphire ATI Radeon 4830 512MB
Acer X223Wbd 22" LCD
MS Sidewinder/Generic Keyboard
Windows Vista x64
Whatever is available in the fridge downstairs.

I will also need a wireless ethernet card as I am two floors away from the modem/router, the house I live in is not wired, and I do not own the house, so I can't go drilling :(

Other considerations:
As it stands now, I am around $200 under budget on the PC, and $80 under on the monitor, which I am okay with. But I would like any feedback on places I should consider investing that. Some considerations I've made are: a Blu-ray drive, more RAM, higher frequency RAM, and an additional hard drive to put into a RAID array. Or I could hold onto that money and use it for upgrades in a couple of years.

Another option is to keep everything as is and switch to an i7 build with a 920. This would push me right up to, or perhaps over, my budget.
 

Denithor

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2004
6,298
23
81
Corsair 650TX is a better PSU and cheaper and still plenty of power even if you decide to go dual-GPU later (two 4830s on that UD3P would rock).

S1283 is better than AF7P.

Might consider the G.Skill 4GB DDR2-1066 sticks (red ones for like $41 shipped at newegg) because they will allow you to easily push your e8400 above 3.6GHz (and you've got the right cooler for this, so why not?).

Rest looks great.

Where to spend the rest of the cash? BR players rock on the PC. But I wouldn't do that unless you also pick up a 23-24" LCD that will allow 1080p playback. Trust me - this is worth doing.

For your uses I think the e8400 will be perfect. i7 probably just overkill plain & simple for you.