Help with low budget build

[saber862]

At the moment I'm trying to do an AMD system build that will be future proof, aka am3 board and CPU, and a power supply that could support a more powerful or dual GPU.

There is one catch, the budget for the build is as close or under $500.

At the moment I have decided on these parts and don't see much option to get lower options for the same 'quality' or as future proof(unless shown otherwise):

• Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $54.99
• CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V - $109.99
• Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 - $99.99
• AMD Phenom II X3 710 - $129

Totaling to $393.97, leaving $106.03 for the motherboard and ram.
Thus my problem, ram I could either get 2gb for ~$25, but then that leaves a bit too little for a motherboard.

What are your ideas for a good cheap motherboard(it needs at least 2 PCI-E 16x)?

Also, I figure that if AMD is coming out with an AM3 2 core CPU I could save some money and get that, but alas it doesn't seem to be coming for a while.

As I can't budge the budget much, Any other ideas on how to lower cost or suggest a better option are greatly welcomed.

Saber

 

[a_ump]

You dont' need a 650PSU for that rig at all,
Antec 500w is plenty for what your building, and that makes room for a better mobo. you need to balance your build, and that PSU would run SLI HD 4850/70's just fine, and the HD4770 draws less than 70watts. i'm not an amd building guy so for mobo you'll have to wait for someone else but definitely save on the PSU, i kno everyone says don't go cheap but don't go overboard either if your on a tight budget, just buy smart.

for ram i recommend the G.SKILL PI Black 4gb very good ram, and overclockable.
GIGABYTE 790X
with that mobo i'd get this ram SUPER TALENT 2GBdam nice timings for DDR2 800, would thk they could handle 1066 speed 5-5-5-15 timings easy.

with the black pi+mobo+psu=514
with SUPER TALENT=493

 

[Baam]

Could try this combo deal that comes with ram also for 241 and free shipping.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=HDX710WFBX

 

[flyin15sec]

If you want a AM3 + DDR3, you'll have to stretch that budget to $600. At $500, you'll have to get AM2+ mobo and DDR2 memory.

 

[saber862]

So after reading Baam's comment, I realized I hadn't checked out any combos.
I was able to find a mobo and ram combo:

• GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P
• Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

That comes out to $172.98

I then checked some other e-tailers that I have had good experiences with and was able to find both the CPU and PSU for slightly cheaper. Thus making the build look like:

• Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $54.95
• CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V - $100.70
• Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 - $99.99
• AMD Phenom II X3 710 - $119
• GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P & Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 - $172.98

Coming out to $547.62

As I mentioned in the first post I would really rather have it closer to the $500 mark, so I figure, at the moment I can take out the case(kinda cheating for price), dropping the price to $492.67, thus hitting my goal of under $500.

Although adding in shipping brings it up to $505.05, IF and that's a big IF, all the Mail in Rebates are good, that would bring back $45 to my pocket to buy the case I originally wanted. And for the time being, use an old brick of a case from an old non functional system.

Thanks for your guys help with my thought process. This system will be a huge improvement over what I currently have, and I can't wait to start on it, but I have to wait another week and a half to order... I really hope by then the prices won't go up.


As for a_ump's comment, I know that the power supply is more than plenty for this build, but the idea is that this one has the connectors for if I add a second ATI 4770, or if I get a larger GPU that needs a 6 and 8 pin connection.

-Saber

 

[Blacksniper87]

have to ask why an am3 setup, as in why not an intel one?

 

[Darren]

have to ask why an am3 setup, as in why not an intel one?

I can not speak for the threadstarter, but the Phenom II X3 720 is dirt cheap and most definitely one of the fastest if not the fastest CPU in its price bracket.

 

[Blacksniper87]

fair enough

 

[saber862]

have to ask why an am3 setup, as in why not an intel one?

I decided on an AMD build and not intel for a few reasons, the first being its a good cpu for the buck like Darren mentioned, secondly, even tho intel has shown "better performance" my experience is that AMD systems have run much stabler and smoother, with overall less hassle.

Saber

 

[wiak]

have to ask why an am3 setup, as in why not an intel one?

not everyone like intel's unfair tactics
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208400489

you have to remember that all AM2+ and AM3 boards work with AM3 CPUs, so you can run DDR2 or DDR3 ram, and you got alot of choices to, you can upgrade to a Phenom II 955 Quad Core that is just as fast in games as a Core i7 920, for less the price later

my 790FX board that was made in 2007, i can now drop in a Phenom II 955 and get i7 920 gaming performance!

this is with 2007 techonlogy like HyperTransport 3.0 that makes this possible, you dont need to buy new motherboard, ram AND cpu every singel year when intel wants to release anything, soon you have to go to NEW socket for intel, as they will soon release Core i5?, so you got basicly Socket 775(core2), Socket 1366 (Core i7) and Socket 1156 (Core i5)

with AMD you now got Socket AM2 (HT2.0, DDR2), Socket AM2+ (HT3.0, DDR2) and Socket AM3 (HT3.0, DDR3), and guess what AM3 CPUs will work in AM2 or AM2+ sockets aswel as Socket AM3 Sockets

basicly you can go from a Athlon 64 X2 3800+ AM2 to a Phenom 955 AM3 on the same motherboard from 2006, only if the motherboard has bios support, the technology is there

 

[Blacksniper87]

sorry mate, but you dont have to buy new everything every time intel puts stuff out. example pentium 4 to all the way through core 2. but i agree that if you already have or want a decent amount of upgradeabiliy you should buy the am3 socket. (at least for now). And about that fine crap, the EU has it in for anyone that they can get money out of ie. Microsoft, Intel. Apparently it is illegal to have a majority share in a market. can't wait for the apple to be put up for anti-trust (probably soon as the eu needs more cash )

 

[JrRacinFan]

Best I can put together, 95% of these items are in the free shipping sections. ....

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=13302968

 

[wiak]

thats a nice setup JrRacinFan, gaming perf is epic even compared to core i7 and its price
http://techreport.com/articles.x/16382/5

 

[alucasa]

That PSU is overkill. I advise you to get a lower watt one and save some dough.
I've been running Dual E5410 rig with a 400w PSU over a year.