# $400 build, thoughts?



## onipar

Hi all.  I've already posted this stuff in a fragmented sort of way in a separate thread (and gotten a TON of great hep and advice), but I wanted to stick my completed build (not yet purchased) here for final thoughts.

This is for my parents and will be used for net, music, internet video and *maybe* dvd.  No games.

AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz: $77.99 

GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3: $82.99 (after $10 rebate)

Thermaltake Commander MS-I ID VN400A1W2N: $39.99 (after $10 rebate)

Corsair Builder Series CX V2 430-Watt:  $34.99(after $10 rebate)

Asus 24xDVD±RW Drive: $20.99

G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB): $22.99

Seagate - Barracuda 1TB: $55

Windows 7: $6 (I get that through my college, a deal for professors)

$342.43 (after all rebates)


Anyway, I'm wondering how this looks, if I'm missing anything important, if there are better/cheaper options for any of the components, and generally if it's an okay build (This will be my first).

I appreciate all the great advice I've received already.  Thanks!

*EDIT:  The final build specs.*

AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz: $55.99

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm CPU Cooler : $14.99 (after $10 rebate)

GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3: $82.99 (after $10 rebate)

Thermaltake Commander MS-I ID VN400A1W2N: $39.99 (after $10 rebate)

Corsair Builder Series CX V2 430-Watt: $34.99 (after $10 rebate)

Seagate - Barracuda 1TB: $58.29

Asus 24xDVD±RW Drive: $20.99

G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800): $29.99

COOLER MASTER R4-L2R-20AC-GP: $7.63

Windows 7: $6 (actually, ended up installing Ubuntu)

HP 20" S2031 HD Ready Widescreen LCD Monitor: $74.19

$475.35 -$40 in rebates.

TOTAL: $435.35


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## Benny Boy

Looks good.
Free cable?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ubCategory=343&SortField=0&PageSize=10&Page=5


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## onipar

Benny Boy said:


> Looks good.
> Free cable?
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ubCategory=343&SortField=0&PageSize=10&Page=5



oh, cool find!  The only cable I can think of that I needed an extra of was the sata because the dvd burner doesn't come with one.  Is there any other cable on that free list that I'd need (that wouldn't come with the components?)

Thanks for the find!  I'll probably snag the sata one I guess.


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## Benny Boy

The mb comes with 2 sata cables.


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## onipar

Benny Boy said:


> The mb comes with 2 sata cables.



Do'h!  Thanks for the heads-up.


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## onipar

I decided to add an extra fan since the case only has the one exhaust fan.  I probably don't *really* need it for this rig (in fact, I'm pretty sure I've gone a little overboard with certain components considering what this system will be used for...)  but for an extra $7, what the hell.

Decided on the Thermaltake Thunderblade 120 mm 4 Led Case Fan that I'll use as a front intake.

The new total is $350.10 (not counting another few bucks I'll blow on a anti-static wrist band).

I'm pretty much into the "deal seeking" phase of my build, making sure there aren't any better prices, coupons, or sales before I pull the trigger.

But I'm still open to suggestions if anything in the build seems out of place, or if you know of a deal that would drop the cost.  Speaking of which, is there a particular day of the week that newegg ends it's sales?  More than a few of these components are on sale, and I'd hate to wait too long and have the prices go back up...


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## Benny Boy

onipar said:


> I decided to add an extra fan since the case only has the one exhaust fan. I probably don't *really* need it for this rig (in fact, I'm pretty sure I've gone a little overboard with certain components considering what this system will be used for...) but for an extra $7, what the hell.
> 
> Decided on the Thermaltake Thunderblade 120 mm 4 Led Case Fan that I'll use as a front intake.
> 
> The new total is $350.10 (not counting another few bucks I'll blow on a anti-static wrist band).
> 
> I'm pretty much into the "deal seeking" phase of my build, making sure there aren't any better prices, coupons, or sales before I pull the trigger.
> 
> But I'm still open to suggestions if anything in the build seems out of place, or if you know of a deal that would drop the cost. Speaking of which, is there a particular day of the week that newegg ends it's sales? More than a few of these components are on sale, and I'd hate to wait too long and have the prices go back up...


Any promo's should be dated on the product page or in the email eblast members only promos. If there's a rebate you can look at the rebate info page for that critiria.

