Building a PC, requesting critiqueFollow

I tend to prefer the Asus motherboards over Gigabyte, but they are a decent motherboard manufacturer. Good call on the USB 3.0 ports and 6BG / sec SATA ports for future expansion. Assuming you don't already have one, you will need a Case ($70), an Optical drive of some sort ($17) and a copy of Windows to run on the machine in addition to what you have listed. For a case, I like to reccommend the Cooler MAster CM 690 series, as they are usually pretty cheap. At the moment the CM690 version 2 is actually about $10 cheaper http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119215

For an optical drive, any of the 22x DVD drives will work. Here's an LG one for $17 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136180

Windows, for a gaming machine you want a 64 bit version of Windows 7 of some sort. $99 for 64 bit home Premium. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

That video card is kind of a no name brand with a less than steller warranty. It will probably work, I wouldn't buy it personally.

I'd go with the PNY. It's a little mroe spendy than the Asus card they have listed, but it has a lifetime warranty.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133318

Thanks for the advice. Updated my shopping cart:



Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148433
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$69.99


MSI 890GXM-G65 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813130269
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$129.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231277
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$91.99


AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX
Item #: N82E16819103851
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$10.00 Instant
$207.99
$197.99


Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC ...
Item #: N82E16817371026
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129042
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$50.00 Instant
-$30.00 Combo
$209.94
$129.94


PNY XLR8 VCGGTX470XPB GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814133318
Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
Nvidia Free Just Cause 2 Coupon Free with purchase!
Item #: N82E16800999242
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$7.00 Instant
-$59.99 Combo
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate
$379.98
$312.99

Already have a DVD drive and Windows, etc. Any more feedback?

I will be upgrading soon myself but I noticed you are looking for the same ram type. Check out this, free 8 gig flash drive too with a mail in rebate. OCZ ftw



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227586

Cheaper, sexier, free stuff.

Just a suggestion, GL

*Edit: On a side note I agree with the post above, hexacore ftw?

Edited, Sep 17th 2010 6:12pm by Consilium

Thanks Kaolian. I just spoke to a friend who builds computers for a living, and he is suggesting that I stick with the i5 even though it has a much lower benchmark, because it can be overclocked to perform better than the AMD, and is more optimized towards gaming while the AMD would be more suited towards graphic design. What do you think about that?

Also, if I wanted to spend $50 more on a CPU, what should I get?

Edited, Sep 17th 2010 10:35pm by Maxyim

The AMD overclocks faster than the i5 as well - about 30-40%.

But a little about overclocking.. I've seen it cause more problems than it solves. It's better to stay at stock speeds with a faster CPU than to mess around and deal with instability.

OK, I'm getting confused. AMD or i5? :P

Although I really like the i7's.. AMD is providing the best performance for the price. I really like how they're headed since the athlon/phenom 2's.

Hey guys,

I had to put off the PC for a bit. It's a month later and I'm getting ready to start ordering parts. Any changes you would make to the original layout?

Also, what's the deal with the new Nvidia chips? Any idea if my configuration will be compatible with them once they are out?

Thanks!

Here is a socket 1366 i7 930 Processor for $199 if you have a Microcenter near you.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0331303


Hmm, nevermind, looks to be out of stock or the deal is over.

Edited, Oct 25th 2010 2:45pm by Theanrkist