Dazed and Confused

[Marshillboy]

So I've been out of the computer scene for awhile. Very recently, however, my motherboard's PCI-E slot graciously decided to give out. I'm frankly sick of dealing with it and all the slot failure and crap it's been giving me. I don't have time to wait for an RMA as this is my primary PC, and I'm just going to sell it as-is and rebuild.

All this trouble started when I just put an accelero s1 on my 4850 and then the bigger cooler tipped my zalman northbridge heatsink a little which I then tried to alleviate, then my pci-e slot mysteriously stopped working, and enough is enough. I'm keeping my 4850 for my next rig (especially seeing as I just put a new cooler on it), but frankly I think everything else has to go.

Anyways, long story short, I'm looking at building a mid-price range computer (I already have a brand new 23" asus monitor, an HD4850, other functioning peripherals, and a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate), but the array of cpus and matching motherboards is frankly overwhelming. For $500 to mid-600 (maybe), what is my best best? AMD/Intel, Phenom/i3/i5/i7?

Thanks,
Marshillboy

 

[foothead]

What will this computer be used for?
What parts are you going to have left over?
Do you need any specialized parts? (e.g. Tv tuner, sound card, etc.)
Do you have any special requests (e.g. Crossfirex capable, sli certified, crtain slots, etc.?)
Do you need any type of RAID setup?
Do you have brand preferences?
Are you out for extreme futureproofing, or do you just want whatever does the job that you currently need?
Is there a certain form factor you prefer?
Will you be overclocking any components?

Lol I can think of a lot more questions, but these are the main ones.

 

[Marshillboy]

1. Gaming, video editing, photo editing, coding, the works
2. If by you mean pre-existing parts I will use, I only plan on reusing my 4850 card in the new build
3. I don't think any specialized parts are necessary, except maybe a wireless-n card
4. I'm not a big fan of multiple-gpu setups, they take alot of power and you can generally find a single better card, not really a big concern. In regards to the aforementioned wireless card, I suppose the slot demands on the motherboard will be dependent on whether it's a pci-express x1 or a normal pci wifi card
5. I don't think RAID is necessary for my needs right now
6. Brands aren't a big deal, although I do have a certain predisposition against rosewill...lol
7. Some degree of futureproofing is nice, but affordability is a bigger concern
8. Case size isn't a concern, but in regards to motherboards, I feel that full atx boards tend to be alot more physically spacious than mini-atx, and might be easier to work with in regards to large cpu heatsinks/etc
9. With a decent aftermarket cooler, I may consider overclocking the cpu if it's feasible

 

[Remeniz]

Well there's this Intel solution...

Intel Core i-750 CPU
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 Motherboard
4GB 1,600MHz DDR3 RAM
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX PSU

Comes out at $515. All you need is a case and after market CPU HSF if your going to overclock.

The CPU with the motherboard will give you great overclocking ability, the PSU is a rock and the RAM has great timings.

 

[Marshillboy]

Remeniz, thanks for your input. However, I priced out a decent build and including optical, hdd, case, cooler, and all the parts you listed, it comes out to 700ish and probably substantially more with shipping.

It has come to my attention that the Phenom II x4 series isn't too bad at overclocking, and allows for a substantially cheaper build. Could this be the way to go?

 

[Atomic Rooster]

How about something like this:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition

MSI 790X-G45 AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

Western Digital Caviar Green WD6400AADS 640GB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0

LG Black 24X DVD+R SATA DVD Burner

Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W

COOLER MASTER Elite RC-310-SWN1-GP ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Total - $531.93

 

[Marshillboy]

DVD Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

(2x) HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130249

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057

2x additional fans: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121

All in all, this build comes out to $681.34 with an additional $25 MIR and a $10 gift card the cpu. I don't really see any places where I can skimp on components and maintain quality. Thoughts on this?

 

[Atomic Rooster]

You forgot the CPU. Your CPU link goes to the memory.

 

[Marshillboy]

Oops. Fixed.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Now you need to add the memory. LOL!

All in all, looks like a nice build.