As of right now I'm thinking my budget is going to be around $800 excluding monitor/keyboard but I'm open to some suggestions (upgrading or downgrading). I am getting into some computer science classes so I'm doing some computer programming right now with visual basic 2008. I don't do much if any gaming. Here are some parts that I currently have picked out: CPU: CPU MOBO (1): mother board option 1 MOBO (2): motherboard option 2 Case (1): Case option 1 Case (2): Case option 2 Hard Drive: Hard Drive Power Supply: Power Supply That's all I have so far. I have no idea what no idea on what graphics card to get. Also not sure if I should get DDR3 or DDR2 RAM (what's the best value?). I think I'm going to start with 4gb of RAM and upgrade to 8gb later. Is a 650w power supply what I need for this or will I need more/less? Any help is appreciated and if I forgot anything that I will need please help me out. Thanks for any help.
I forgot to mention that I can get a free OS through the computer science department at school so I'll probably be using windows 7 professional (x64).
CPU: 5/10 - the 955 isn't a great CPU. If you must buy an AMD, get this instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103696 - miles more efficient, overclocks better, costs less, and performs almost identically to start with. However, for high-end systems I really recommend intel systems. Since you have $800 to spend, don't need a powerful graphics card since you don't game, and have a free OS, you actually have quite a sizeable budget to play with. The motherboards you chose are both excellent, but I would recommend the following instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145263 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128401 This is a seriously powerful combination with great energy efficiency and overclocking potential, for a reasonable price. The cases you've chosen are both fine - if you use the coolermaster you'll need to buy some extra fans for it. The HDD and PSU are fine, but the PSU is very overkill, you really only need this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 As far as a graphics card goes, something like this covers light gaming, HD video and the likes for very little power usage and cost: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102854
First all I really appreciate your help as I am not very good with this yet. I'm thinking of switching to an intel CPU now since they seem to be preferred by many. Would it be worth the extra money to get an i7 instead such as this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202. Or would I be better off sticking with the i5 and getting 8gb of RAM? I don't know if I will overclock or not because I don't know much about it but it may be something to try in the future. Do I need a CPU fan or is the one that comes with it fine? I like this combo deal of a case and HDD http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273732 but what extra fans would I all need for the case?
With core i7 CPUs like 920 comes the requirement to use an LGA1366 motherboard and triple channel memory, a lot of expense for very little gain. The only areas where a full-fat i7 will pay dividends are stuff like video editing. For games and multimedia, the i5 is actually a better CPU, even though it's cheaper. A pair of these are probably the best fans to pad the RC-690 out with (they go at the top) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=BESTMATCH&Description=140mm+aerocool&x=0&y=0 but obviously they're quite pricey. if you're not too fussed about low noise, then get a pair of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150099 They're powerful fans and nice and cheap.
