How does this build look?

After 3 years, I'm finally going to be able to build a new computer! Here are the parts I've chosen so far:

Athlon II X2 250 3.0GHz
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
Corsair XMS3 (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 8-8-8-24 CMX4GX3M2A1600C8
EVGA GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 512-P3-N725-LR
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB WD5001AALS
Corsair 450W CMPSU-450VX
Antec Three Hundred

Questions:
1) Would it be worth it to go for the Phenom II X2 3.0GHz instead? It's about $20 more, would the performance increase be worth it? It looks like the main difference is the Phenom II has 6mb cache. Or, if the extra cache doesn't make much of a difference, what about going with more cores instead, like the Athlon II X3 3.0GHz, also about $20 more?

2) Will 450W be enough for this system? Other than what's listed here, I'll have an addition 1TB hard drive for storage, a DVD burner, a couple case fans, and a floppy/mem card reader.

3) Are there are any areas where I could go with cheaper components to save some money and not really lose any noticeable performance? Or, areas where, for just a little more, I could get a MUCH better component that would make a noticeable difference?

4) I went with a pretty low-end video card for 2 reasons. 1, I don't do any PC gaming or video-intensive stuff. 2, I hate huge cards taking up a ton of room in my case, and older 9 series are the only low-profile cards I can find (at least, from EVGA. I do see a few 210/220 series low-profile cards so if any of those are any good, by all means, let me know).

5) Is the Antec Three Hundred a pretty good case? I really want the Nine Hundred, but right now I'm opting for the 300 to save about $50. Does the 300 have any problems I should know about?

Finally, here's my old system, for comparison, I'd like to see how much better I can expect my new build to be:

Athlon 64 X2 5200+ 2.6GHz
ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe
Corsair XMS2 (2x1GB) DDR2 800 5-5-5-18 TWIN2X2048-6400
EVGA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB 256-P2-N445-LX
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB WD2500KSRTL
Rosewill Turbo Series 550W RT550-135-SL

Thanks!

1. It depends, in most applications the extra cache doesn't make much difference, however some really benefit from it. You'll have to look at benchmarks to see what apps make use of the extra cache. If this is just a basic internet/office app rig you probably won't see a performance difference between the Athlon II/Phenom II/ or x2/x3.

2. The Corsair 450 watt is plenty, the Corsair 400 watt would even be more than enough.

3. Other than the 400 watt psu, if you won't be doing any gaming on board video will work fine for you. I'd recommend a mobo with the built in sideport memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398


4. See above.

5. Antec cases are highly recommended around here, though I don't have experience with that particular one.

Yea nice build there. You may even want to think about a ATI 5xxx card.

A-Dub said:

1. It depends, in most applications the extra cache doesn't make much difference, however some really benefit from it. You'll have to look at benchmarks to see what apps make use of the extra cache. If this is just a basic internet/office app rig you probably won't see a performance difference between the Athlon II/Phenom II/ or x2/x3.

2. The Corsair 450 watt is plenty, the Corsair 400 watt would even be more than enough.

3. Other than the 400 watt psu, if you won't be doing any gaming on board video will work fine for you. I'd recommend a mobo with the built in sideport memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398

Click to expand...

1) Yeah, I saw a comparison on Tom's Hardware of the Athlon II and Phenom II, they were pretty close on every test, except for a couple games, which isn't important to me. I guess I'll go with the Phenom II X2. We do a lot more than just internet/office, but nothing too intensive. Adobe CS is probably the most intensive thing we use.

2) So, how many watts do you think this system really needs? I've heard it's good to have a bit over what you actually need, and I fear 400 would be getting too close to that figure.

3) The only reason I'm not doing that is because it's my impression that on-board video is pretty inferior to an actual card. But, since I'm going with a low-end card, the 9400 GT, would the high-end on-board video (ATI Radeon HD 4200) be fairly comparable to it? I won't be doing any gaming, but I do want it to be able to run Aero in Vista/7 like a champ. Plus, the extra memory of an actual card is nice.

I would drop to the Corsair 400w PSU. It would still be more than enough if you don't plan on installing a powerfull video card.

Go with on-board video, new on board video mobo's run Aero no problem

You could probably get away with a smaller system HDD if you use another disk for storage. Although you won't save much $$ doing that. HDD's are dirt cheap now

jmdixon85 said:

I would drop to the Corsair 400w PSU. It would still be more than enough if you don't plan on installing a powerfull video card.

Go with on-board video, new on board video mobo's run Aero no problem

You could probably get away with a smaller system HDD if you use another disk for storage. Although you won't save much $$ doing that. HDD's are dirt cheap now

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll never need a powerful video card, so that sounds good.

But, performance wise, do you think the new on-board video would be comparable to the 9400 GT in overall system performance?

The 500GB is my smallest option for WD 7200RPM 32MB cache drives, so that's why I'm going with that one

Aslong as your not playing games you won't see a difference. Hell, even if you had a nVidia GTX295 but just stuck to desktop work you still wouldn't see a difference

Onboard video is fine. The Antec 300 is a great case, simple, cheap and great airflow.

Since cases can always be reused just think long term. Will you be reusing this case in the future for other builds? If so the Antec 902 is a even better case with cable management holes, fan controls, and a little bit more room. I have worked with 4 Antec cases: the 300, 900, 902, and 1200. I would say the 902 is well worth it.