Comments and Critiques please, 1st time builder

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Osanps

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Hello!

I am a first time builder and I am looking for advice from those with way more forgotten than Ill probably ever know on this stuff:grin: I am probably a hardcasual gamer, I dont get to play as much as like anymore, however when I do, I want to be able to thoroughly enjoy the game. (mostly mmorpgs)

I am looking at 2 Mobo and cpu combos to get me started:

1st Combo:
Mobo - Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU - Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

2nd Combo:
Mobo - Newegg.com - ASUS M4A88T-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU - Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision HDZ555WFGMBOX

The first combo I am leaning towards as I feel like it will give me more bang for the buck and I probably wouldnt have to upgrade for awhile. The second one because its a hair cheaper, the mobo has the core unlocker and the cpu has the possibility to unlock to a quad, thus saving me a few dollars to throw at a gpu and a few other upgrades later on.

I have no idea on what kind of PSU to go with, I kinda figure Id need at least a 600w one to support upgrades and a gpu later on. Im also not 100% sure on ram, although I am thinking of starting with a 8gb 2x4gb kit with corsair or g skill or an equivalent. I am not planning on OC'ing it ( outside of maybe a little tinkering just to see what its like, but i dont want to blow the thing up).

I will be using a couple of pieces from my dell 4600 (HDD, and cd/dvd/rw, maybe ethernet card but idk) This is why I chose boards with an IDE adapter until I can upgrade to a SATA HD.

2 questions to go along with this, will Windows XP still work on this setup until I can upgrade to 7. How should I go about ordering the components, I only get to order 1 piece per month unless I find an awesome combo deal. I am stressing over having a mobo and cpu sit around for 2 months only to finally get everything together and find out something was DOA. Im kind of leaning towards a PSU and RAM first and then doing the mobo and cpu last.

Thank yall so much and I apologize for this huge wall of text
 
The second is the smart choice. With not having to purchase a 750W PSU, we'll all save precious electricity in the long run, and you'll save money. I bought a similar setup myself and with 8 gigs or so of RAM and mild overclocking, who really needs a X4 955? I bought a Corsair CX430 to go with mine, but your priorities may differ. That's what makes this fun, after all.

RE: parts sitting around, the extended warranty is cheap insurance on the more expensive items. My opinion only.

Best wishes and have fun!
 
I was thinking that myself about the 2nd combo in the beginning and then discovered the first combo I posted. I know the Phenom II x 2 555 is not a guaranteed unlock, but figured it would be worth the chance. Even if it didnt, a little OC probably wouldnt kill it. Good point on the extended warranty also, I hadnt thought of doing that.

So Im guessing a solid 600w PSU (corsair,antec any solid brand) will be sufficient unless I find some massive gpu thats begging for all you can give it. ( which I know I wont have the budget for any of those so its no issue )

and as far as RAM goes, the corsair you mentioned, its good for small OC'ing ? Any other reccomendations on that aspect?
 
If you aren't scared of the possibility of the CPU not unlocking, then go for the Asus/555 combo.

Your PSU will need to be enough to feed whatever graphics card you decide on. 550W-600W is a good target for this. Just make sure you go with a solid PSU (check the PSU recommendation thread). The short list would be Antec, Corsair, FSP Group, Seasonic, some OCZ.

The mobo has built-in LAN so you won't need an ethernet card.
 
Thank you for the replies. Ive gotten a hair more freedom budget wise and think im going to go with something like this.

Mobo and CPU
AMD Vision Combo 2: AMD AM3 Phenom II X4 955 Quad Core CPU and ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 Socket AM3 ATX Motherboard-Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com

PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V EPS12V Computer Power Supply SLI CrossFire Ready Supports SATA and PCI-E. 80%+ Energy Efficiency -Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com

GPU Im not sure yet maybe:
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V EPS12V Computer Power Supply SLI CrossFire Ready Supports SATA and PCI-E. 80%+ Energy Efficiency -Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com
Sapphire 100315L Radeon HD6850 Graphics Card 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 Video Card CrossFire-X HDCP Ready Support DVI HDMI DisplayPort-Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com
EVGA 01G-P3-1452-TR GeForce GTS450 1GB 128bit GDDR5 PCIe Video Card Grapic Card 783MHz Core Clock 882MHz Memory Clock-Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com
EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX460 SE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card with 648MHz Core Clock and 3400MHz Memory Clock NVIDIA 3D Vision-Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com

RAM Ill go with some 8gb 2x4gb kit corsair,gskill,patriot one of those probably.

Any thoughts? Thanks again!
 
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