Speccing a comp to build..... soonish

Starting to spec out parts. Might change out a couple components as I save my $$$ if any hot deals come up that help me save money I'm looking around these price points and specs though

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157305
Skinny:
AM3+ socket which is good. Supports up to eight core processors so I should be good for several years
4x240pin memory. Supports 16GB (will start with

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103996
Skinny:
Not the best, but still quad core to run all of todays games. Motherboard will allow me to upgrade in a year or 2 and the cost of the new processor then, + the cost of this processor now, will be about the same as an eight core now.

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171060
Skinny: I think most people go overkill on PSU's. My 2 biggest power sinks here are the CPU and GFX, which combined cap power usage at just over 200 watts. Even giving them to 250 (more than they CAN drain) that still leaves 200W for MoBo, Memory, and drives. Only potential issue with this is if I double up my GFX card (buy a 2nd GTX 550) and even then, 450W would probably cut it. If I can find a 500-550 on sale between now and when I buy my last component... I'll snag a few extra watts

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314
Skinny:
2x4GB DDR3 1600 to start. Can double up down the line when more power is needed.

GFX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625
Skinny:
I actually don't know O.o I want to start with a budget card that can play todays games on high (and preferably most on ultra/best, but BF3 on just high will make me happy) I don't want to spend $300+ on a vid card though.

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769
Just starting with 1 500gb (Sata6). Will add a couple TB drives on Raid1 to store obscene amounts of music, movies, and porn of course

Case: Starting out with a broken (cheap stock PSU shorted and fried the mobo) PoS I got hanging around. Going to gut it and reuse it. Long term I'll buy a bigger better case. I usually go for ease of use, open space (natural cooling), and practicality over flashy lights and shit. Antec 300 is a good example of what I might get.

Builder: Me... and definitely NOT guts dad. I'd like it to work for more than 1 day and be able to actually run SC2 w/o crashing.

Any comments or advice welcome. Any warnings about specific issues definitely welcome

200watts!?!? Good lord man, were you high when you worked out your PSU req?

Lol I dont know where you got 200watts for combined CPU+GFX drain, just those two combined will drain about 400-450 watts. Add on all the other junk, HDD, DVD drives, RAM etc and your looking at 480watt minimum PSU requirement.

Get a 550w PSU, or a 850w one if your seriously considering running two graphics cards, better off buying a 850w now then having to to buy a completely new PSU when you need to run SLI.

Heres a link to a psu calculator, good for planning up system reqs.
http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

Oh and go for a Phenom II X4 965 BE, better than the bulldozer line in most cases and only $10 more on newegg.

Other than that, looks pretty sweet.

cpu is 95
gfx is 130-140

I said ~200 watts... the ~ means about. Think I even said just over

Intel's are more power hogs tho I think. Prolly worth it tho

I was trying to spec as low budget as I could for current year games

and being high is irrelevant.... I'm always high

Nice semi-budget build.

I'm looking to switch over from AMD to an Ivy Bridge system soon. Damn, if you lived near me I'd sell you my Mobo, Processor (which has a copy of windows tied to it) at a decent discount. But... since you don't live near me, messing with shipping sucks!

I'd check out these articles. Toms Hardware is my site for all reviews really

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-3.html

The i3 sandy bridge technically benchmarks a good deal higher, and is at $120 ish dollars. IMO id go intel, they have been blowing AMD out of the water recently.

Alright, I'll look into an Intel CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

I'm looking to move up to this bad boy... with a similarly BA ASUS Mobo!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821

With PCI 3.0 support for when I want to drop my $500 on a GTX 680 lol

Found a power supply

http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-17-341-045-_-05112012_1

what I wanna know is........ wut... da... FUQ... do you do with a PSU carrying bag?? lol

HAHAHHA

Only SERIOUS people at LAN parties bring their power supplies in a bag....

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=27062548

Gonna be buying in next couple weeks.... couple parts might change if some awesome sale gives me a better deal.




Qty. Image Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Model #:Three Hundred
Item #:N82E16811129042
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$69.99 -$15.00 Instant $54.99
1
ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 AM3+ AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:970DE3/U3S3
Item #:N82E16813157305
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$69.99 -$3.00 Instant $66.99
1
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity ...
Model #:100315L
Item #:N82E16814102908
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate Card
$149.99 $149.99
1
COOLER MASTER GX Series RS750-ACAAE3-US 750W ATX12V v2.31 SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Model #:RS750-ACAAE3-US
Item #:N82E16817171053
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate
$109.99 -$15.00 Instant $94.99
1
AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4100WMGUSBX
Model #:FD4100WMGUSBX
Item #:N82E16819103996
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$109.99 $109.99
1
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Model #:F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Item #:N82E16820231314
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$46.99 $46.99
1
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:WD5000AAKX
Item #:N82E16822136769
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$84.99 -$10.00 Instant $74.99
1
RAZER Nostromo Black USB Wired Gaming Expert Gaming Keypad
Model #:RZ07-00490100-R3U1
Item #:N82E16823114015
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$59.99 $59.99
1
Logitech G500 10 Buttons Dual-mode Scroll Wheel USB Wired Laser Gaming Mouse
Model #:910-001259
Item #:N82E16826104318
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$69.99 -$12.00 Instant $57.99
Subtotal: $716.91

Very VERY nice system for the money!!

I think you will be very happy with it!

I highly recommend looking into a Mobo that supports Crossfire/SLI with 8x8x.

This will make your future upgrade potential much higher. Say a year down the road you wanna bump BF3 up to Ultra, and run the New Unreal 4 engine. just pop in another 6850 and BAM, you can increase your framerate 70-100%

I did that in my system with my 5830, wasn't quite getting the performance I wanted, so I wen't and purchased another about 6 months after I originally purchased my system.