First time builder. Please review my list of building items!

[sagirfahmid3]

Hi so I think I basically have everything picked out for building a mid-range gaming/encoding computer. (I guess it depends on perspective though, because some of us like our 120+ FPS on Crysis 3 (with ultra high settings, 16xAA and 16xAF), and some are perfectly happy with 25-30FPS (with medium settings, 2xAA and 2xAF).

Here is the list:

$70 Graphics card--> Evga GeForce GT 430 (more than enough for me personally. Hey, if I can play Halo2, Burnout Paradise, NFS Hot Pursuit, Assassins Creed, Dead Space 2, and so on, with at least medium settings and 2xAA and 2xAF I can live with that! I don't need to go all out and get a 500Watt video card for 5000FPS on every game out there.)
http://www.amazon.com/Evga-GeForce-E...1839434&sr=8-1

$26 Cooler Master CPU cooler
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-..._bs_11036281_1

$30 Lite-On DVD-RW Multi Drive
http://www.amazon.com/Lite-LightScri...zg_bs_172480_2

$36 ATX Mid Tower Case
http://www.amazon.com/GAMMA-Classic-...zg_bs_572238_1

$45 Corsair Builder Series 430Watt PSU (there is a cooler master for $40 and it's 500Watt, but the thing is that it uses multiple 12V rails; single-rail has the least problems and issues. NO, DO NOT START AN ARGUMENT HERE ABOUT WHICH IS BETTER--MULTIPLE-RAILS OR SINGLE-RAIL!!!)
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-430-Wa...g_bs_1161760_7

$90 AMD Phenom II X2 555BE 3.2GHz Dual-core (if you know a better processor for a cheaper price, please do suggest them to me. Every dollar counts in my case!)
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-Cal...1809971&sr=1-1

$12 Arctic Silver Thermal Paste and cleaning kit
http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-...zg_bs_281501_2

$25 for 4GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-1333MH...p_ob_e_title_3

(I already have a 160GB SATA drive from my Compaq Presario SR5505F which I will replace with a 80GB IDE harddrive I salvaged from a TiVo--not bad ehh? Free 80GB!! I don't need much space anyways; after I finish a game, I tend to delete it, or put it on DVDs if I really like them a lot.)

Now...the only thing I am missing, as you can see, is a motherboard!! I cannot make up my mind whether to get a $50 GIGABYTE GA-M68MT-S2P (which is micro-atx), or spend $115 on the MSI 870U-G55 (http://www.amazon.com/MSI-125W-CPU-S...1808471&sr=8-1), or should I get something else altogether?

Please suggest a motherboard for me!!! Preferably a Gigabyte or MSI. I'm a bit scared of Asus boards because my Compaq has the M2N68-LA mobo and the video card wouldn't work because HP crippled the BIOS! how very cruel of them! and I was super psyched because the GT 430 was the first graphics card I ever bought! :'''( I Googled it up and many people had the same problem as me! The PCI-E slot was disabled! even though on HP's main site, it says it supports graphics cards! This is the main reason for me to build my own pc because at least I know what I'm getting. OEM computers are so lame!

 

[Subyman]

Personally, I would wait and save up a bit more money. A few more dollars here and there will net you a system 2-3x more powerful. If you can wait for a GTX460 deal at 99 dollars, that would be the way to go on a budget. For processor, spend 10-20 more and get an i3-2120 with a P67/Z68 motherboard so you can upgrade to a higher end Sandy Bridge or Ivy in the future. AMD upgradability is going to be a dead end this generation. Lose the aftermarket heatsink and use that money toward the i3-2120 with a stock cooler.

That means I would do:

GTX460 $99 deal
i3-2120- $110-120
Asrock/Biostar Socket 1155 Z68 motherboard- $80-99
Pick other parts to your liking.

Skip the thermal paste for savings as well, you will be running stock so no need.

 

[DesiPower]

I would like to suggest an APU and a compatible motherboard and get rid of the GPU, if I am not mistaken the IGP would be stronger than the GT 430

 

[Ken g6]

The last bastion of AMD value is value overclockers who need multiple cores. I saw you mention encoding, but only once. Is that important enough to you that you'd like to try unlocking some extra cores from your AMD?

Otherwise, I do have to turn my attention to Intel. On the ultra-cheap end you have the Pentium G620, $63AP, which fares well against much higher-clocked AMD dual cores. You can't overclock it, but pair it with a $50 Biostar mobo that can't be overclocked either and it's quite competitive price-wise. None of the un-overclocked Intel CPUs need an aftermarket heat sink, so that saves even more. Heck, you could try running your games on the built-in HD2000 graphics, at least once, before buying a GPU. (They'll have to be low quality without AA probably, but you can try.)

If you find you can afford a little more processor, there's all levels up to the $130 i3-2120, and then quad cores from there. They all fit in that mobo, and you can always upgrade. (Ivy Bridge will have the same pin configuration too, but may not be compatible with the BIOS; we'll see.)

 

[sagirfahmid3]

@Subyman: The thing is, I don't need a super-powerful graphics card. So can we all please forget about the graphics card part? As a college student, I rarely have a few hours here-and-there for playing games. Most of my time, I have to do homework, until like 1AM every night; on weekends, I spend time with my family, and play a bit of San Andreas on my Compaq (it has enough graphics power to run that lol, but at 800x600 resolution. I don't mind though, its enough for me). Also, I'm going for an AMD processor because of the "core-unlock" potential--yes, I know it's about luck and all. Also, I want to overclock the processor and AMD processors are cheap enough to buy if I accidentally burn one =P

@Desipower: No thanks dude. I already bought my graphics card. The reason why I decided to build my own pc is because the GFX card wouldn't work in my Compaq Presario (motherboard: ASUS M2N68-LA).

@Ken: Yes, the encoding is important to me because I frequently convert movies and TV episodes using Handbrake. The core unlocking potential is also important to me, as is the overclocking potential; this is why I am going for an AMD processor.

===================================================================================

All I'm asking for here is a good motherboard for AM3 processors that ALSO has good overclocking features AND core unlocker or Advanced Core Calibration.

 

[mfenn]

OP, don't post your full list on this forum if you don't want people to pick it apart. I personally have my doubts about a GT 430 meeting your performance goals in Assassin's Creed and Dead Space 2.

In your situation, I would probably forget the thermal paste (it won't make a difference) and get a $100 CPU that is already a quad. For example, the Athlon II X4 640 is $100.