Help with a build! 2nd build ever.

[bblack033]

Built a computer probably 5-6 years ago and i haven't kept up with anything. But i've been reading.

I have a case and a cd/dvd drive that i can reuse. I also have a power supply but i'm not sure if it's outdated, as there is a new version of it out and it's about 3 years old. Link below.
Raidmax Volcano 630 Watt Power Supply

Purpose: to get back into gaming. Play some of the new games out there on close if not max settings and room to upgrade so it's not outdated in 2-3 years. Starcraft 2, FPS ect.

budget: Prefer to keep around 550 as that's what i feel comfortable spending. If it can't be done on that then 650 shipped/tax. i know it's already a somewhat expensive processor for a cheap build.

starting point would be

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core $200

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 $80

hopefully someone can recommend the rest. I'm lost when it comes to graphics cards now.

Thanks,
B

 

[bblack033]

I actually just found a semi local shop that is offering this build for about 590

AMD Phenom II x 6 Six Core PC
2800 Mhz x 6 Turbo speeds to 3.2 ghz per core or Higher!

1 gig MSI Nvidia GT 240 Grpahics card w/ DDR5 Memory

MSI - 790x-G45 Quality motherboard supports up to 16 gig of Ram
Has 7.1 channel surround sound, 4 USB ports, Giga Lan Dual PCI-E x 16

4 GB DDR3 RAM Dual Channel, 1333mhz

500 GB SATA 7200 RPM Hard Drive

HEC 585 watt power supply

Super Multi 20x DVD+/-RW (Plays and Burn CDs and DVDs)

Rosewill case is Mid ATX - with 1 120mm intake fan & 2 x 120mm Rear Exhaust, and plenty of room to upgrade.

it's almost exactly in my price range and is less then what i could find the parts for. Would this work?

 

[S0ULphIRE]

The gfx card in there isn't a great one, you won't be able to play higher-end games on max settings for sure. But on such a small budget for a gaming rig, you can't really do much better I guess

 

[bblack033]

The gfx card in there isn't a great one, you won't be able to play higher-end games on max settings for sure. But on such a small budget for a gaming rig, you can't really do much better I guess

I could always upgrade later i'm guessing? And if i do what card do you suggest?

Also what about added a 2nd gfx card?

 

[Muffin Man]

well, if you can reuse your case and cd drive, you could get these.
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - BIOSTAR A785G3 AM3 AMD 785G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - HIS H585FN1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
Newegg.com - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

totals $645 w/ free shipping (i know it's $55 more than the local shop build and very close to the max you'd like to spend, but it would definitely be worth it).

the 1055t is a nice cpu, but you have a somewhat limited budget. the build i listed with a x4 635 quad core along with a 5850 would walk all over that build you found at your local shop as far as gaming goes.

Also what about added a 2nd gfx card?

if you mean adding a second gfx card to that local shop build, you wouldn't be able to, well not with the gt 240 that it comes with.

the mobo they include does indeed have 2 slots for gfx cards, but it also has an amd chipset which means crossfire only (ati cards), no sli (nvidia cards).

 

[Sean W.]

you have to think that the place that offered you to build a computer is a business, you need to make money off your customers to stay in business, so the rig they offered to build you isnt as good as one you could build for your self, and do it cheaper. you gotta think that they are going to be putting some of your money into the pocket for building you a computer.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Yeah, don't buy pre-built or custom-built, build it yourself and save a good bit of cash. No matter what the situation, a pre-built or custom built PC will take some money for them putting it together (a.k.a taking the fun out of the new build).

For gaming, having a good graphics card is much, much more important than having a top-notch CPU. A quad core AMD should be more than enough for gaming (having the extra 2 cores really won't make a difference in games, only heavily multi-threaded apps like photo and video editing or multitasking). I'd go with the 5850, I have the 5870 (same series but more powerful) and it is a very nice graphics card, runs Crysis at full settings.

 

[bblack033]

awesome well thanks for the info guys i'll take it into account and start looking at some other build. As well as the one you listed Muffin Man. Looks pretty solid.


Thanks!

 

[bblack033]

well, if you can reuse your case and cd drive, you could get these.
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - BIOSTAR A785G3 AM3 AMD 785G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - HIS H585FN1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
Newegg.com - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

totals $645 w/ free shipping (i know it's $55 more than the local shop build and very close to the max you'd like to spend, but it would definitely be worth it).

the 1055t is a nice cpu, but you have a somewhat limited budget. the build i listed with a x4 635 quad core along with a 5850 would walk all over that build you found at your local shop as far as gaming goes.



if you mean adding a second gfx card to that local shop build, you wouldn't be able to, well not with the gt 240 that it comes with.

the mobo they include does indeed have 2 slots for gfx cards, but it also has an amd chipset which means crossfire only (ati cards), no sli (nvidia cards).

Do you know if that power supply i got will work with new cpu's/Mobo's ect?

it's about 3 years old paid around 100 for it then. Just don't know if anything has changed.

 

[Muffin Man]

it should work, but raidmax isn't exactly known for real good psus, that's why i went ahead and listed a better quality psu in my list.