Planning to build a desktop

Another building a desktop thread:

I've never built one but need a new PC and am reading up on building my own. I want to use it for gaming, although I can't afford high end and don't really care about graphics on max settings. I'm shooting for something that can run Medieval Total War II and Oblivion on good settings, as well as run future games (ES Skyrim, Witcher 2) on medium settings.

My budget is $600, I have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, but I need an OS (not counting linux). I'm going to my local microcenter soon and checked for deals, they have AMD processor + motherboard bundles but are out of stock on the mobo I want (785GM-P45 AM3 785G mATX). Here's what I've specced so far:

Athlon II X4 640 - Microcenter has it available for $96 but don't have the 785GM-P45 AM3 785G in stock for free in a bundle. Any motherboard recommendations?

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Case, $35 after rebate from Newegg.

RAM: I'd like to buy while Newegg has their %15 off, but the sale ends tonight and I'm worried about buying RAM without having a motherboard.

OS: Win 7 64bit, $100

Is a Hybrid Crossfire configuration hard to set up if I get a compatible graphics card? This obviously will affect the card I get, dependent on the chipset I buy (I think?).

I'm clueless on the following:

PSU:
DVD:
Harddrive:
Overclocking - easy to do for a first time builder? Wait until later?

Are there any particular tools I should grab while at Microcenter to make building easier? The only thing I've seen that I think I'll need to buy is an anti-static wrist strap.

Thanks in advance!

just buy 2 sticks of ddr3 from newegg now, those will work with all the more recent motherboards from both intel and amd

I would recommend you get a phenom instead of an athlon, even if it means that you only get 3 cores, because the cache is more important then the extra core

Quote : Is a Hybrid Crossfire configuration hard to set up if I get a compatible graphics card? This obviously will affect the card I get, dependent on the chipset I buy (I think?)

hybrid crossfire is pretty much pointless outside of laptops, I wouldn't worry about it - any dedicated graphics card will outperform an integrated solution by so much that the added benefit from the integrated is negligible

Quote : Overclocking - easy to do for a first time builder? Wait until later?

more or less easy to do, but also easy to break your stuff - it depends mostly on your motherboard/CPU, and then to a lesser extent your CPU cooler and your PSU, generally you don't start off with an OC, you only do it once you feel the need for more speed (you shouldn't feel this at the very start, if you do, send your stuff back and buy better stuff)

and I don't think you really need the wrist strap.. just touch the case and you will be fine.. but w/e, it doesn't really matter if you want it for confidence

Suggest you build using the benchmarks from Passmark. They not only rate video cards, HDD's and CPU's they also price CPU's, this way you see how much you can afford AND find the best one.

http://www.passmark.com/baselines/top.html

Valuable tool to have around.

This deal here for an i5 with motherboard, and 4gb ram, Swap in a better PSU http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...&t=2610687

Then This GPU http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...&t=2588991

Quote from LiquidRetro : This deal here for an i5 with motherboard, and 4gb ram, Swap in a better PSU http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...&t=2610687 Then This GPU http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...&t=2588991

This looks like a really good deal, I may have to go for it. Anyone ever hear of Sparkle PSUs? It makes me think of Mr. Sparkle from the Simpsons.

Quote from shipfaced : Suggest you build using the benchmarks from Passmark. They not only rate video cards, HDD's and CPU's they also price CPU's, this way you see how much you can afford AND find the best one. http://www.passmark.com/baselines/top.html

I'll take a look at this later to make some sense of it, thanks for the link.

Quote from slapshot136 : I would recommend you get a phenom instead of an athlon, even if it means that you only get 3 cores, because the cache is more important then the extra core e

I didn't realize that the cache size mattered that much. I'm learning as I go. Checking into prices on Phenoms now.

Thanks for the replies!

Quote from kazilan : Anyone ever hear of Sparkle PSUs? It makes me think of Mr. Sparkle from the Simpsons.

from this [eggxpert.com] it seems that sparkle PSU's are OK (not great, but average)

Quote from kazilan : This looks like a really good deal, I may have to go for it. Anyone ever hear of Sparkle PSUs? It makes me think of Mr. Sparkle from the Simpsons. I'll take a look at this later to make some sense of it, thanks for the link. I didn't realize that the cache size mattered that much. I'm learning as I go. Checking into prices on Phenoms now. Thanks for the replies!

If you do get that bundle please buy a quality PSU. Sparkle is a super cheap no name brand and you will have problems. Its worth spending the difference on quality unit. Everyone here will agree with me on this.

Quote from LiquidRetro : If you do get that bundle please buy a quality PSU. Sparkle is a super cheap no name brand and you will have problems. Its worth spending the difference on quality unit. Everyone here will agree with me on this.

Yes I agree with this statement 100%. A bad quality PSU can fry a lot of components when it goes out. People tend to overlook a good quality PSU because they're expensive. It's one investment that usually goes unnoticed to a lot of people. But a good PSU is one that you don't have to think or worry about once it's in the system.

With that said, I would look into getting some Corsair or Antec PSU's within your budget, whoever is building the PC.

In for one on the tigerdirect deal. I stopped at Microcenter today and picked up a cooler master 650W psu for $60. Those plus windows put me at $581, including s/h but not including the $10 rebate. Thanks for the help, +1 rep to liquidretro for pointing me to the deal!

I can put the gfx card mentioned above on a cc (Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 GC 768MB @ Newegg - 104.99 AR) - but I'm betting that the comp as is will run MTW2. Should I wait a while for a better price, or is the card mentioned here a really good deal?

Quote from kazilan : I can put the gfx card mentioned above on a cc (Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 GC 768MB @ Newegg - 104.99 AR) - but I'm betting that the comp as is will run MTW2. Should I wait a while for a better price, or is the card mentioned here a really good deal?

its better from TD for ~60 AR, same card

Quote from slapshot136 : its better from TD for ~60 AR, same card

I don't see it at TD for that price, is there a link or are the rebates found somewhere else?

Would something like this: Galaxy 43GGS8HX3SPZ GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3, $54.99 AR, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6814162067 work as a good temporary solution for a while, to be replaced by something top of the line in 6 months? Would something else at this price range work?