Nice budget build imo

[alithepanda]

About a month ago I recently finished compiling parts for a much wanted quad-core computer. After 6 years of "serious business" gaming and rage, I decided to send my Dell e510 to my mom to replace her... archaic dimension 2400. The process took about 3 weeks of RMA + waiting to get a working motherboard but it all paid off.

Components:
Case - Rosewill Future gaming case (ATX mid tower) ($45)
PSU - Corsair CX600W Builders Edition Version 2 (Comments below) ($70 - $20 rebate)
Motherboard - Gigabyte 970A-UD3 AM3+ ($110)
*CPU*- AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition ($90 on sale)
GPU - XFX Radeon HD 6770 ZNLC ($85)
RAM - Team Group Extreme Dark Series 8GB 1600mhz (free because of combo deal w/mobo)
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB (??)
Optical Drive - ASUS 24x DVD Burner (Black) ($20)

Price Check: $400 with rebates and not including the hard drive or anything out of the tower.

The hard drive and my 19" Dell LCD ended up getting reused along with the sub/speakers that came with the e510, but then those parts are still functional and I didn't feel the need to fork over another good sum of part time pay until some nice sales come along.

Comments: The psu doesn't really fit locked in and snug on the bottom, but I don't really mind because I don't plan on moving the case for any reason other than installing a hyper 212 plus. The stock heatsink/fan for the 965 BE sounds like a lawnmower when gaming. Also, the graphics card was bought refurbished, although it still works and it was cheaper than buying new so I'm happy. I actually have a set of Kingston Hyperx ram (2 x 4GB) sitting around because there was a deal with the motherboard that came with the Team sticks. As far as overclocking is concerned, I only pushed the gpu at 935 mhz core clock and 1200 mhz mem clock. Haven't touched the cpu because the hsf is loud already and the temps aren't suitable yet.

Conclusion: My new "Ebenezer Beast" works as expected . Soon it shall be perfected, and if anyone is looking for a decent budget rig I would recommend this, although maybe switch out the psu for something that would fit snug with the case.

P.S. If my descriptions were off topic, my apoligies. This is my first post =3

 

[PolePosition]

To the Overclockers forums!

No SSD?
I think that is the one component that makes all the difference in the world for loading your operating system on for the most performance increase in boot time and loading of applications. Once you experience the speed, you'll wonder how you ever lived without one.

No point in living in the past with slow boot drives when SSDs are more affordable than ever.

Even if you must opt out for a smaller HDD to load other applications.

 

[peanutbudder]

pics or it didn't happen

 

[alithepanda]

Thanks for the welcome. =)

As far as an ssd, I'm thinking about getting a 120gig for my OS and WoW install, but I'm just on a tight budget right now.

And the pics will have to wait until morning. The lighting in my room, other than the glow of the case's front led fans, is poor.

 

[ssjwizard]

Looks like you managed to pull together a decent system with a minimal budget grats! You definitely want to look at SSDs they are a game changer for sure. I have not had one person who I upgraded to an SSD who wasn't totally impressed with the difference.

 

[peanutbudder]

When I installed my ssd with a clean install of windows 7 ultimate my mind was breaking blown. It used to take a little over a minute to go from splash screen to running windows, now 17 seconds. My computer feels like it knows what im going to do next and loads for me... The biggest boost in speed i have ever noticed in my years of building.

 

[alithepanda]

Some (meh) pics for reference.

 

[peanutbudder]

Not bad just needs some cable management. Nice build.