Budget Build Update?

[theMinge]

I've been checking out the forums for the past few days getting excited about the possibility of building my own PC. I've looked around the forum at the sticky's and I am trying to post without being repetitive. I saw the budget build list that Wise Monkey put together a few months ago but its outdated and some of the items on it are no longer available on the websites he listed. My price range is in the 750-850 range including wireless card but not including the OS,mouse,keyboard, or soundcard. I do some light gaming: Starcraft 2 and hopefully Diablo 3 when it comes out. I want to be able to use my TV (32 inch 1080i Sanyo, Pretty sure its LCD) as monitor but it only has S-video, HDMI, and the normal red,white, yellow or green, red, and blue for HD. Thanks for your help!

[Deneb]

I can’t quite make the $750-$850 range but I came close at $946 before shipping. Assuming you’re going to go with Windows 7 64-bit, having more RAM than you need will allow the extra RAM to cache the hard drive. So I would recommend going with 8 GB. But you could save $100 by going with just 4 GB. That would bring the system cost down to $846 before shipping. I like to put a 3.5” hard drive and a 5.25 in slot for adding cooling. You can save another six dollars by skipping the adapter bracket.

The computer case has some potential for overclocking. The aftermarket cooling fan setup is a 3 wire solution that has to be set manually from inside the case. So while it provides good cooling it’s really not good for gaming or substantial overclocking. For $40 or so more you can get a much better aftermarket CPU cooler heatsink setup.

Budget system parts list for connection to a TV and with a wireless PCI adapter card:

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750 $194.99
L3 Cache: 8MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) X2 = 8 GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT25664BN1337 $200.00
7-7-7-24 1.65V Dual Channel Kit 9-9-9-25 backup settings
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148323


GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128425

ZALMAN CNPS 7500 Cu LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler, Pure Copper, 848g (1.87 LBs). $39.99
1150-2300 RPM ± 10%, 17-32 dBA ± 10%, 3 Pin
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118036&cm_re=ZALMAN_CNPS_7500-_-35-118-036-_-Product

CPU FAN & HEAT SINK BRACKET:
ZALMAN ZM-CS5B Clip Support Kit for CNPS9700/9500/8700/7700/7500/7000 Series/ZM-WB4/WB $5.95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118053

NZXT M59 - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146058


SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer $22.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334

ZALMAN FAN MATE 2 Fan Controller X 2 = $21.94. These are for a computer case fans.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118217&cm_re=ZALMAN_FAN_MATE_2-_-35-118-217-_-Product

Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply 74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035&cm_re=EarthWatts-_-17-371-035-_-Product

StarTech BRACKET Metal 3.5" to 5.25" Drive Adapter Bracket for the hard drive $6.55 with shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811993004&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Accessories+-+Case+/+Rackmount-_-STARTECH-_-11993004

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound – OEM $9.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007&cm_re=Arctic_silver-_-35-100-007-_-Product


Rosewill RNX-G300EX IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card Up to 54Mbps Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, 802.1x, WPA, WPA2, AES, TKIP with 100cm cable external 2 dBi Antenna $14.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166020&cm_re=pci_wireless_card-_-33-166-020-_-Product


SYBA 10 ft. DVI to HDMI Cable Model SY-DVIHDMI-MM10 11.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812186025&cm_re=DVI_to_HDMI_cable-_-12-186-025-_-Product


MSI R5670 CYCLONE 1G Radeon HD 5670 1GB PCI Express 2.1 x16 Video Card $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127489
Model R5670 CYCLONE 1G
GPU ATI Radeon HD 5770
PCI Express x16 2.1
Memory Interface 128bit
Stream Processors 400 Stream Processing Units
DirectX DirectX 11
Memory Type GDDR5
Memory Size(MB) 1024
Memory Interface 128bit
Core Clock Speed(MHz) 775
Memory Clock Speed(MHz) 4040
DVI Output 1
D-SUB Output 1(optional, via DVI to D-Sub adaptor)
Display Ouput(Max Resolution) 3x 2560x1600
RAMDACs 400
DirectX Version Support 11
OpenGL Version Support 3.2
CrossFire Support Y
Card Dimension (mm) 168x112x36 (6.614 X 4.409 X 1.4172 in)
Weight 388g
40 nm Process Technology
• Advanced GDDR5 Memory Technology
• 2nd Generation TeraScale Engine
• Microsoft Windows 7 support
• ATI CrossFireX™ Technology
• Enhanced Anisotropic Filtering
• Accelerated Video Transcoding
• HDMI 1.3 Support
• Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Support
• ATI PowerPlay™ Technology Enhanced Support for GDDR5 memory
• ATI Avivo™ Technology Enhanced Unified Video Decoder 2 (UVD 2)
400 Watt or greater power supply recommended
http://us.msi.com/index.php?func=prodvgaspec&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=137&cat3_no=&prod_no=1982#menu


http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&prod_no=2023&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=137&cat3_no=743 (http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&prod_no=2023&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=137&cat3_no=743)


