What do you think of this build?

[Slazenger]

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=21055187

This is the link for the Wishlist. There are two harddrives due to an unsure opinion on which is better.

This system is for one of my friends, and I was hoping to get some opinions on what we have here. Our goal was $800, but came to around $850 with one of the hdds.


Please let me know if anything looks wrong, might cause issues, or if there is a clearly better option available.


Thanks!

 

[reflex99]

1. way too much power supply. 500ish watts would be a more reasonable number

2. the external exhaust 460 is one of the worst stock coolers you can get. It is loud, and doesn't cool particularly well

3. why am3? If you must go with AMD, i would at least get an AM3+ board so you can have at least some sort of guaranteed upgrade path. something like this doesn't cost any extra:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514

4. I would recommend an intel sandy bridge build. the Core i3 beats most all Phenom II's in most tasks.

something like this combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.717545

would save you some money, and allow you to invest in a better video card, maybe a 560 or 6950.

5. Samsung F3 is a pretty well respected hard drive.

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

I like all the above suggestions except for #1. Same reason as I would not get the motherboard and cpu you currently have in the build; no room for upgrade. Adding a second 460 may still not require 750w, but in your next build, more power will be a benefit allowing you to recycle the psu.

 

[reflex99]

by the time you buy your next computer, power supply technology will have advanced so much that it probably wont be worth reusing your old one.

 

[Ph?bus]

I would get an AM3+ board like reflex suggested, that way you have future support for Bulldozer.

Drop the 965 down to the 955 since it's like $20 cheaper, and is only 200MHz faster. These chips are made for overclocking, so you can easily make it run at 3.4GHz.

You have two hard drives. One for storage, the other for the OS? I'd go with a Samsung F3 for the OS, and get a Western Digital Green 2TB for storage.

Drop the 460 for a 6850, or if you can fit it in the budget, a 6870.

Also like reflex suggested, drop the power supply down to 500-600W, but closer to 500W. Unless you plan on to Crossfire with another 6850/70, then get a 650W.

 

[runo]

1. If you were going to pick up a 1TB HDD, I really think you'll like the Samsung SpinPoint F3. It's not that either of those are bad -- I just think that reflex's suggestion of the F3 is better.
2.If you were ever planning on SLI/Crossfiring the cards you do go with and you wanted to pick up a 650W, might I recommend the SeaSonic X650? I'm not sure that it'd be in-line with your budget, but if it is, it's an awesome power supply.
3. Gonna echo Phobus here; you can easily overclock the 955BE up to the clock rates of the 965, save yourself $20 and put that towards an even nicer power supply (like the aforementioned X650!)

 

[labowsky]

lol i got that ram for 30 bucks.

 

[runo]

lol i got that ram for 30 bucks.

It must have been on sale, I'm assuming?

 

[labowsky]

It must have been on sale, I'm assuming?

haha yeah, great deal.

 

[runo]

haha yeah, great deal.

Wow, yeah, that is a pretty sweet deal. 'Grats!