I was going to mention that fan but as you say it wasnt critical ... a quiet one would be good imo, say 17dba or less. It wouldn't have to be high rpm(which would make it louder).

Another option would be 1600 memory.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

You found a 1TB hdd for $55?


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## Mosely22

yeah i was wondering where he found that 1tb for $55....good find man!


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## jonnyp11

they had them at bestbuy a little while ago, but bb has finally gotten back up with newegg on thos prices, but they are still lower, 1tb caviar black for 130, which newegg has for like 210 and 250


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## Mosely22

on a side note, wouldn't it be awesome if they made mp3 players with 1t-3tb capacities! lol.....

yeah newegg is good for some things and expensive for other things


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## Mosely22

oni, where did u start building your parents pc? newegg?


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## onipar

Mosely22 said:


> yeah i was wondering where he found that 1tb for $55....good find man!



I got really, *really* lucky.

On Friday I was searching for HDDs and noticed for the first time how high they suddenly jumped (then read about the Thailand floods and all that).  I was ready to have to pay upwards of $100 for just 500 GB, and then I found the Seagate 1 TB Barracuda HDD.

You'll see the drive is now up to $129!!!  But on Friday, it was $55 (plus tax).  I nearly crapped my pants.  I figured it was some sort of out of stock item or a mistake.

So first I try to order online and it says "no shipping available for this item."  But it says I can ship it to the store.  So I try that, and it changes to "unavailable" after I click "check out."

I was ready to let it go at that point, but for the price, I figured I might as well try calling Best Buy.  After being put on hold for close to 10 minutes, they come back and say there are 2 left in the store, and yes, only for $55!  

(Again I crap my pants).

I told them to hold it and went straight there.  On the way I started thinking I might buy both for that price, but when i arrived and asked for the one they held for me (of course) they couldn't find it!

I ran to the shelf and unbelievably, there was still the one left.  

So that's my cheap HDD story.    A lucky find to be sure.  That on top of the $6 Windows 7 were the two lucky breaks that kept this build within the price range I wanted.  Although the IT guy at the college said they only have the "update" disk for windows.  He said that in the past the update versions given to the college for sale to us professors actually *did* work for new, complete installs, but he wasn't sure if that is still the case.

If it doesn't work I'm going with Ubuntu Linux and putting widows 7 on my other comp.

By the way, Benny Boy, thank you for the tips.  I do think I'll go with that memory you posted.  A few extra bucks, but seems worth it.


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## onipar

Mosely22 said:


> oni, where did u start building your parents pc? newegg?



Yeah, I haven't purchased anything (except the HDD and windows) yet, but almost everything is from Newegg, except the fan, dvd drive, and anti-static wristband, which I'm getting from Amazon.


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## Mosely22

man, that is 1 heck of a story! perfect timing man!

i just talked to my friend who got the 3tb hitachi external disk drive about 2 weeks ago and he got it for $119.99. he told me today, i almost crapped myself. i told him that since this flood has happened, its hard to even get a 1tb for that price!


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## onipar

Mosely22 said:


> man, that is 1 heck of a story! perfect timing man!
> 
> i just talked to my friend who got the 3tb hitachi external disk drive about 2 weeks ago and he got it for $119.99. he told me today, i almost crapped myself. i told him that since this flood has happened, its hard to even get a 1tb for that price!



Sweet price on that!  Yeah, perfect timing for sure.  If I waited another hour, I'd have been screwed.  

Oh, Benny, I switched the fan out to the COOLER MASTER R4-L2R-20AC-GP which has 19 DBA (instead of the 30+ of my other choice, and is actually a few pennies cheaper on Amazon too.  Thanks again for the tip.


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## Mosely22

yeah, isn't that insane, 2 weeks, what a difference, lol.....


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## Benny Boy

np, glad to. Pics of the build - or it didn't happen


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## onipar

Benny Boy said:


> np, glad to. Pics of the build - or it didn't happen



Ha, absolutely.  I'm bringing these specs to the IT guy at the college where I work for last minute changes/advice tomorrow.  After that I'm pulling the trigger on the purchases.  

I'll hopefully get to the fun stuff sooner rather than later, but these are the few weeks of the semester, so my grading load is about to explode.  But yeah, pics for sure.


