New builder, hoping for some advice/reassurance on my first project

[mephisto500]

Hey all. I'm happy to join this wonderfully supportive forum community! I'm planning on putting together my very first machine, and as I hope is understandable, I am seeking as much advice/suggestions from people who know what they're doing as I can get! I've spent many, many hours reading up on components, builds, etc and have put together a basic build that I hope will suit my goals.

I'm looking for a decent gaming machine, not interested in overclocking or pushing anything to crazy limits. Just a solid build that can hopefully run some of the modern MMOs (GW2) smoothly on high settings. Money is, of course, one of my main issues so this build is aimed to total right around the $500 mark.

CPU: Intel G860, 3GHz
Motherboard: ASRock B75
Memory: 2x2gig DDR3 1333
Video: Radeon HD6850
Power supply: Antec VP-450W
Case: I'm debating between the Cooler Master HAF 912 and the less expensive Rosewill Challenger which comes with a 3rd fan. I'm worried that it will be *too* small, though (even though it is a mid-tower)
Cheap hard drive, DVD drive, and just the integrated sound to complete the package.

So? I'd love any feedback you can dish out. Again, I am well aware this is far from the top-of-the-line machine, but budget is a very limiting factor. Any thoughts on components individually or the build as a whole?

Thanks for your time!

 

[ElFenix]

right now you can get an i3-2100 from tigerdirect for the same price, which is a definite step up from the 860 with hyperthreading.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2262958

 

[newb111]

Just a thought, not sure about the relative performance/reliability of the video cards, but there is a 6870 for $136.49 AR at amazon right now. Might be a bit better than the 6850
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[mephisto500]

right now you can get an i3-2100 from tigerdirect for the same price, which is a definite step up from the 860 with hyperthreading.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2262958

Ooh, excellent find, thanks! That's in a whole different ballpark...

 

[bononos]

.......
CPU: Intel G860, 3GHz
Motherboard: ASRock B75
Memory: 2x2gig DDR3 1333
Video: Radeon HD6850
Power supply: Antec VP-450W
Case: I'm debating between the Cooler Master HAF 912 and the less expensive Rosewill Challenger which comes with a 3rd fan. I'm worried that it will be *too* small, though (even though it is a mid-tower)
Cheap hard drive, DVD drive, and just the integrated sound to complete the package.
......

The Antec VP 450 you linked doesn't seem to have 80+ certified or active pfc. You should check the other threads for psu recommendations in the 400W range.

Edit- AT recently had a roundup article for budget psus. The Corsair cx430 v2 is really cheap after rebate and reviewed favourably by jg but also has many poor reviews on newegg.

 

[lehtv]

The Antec VP 450 you linked doesn't seem to have 80+ certified or active pfc. You should check the other threads for psu recommendations in the 400W range.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-VP450-Power-Supply-Review/1487

-> 83-85% efficiency at common load levels, 80% at full load - and that's at 120V AC
-> doesn't obtain 80Plus certification simply because it lacks a PFC circuit
-> voltages and ripple and noise levels well within ATX spec
-> capable of overloading to 550W cleanly, shuts down safely
-> OCP, OVP, UVP, OPP, SCP

It's a great unit. The only downside is the 2-year warranty, would like to see 3. Either way though, if it fails, it's likely to do so well before the 2-year period or well after the 3-year period.

It's also pretty affordable which probably has to do with the OEM, FSP. Units made by Seasonic and Delta tend to be more expensive

 

[mephisto500]

-> doesn't obtain 80Plus certification simply because it lacks a PFC circuit

which is actually exactly what I found in my research. For the price (really quite cheap) I went with this over an 80+, and should still have a good 50-100W overhead for anything I'll put in it for years.

 

[lehtv]

Oh, and to actually answer your question in the OP - I'd try to aim for best bang for buck on each component to get as much longevity out of the PC as a whole. Don't get the cheapest possible hard disk and memory. Get a 1TB drive so you don't have to buy more space too soon, and 8GB RAM so you can avoid upgrading later. Also don't get the cheapest possible case and PSU; you were already on the right track with those.

CPU i3-2100 $90 @Tiger as suggested by ElFenix
Mobo Asrock B75M $65
-- Will take any Ivy Bridge CPU, I'd recommend buying a used i5-3470/3550/3570 whenever the i3 becomes a bottleneck for a GPU upgrade. That may or may not be the case when you upgrade, the i3 is no slouch. Depends on the games you play.

RAM 2x4GB Team Elite DDR3-1333 $34 (promo)
-- Don't worry about the brand, it has limited lifetime warranty just like the rest of them, and the user reviews don't have many complaints.

GPU MSI 7770 dual-fan $135 ($120 AR)
-- Spend more here if you're OK with going a over budget; I'd get MSI GTX 560 dual-fan for $170 ($130 AR) (compare).

HDD Seagate ST1000DM003 $78 @NCIX
-- Fast single platter drive, great $/GB.

DVD Samsung DVD-RW $15
PSU PC Power & Cooling MK III 400W $50 ($30 AR)
-- While the VP450 is a good unit, the MK III 400W is a tier above it (80+ bronze, modular, 5-yr warranty) and on such a discount it's an easy choice.

Case Antec Three Hundred Two $50 @NCIX
-- Read a couple reviews to convince yourself it's a fantastic case for this price.

= $517 ($482 AR) + newegg shipping

What's your monitor resolution by the way?

 

[mephisto500]

Thanks so much for the incredibly detailed listing! I'll be sure to look at these new options.

No monitor as of yet, looking for a cheap or hopefully used one... My ideal aim is a 1080 but might have to settle for a 1600x900. Really hoping to keep this under $100. Recommendations?

 

[lehtv]

Any halfway decent monitor under $100 is pretty much impossible unless buying used. I think you should get a 1080p monitor since they're the best bang for buck (lots of demand) and spend a bit less on the build itself if needed.

Monitor: Acer 21" 1080p $120 or Hanns-G 23" 1080p $140

The case is probably the first thing to go since it has no real impact on performance or longevity, it's more of a convenience thing. Rosewill Blackbone $34 AP (still has 2x 120mm fans!)

Next up is the memory - a single 4GB module should be OK even if it's not as good $/GB as 2x4GB. G.Skill Value 1333 $20.49

And after that, the motherboard; normally I'd say CPU but it'd be suicidal to pass up the i3 for $90 deal. This is a super basic board but chances are it's good enough, and it will support Ivy processors. MSI H61M-P31 $55 ($45 AR). The only real downsides are the lack of SATA 6gb/s and USB 3.0. The former will be only missed when buying an SSD, but even then the SSD will improve system responsiveness quite a bit compared to a hard disk. While an SSD is strictly speaking not important for budget gaming, they keep going down in price and will definitely seem attractive once you can get a quality 120GB disk for $50. The latter can be completely irrelevant or very important, depending on whether you own a USB 3.0 external hard disk or thumbdrive and how much you need to move data around.