Hi! I'm going to build my own desktop and I was curious to whether this was a good set up? Also, is the price reasonable? I'll be using this for some gaming but mostly video/photo editing (Adobe CS5). Motherboard: MSI - P55M-GD41 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $99.99 CPU: Intel Core i7-860 - Lynnfield - 2.8GHz Quad-Core $279.99 Alternative CPU (If I don't need the i7): Intel Core i5-750 - Lynnfield - 2.66GHz Quad-Core $199.99 PSU: FSP Group FSP300-60GHS-R 300W Micro ATX 80 PLUS $44.99 RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $109.99 Video Card: Galaxy 24GGS8HX2PUX GeForce GT 240 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready $74.99 HDD: * OS & Apps: Western Digital - 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" $37.99 * Files: Western Digital - 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" $89.99 DVD/CD Drive: PLEXTOR 22X DVD/CD Writer Black IDE Model PX-870A -26 LightScribe Support $54.99 Case: Thermaltake LANBOX Lite VF6000BWS Black SECC Japanese steel Gaming Cube $78.49 OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full $179.99 Total: $1221.39 (w/i7) Total: $1141.39 (w/i5) Does this sound priced right? Also, is it more than I probably need?
I would go with a nice gigabit mainboard and the i7. Change ram and PSU to corsair, spend the $4 more to get a 160GB boot drive, and either get a bluray drive, or get a Pioneer or LG drive for half the price of that plextor. Also change the case to something that won't get so hot.
That's a microATX PSU, apart from it being pretty low on wattage, it won't fit in a normal case, it's designed for compact systems. Replace it with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 The graphics card you've used is relatively basic, it's more for simple games, not smooth performance on graphically demanding modern titles. You would be wise to consider upgrading to something like an HD5770 if you want better gaming performance for a reasonable price.