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## Mosely22

ill def like to check the pics when you get everything set up! love that feeling when buy a new computer and set it up! feels AWESOME!


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## onipar

Mosely22 said:


> ill def like to check the pics when you get everything set up! love that feeling when buy a new computer and set it up! feels AWESOME!



Hell yeah, I can't wait.  Even if it's not for me, it still is so much fun doing this.


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## serieA

would that 450 Rana outperform a Intel G620 Sandy?


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## wolfeking

no


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## onipar

So I should go with Intel G620 Sandy instead of what I have chosen (with a different board of course)?  Although as I'm looking over some benchmarks, it seems to really depend on what the computer is being used for...right?  And in other threads with a similar questions it seems the votes for the Athlon X3 outweigh votes for the Intel chip...


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## wolfeking

the Athlon x3 will only outperform the G620 in task that do not require a fast per clock performance. The SB architecture (G620) is more efficient than the K9 architecture of the Athlon. 

Gaming, Athlon, everything else, go for the Pentium.


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## Benny Boy

serieA said:


> would that 450 Rana outperform a Intel G620 Sandy?


Depends on what your doing. 2 core vs 3 core. No hyperthreading on the G620 as well as some Sandy Bridge features that it doesn't have, altho its faster at carrying out it's intructions.
The Athlon has the 3 cores for multitasking and could wind up being a 4 core processor if it unlocks and is stable, which would add value. 
I can't say how different the integrated graphics are. I know the G620 doesn't have accelerated HD video playback the AMD HD 4250 does.
I think either IGP would be more than adeqaute for this application. But I wouldn't use the G620 unless I was planning a future cpu upgrade.


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## onipar

Damn...too many decisions.

The Intel chip is actually $15 cheaper than the AMD (after a coupon code is used), so there is that...

But you said something about only using it is I was planning on upgrading?  Why is that?  Because once I put this together, it'll likely be their computer for 4-5 years without change.  Maybe longer.

If I went with the Intel chip, any suggestions on a motherboard with integrated video that would be comparable to the current AMD set up I am planning?

And I guess the real question:  would I even notice a difference between these two choices?  And if not, does that mean the cheaper (intel) option is the best, or not (because of that upgrade thing you mentioned...)

Sorry for all the questions.

EDIT: one other thing I'm a little confused about.  When I searched the LGA 1155 motherboards on newegg, it showed only 1 board with integrated graphics.  Does that mean I'd have to get a video card if I got the intel chip, or am I missing something?  (I'm sure I am missing something obvious)


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## Perkomate

onipar said:


> EDIT: one other thing I'm a little confused about.  When I searched the LGA 1155 motherboards on newegg, it showed only 1 board with integrated graphics.  Does that mean I'd have to get a video card if I got the intel chip, or am I missing something?  (I'm sure I am missing something obvious)



The socket H61 boards have integrated video. P67 do not. At least I think that's what it is; might need someone else to comfirm.


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## onipar

Perkomate said:


> The socket H61 boards have integrated video. P67 do not. At least I think that's what it is; might need someone else to comfirm.



Yeah, I'm not sure.  I'm new to this, so I'm pretty sure I'm just missing something, but on newegg all of the LGA 1155 say "none" for video chipset.  I'm not sure if that means I'd need to get a video card if I went that route.

The other thing now is as I looked over the benchmarks here, it seemed like the G620 only beat out the Athlon II X3 in a few instances, with the X3 topping it most of the time.

I don't know, I'll have to sleep on this and hope for some more help tomorrow.  Thanks everybody!


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## Benny Boy

*imo*



onipar said:


> it'll likely be their computer for 4-5 years without change. Maybe longer.
> 
> would I even notice a difference between these two choices?
> 
> Does that mean I'd have to get a video card if I got the intel chip, or am I missing something?


Thats mainly why the 3 cores are safer.

They are both going to be fast. As in instantly, for everyday basic use. Where the x3 would pull away is if/when the G620 slows because it doesn't have the 3rd core. 

No. Intel boards with an H and some Z68 have IGP.


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## jonnyp11

Perkomate said:


> The socket H61 boards have integrated video. P67 do not. At least I think that's what it is; might need someone else to comfirm.