MSI R5670 Cyclone 1G Graphics Card Review
http://www.ntcompatible.com/news/story/msi_r5670_cyclone_1g_graphics_card_review.html
67W peak power, 14W idle
2 or 4 pin fan conector


MSI R5670 Cyclone 1G Graphics Card review
http://www.ocia.net/reviews/msi5670cyc/page1.shtml
64W peak power, 14W idle,
All solid caps and solid state choke are used, a feature MSI refers to as "Military Class Concept" design. They claim higher efficiency, more stable power and longer life expectancy, and more importantly no annoying squeal from overstressed components. The R5670 has no external power requirement; the card's rated 64W can safely be drawn from the PCI-E slot, which can handle up to 75W.
20 texture units and only eight raster units in contrast to its 128bit memory interface.
The ATI OverDrive portion of CCC shows the fan running at only 28% with an extremely impressive 28° C at idle. I've never seen a GPU temperature that low with a factory cooler.
With their "Military Class" construction comprised of all solid capacitors and a solid state choke, MSI rates their cards for an extremely long 10 year lifespan through lower temperatures, high efficiency and quality components.



How to Connect PC to HDMI TV
http://forums.mysuperpc.com/showthread.php?t=3585

[theMinge]

Alright thanks for all your help I appreciate the time you put into that list. How would you feel about using the Antec Sonata 3 case instead? It comes with a cpu fan installed and its a little cheaper then buying the tower and cpu fan separate. I am not extremely knowledgeable about overclocking so I probably won't do anything with that. Other than that I love the build and I will probably order and ship out in the next couple of days. Once again thanks for your help!!!

[Deneb]

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply $199.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-129-024&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=4#scrollFullInfo

With 500 PSU,
1 x 120mm rear fan with 3-speed control to balance quiet with cooling
Option for a front fan

The case you mentioned is okay. I read several reviews and some people say the door on the left side is a little tricky to open. Also the rear fan is in the middle the case because the PSU is at the top, so the cooling isn’t as good as a bottom mounted PSU system. If you don’t plan overclock and add a quiet front fan where you can throttle the front fan, you should have adequate cooling. One review mentioned that the motherboard is mounted upside down so the heatsinks on cards would be facing down. That reviewer could be wrong. You might want to check the documentation for the tower from the manufacturers website. The single rear fan has a three position selector switch inside the case. So if you put the rear fan on low and leave it that way combined with a quiet front fan there should be adequate cooling.

I’m glad that you are happy with a parts list I put together. I hope you have great luck with your computer build and hope you enjoy your new system.

[zburns]

Some comments. The Antec Sonata III 500 case has been the case of choice by Rob on this site for longer than I have been a forum member, around three years. It is an excellent case. The front door limits (my opinion) the dust intake to the case.

Most of the rear fan is mounted above the horizontal center line of the case and the PSU with its rear fan essentially sits on top of the Antec rear case fan. The PSU fan which cools the PSU components draws its air thru a perforated grill on the front of the PSU -- this means the PSU fan sucks air from the very top of the case. The large 120 mm rear fan sits right below the PSU. The Zalman CNPS 9500 cooler (cpu) fan is in line with the rear case fan and blows CPU "cooled air" directly into the rear fan. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the "upper half" of the Sonata III case is directly "fan cooled".

Since hot air rises, I have to assume there is very effective cooling, with minimum turbulence because of the design of the case.

The warmest area inside the case is below the video card at the rear of the case. If this were a really "hot operating temp" video card for heavy gaming, I would want an exit fan down at the bottom in addition to the top fans -- but this would call for a full mid size case.

The case is smaller than the full mid size tower cases. For what I use my computer for I would stay with this case. I think it is an excellent case and I have no complaints. I failed to mention, the manufacturing quality is excellent, five star in all respects.

Regards the comment about the mobo being mounted upside down: you can google this and find BTX form factors and others. I briefly looked at the subject. The BTX is sort of the ATX spec upside down. Some OEM full system manufacturers like HP and DELL may make such desktops for special purposes like school rooms, large multiple business contracts -- however, the designs are dedicated to a specific manufacturer.

[zburns]

I question the recommendation for the Zalman CNPS 7500 cpu cooler instead of the Zalman CNPS 9500. If you look at this last page of a frostytech review, it is a large comparison of coolers, http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2144&page=5

You will find that the 9500 does a better cooling job than the 7500. Is there a review or spec that I am missing that shows the reverse, 7500 better than the 9500. The 9500 is cooler by 7 degrees C at 150 watt opn and 5.5 degrees cooler at 85 watts opn.

The Zalman 9500 has been Rob's recommendation on his build for some time!!

[Deneb]

I downloaded the manual for the Antec Sonata III 500. By the way, to get the manual you have to click on one of the flags in the lower right on Antec’s website. Very annoying. Anyways it looks like the motherboard is mounted in the normal manner with the CPU toward the upper left.

