yet another computer thread

[Lythe Featherblade]

Trying to build a computer on a budget while skipping the prebuilt systems (which really cut corners in places it matters, or so I am told).

Going with a local supplier to get it built, as they seem to offer the best options... right now part of the price would be assembly (costs $50, but they make sure everything works...)
I'm mainly playing NWN, but wouldn't mind a system that can handle a bit more if I find other fun things to play (never mind handling skype and a log watcher during NWN, which my old rig has problems with)

The supplier's site is www.ncix.com in case you like playing around building systems
Here's what I have so far (trying to take advantage of deals for various components)

1 x Powercolor Radeon HD 5670 V2 775MHZ 512MB GDDR5 4.0GHZ HDMI DVI VGA DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card
1 x PC Assembly and Testing With 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased)
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS 3.5IN NCQ Hard Drive OEM 3YR MFR Warranty
1 x AMD Athlon II X4 640 Quad Core Processor AM3 3.0GHZ 2MB L2 Cache 95W 45NM Retail Box
1 x MSI 870-G45 ATX AM3 870 DDR3 2PCI-E16 PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 GBLAN Audio CrossFireX Motherboard
1 x LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM
1 x G.SKILL F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH Ripjaws PC3-10666 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1333 CL7-7-7-21 Core i5 1.5V Memory Kit
1 x Thermaltake V3 Black Edition ATX Mid Tower Case Black 4X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT Front USB Audio No PSU
1 x Coolmax 500W ATX Power Supply 120MM Smart Fan V-500
1 x Arctic Cooling Arctic F12 Pro PWM 120MM Fan 400-1500RPM 57CFM FDB

Any thoughts on a setup like this?

[BigStick]

A couple of things I noticed are the processor and the power supply.

Since you're planning to use this for NWN, which is not threaded, you could cut back on the processor. I recently built mine using the Athlon II X3 445 which is a bit faster than the one you propose and cheaper. They've since come out with newer models (450, 455) that are also cheaper and faster than the one you've listed. These still leave enough cores to handle Skype and a logger w/o interfering with NWN. Of course, if there's a deal going on, that could change the value calculation.

From all the research I did before building my system, the power supply is one of the places you don't want to skimp. You may want to bump up yours a bit over the 500W mark and make sure it's a quality unit by checking reviews. This is especially true if you're thinking about adding another graphics card later in a crossfire setup.

OK, I lied, there are three things I noticed. I recently read an article on Tom's Hardware that states that today's systems should have 8/12 GB RAM installed rather than 4 for best performance. Easy enough to add later if you don't want to spend the money now, though.

[Retribution]

I would recommend you look at getting a small SSD for OS/Apps. The performance difference is unbelievable, so even if you have to cut back on a couple of other components it would be well worth it.

Ret.

[Crazy]

Every month, Tom's Hardware puts together a complete system at different price ranges. If I were to build a PC today, it would be very close to what they have to say.

www.tomshardware.com/us/#redir

They also do price comparison reviews on graphics cards from 50 bucks all the way up.

Here is December's $1000 PC
www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-core-i3-overclock-system-builder,2809.html


One suggestion that is often overlooked, do yourself a favor and buy a case with 120mm fans. The 60mm fans sound like turbo jets, your ears will thank you.

[Yojimbo]

Crazy do you mean 80mm not 60mm, there are 60mm but 80mm is the more common step down from 120mm. I agree 120mm are much better if you can get them. Only thing that stand out at the moment is mostly a preference I have and that is I refuse to use MSI boards I have had nothing but bad luck with them myself. I do see them often get good reviews but my experience has me sticking to Gigabyte or ASUS. I also notice the Video card is the 512MB variant and I don't think that the 1GB is much more.

[Lythe Featherblade]

Did a checkup on my PSU even before you posted, and spent quite some time researching.. that 500W tested out as a cheaply built 350W that exploded at that point in testing.
went ahead and bought, as a lot of the specials ended today, got a PSU+case combo for $99 (and $8 off elsewhere as a combo deal) that normally went for $150 (with a very reliable 500W PSU)
Antec Sonata III Black ATX 16IN Mid Tower Quiet Case 3X5.25 2X3.5 4X3.5IN 500W 120MM Fan
Earth Watts 500 Watt power supply unit

I don't plan on adding more video cards or much else to the comp (no overclocking), so 500W should do me fine, after that the PSU selection gets pretty pricey.

The 3 core vs 4 core was something I really couldn't decide on, 4-core 3GHz was $102 down from $117 while the 3-core 3.2 GHz was only $90 (so not much price difference), and there was an argument one site brought up that the 3-cores were damaged 4-cores repackaged.. so I figure the 4-core will give me more versatility for other things, and going from a 5-year old single core 2GHz to a 4-core 3GHz processor will be a nice enough jump (even with the additional demand windows 7 will introduce over windows XP) that I'll still be quite happy with the performance jump.

The $1000 computer would be a bit out of my price range, including shipping assembly and taxes I'm already looking at $750, and the $1000 assembly I'd estimate would have cost me $1200+ from the same supplier (after taxes etc) even if I lucked out on deals for the parts.

I did read tomshardware, and did decide the PSU+case combo at $99 was worth it compared to something like the coolmaster elite 460W tomshardware used for a budget PC ($44 from my supplier) (and I found another site identified it as a relabled coolmaster 400, plus both sites said it wasn't even rated for 400W via testing) plus a cheap case at $40+.

[Yojimbo]

Anandtech often does the budget builds too and I have found that I much prefer Anandtech to Tom's to the point I haven't used Tom's unless a google search lands me there.