None of them really have an igpu, the sandy bridge (LGA1155) CPUs have the graphics built into them. But only some of the h's and the z68's know how to use them and have the ports to use them. So you just have to look and see if the board has the display ports and if so it will work fine. Also I believe some of the LGA1155 mobs are currently on sale so you may want to check that, but I really can't say which of the 2 will be better or if any difference will be noticeable.


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## onipar

Okay, thanks!

So as long as a motherboard has the display ports I'm good.  Gotcha.

Yeah...since I'm trying to save money on this build, I guess It'd be a smart move to take a look at the Intel side since the CPU is cheaper, and the motherboards are on sale.  

No matter which direction I go, I can always upgrade.  I'm getting an AM3+ board if I get the AMD, so there's that.  And the Intel board I read is fairly future proof.

So if they are basically the same in terms of performance and upgradeable, that just leaves price.

Well, that and video playback.  I'm not sure, but it would seem like the AMD would have better video, right?

Any motherboard suggestions for the G620?


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## jonnyp11

yeah amd igpu is better than the pentium's. but here's a good deal for the pentium and a z68 mobo which has the dvi/hdmi/displayport outputs

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.762702

with this promo for 10 off: EMCJJJC34


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## onipar

Thanks, johnny, but that's a bit higher priced than I'd like to spend.

I talked it out with my IT guy at work and have decided to stick to the AMD build.  I'll be sure to come back and post pics and everything once I get building.

Thanks so much for all the help!


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## onipar

So, a little update.

I ordered a few of the components and the motherboard, case, and PSU already arrived.

Today on Newegg, 8 GB of the same RAM I was going to buy went on sale, so since 8 GB was the same price as the 4 GB I was going to buy, I just got the 8 GB.  I think my system probably won't use it all, but I figured for the same price, I might as well.

I still haven't purchased the CPU, hoping it will go on sale.  Everything else is on it's way.


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## Benny Boy

Good find.


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## onipar

Benny Boy said:


> Good find.



Thanks!  With Black Friday coming, I've been dragging my feet a certain parts, looking for deals.  The only thing left is the CPU, and I've got my fingers crossed.


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## onipar

*The final build with total pricing (all bought and paid for.  Waiting on shipping).*  Well, really I still need a cheap keyboard, but that's it.  

AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz: $55.99

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm CPU Cooler : $14.99 (after $10 rebate)

GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3: $82.99 (after $10 rebate)

Thermaltake Commander MS-I ID VN400A1W2N: $39.99 (after $10 rebate)

Corsair Builder Series CX V2 430-Watt:  $34.99 (after $10 rebate)

Seagate - Barracuda 1TB: $58.29

Asus 24xDVD±RW Drive: $20.99

G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800): $29.99

COOLER MASTER R4-L2R-20AC-GP: $7.63

Windows 7: $6

HP 20" S2031 HD Ready Widescreen LCD Monitor:  $74.19

$475.35 -$40 in rebates.  

*TOTAL:  $435.35*


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## Mosely22

nice man! def post some pics when ya have it up!


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## onipar

Mosely22 said:


> nice man! def post some pics when ya have it up!



You got it.  Once everything arrives I'll build it out and take pics.  I wanted to add a slide show of my building the computer to add to the desktop as part of the gift anyway, so they can see I didn't just buy them a computer.


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## StrangleHold

Had a few 720. Pretty good processor for a C2 stepping. See if it will unlock to a quad. Pretty sure that Gigabyte has ACC to unlock cores.


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## onipar

StrangleHold said:


> Had a few 720. Pretty good processor for a C2 stepping. See if it will unlock to a quad. Pretty sure that Gigabyte has ACC to unlock cores.



Good to hear.  Yeah, I was going to try for the fourth core and also try to overclock.  I've never done either before, but I figure it's worth a shot.


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## Mosely22

onipar said:


> You got it.  Once everything arrives I'll build it out and take pics.  I wanted to add a slide show of my building the computer to add to the desktop as part of the gift anyway, so they can see I didn't just buy them a computer.



yo that would be awesome!!! the sticky that has the step-by-step instructions doesnt have pics anymore...it would be great for newbs like myself. if you can do it, please do!