I’m glad to hear that the Antec Sonata III 500 is a good case. The single 120 mm x 25 mm Trycool exhaust fan runs at 1200 RPM on the low setting. It moves 39 CFM with 25 dba.

The NZXT M59 case which I recommended costs $50. After the rebate with the power supply both come to $110. That’s $10 less than the Antec Sonata III 500 with the power supply. The two 120 mm fans each move 42 CFM making 23db.

NZXT M59 - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146058



Antec Sonata III 500 with 500 watt PSU $119.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024&Tpk=Antec%20Sonata%20III%20500




For myself I wanted to get maximum airflow with minimal noise. So I just ordered the AeroCool BX-500 and power supply $160 for a build will be doing shortly.


The AeroCool BX-500 four fans run at 1500 rpm. The smaller rear and front fans each move 58.35 CFM making 26.7 dba. The two larger top blow hole fans move 86.0 CFM while making only 23.13 dba. I just ordered this case and four ZALMAN FAN MATE 2 Fan controllers. I figure I can get all the fans down below 22 dba. Hopefully I can get the front fan down below 20 dba.

http://hi-techreviews.com/index.php/review-links-mainmenu-80/9927-aerocool-bx-500-pcs-b-style-case (http://hi-techreviews.com/index.php/review-links-mainmenu-80/9927-aerocool-bx-500-pcs-b-style-case)

AeroCool BX-500 Black 0.8mm SECC Super Mid-Tower Computer Case $99.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811196037 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811196037)

Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$59.99 after rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035&cm_re=EarthWatts-_-17-371-035-_-Product

[Deneb]

I was recommending the 7500 model because of cost for a budget build. It was cheaper recently but the prices have changed. The 7500 model has a smaller footprint then others on this page. The 9500 model is a better and lighter design and it’s a steal at $40. The downside of the 7500 is that it’s really heavy but it will fit on most motherboards and it’s exceedingly quiet on minimum fan settings. The downside of the 7500 is that it is only a three wire design. You have to mount the controller somewhere. Usually this would be inside the case. And you have to manually set it to one speed. The other coolers are four wire so the coolers can throttle up and down automatically. I own the 7500 and have it on minimum fan settings in a flat case. I can testify that is exceedingly quiet. I bring the case outside once every six months or so to clean it with a vacuum.

Note that all of these aftermarket CPU heatsink coolers are heavier and what Intel recommends so it is exceedingly important not to drop or bang around a tower case when his standing in its tower position. The sheer force on the motherboard can crack the motherboard. The ZALMAN 9500A at 530g is the least likely to damage the motherboard.

ZALMAN CNPS 7500 Cu LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler $39.99
17 dBA in silent mode.
Fan Size 110mm
Weight 848g
Requires width of 124 mm by 70 high

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118036&cm_re=ZALMAn_7500-_-35-118-036-_-Product

CPU FAN & HEAT SINK BRACKET: $4.99
ZALMAN ZM-CS5B Clip Support Kit for CNPS9700/9500/8700/7700/7500/7000 Series/ZM-WB4/WB $4.95

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118053
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118053)
ZALMAN 9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler $49.99 - 10 = $39.99
A FAN MATE 2 controller and cable are included with your durable Zalman CPU Cooler, allowing you to switch between an 18 dB/1350 RPM ‘Silent’ mode and a 27 dB/2600 RPM ‘Low Noise’ mode.
Fan Size 92mm
Weight 530g
Requires depth toward exaust fan of 88 mm by 115 mm by 128 mm high

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223&cm_re=zalman_9500-_-35-118-223-_-Product


ZALMAN CNPS9900A LED 120mm 2 Ball Low-noise Blue LED CPU Cooler $49.99
120 MM FAN (5.98 in tall X 5.16 X 3.70 in) 1.609 lbs
with RC33P resistor cable 800rpm ~ 1,300rpm ± 10%
without RC33P resistor cable 1,000rpm ~ 2,000rpm ± 10%
with RC33P resistor cable 18dBA ~ 28.5dBA ± 10%
without RC33P resistor cable 19.5dBA ~ 38.0dBA ± 10%
4-Pin Connector (PWM Control, Auto Restart)
730g
Requires width of 96 mm towards exaust fan by 133 by 154 high

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118046

http://www.zalman.com/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=356

http://www.testseek.com/labs/reviews/review-of-zalman-cnps9900a-led-cpu-cooler/?p=2595

Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
Airflow: 64.96 CFM (NF-P14) / 54.36 CFM (NF-P12) Airflow with U.L.N.A.: 49.29 CFM (NF-P14) / 37.34 CFM (NF-P12)
Acoustical Noise: 19.6 dB(A)(NF-P14)/ 19.8 dB(A) (NF-P12) Acoustical Noise with U.L.N.A.: 13.2 dB(A) (NF-P14) / 12.6 dB(A) (NF-P12)
160 x 140 x 158mm (6.3 X5.51 X 6.22 in)
Weight 1240g
$89.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018&Tpk=Noctua%20NH-D14


http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/PC-Cooling/Zalman-9500-LED-Review