bighoo93
03-25-2011, 09:47 AM
Hi folks, my first build worked out so well for me that I am back for round 2 almost exactly three years later. I am still thrilled with my first build, as it exactly fit my limited needs and it works every bit as well today as it did the day I put it together. I could never say that after three years for any of the Dell computers I had bought (at much greater expense) prior to building my own with the help of the people here. For your reference, here is the link (http://forums.mysuperpc.com/showthread.php?1550-Success!-With-a-few-temporary-snags...) where I described the system.
However, my kids are three years older and increasingly need to use my computer, so I am ready to pass that one on to them and therefore need build a new one for my use (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). My needs and goals are essentially the same as before:
HD video editing/archiving
Office applications
Some minimal gaming (sad but true)
I know almost anything I put together is likely to handle these tasks pretty well. Even if I could get by with a lesser system, since I am building I would still like to maximize my bang for the buck. That is my goal, rather than highest-end performance--where are the best tradeoffs I can make in price/performance (i.e., spend a little more for significant performance, rather than spending a lot for incremental).
So, I've reviewed the current budget build recommendations here, mixed and matched them a little, plus done a little research and substituted in some potential well-rated bargains. If you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions, particularly keeping in mind where you think something I have suggested is borderline outdated, has serious flaws, could be significantly improved with relatively minimal extra cost, or could be replaced with a less-expensive component with little performance loss.
Case (http://tinyurl.com/4gcgd8n) Antec Sonata III with 500W PSU ($124.99 Superbiiz) - I'm familiar with the Sonata III from my last build. I feel like this price should be better though. Alternatively, the case/PSU combo of COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced (http://tinyurl.com/5sohmvt) ($89.99 Newegg) and CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 (http://tinyurl.com/6ftul2l) ($39.99 Newegg) is at a similar price point.
Motherboard (http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html) ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0. This is a bundle deal with:
CPU (http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html) AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor. The mobo/CPU bundle is $197.98 at MicroCenter. One glitch: the CPU is currently out of stock. But this bundle does help keep the price down.
Graphics Card (http://tinyurl.com/4a6uslp) HIS Radeon HD 4670 IceQ 1 GB (128bit) DDR3 HDMI Dual DL-DVI (HDCP) PCI Express 2.0 X16 Video Card Retail (RoHS) H467QR1GH ($54.99 Amazon)
RAM (http://tinyurl.com/ycx2fvf) G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit ($46.99 Newegg)
Hard Drive (http://tinyurl.com/nn5mzk) SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($64.99 Newegg)
Optical Drive (http://tinyurl.com/4wdcyo6) LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R ($24.49 Amazon)
Operating System (http://tinyurl.com/46kmbch) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit ($99.99 Newegg)
Total is $614.42 including shipping. I already have keyboard, mouse and monitor. I am very comfortable with that price (almost $100 less than I spent on my first build), but some of it is dependent on the currently out of stock CPU bundle, as well as subsituting in some components I have not seen specifically recommended here.
Thanks!
However, my kids are three years older and increasingly need to use my computer, so I am ready to pass that one on to them and therefore need build a new one for my use (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). My needs and goals are essentially the same as before:
HD video editing/archiving
Office applications
Some minimal gaming (sad but true)
I know almost anything I put together is likely to handle these tasks pretty well. Even if I could get by with a lesser system, since I am building I would still like to maximize my bang for the buck. That is my goal, rather than highest-end performance--where are the best tradeoffs I can make in price/performance (i.e., spend a little more for significant performance, rather than spending a lot for incremental).
So, I've reviewed the current budget build recommendations here, mixed and matched them a little, plus done a little research and substituted in some potential well-rated bargains. If you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions, particularly keeping in mind where you think something I have suggested is borderline outdated, has serious flaws, could be significantly improved with relatively minimal extra cost, or could be replaced with a less-expensive component with little performance loss.
Case (http://tinyurl.com/4gcgd8n) Antec Sonata III with 500W PSU ($124.99 Superbiiz) - I'm familiar with the Sonata III from my last build. I feel like this price should be better though. Alternatively, the case/PSU combo of COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced (http://tinyurl.com/5sohmvt) ($89.99 Newegg) and CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 (http://tinyurl.com/6ftul2l) ($39.99 Newegg) is at a similar price point.
Motherboard (http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html) ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0. This is a bundle deal with:
CPU (http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html) AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor. The mobo/CPU bundle is $197.98 at MicroCenter. One glitch: the CPU is currently out of stock. But this bundle does help keep the price down.
Graphics Card (http://tinyurl.com/4a6uslp) HIS Radeon HD 4670 IceQ 1 GB (128bit) DDR3 HDMI Dual DL-DVI (HDCP) PCI Express 2.0 X16 Video Card Retail (RoHS) H467QR1GH ($54.99 Amazon)
RAM (http://tinyurl.com/ycx2fvf) G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit ($46.99 Newegg)
Hard Drive (http://tinyurl.com/nn5mzk) SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($64.99 Newegg)
Optical Drive (http://tinyurl.com/4wdcyo6) LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R ($24.49 Amazon)
Operating System (http://tinyurl.com/46kmbch) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit ($99.99 Newegg)
Total is $614.42 including shipping. I already have keyboard, mouse and monitor. I am very comfortable with that price (almost $100 less than I spent on my first build), but some of it is dependent on the currently out of stock CPU bundle, as well as subsituting in some components I have not seen specifically recommended here.
Thanks!