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## onipar

A little update.  My brother and I started on the build yesterday.  We only had a couple hours though (and be new at this) we didn't expect to get very far.  We got everything installed, but did not have time to wire or test it yet.

There were a few bumps in the road along the way.  The first was unexpected: we had a lot of trouble mounting the extra fan.  At first I thought it was me, but after reading some reviews of the case I purchased, I discovered it was due to poor design.  The front intake mount has incorrectly sized holes for the fan, which made it impossible to mount.  And then the motherboard blocks the two top mounted sections.



The only other major problem we encountered is that I installed the heatsink facing the wrong direction (fan facing up/down instead of left/right).  I felt pretty stupid about that, but I guess it's an easy fix.

So up next is reinstalling the heatsink, wiring everything up, and installing the OS.


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## Benny Boy

:good: on the pics. 





onipar said:


> So up next is reinstalling the heatsink, wiring everything up, and installing the OS.


Did you buy thermal paste? Know how to reinstall? You probly do. It's important so I thought I'd ask. Route what you can behind the mb and zip ties are handy.


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## onipar

Benny Boy said:


> :good: on the pics.
> Did you buy thermal paste? Know how to reinstall? You probly do. It's important so I thought I'd ask. Route what you can behind the mb and zip ties are handy.



I appreciate you making sure I know how to do it.  I *think* I do.  I asked in another thread to make sure.  My plan is to unscrew the resistance mount, clean the thermal paste off with some isopropyl alcohol and a coffee filter, then reapply new paste and reassemble (correctly this time!) 

I think I should have enough paste left in the tube that came with the heatsink.

Am I missing anything, or you have any tips?

I did want to add more pics, but I guess there's a data size limit on uploads.


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## Benny Boy

Your good. I saw your other thread after this one.

At least some of the drivers on the mb disc won't be the latest. I was going to suggest you could pre load those from Gigabyte support onto a thumb drive or something then load them from there after 7. 

As for the BIOS Rev., The latest is for AGESA. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGESA

"Please use the latest @BIOS or FLASHSPI.EXE to reflash BIOS" FLASHSPI.EXE might be on the disc.
http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3817&dl=1#dl


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## onipar

I already have the updated drivers, but I totally spaced on the BIOS.  Thanks for the reminder!   

I'll be sure to update again once I've had time to finish the build.


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## onipar

Success!  

Well, partial success anyway.  I finished the hardware portion of the build tonight.  I hooked it up to a monitor and it posted!  Single beep, splash screen, then drive error (because I had no keyboard to get to BIOS).

No time to install software tonight, but at least the build is working.  So happy I didn't screw something up.  

The OS install will happen this weekend.

Anyone know if there's a way to get more room for uploading pics?  I seem to have used my quota with the last two...


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## jonnyp11

What are you uploading with? Try going to imageshack.us and after uploading it has a simple copy/paste code for forums on the page.


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## onipar

jonnyp11 said:


> What are you uploading with? Try going to imageshack.us and after uploading it has a simple copy/paste code for forums on the page.



Okay, thanks.  I was just using the site's upload feature, but it's capped.  I'll post some more pics using the method you suggested tomorrow.  Thanks!


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## StrangleHold

Photobucket or Imageshack.


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## onipar

Okay, here's a photobucket album of the work done on the build so far.  No pictures of me, but I snapped a couple of my brother in action.

ALBUM


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## onipar

The build is done!

I installed Ubuntu today (after first installing Windows 7 64-bit, which did not work with my 32-bit keycode).  The decision was to put windows 7 on my other computer and start fresh with Ubuntu and this one.  I think my parents will take to it fine.

I did some minor set up for them, and now everything is ready to wrap for Christmas.  I had a great time doing this; I'll have to build my own computer next.

After they open the present, I'll probably help them do a little more setup, and eventually I'll try unlocking that 4th core and overclocking.  But for now, I thought I'd leave it as is for Christmas.  

Thanks again for every one helping so much.


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## Benny Boy

wtg !


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## onipar

Benny Boy said:


> wtg !



Thanks!


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## onipar

Just a few more pics after extra cable management and during the OS installation.

Unfortunately, I didn't think to put the side panel on and take "after" shots of the completed rig.  And now it's all wrapped for Christmas.    Maybe I'll post some shots once my parents open it and get it set up.


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