[TankTan38]

Hello everyone. I have been looking around for parts for a new ~$500 gaming PC for a few weeks now and this is what I have come up with:

CPU: AMD Phenom II x2 555 BE (hoping to unlock 3rd and 4th cores)
Motherboard: Open Box MSI 790XT-G45
GPU: 1GB PowerColor Radeon HD 6850 (Will start with a 1024x768 VGA monitor; hope to upgrade to 3D monitor in the future)
Case & PSU: Rosewill Challenger & 700W PSU Combo
Hard Drive: Hitachi 1TB 7200RPM
CD/DVD Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST
RAM: 2x2gb DDR2 from computer w/3x2gb

I will hopefully be ordering this in the next few days. Any help/suggestions are appreciated.

EDIT: Also, since I am buying some OEM and Open Box products, should I be worried about not receiving some of the necessary cables? (ex. SATA cables?)

[Rotary]

not to bad for 500 bucks, and you can flash your 6850 to 6870 and see a big jump in speeds. i say go for it

for the sata cables, you can just wait and see, if anything just pick some up at a store

if i was you, i would spend the few extra bucks on this psu

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

[TankTan38]

Originally Posted by Rotary

not to bad for 500 bucks, and you can flash your 6850 to 6870 and see a big jump in speeds. i say go for it

for the sata cables, you can just wait and see, if anything just pick some up at a store

if i was you, i would spend the few extra bucks on this psu

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

Thanks for the reply!

What are the advantages of that PSU over the I chose?

[Rotary]

reliability and good customer support

[TankTan38]

Originally Posted by Rotary

reliability and good customer support

Okay thanks. I think i'll get it.

Quick question, do the cables for the hard drive and disc drive (SATA cables) usually come with the motherboard or the HD/DD?

[Rotary]

most likely you will get more then 1, so you should be good. that HDD is a good deal,

is there anyway you can get a quad core cpu? i think an extra 40 bucks will see a big jump

like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103808

[TankTan38]

Originally Posted by Rotary

most likely you will get more then 1, so you should be good. that HDD is a good deal,

is there anyway you can get a quad core cpu? i think an extra 40 bucks will see a big jump

like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103808

The Phenom II x2 has two locked cores and I plan to unlock them to get a quad core. I have considered a Phenom II x4, but for $50 cheaper and the possibility that I could make it a quad core, the x2 just seemed better. I put the $50 toward the 6850. Originally, it was a 5770.

Is it worth getting this PSU for $10 cheaper than the one you picked out?:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341018

[TankTan38]

K, so the motherboard in the list is dectivated, so I need help choosing a new motherboard. I won't be Crossfiring any time soon (when I do, I will probably buy a new mobo anyway), but it would be nice to be able to do Hybrid Crossfire with the integrated. Here are my choices:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138285
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157186

Are there really any differences? From the pictures, I can tell that they are the same motherboard. The first one does have a $10 mail-in rebate, so which should I choose?

[Seebs]

Originally Posted by TankTan38

K, so the motherboard in the list is dectivated, so I need help choosing a new motherboard. I won't be Crossfiring any time soon (when I do, I will probably buy a new mobo anyway), but it would be nice to be able to do Hybrid Crossfire with the integrated. Here are my choices:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138285
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157186

Are there really any differences? From the pictures, I can tell that they are the same motherboard. The first one does have a $10 mail-in rebate, so which should I choose?

First... Hybrid Crossfire would not work with the 6850. And you wouldn't really want to do it between the integrated GPU and the 6850 since that would mean you'd be slowing down the 6850 to the capabilities of the integrated video (but since it doesn't work anyways it's a non issue)...

On your build...

Here is how I would do it...

Case: Antec 300 Illusion
Antec cases are WAY better than Rosewill cases.

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H
Gigabyte's boards are some of the best in build quality and performance for AMD... I used to own the UD2H and it unlocked my 555BE to quadcore without issues... But know that unlocking of the cores depends on the cpu more than on the MoBo... If the chip you happen to receive comes with truly "damaged" cores; they won't unlock even if you use a $400 MoBo.

