Endless Paradigm

Currently i have a empty case. i plan on filling this case with parts so i can create a recording/research/mid-tier gaming computer with a steam punk look to it. i have yet to design said case with images though.

my planed budget is $900-1200, now i do have some parts already but i will take suggestions to what i should have on it.

Processor at least must be [QUAD] core and Motherboard must have at least 1 or 2 mini PCI slots. so my Tv card can be used.

Parts in Inventory:

The Case (to be painted or not...)


it features:
-» Up to 4 PCI Expansion Slots
-» 2 Optical Drive slots / 1 Misc
-» Card Reader

TV Tuner/Input device (must be used in the build) ( may upgrade later)
1GB of 666 clocked ram (maybe not going to use it)
2 weak PSU units (don't plan on using those)
some knob fan controller thing (I'm stealing this off my dads old linux machine - it tells the internal temp of the machine)
(x2) 500gb HDD - SeaGate (used drives, used to belong to a internet cafe. $70 in total for both drives though)

Planned Parts: (minimal / suggested,Better partsish? - Prices are in Canadian dollars)
Intel Core™ i5-2500 Processor, 3.30GHz with 6MB Cache (4cores - $219)
AMD Phenom™ II X6 1090T Black Edition 3.2GHz with 9MB Cache (Retail Box, Socket AM3) (6cores - $209)
eVGA GeForce GTX 460 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E with Dual DVI, HDMI (1GB GDDR5? or overclock 788mb? $200-$219)
Asus M4A785T-M with Radeon HD 4200, DualDDR3 1333, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, Hybrid CrossFireX, HDMI (4 slot expansion [MAX] $89)
Asus M4A88T-M/USB3 with Radeon HD 4250, DualDDR3 1333, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, Hybrid CrossFireX, HDMI (4 slot, 2 PCIe slots [MAX] $100)
Corsair Vengeance 12GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Triple Channel Kit (12gb ram (3x4gb) 1600 - $160)
Corsair CMPSU-600CX V2 600 Watt Power Supply (600w - $70)
Samsung SH-S243D 24x DVD-Writer, SATA, Black (x24 dvd writer -$27)

total planned part cost so far: $776
total every part cost: $850

Extra:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PI...ME%29.aspx (Fan controler - $50)

and yes I'm still taking suggestions on parts. even if i don't get all my parts right away...

Dunno prices over there.
Work on this I guess:

Athlon II X4 630
Extra stick of 1GB 667MHz RAM?  Or ditch that and get 2x2GB DDR2
500GB HDD
Ati RadeonHD 5770 graphics
Motherboard of your choice
See if PSU is capable of handling this

What prices can you get for those?

I'll look those up

Prices (newegg)
AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor goes for $99
500gb HDD goes for $50-80
i might have a look at other things but going for the $150-200 range for the Graphics card. (the one suggested is $154)
240 pin is the standard ram count right?

Go for 2x2GB RAM.

Syfe Wrote: [ -> ]I'll look those up

Prices (newegg)
AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor goes for $99
500gb HDD goes for $50-80
i might have a look at other things but going for the $150-200 range for the Graphics card. (the one suggested is $154)
240 pin is the standard ram count right?

Nowhere even close to $900 then.  Maybe upgrade your CPU/GPU a bit, especially if you plan on being able to play games 3yrs later at high settings and good fps.  If you feel like upgrading GPU, the next step up is the 5830.

You probably also want a DVD/BD drive, if you don't already have one.


Also, do you feel like overclocking?

i might consider OCing the thing.

I'll consider the BD drive if the other parts doesn't overcost the entire build.

Syfe Wrote: [ -> ]i might consider OCing the thing.

Because if you plan on overclocking, probably better to buy lower/medium binned chips instead of the highest bins, as they give you a proportionally larger benefit when overclocking.  eg. a PII 945 and 965, when overclocked to max, wouldn't be all that different (definitely less than the 0.4GHz initial difference).

Syfe Wrote: [ -> ]I'll consider the BD drive if the other parts doesn't overcost the entire build.

Anyway... are you more looking to...

1. Spend up the amount of your budget and get the best performance you can for that amount.

or

2. Hit the best price/performance ratio for the parts.  This is sort of what Zinga's build tries to do.  You end up with a weaker machine, but also saves you some money.

i really don't know what I'm trying to do.

i might want to consider the one the keeps up a good ratio.

although my next GPU/CPU I'm considering would be this:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

feel free to shoot me down on that

Yeah, don't go Core 2, get the i5 750 instead.

i5 750
Motherboard
2x2GB DDR3
1.5TB Seagate HDD
Ati 5770 GPU
Optical drive of your choice.

Syfe Wrote: [ -> ]Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

feel free to shoot me down on that

For the same price, you should get a 3.0GHz Phenom II 955.  Or if you're willing to spend $50 more, Core i5 750 is supposedly very good.

Core2 is being phased out at the moment (replaced with i7/i5/i3), so their prices sort of aren't competitive any more.  (3GHz E8400 = $167, 3GHz Core i3 540 = $140.  >.>)

ah okay. alright then... not really bugging out about it now but any other part suggestions are welcome.

even though considering the parts already suggested by Zinga. however the Processor Part is Locked.