Building my first desktop (for StarCraft II) -- $600 CA budget

[Crazej]

Hey guys, this is going to be my first ever attempt at building a computer so any advice or feedback is greatly appreciated. My budget is 600$ CA. Ideally I would like to be able to run Starcraft II along with other multimedia software such as the Adobe Suite with ease.

I quickly browsed TigerDirect last night and here are the parts Ive chosen. I could use some of your help and expertise on whether I should replace anything Ive picked out. Here goes:

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 BX80623I32100 Processor - Dual Core, 3MB L3 Smart Cache, 3.10 GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Retail

Motherboard: MSI H61M-P23 B3 Intel H61 Motherboard - Micro ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel H61 Express, 1333MHz DDR3, SATA 3.0 Gb/s, 8-CH Audio, Intel HD Graphics, Gigabit LAN

Graphics: E145-0550 ::EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Mini-HDMI, Dual DVI, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, SLI Ready. Includes Digital Creativity Suite Bundle w/Registration

Memory: PNY MD4096KD3-1600-X8 XLR8 Dual Channel 4096MB PC12800 DDR3 Memory - 1600MHz, 8-8-8-24, Non-ECC, Unbuffered, 2x2048MB

Power Supply: Thermaltake W0379RU TR2 Series Power Supply - 500 Watts, ATX

Hard Drive: Seagate ST3500418AS Barracuda 7200.12 Hard Drive - 3.5", 7200 RPM, SATA 3G, 500GB, 16MB Cache (OEM)

Case: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case - ATX, Micro ATX, 120mm LED Fan, 4x 5.25 Bays, 5x 3.5 Bays

CD/DVD: Lite-On IHAS124-04 Internal DVD Writer - DVD+R 24X, DVD-R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD+R DL 8X, SATA (OEM)

The total comes down to 603$ without tax or shipping which I'll end up covering.

Thank you for your time and support.

Edit: I tried to post links but unfortunately I'm unable to with lower than 5 posts.

 

[Crazej]

Ive made a few changes.. I'll bold and underline them.


CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 BX80623I32100 Processor - Dual Core, 3MB L3 Smart Cache, 3.10 GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Retail

Motherboard: ASUS P8H61-M LE CSM REV3 Intel 6 Series Motherboard - Micro ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel H61 Express, DDR3 1333MHz, SATA 3.0 Gb/s, 8-Channel Audio, Gigabit LAN

Graphics: E145-0550 ::EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Mini-HDMI, Dual DVI, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, SLI Ready. Includes Digital Creativity Suite Bundle w/Registration

Memory: Corsair CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 XMS3 4GB DDR3 RAM - PC10666, 1333MHz, 4096MB

Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU-600CX Builder Series CX600 Power Suppy - ATX, 600 Watt, 120mm Ultra-Quiet Fan, Single +12V Rail

Hard Drive: Western Digital WD5000AAKS Caviar Blue Hard Drive - 500GB, 7200rpm, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM

Case: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case - ATX, Micro ATX, 120mm LED Fan, 4x 5.25 Bays, 5x 3.5 Bays

CD/DVD: Lite-On IHAS124-04 Internal DVD Writer - DVD+R 24X, DVD-R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD+R DL 8X, SATA (OEM)

 

[MrBlkfx1]

It looks good too me, should be a pretty solid system.

 

[Tank]

Be careful.

I started to build my "budget" system just a few days ago. I swore I would not go over $700, by the time I ordered it last night, my shopping cart finished out at $1.502.

 

[Crazej]

Here is my new list. I managed to price match everything lower, and ended up with $600 on the dot. The total before the price match would have been $645 so I saved a nice $45. Total for everything now including tax + shipping will be $657.81 and I'm satisfied with that. That being said, here is hopefully my final list.

CPU: Intel Core i3 2100 Dual Core Hyperthreading Processor LGA1155 3.1GHZ Sandy Bridge 3MB

Motherboard: ASUS P8H61-M LE/CSM H61 DDR3 LGA1155 mATX PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 PCI VGA DVI B3 Motherboard

Graphic Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI DisplayPort HDMI PCI-E Video Card

Memory: G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ PC3-10666 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9-24 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit

Power Supply: Seasonic S12II 620W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 80+ Bronze 6+8PIN PCI-E W/ 120MM Fan

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 16MB Cache 7200RPM 3.5IN SATA Internal Hard Drive OEM

Case: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition ATX Mid Tower Case Black 4X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT Front USB Audio No PSU

CD/DVD: ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black

Should I go for it? Any objections?

 

[MrBlkfx1]

Looks fine, Ive never heard about Seasonic PSU's but that one should do fine. I found that one on Newegg.com for about 89.99$$ if were u id go with this PSU for that very same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...SAIR_Enthusiast_Series-_-17-139-005-_-Product

But either way, you look ready to go. Have fun building.

 

[nfiniti9]

Seriously if you can save another $100 for the video card and get a 6950 or 560ti. I promise you will not regret it. Give me a few minutes and I'll give you a nice setup to check out. Honestly you are pretty solid overall though.

Oh and seasonic make top-notch power supplies.

from the egg

Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM

COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

XFX HD-695X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBSR

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 AMD Motherboard

CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

like 655 total.

or for $70 more you could go back to 4GB of ram and go with this mb/cpu combo.

ty. Product Description Savings Total Price


Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400

GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


this setup with the 6950 would be definitely alot faster than the first one you submitted for 120 more. the performance kinda drops alot below the sweet spot for cpu and gpu. you would have your settings maxed with this setup vs prob having to set a bit lower on the 2100 setup (no or 2x aa, low ani etc)

 

[MrBlkfx1]

this setup with the 6950 would be definitely alot faster than the first one

Yes defiantly, I can vouch fore the 6950's performance. I'm currently running on in my gaming build and its taken on all my games on max settings with ease. If you can find it in your budget to grab one, DO IT! :]

 

[klepto12]

seasonic makes great psu they make psu for corsair and xfx.