Time for my 4 year upgrade! How does this look?

[LYHTSPD]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.\
Some gaming (L4D, BF2, FPS stuff), and some minor video/picture editing using Adobe products

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
I am shooting for around $500

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
Not a huge brand guy, but I have used a lot of AMD and ATI in the past

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I have the following I am going to reuse:
Addtronics 7896 server case (yeah, an oldie but a goodie!)
IDE DVD-R
IDE CD-R
500GB SATA HDD
120GB SATA HDD
Monitor, KB, Mouse, Speakers

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Been looking at a lot of threads on the AM3 boards, and which MB to use.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Mostly default, but I am sure I will bump it up a little bit after it is stable.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
Right now, 1280x1024. I hope to get a better monitor in the near future.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Now... money is burning a hole!


Here is what I am looking at so far:


ASUS M4A77TD Pro AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131397

ASUS EAH4670/DI/512MD3 Radeon HD 4670 $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121329

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $95.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231193

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 $165.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103674

Subtotal: $526.95


I have been a bit out of the loop on a lot of the new platforms that have come out, so bear with me. I may run a multiple video card solution in the future as well. Thoughts? Comments? Help?

 

[jdjbuffalo]

I'm more of an Intel guy so I can't say whether that is the best AMD setup for the price but I can give you a few recommendations.

I don't believe the memory you chose is compatiable. I believe you need the 1.9V RAM. Someone else should be able to verify this.

Look for combo deals on the motherboard, processor and RAM. You might be able to save a few dollars this way.

I wouldn't recommend using an IDE DVD or CD drive. I've heard lots of people having Windows install and other problems with them. Just pickup an SATA DVD Burner drive for $30.
LITE-ON 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model iHAP222-06 LightScribe Support - OEM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106282

Your power supply is way overkill for what you have listed here. Unless you plan on doing some major overclocking or SLI, you don't need a 650 Watt power supply. This 550Watt Corsair Power Supply should be plenty at $69.99 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

 

[LYHTSPD]

I'm more of an Intel guy so I can't say whether that is the best AMD setup for the price but I can give you a few recommendations.

I don't believe the memory you chose is compatiable. I believe you need the 1.9V RAM. Someone else should be able to verify this.

Look for combo deals on the motherboard, processor and RAM. You might be able to save a few dollars this way.

I wouldn't recommend using an IDE DVD or CD drive. I've heard lots of people having Windows install and other problems with them. Just pickup an SATA DVD Burner drive for $30.
LITE-ON 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model iHAP222-06 LightScribe Support - OEM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106282

Your power supply is way overkill for what you have listed here. Unless you plan on doing some major overclocking or SLI, you don't need a 650 Watt power supply. This 550Watt Corsair Power Supply should be plenty at $69.99 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

Thanks for the advice JD. I took the PS down to what you suggested and looked endlessly through all the deals and this is what I came up with (I was even able to sneak in a new mouse and DVD-R):

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM - $31.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118030

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active - $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

Logitech MX518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical Gaming Mouse - Retail - $39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826104178

Combo: AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $223.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.303838

Combo: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail
GIGABYTE GV-R467ZL-1GI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail - $160.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.299955

Total: $546.94 (plus ~$16 shipping, not including rebates)

There is a combined $50 in rebates (I know, I hate them as well), but I did not base my purchases on them since they are a pain to deal with, if you get them back.

I went down to a Phenom II X3 because I don't know if I really need the quad cores. I am going to try and unlock the 4th, but if it does not work then it will be no big deal.

Anyone care to comment on this setup?

 

[jdjbuffalo]

That looks a lot better to me.

If you do decide to go back to a quad core it looks like Newegg has a combo deal with the same motherboard but a quad core AMD Phenom II X4 925 Deneb 2.8GHz.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.303839
The price difference is about $22.