GPU: XFX HD-685X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6850
Same price as the Powercolor you picked, but the XFX has Lifetime Warranty.

PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CMPSU-500CX
Corsair is one of the top PSU vendors in the market. This PSU will outperform the Rosewill 700W you listed. And 500W is more than enough to run the HW you are planning on getting. I run a 6950 and a 955BE on a Corsair VX450 without any problems.

HDD: HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C HDS721010CLA332
No change here.

CD/DVD: ASUS DRW-24B1ST
No change here.

The above comfiguration comes out to $547.93 and you have $35 in Mail In Rebates which bring the final amount to $512.93...
So for just $13 more than the planned budget; you get a better case, better PSU, better MoBo and lifetime warranty on the GPU.

Can't beat that with a stick.

Hope it helps
Sebastian

[CgS Drone]

The only thing that I don't agree on is the Corsair 500 watt power supply, I had that one for a week and ended up sending it back. I was having stability issue's with it. Sebas the VX450 that you have is a better quality and will beat the CX500 in every review I have read.

[TorqueRanger]

Just keep in mind that the 555 BE does not always unlock the extra cores.. I am running a 555 Be with 3 active cores and the damage core was one of the stock cores that came from the factory as stable ,Which unlock caused nothing but problems... I am running the rosewell challenger case right now and I love this case for what i paid for it and if you look online there are alot of goods reviews about it...
The case is what ever you like .. I choose this case beacuse it was cheap and already painted inside... Also i did some research and found that it is not a bad case at all, it's like middle of the road case which is perfect for me..

[Seebs]

Originally Posted by CgS Drone

The only thing that I don't agree on is the Corsair 500 watt power supply, I had that one for a week and ended up sending it back. I was having stability issue's with it. Sebas the VX450 that you have is a better quality and will beat the CX500 in every review I have read.

Only problem is they don't make the VX450 any more... I would have recommended that one instead, but finding one brand new is going to be a hassle.

[CgS Drone]

Who knows they may have fixed the issue with that power supply. I have noticed all the neg feedback it was getting when I bought it and posted on it is now gone. I think they change the number on it at the egg sometimes, I have seen this before and I know I left a negative feedback on it.

The one I received was reading low on the 12v rail and reading WAY high on the 5v rail.

[Theocnoob]

Originally Posted by CgS Drone

The only thing that I don't agree on is the Corsair 500 watt power supply, I had that one for a week and ended up sending it back. I was having stability issue's with it. Sebas the VX450 that you have is a better quality and will beat the CX500 in every review I have read.

CX is BOTTOM end corsair PSU.
So, yes. They're not very good. Just get the job done.

CX>GS?>VX>TX>HX>AX

My only input here is to get a VX or better PSU. CX gets you by. I wouldn't personally use anything below a TX. Ever. Your power supply is your system's cardiovascular system.

[Seebs]

Originally Posted by Theocnoob

CX is BOTTOM end corsair PSU.
So, yes. They're not very good. Just get the job done.

CX>GS?>VX>TX>HX>AX

My only input here is to get a VX or better PSU. CX gets you by. I wouldn't personally use anything below a TX. Ever. Your power supply is your system's cardiovascular system.

That is definitely true... The CX is their "Budget" line, but it is still better than anything Rosewill puts out.

Now, if the OP can afford it; this one would be just perfect: TX650V1

[TankTan38]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I will get back to with the new parts i've chosen soon, but xXSebaSXx, the motherboard you picked out only supports DDR3... I need one that supports DDR2. My choices are very limited.

[Seebs]

something like this for the board that supports ddr2 then

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130237

[bigben6]

consider this 6850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-419-_-Product
same price 20 dollar MIR, slightly (very slightly) overclocked out of the box but some reviews have showed it to be the best overclokers of the 6850's

[TankTan38]

Which do you guys think would be better to get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130237
Cheap 6850 and Use the 2x2gb DDR2 I have in my computer now

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130235
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104203
GTX 460

[CgS Drone]

If I had to choose between using an AMD chipset and DDR2 or Nvidia chipset and DDR3. I would take the AMD chipset and DDR2.