Building First Computer

[Arekh]

Hello all. First time here (So I hope I'm doing this right). Basically I want to build a computer around summer time. But if prices and parts vary so wildly, why am I doing this from now? Well, basically I want to get an estimate budget of how much it's gonna cost me to get a PC that can run games nicely for a bit (Extra, faster RAM goes later. Maybe some slight CPU OCing. Also a DX10 card, but that's after ATi also gets theirs out to get some comparisons going).

And now, the build:

Case
COOLER MASTER Centurion RC-534-SKR5 Silver Aluminum & Mesh bezel, SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply

MoBo
Foxconn C51XEM2AA- 8EKRS2H Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard

Video Card
SAPPHIRE 100166L Radeon X1650XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card

PSU
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA3800CUBOX

RAM
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory Model VS2GBKIT667D2

HDD
Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

DVD
SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black IDE Model SH-S182M/BEBN - OEM

According to Newegg, this ammounts to $891.93 before shipping costs. Basically that's around the maximum I am willing to spend for this first time. As I said, I will upgrade later. What I was trying to accomplish here was getting a machine together that would get me at leas through this gaming year (Supreme Commander, Hellgate: Londong, etc) even if it isn't with all the fancy stuff turned on, at least looking nice and playing smoothly. As for the case, well, basically I loved the fact that it has 2 big fans (though I would never turn those lights on, ever).

Now, I'm really looking for any sort of input here. I tried researching my best but most of it it's opinions about the parts, and well, there's always some bias here and there. Basically concerned about making a good MoBo choice and CPU choice (I might later overclock this one, though not to extremes. Just a few extra MHz). I also had never really considered the wonderful world of power supplies so I did my best there with what seemed nice.

Well, thanks for any comments!

 

[bamacre]

Get a cheaper motherboard and a better video card.

 

[Arekh]

Thanks for the suggestion.

Any sort of example as to what kind of Motherboard? That's most of my problem, I really have no experience with those things. Remember, just something that can let me OC later (again, not going to extremes here). As for the card, I guess I could manage something after seeing the difference in price with the new MoBo in there.

 

[stogez]

Its hard to pick parts months in advance. I'd say $900 is a fairly decent budget. The newer midrange cards will be around 200-250 range or so. Also as of now, its all about Intel
I think even in a couple months, the Asus P5B series of boards and the Gigabyte DS3 rev2 should be good enough.
$150 E4300 or $180 or so for the E6320 when it comes out
$130 DS3
$150 2GB DDR2
$200-250 for Vid Card
$150+ Case, PSU
$75 320GB HDD

That should give you a rough estimate.

 

[Arekh]

Well, by summer I mean basically around early/mid May, which is basically 3 months down the road but other than some prices going slightly down I don't really expect any major changes (Unless there's a major realease comming I'm completely ignoring, but anyways). As to why I was down AMD path, well, the build basically started as a "As low as we can get it" thing and AMD was better in the "Let's be cheap and have 2 Cores" field (After trying 2 cores for multitasking, I'm not going back), even though I would've loved to go for a C2D (Better performance, lower power consumption? I'm in). P5B MoBo? I'll consider that and try to see how can I get a good design around that.

Thanks for the input!

 

[bamacre]

You should definitely wait and see what prices are available when you are closer to purchase. Prices on things such as memory, video cards, and even the cpu will change.

Even then, don't do all your shopping at NewEgg....


COOLER MASTER Centurion RC-534-SKR5
$75.00
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119112

Seasonic S12 SS-550HT Energy+ 550W SLI EPS Power Supply
$108.00
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=PS-S12...1d373b23a76e3f97c8c2be2ce76a7430d7c27d

GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA775
$108.50
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=MB-965...1d373b23a76e3f97c8c2be2ce76a7430d7c27d

Sapphire RADEON X1950 Pro 256MB
$183.00
http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/simprod.asp?ad=fg&pid=16398

Intel C2D E6300
$187.00
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe...jsp?ProductCode=80858&prodlist=froogle

Quantity 2: STT DDR2-667 1GB/64x8 S-RIGID Memory
$118.00
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=T6UB1G...8bc52703e710ab70dee27dc9943e416237d954

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB Serial ATA II
$69.50
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101220-11

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner
$33.00
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827151136

Total: $882.00 plus ship

 

[s44]

600W for a X2 (or even overclocked C2D) and a x1650xt? Please tell me you're kidding.

 

[Arekh]

@bamacre: Thanks for the suggestions. Seems great overall.

Originally posted by: s44
600W for a X2 (or even overclocked C2D) and a x1650xt? Please tell me you're kidding.

Basically wanting to be on the safe side once our little DX10 friends become more common, because they seem to like power. Overkill? Maybe just a bit, but it's mostly attempting to be on the safe side. If it's excessive, well, that's why I asked for help here. So that I could get an idea of how to fine tune it.

 

[s44]

If you're planning to get the power-guzzling R600, I guess getting a mega-PSU makes sense. But I doubt any of the mainstream-level DX10 cards are going to need even a good 500W.

That Seasonic the last guy linked looks like a good deal if you really do need 41A at +12V.

 

[stogez]

500W should be more than enough unless you plan on getting the R600 with its 230W or something load like s44 said
If you just plan on going with mid level cards, which you will have to with a budget, 500W is enough. But ofcourse if you get a good deal or you plan on getting a monster card in the future, get the 600W
"As low as we can get it" thing and AMD was better in the "Let's be cheap and have 2 Cores" With the mobo/cpu combo you have selected, its not cheaper than a much better performing C2D setup. Your AMD total is $295 which is more than the E6300/Gigabyte combo at around $270 or so. Even cheaper if you get an E4300 since they overclock the same.