Input on Build before i hit order

[AzNPinkTuv]

Hey guys, i was in the market for a new ~$5-600 desktop to supplement my laptop for some lite gaming and leaving it on so i can turn my laptop off. i think leaving the laptop on all the time has killed the battery somewhat and some of the components. maybe its just me but it seems to be getting slower and slower and more susceptible to heat issues. (Ive cleaned it many times) (dell latitude e6400 w 22 inch s2209w and docking station with peripherals) and decided on the following setup.

Antec 300 from microcenter for $52 after tax
Core i3 530 from micrcenter for $110 after tax
recycling an old laptop/current external 7200 rpm 160gig seagate for now as my boot disk
Clips for the hd from microcenter for $4 after tax
Gigabyte P55M-U2 board from amazon for $105
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance
XFX HD 5770 and Antec 650 Earthwatt from newegg for $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.339650
G.Skill 4 gig (2x2) pc3 12800 ddr3 1600 found here $105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231193
DVD drive (sony optiarc) $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

all this for a total of about 630 which was around my budget.

any recommendations would be welcome.

i chose this build over a similarly priced phenom build because i prefer intel more and potentially when i have more funds wiill upgrade to an i5 750 and make an htpc for 200 bucks with my old i3 530 then.

 

[mfenn]

Seems fine if you want to go Intel. The same money will get you an AMD quad though. I would make the replacement of that 2.5" drive with a proper 3.5" drive a top priority for the future.

 

[AzNPinkTuv]

yeah. i know theres some deals at frys right now actually but i dont want to deal with it over ~50 bucks difference.

as for the AMD, intel debate. The way i see it, i can get more reuse out of the i3 530. plus the majority of my time will be spent prolly browsing the web, some CS, some wow, some of the newer shooters at 1920x1080. I feel like the AMD quad setup would be better if i was running something like CADD or video rendering/editing in which case i would benefit from the increased speed alittle from say a phenom II x3 720 or 955/965 x4 black right?

is there a noticeable difference? i kinda jumped the gun and hit order so i dont want to cancel/deal with the hassel of returning.

 

[M0RPH]

Looks good but why are you buying the mobo from Amazon when it's the same price at Newegg?

 

[AzNPinkTuv]

ah the best question of all. 2 reasons. you know those coinstar machines that give out amazon certificates? i have like $30 bucks in coins taht i just threw towards it. Its one of those habits ive picked up. if i can find it on amazon for a relatively similar price, i throw coins at it so it makes it feel like i paid less out of pocket. just because you cant deposit or pay your credit card bills with left over change from burger king

 

[MrK6]

I just built a system almost identical to this for a friend (even used an Antec 300, awesome case). The only difference is he also had a 1TB Caviar Black in it as well, and I'd recommend picking up something like a new Samsung F3 (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-SATA-H...6849129&sr=8-1) as that older Seagate will present a bottleneck in the system. Anyway, with the i5 750 clocked to 3.6GHz and the 5770 at 960/1350, the system screamed.