First PC build, any help appreciated.

[relapserebel]

Hello, first off this is a budget build with a 500 dollar or less budget. The main focus of the build is the best gaming performance for my buck. Your are not the first people I've asked to comment on this build and this build is revised from the previous forums suggestions. For my original build thread look here: First PC build, need help. - Tech Support Forum It's not that I didn't appreciate their help I just want to get as many opinions as possible.

Ok here's what I have

Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor - Retail
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor - Processors - Desktops
$78.00 Free Shipping

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
$74.99 Free Shipping

Video Card:
SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
$94.99 Free Shipping

Drive:
LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM
Newegg.com - LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
$24.99 Free Shipping

Power Supply:
PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
$94.99 Free Shipping

Memory:
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
$33.99 Free Shipping

Hard Drive:
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB Hard Drive
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB Hard Drive ( 6B200P0 ) - Hard Drive - Maxtor Storage
I am taking this hard drive out of another system I own. Plus I have a 160GB external drive I'll also be using.

Case:
Rosewill R218-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Newegg.com - Rosewill R218-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
$19.99

Monitor:
I'll be using an old 17" dell CRT (I listed as 15" on other forum which was a mistake) monitor I have in storage. It's not great but it will do till I have the money for something better.

This puts my build at $421.94 not including shipping for the case and a couple of MIR's.

Lemme know what you guys think. And also an idea of the kind of performance I'll see would be appreciated

 

[relapserebel]

The OS is xp because it's what I have on hand.

 

[hikaricloud]

First, grab this mobo instead, it's a combo with that CPU, and is the same cost (cheaper after MIR), not to mention better:

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Now you can grab 4gb of better RAM for 6 bucks more after the MIR:

Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

And I would personally grab this case...more expensive, but much better quality:

Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Everything else seems pretty good.


EDIT: By the way, I stuck everything in the shopping cart, and it costs $492.89 after shipping, then you have 75 bucks in mail in rebates.

 

[Evolv]

That G Skill ram he picked out is good. It's 1066 ram though, and you suggested him 800 ram. I don't know if he wants to stick with 1066 ram or not That's a good combo deal on the mobo and processor though.

 

[hikaricloud]

He's not going to notice much of a difference in performance. Going from 800 to 1066 is at most a 5% increase in efficiency if it was the same amount of RAM in the first place. I'm thinking about bang for buck here since he's on a budget, and for an extra 6 bucks he can double his RAM, which will give him a much larger performance increase than 2gb of DDR2 1066.

 

[Evolv]

True, good point.

 

[NightSurge]

My build is very similar to his. With a bit of the extra money I suggest you at least upgrade your case to this, if not the Antec 300:
Newegg.com - Rosewill Wind Ryder RZLS142A-P YE Dual 120mm Cooling Fans and Mesh Design Front Panel Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

 

[relapserebel]

Great find on the mobo/processor combo thanks! So yeah I think I'll go with the 4gb of ram suggested too. My only question goes toward the case, what exactly is the difference going to be between what I have down and the suggestions that are made? How big a deal will it be for me to stick with what I have down originally?

PS mucho kudos to hikari for putting it all in the shopping cart and figuring the final cost, really helps put things in a realistic perspective.

 

[NightSurge]

Great find on the mobo/processor combo thanks! So yeah I think I'll go with the 4gb of ram suggested too. My only question goes toward the case, what exactly is the difference going to be between what I have down and the suggestions that are made? How big a deal will it be for me to stick with what I have down originally?

PS mucho kudos to hikari for putting it all in the shopping cart and figuring the final cost, really helps put things in a realistic perspective.

The only difference is the cases we linked to would have better cooling and airflow. A $20 case with just 1x120mm fan may not do the best job at removing all the hot air.

 

[relapserebel]

All right one final question. What's the performance going to be like? Will I have no problem playing the latest games at decent settings (except Crysis lol)?