Review my Budget PC Build Please

I am planning on building a new PC and wanted some tips or reviews on this build.

Budget: Max $500 preferably no more than $450.
Use: Gaming (Not hardcore), Multimedia, umm I open a lot of firefox tabs :-D

Case: Cooler Master Elite 330 ATX Mid Tower = $41

Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition = $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649 This one can be overclocked easily with a simple BIOS change from original 2.8GHz.

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P = $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387

Memory: 2x2gb Dual Channel 240 pin DDR2 1066hz = $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298

Video Card: GeForce 8600 GT = Already have it.
Hard Drive: 2x 200Gb SATA 7200RPM = Already have it.
Optical Drive: 2x 16x DVD+-RW LightScribe = Already have it.

Power Supply:
1. Logisys 575W 20+4-pin Dual-Fan ATX Power Supply - SLI Ready = $28
2. Okia 550w Watts Quiet Power Supply with 120mm LED Fan = $28.05
3. Antec BP500U ATX 12V 500W = $31
4. RocketFish 550W = eBay Auction

Total Including Shipping = $354 with Power Supply 1 and 2
$357 with Power Supply 3
$326 with Unknown on eBay Auction as of now.

I am having trouble figuring out what power supply I should get, help would be appreciated thanks.

 

1. Go for the antec PSU. It is the only reputably branded PSU in the list.

2. The AMD triple cores are notoriously worse performance wise compared to a similar speed dual core.

 

Really? The reason I went with the triple core is because of this review:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/cpu-memory/review/2009/02/21/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-810-and-X3-720-BE/p9

This and another website says it can be OC at around 3.5-3.6Ghz.

 

I meant that if you take a 2 core and a 3 core AMD with each core running at the same speed, say 2.5GHz, then the 2 core will run at 5GHz overall, and the 3 core will run at 7.3GHz, due to the core utilization architecture. It is still faster than a dual core overall, it's just that on a per core basis the 3 core is slightly slower.

 

I would get this power supply or the antec one. However the cables are a bit short on it.

I have had this power supply 3+ months no issues.

Power supply is what people try to cheap it out on and that's how stuff frys.

For CPU I would spend a bit more and get a quad core.

8600GT is not exactly a gaming card but it will play some games but don't expect to max graphics out in games. I have a 8600GT in my HP pc.

 

Okay so here are the recommendations I hear:

1. Buy the Antec 500W PSU
2. Get an AMD Phenom II X4 810

Could someone let me know if all the products above are compatible, and if I would need anything else, also if I would need any specific type of cooling if I wanted to overclock the Phenom II X4 to like 3.2Ghz or more.

 

I don't see an OS license.

 

Probably has a retail disc as the OP is cannibalizing parts from old machine.

Agreed with the PSU suggestion on Antec, I have the Earthwatts 500W running a Intel quad core, 4 GB RAM, 2 9800GT video cards and 3 HDDs but it's suddenly $30 more USD.:confused You can't go wrong with OCZ either.

 

I would not make that assumption. The odds are he does not but all we know is what he said and that is,

Most people that come to forums got Windows with an old machine - typically preinstalled. It is not transferable to a new machine. Others who come here are experienced users and bought an OEM copy with their hardware - OEM copies are not transferable to new computers. Note a new motherboard is considered the foundation for a new computer unless it was replaced under warranty with exact replacement - and not as an upgrade by user choice.

That leaves folks that went to a store to buy retail versions but that fact is, many bought an "Upgrade" version - which is tied to the original license for the old machine - once again, likely not transferable. Finally, for the few remaining that do have the full retail license of Windows, there are still restrictions on transfers - in particular, it must be completely removed from the old machine.

So, like it or not, in MOST cases, you need to buy a new Windows license when you build a new machine, or go for one of the many free and able Linux alternatives.

Are you Kreskin or something? Where did you read that?

 

Hehehe @ Kreskin. I'm old enough to remember that jerk!:-D

The OP said:

Of course I am assuming this as this is what I usually do when I get a new mobo and CPU when the price is right for those but I can't afford all brand new stuff. Come to think of it, I have enough spare parts to build a new rig just by buying a mobo but as I have an X2 and a Q6600, building a Venice 3000 will be a disappointing experience. I bought Vista for the quad.

 

wish i could help but ive never owned an AMD(well my laptop is amd) always been with intel, and love intel to death.

but seems like a legit build.

as for PSU get a 650w incase you wanna boost up your GPU in the future.

 

1. Yeah I am using the Vid Card, HDD, and optical drive form previous comps.
2. I have copies of Windows XP/Vista/7 (not going to use Vista though hehe).
3. I was reviewing this Antec: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371004 which is the same one above for $31 on amazon, but it only has 2 SATA and 1 PCI-E. I have 2 SATA HDD's and 1 PCI-E Graphics card, however, I seem to forget, do optical drives use SATA? Because if they do I want to use a dual bay for DVDRW drives and I won't have enough cables to support it, otherwise I think I am gonna go ahead and buy the parts.

 

Some newer optical drives use SATA, but some don't.

 

Thanks, yeah I just opened up my PC and saw it used IDE cables, so I should be fine.

 

i love my phenom II x3 710 don't listen to these guys i don't know where there facts are comming from..it sure isn't from owning one. going from a althon x2 4800+ to the phenom i lept several thousand points in the benchmark 06 test and went from 20fps to 55fps on the grand theft auto in game bench test thats ALOT the ram usage also went down slightly...for 140 dallors thats the best cpu your going to get.you'll be delighted with it, they can be overclocked stable to 3.7ghz on one review i saw. not something you should try at home. theres my 2 cents

 

grand theft auto 4 i mean typeo

 

I agree that a triple core will be faster overall compared to a dual core, but as I stated earlier:

" I meant that if you take a 2 core and a 3 core AMD with each core running at the same speed, say 2.5GHz, then the 2 core will run at 5GHz overall, and the 3 core will run at 7.3GHz, due to the core utilization architecture. It is still faster than a dual core overall, it's just that on a per core basis the 3 core is slightly slower."

 

3 core 2 core, pfft get a 4core CPU with HT

thats the win right there

 

The AMD 720BE is a beast of a machine, I have mine running at 3.4Ghz 17X200 on stock voltage and it passed a 48 hour stability test with prime 95, AMD's OD stability test, and Nvidia's Stability test.


I would reccomend you go with the GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 motherboard and DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600. Also don't scrimp on the powersupply get one with an active PFC unit and made by a reputable manufacturer like OCZ, Thermaltake, Corsair, Antec, etc. Having your powersupply fry everything in your case is an experience you will never forget.

 

You can't add your cores together to get more mhz. Current games and software are simply not written to take advantage of these extra cores. A faster (Ghz) dual core will outperform a slower quadcore almost any day of the week except in things like folding@home, seti, 3D rendering and video encoding, audio encoding, etc. If your buying your PC to game the sweet spot is really with dual cores at the moment.

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

Thanks for all the input, I ended up buying:

1. AMD Phenom II X4 810 2.6GHz
2. GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
3. OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel
4. CoolerMaster Elite 330 Case
5. Antec BP500U ATX 12V 500W

I've never overclocked before so I've been reading around on how to do so, thus it will be interesting to see the outcome.