Potential new system build, please evaluate (Now ready to pull trigger)

nsafreak

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 2001
7,093
3
81
Trigger Pulling time

Well this came a bit sooner than I had initially planned for but I am now ready to pull the trigger, was able to get the funds together faster than I thought I would. I guess all that extra OT at work can be useful ;). Not too much has changed on the PC landscape from when I originally posted this and now as far as I can see. I have compared the Core 2 Duos against the Phenom X4s again (not an apples to apples comparison I'm aware) and it still seems that the Core 2 Duos exceed the Phenoms a bit when it comes to a few categories. I'm willing to hear arguments for & against the phenom though. Still trying to keep it within the previously stated budget.

Well my old P4 system is starting to really show its age so its time for an upgrade. I'm finding myself starting to spend more time gaming on my PC (although my 360 still sees a fair share of action) and while some of my games play fine on it there are some others where it'd be nice to have a boost in performance. So I'm pretty much going to do a complete system build. I'll be saving the optical drives & sound card from my current PC as well as my monitors as they work just fine and upgrades are not needed for them. So I guess I'll give a basic breakdown.

What I plan on doing with my PC:

Light audio editing (Audacity)
Video editing (dual booting to Linux to use Cinelerra)
Gaming (EvE Online, World of Warcraft, Sins of a Solar Empire, Team Fortress 2, Fallout 3, and a few others)
Some regular office & internet use

I'm trying to keep this system in the ballpark of $600-$700 for these components. Here is the list that I have come up with so far:


GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card $144.99 Link

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model
BX80571E7400 $119.99 Link

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Patriot 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory Model PSD22G6672 x 2 $37.98 Link

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $49.99 Link


I'm going to be loading Windows Vista on this system so that I can fully utilize the 4GB of RAM I plan on installing. Shopping on newegg this list has a total of $562.92 before shipping. Please feel free to suggest alternative parts or alternative places to shop other than newegg. They don't seem to have the best prices anymore and I want to get the best prices possible & a good level of customer service.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Originally posted by: nsafreak
Well my old P4 system is starting to really show its age so its time for an upgrade. I'm finding myself starting to spend more time gaming on my PC (although my 360 still sees a fair share of action) and while some of my games play fine on it there are some others where it'd be nice to have a boost in performance. So I'm pretty much going to do a complete system build. I'll be saving the optical drives & sound card from my current PC as well as my monitors as they work just fine and upgrades are not needed for them. So I guess I'll give a basic breakdown.

What I plan on doing with my PC:

Light audio editing (Audacity)
Video editing (dual booting to Linux to use Cinelerra)
Gaming (EvE Online, World of Warcraft, Sins of a Solar Empire, Team Fortress 2, Fallout 3, and a few others)
Some regular office & internet use

I'm trying to keep this system in the ballpark of $600-$700 for these components. Here is the list that I have come up with so far:



Intel BOXDG41TY LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

FSP Group Blue Storm II 500W ATX 2.2 SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model
BX80571E7400

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Patriot 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory Model PSD22G6672 x 2

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case


I'm going to be loading Windows Vista on this system so that I can fully utilize the 4GB of RAM I plan on installing. Shopping on newegg this list has a total of $562.92 before shipping. Please feel free to suggest alternative parts or alternative places to shop other than newegg. They don't seem to have the best prices anymore and I want to get the best prices possible & a good level of customer service.

Would you be able to provide some links and prices to your components as well?
 

nsafreak

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 2001
7,093
3
81
Nope no overclocking planned at all. This build is also somewhat in the future I would say within the next 2 months. Yes I realize that things can change a good bit in the PC landscape in that time period but I figure I'll just be paying less for the same components as I don't think I'll need anything more powerful than this for a while.
 

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
4,902
0
71
Originally posted by: nsafreak
Nope no overclocking planned at all. This build is also somewhat in the future I would say within the next 2 months. Yes I realize that things can change a good bit in the PC landscape in that time period but I figure I'll just be paying less for the same components as I don't think I'll need anything more powerful than this for a while.

True, sort of.

RAM and video cards especially have special sales fairly frequently. It happens with PSUs and cases as well, although not to the same degree. If you lock yourself into this exact list of components you're probably going to end up spending at least $50 more than you need to, maybe even more.
 

nsafreak

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 2001
7,093
3
81
I wouldn't say that I'm locked into this particular build. If the prices fall enough when I'm purchasing on the next step up from each part I will upgrade to the next one up. I should note one thing that I forgot to note and that is that I'm a bit of an Intel fanboy. From what I've seen in real world performance and benchmarks currently the Core 2 Duos still outperform the X2s on a regular basis.
 

Denithor

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2004
6,298
23
81
Well, an Intel fanboy you may be, but consider this.

PhII 920 + 790GX combo $249 - $10MIR
G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2-1066 $45
Corsair 400CX $60 - $12IR (coupon on page) - $10MIR
WD6401AALS Caviar Black $80
4850 $145 - $15MIR
Case $50 + shipping

Total: $617 - $35MIR = $582

All items (except the case you chose) have free shipping so what you see here is what you pay.

Ditch the old soundcard - trust me, today's onboard HD audio kicks ass.

And if you really just gotta go Intel (trust me, I like them too, they just don't have the best value today) get this setup instead.

Q8300 (2.5GHz, 4MB cache) $190
Gigabyte EP45-UD3R $120 - $15MIR
Use the memory + PSU + HDD above and the 4850 + case you picked out.

Total: $678 - $40MIR = $638

EDIT:
Nope no overclocking planned at all. This build is also somewhat in the future I would say within the next 2 months. Yes I realize that things can change a good bit in the PC landscape in that time period but I figure I'll just be paying less for the same components as I don't think I'll need anything more powerful than this for a while.

I didn't see this one on the first read-through. A ton can change in two months' time. Make sure you check back at least for final review before pulling the trigger two months from now.
 

Boobs McGee

Senior member
Feb 6, 2006
405
0
76
I would spend the 10 bucks extra for the 6400AAKS (free shipping). The one you have listed has $7 shipping so its almost a wash for 140 gigs and an arguably nicer drive.

I don't really have much else for you. You can shop around or check the hot deals forums for some comparisons.
 

nsafreak

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 2001
7,093
3
81
Originally posted by: Boobs McGee
I would spend the 10 bucks extra for the 6400AAKS (free shipping). The one you have listed has $7 shipping so its almost a wash for 140 gigs and an arguably nicer drive.

I don't really have much else for you. You can shop around or check the hot deals forums for some comparisons.

Thanks that does look like a very nice drive and its not much extra at all. I'll sub it in for the drive I currently have. Still open to suggestions before I actually pull the trigger.

Edit: I have made some changes to the op in terms of post. I changed to a recommended WD hard drive and there are some other recommendations for PSU and motherboard that I have changed to as well.