So, here's the article I'm referring to: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_build_awesome_pc_647 I'm considering using this build as a guide for my next budget rig. However, I've already got a case (a Lian-Li PC-65), and potentially also a PSU (a PC Power & Cooling 500w). I'd like to see what you all at Bit-Tech think of this build, and what changes you'd make to optimize performance. I'd like to keep it at around the $650 price point, not including the chassis, PSU, monitor, mouse, keyboard, & speakers. What do you guys think?
Looks like a pretty solid build to me. At first I was gonna recommend swapping the Athlon for a Phenom, but seeing a couple of reviews I'd say just grab a proper cooler for the Athlon and see how far you can overclock it! Also I'm not sure about the motherboards, but this seems like the best choice for a budget build ATM: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2009/09/17/msi-770-c45-motherboard-review/1
Just check prices, If you get OEM (doesn't come with a cooler and 1year warrenty instead of 3years) instead of retail, and get the freezer pro 7 revison 2. It sometimes works out cheaper. Also I prefer corsair and OCZ over coolermaster PSU's. Guess any of those three are grand depending on avaibility I guestion their choice of ram and motherboard. Fair enough if your carrying over but DDR3 is mostly cheaper than DDR2. Why go with old tech unless you plan to sell it on later.......if your that way inclined. Their build is ok but I guess anychanges I would do would be based on personal perfrence. Only big complaint is DDR2 over DDR3?
A $20 case is an impressive deal. I don't like the rest of this very much. DDR2's now the same price, or even more expensive than faster DDR3. Why would you buy DDR2? Is that motherboard limited to DDR2? On Newegg, a Spinpoint F3 is one whole cent cheaper than the Seagate they're pushing. Though there's nothing wrong with the Seagate, it's slower. I've nothing against Cooler Master's PSUs specifically, but I'd go with a Corsair CX400 every time. More importantly, supplied coolers and preapplied TIM for the lose. At this budget, your biggest price saving will be the hundreds of dollars saved by overclocking instead of buying a faster processor. Invest in a decent cooler with supplied TIM, or buy some AS5. For a PC site, I expect more. [EDIT]For you, the $650 will go a lot further since we don't have to buy you a chassis or a PSU. I think it might even stretch to Core i5 750, which is literally orders of magnitude more powerful than the Athlon system they're proposing. From Newegg alone (because it's the only US site I'm familar with); CPU: Intel Core i5 750 $200 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 $105 RAM: OCZ Obsidian 4GB 1600Mhz DDR3 CL9 $80 after $20 rebate GPU: ATi 5770 $152 after $10 rebate - Note ugly cooling shroud, might be worth buying a $20 more expensive one from Asus or somebody with a prettier shell. This is the 1GB, though, so it's fast. HDD: Samsung F3 500GB $55 PSU: You've already got one. Optical Drive: You've already got one? If not don't pay more than $25. Newegg has billions. Chassis: You've already got one. CPU Cooler: Titan Fenrir (Newegg don't offer this, but it's $35 from MicroCenter but lacks the 1156 bracket, should be less than $55) with Arctic Silver 5 $10 - You're probably looking at $50 including the TIM. Total: $650-660 + OS; I recommend Windows 7 x64 though I haven't included it in the price because I don't know what you use. There's definitely room for slower and cheaper RAM and an OEM processor; both will save cash. The only fail is that this isn't really a budget build, it's more a kick-arse gaming build with a premium processor, RAM, GPU, and cooler, but it's still $650...[/EDIT]
thanks for the advice guys! The CPU/mobo setup that Puresilver suggested is quite a bit more expensive than the Athlon X4/gigabyte combo that Maximum PC listed. Although I'm sure it'll perform quite a bit better, I do have to consider the cost of the OS (which I forgot to mention ). Which of the two setups do you guys think will be a better overclocker? From newegg, Maximum PC's list will cost me around $590. This will leave me quite a bit of room for a better CPU cooler, which will allow for better overclocks. Would I be able to get more out of this setup by using Jipa's suggestion? Puresilver's list is quite a bit more expensive, but it includes an aftermarket cooler, and I'm tempted to commit to the Core i5 IF it's really that much better of a CPU than the Athlon II x4. One more note: My PSU is a PC Power & Cooling 500w unit, which should be plenty for this build, but it's an older unit. I'm currently using it in an old Athlon XP 2500m setup with an Abit NF7s board. I haven't been keeping up on the state of power supplies. Will this older PSU have the connectivity required for this newer system?
Jipa's got a good suggestion with the motherboard, which is the best for the socket and the price. It's Bit-Tech's recommended 'board for the Affordable All-Rounder (with a different CPU; remember that, it's going to prove rather decisive). Incidentally, the 750 is the next rung up that ladder as the Enthusiast Overclocker. Could you give us a model number? Have a quick look here for the AMD and here and here for 750. Without putting this too bluntly, I'll just quote from the conclusions of those two articles; From the aforementioned "Affordable All-Rounder"; Quite.
Ok, I was wrong about it being a 500w PSU. It's actually a 610w Silencer. Here's the link. I think I'm sold on the i5-750. After looking at several website reviews, I'm not that impressed with the Athlon II X4. Anyone have experience with the i5-750? How well does it overclock for you? So after running up a wish list on ol' newegg, here's what I've got (assuming I don't need a new PSU): CPU: Intel Core i5-750 Mobo: MSI P55m-GD41 RAM: 4gb Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 HDD: 500gb Seagate Barracuda GPU: Radeon 5770 1gb Optical: LITE-ON DVD burner OS: Windows 7 64-bit OEM Total cost: $746.93 It's about 50 bucks more than I was originally intending to spend, but it seems pretty solid to me, and if I really am getting that much more with a core i5 system, then it should last me that much longer. What do you guys think? Also, my chassis is a Lian Li PC-65B. It's an oldie, but still my all-time favorite case. Thanks for the advice. As always, this is THE place to go for advice/input on all things PC.
seems like you have a bit of a liking for the seagate. the samsung f3's and wd caviar blacks are better drives, go for one of them. if you have a microcenter nearby, you can knock off $40 or so from the cost of the i5. if you can handle the purchase, then that all works out, but if you still need to cut costs, you can always go i3 edit:i'd get this over the HIS card.
There's also the possibility of sticking with an AMD build but getting a Phenom processor that has the L3 cache. This won't be as fast as the core i5 but will be faster than the athlon X4 and better value than intel core i5 750. Remember that you can get AMD mobo's a bit cheaper than p55 ones in general. You could of course go for a core i3 rig but, as they are still new they have a price premium. Good luck with whatever you choose.
Sorry about the delay in responding. I just found out that I can get a copy of Windows 7 Pro for free through my school, so I'm able to knock 100 bucks off the cost of the system. Thanks for the suggestions, Trig. I'll be getting the GPU you suggested, and I like those WD blacks, and since I've freed up $100 by not having to buy an OS, I think I'll spring for a bigger/faster HDD. So here's the current lineup: Intel Core i5-750 MSI P55M-GD41 4gb Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 750gb WD Caviar Black Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1gb LITE-ON DVD Burner This comes to $680 without shipping, fitting nicely into my budget. Let me know what you guys think. Hopefully, I'll be able to use my current PSU (PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610w) and chassis (Lian Li PC-65B) with this build. I am concerned that the PSU might not have the proper connections for it though, and that the case won't have the room to fit the GPU. Thanks again for all the help.
I wish American websites would stop tea-bagging the AMD 620 and test it with some real multi-tasking environments to see that it's actually ****.
