Hello, first time poster also so I apologize if I do some no nos. Well I've been wanting to get into PC gaming for a while now and decided to make the jump. Parts that someone recommended to me: MOBO: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4496440&sku=A455-2863 Processor: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4361687&CatId=2328 CPU Cooler: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3322946&CatId=798 RAM: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3228139&CatId=3412 Case: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1028568&CatId=1842 Graphics: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4665366&CatId=3775 PSU: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276574&CatId=1079 DVD Drive: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4829307&CatId=1624 If you have any suggestions on other parts that you think are better but keep me in my $450 range, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm pretty much a newbie to most of computer details so I also appreciate layman terms. Thanks!
That is a terrible power supply. If you are lucky it would burn out in a month and not destroy the rest of the system with it. Even Antech makes better power supplies than Ultra. (I have seen ultra power supplies burn out with less than 1/3 rated load). I recomend a corsair, even if it means you have to wait an extra week or so to save up the extra few dollars.
Ultra PSUs are pretty bad - not sure I agree with the comment about Antec (no H) but some of their units are good and bad. Corsair I do agree on being a solid choice regardless. Overall Motherboard: 2/10 - Asus, nvidia chipset, cheap. All three of these are pretty dire characteristics. Go with a gigabyte or biostar board, and one with an AMD chipset, such as the 770. CPU: 2/10 - old, slow, overpriced - get an Athlon II X2 245 or 250 - or go with an Intel Pentium Dual core (E5200/5300/5400) Cooler: 7/10 - powerful for the price, but not sure about noise RAM: 9/10 - excellent memory Case: 6/10 - coolermaster cases are decent enough, but there are better cases for that price, such as the Antec three hundred. GPU: 6/10 - cheap, but very slow and poor in today's age. You're far better off getting either an HD4670, or an HD4850 if you can afford it (for reference, newegg tend to be cheaper than tigerdirect in my experience) PSU: 4/10 - you could do worse, but you could do much better. A Corsair 400W CX is fine for most systems. DVD drive is out of stock, but a reasonable buy. Where's your hard disk?
Quick question on the memory, is there a significant difference between 800MHz and 1066 MHz, also I remember reading somewhere that you need a quad core processor to be able to run at 1066, is this true?
Nope, not true. You need a CPU with a front side bus of at least the same speed (1066mhz) if you use an Intel. Any AMD can run PC8500 RAM as there is the right multiplier to do it. 1066mhz memory does not make a huge difference to performance, it is mainly used in conjunction with Intel CPUs when overclocking.
Thanks for the quick reply. I'm currently messing around Newegg to find your suggested parts, hope I don't start mixing the wrong parts hehe
Well I came across this processor, please comment: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687 but for me to start searching for a mobo, does it fall under Athlon II or Athlon X2 or both? Thanks
MOBOs I came across: Asus 790GX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131368R $82 Biostar 790GX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138147 $90 Gigabyte 770: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392 $80 Note: Only the Biostar one directly states that is compatible with Athlon II but are all of them ok?
Well I came across this combo deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.216754 It seems weird to me that the Mobo doesn't say AM3....
What's a reliable GPU brand? I'm leaning towards the HD4670 because of price. List so far of chosen parts: MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138147 CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687 RAM+PSU+Case combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.214313 OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208025 Currently need GPU, Hard drive & DVD Drive...seems I might pass $500 budget. Also, thanks sammorris!
The HD4670 is a good buy for the money. The PSU in that bundle isn't great, but it should save you a bit.
