a question that probably gets asked far too often...

[Cantii]

Biostar is fine for lower end stuff, GTX 460 is faster than 5830. You don't want a mATX mobo, everything is cramped for space.

I have to disagree with this. Some mATX boards are very nicely laid out and provide an ample amount of breathing room for all the components. I built a friend's computer using the MSI 890GXM-G65 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-269-_-Product) with an HD 6850 and everything had some good breathing room. I would guess that some mATX boards are cramped, however the ones I've had experience with are not.

I guess it's all just preference, though.

[fadingintofall]

Could someone recommend a good mobo/cpu that can eventually be overclocked, that would be under 200 combined?

[chaud]

Once you put a dual slot video card in, you have access to what amounts to one extra port. Memory slots are even closer to the CPU than normal, making it harder to fit in a real heatsink.

[fadingintofall]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.613760

Everyy time I post I feel like I keep raising the price... but is that combo worth the amount extra it would cost?

[TanAxys]

Once you put a dual slot video card in, you have access to what amounts to one extra port. Memory slots are even closer to the CPU than normal, making it harder to fit in a real heatsink.

I can't argue with that at all, but I'm not sure what anyone else would put in any extra slot in their rig now-a-days. Sound cards are a waste. All decent board have all the peripheral support anyone could ask for. Maybe a wireless PCI card? and then what? 1 slot seems like more than enough, especially for a guy who's trying to build a rig for under $500.
As long as that MB has 4 memory slots, then losing 2 isn't a big deal. 16GB of ram really isn't in the cards for a cheap rig. you start with either 2x2gb, or 2x1gb if you're really strapped. If you catch the OC bug later, you get whatever cooler you want and upgrade to a 2x4gb set up if you really want to jump to 8gb.

what you're saying is absolutely true, but I'm not too sure the OP would care about those drawbacks.

---------- Post added 2011-03-16 at 08:08 PM ----------

again probably a day late and buck short but here's a pretty good deal

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.611154 MB, CPU, PSU, memory, and a case $320

reuse your HDD like you were thinking before, and add a GPU of choice to fit what ever budget you have now.

[fadingintofall]

Not too late.
Not a bad looking combo - how hard is it to unlock that processor to make it a quad core?

[chaud]

Usually just one BIOS option change. There is a chance you will be stuck with just 2 cores though.

The 500D is a Delta built model with mediocre ripple/noise.

[fadingintofall]

Okay! A last minute fairly significant line up change... any opinions would be appreciated.

The first four are a combo pack... I read all you guys said about a mATX mobo, but I'll be patient and hopefully make it work. Yes, I'd like to overclock eventually and that will make it hard to fit in a real heatsink when the time comes - but not impossible.

*AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
*GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
*Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
*G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model
*ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
*COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case
*MSI N460GTX Twin Frozr II SOC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5
*COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3

---------- Post added 2011-03-17 at 02:27 AM ----------

compare that to the one I posted at the bottom of page 1... which is running roughly 30 dollars cheaper..

---------- Post added 2011-03-17 at 02:31 AM ----------

*COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case
*AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX
*BIOSTAR TA870U3+ AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
*Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339
*MSI N460GTX Twin Frozr II SOC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
*LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support
*COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI
*Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

[TanAxys]

top rig looks a lot better, definately worth the $30

the only thing I'd recomend is a wider case. the one you posted is 7.5 inch. that could limit your options when selecting a CPU cooler later if you do decide to try OC.

if you're really set on Cooler Master brand, then spend an extra $10 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119233

[fadingintofall]

Aww but that case isn't as cool looking!
Thank you... I think I just might do that =)

Any cases you'd recommend over cooler master? I trust cooler master - I know they make a good product. But I'm open for suggestions.

[TanAxys]

there are other options out there that you might like better, it's just a matter of budget and brand loyalty.

I went with a case I had never heard of before http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811208037 8" wide, red LED fan, decent lines, pretty good air flow, and most importantly met my firm $50 or less budget

btw...

you're pretty much obligated to let us know how your new rig works for ya, once you get it up and running

[fadingintofall]

Oh you shall. I just hope I can assemble properly! =)

---------- Post added 2011-03-17 at 05:05 AM ----------

It is ordered.
Waiting for the pending transaction to be approved and I can sleep happily.

---------- Post added 2011-03-17 at 04:36 PM ----------

Received confirmation that everything is on the way =)

[fadingintofall]

Update yet again because I love it, and because I'm slightly curious...

All my parts shipped from the same area. They came in three basic bundles - the case, a case fan I ordered this morning, and everything else.

Both the case and everything else weigh about 20 lbs each. The fan weighs about one.

The case ships off LAST. Which is kind of odd since I received the email first... whatever. according to the tracker, it was the last one to head towards Buffalo. Yet the cases estimated arrival date is... later today (Friday, the 18th). Everything else is estimated for the 21st. Truthfully I expect none of it to arrive until the 21st... And I could understand the everything else package arriving later because there is more to it, it needs to be scanned again, etc. Whatever. It's more complex. But...
Why the fan? What is making that fan take so long? it's just a single, lonely fan?

I don't expect it all to arrive until next Monday, but I hope it all arrives today. That would be... kind of insane. =)

[fadingintofall]

Since someone asked and wanted some details on how it turned out..

Well, the parts arrived earlier today. Err, I suppose yesterday. Later yesterday. I was eagerly awaiting them - much as a kid eagerly awaits Santa Claus to come flying through the sky and squeezing down the chimney on Christmas Eve.

And finally - five minutes before dinner arrives - my PC arrives.

So I do what any self respecting gamer would do. I enjoy my pizza. Then I get to work.

Things don't go bad. I do wish I had found a comparable non-mATX for as good of a deal as I got this one at... but that is a very minor complaint. Truly. The only issues I had with it are... well, yeah it sucks that I don't have any more room for another card. But that is minor. And I'm pretty sure an ATX would have more then 1 slot for a fan. Well, two slots - but one is dedicated to the CPU. That one hardly counts.

The most annoying part of installation - by far - was screwing in the damn motherboard. Tiny screws in tiny holes obscured by diodes and doohickies and god knows what else? Yeah. Giant pain in the ass there.

But besides that - there was a slight panic that my GPU wouldn't fit. It did. I just tweaked. I do that sometimes.

Then Its all set up. The wires are kind of a mess but they are tied back and should not be in the way or near anything dangerous...

I text all my friends.
I turn on my victory music.
Pour myself a victory drink.
Plug in the PC.
and nothing. Nada. Squat. Jack diddly.

It does not power on. My Power LED light flashes for a second, then nothing. No whirs, whoops, swishes or beeps. (Although that does remind me I don't have the motherboard speaker plugged in.)

Well, I check over everything. And it holds me up for about 20 minutes. Then I unplug everything from the PSU except the mobo. Start it up. mobo runs fine (and quiet! My god so quiet)... and slowly add on everything else. I realized I had accidentally plugged in something wrong. Fixed that... PC booted up. Installed windows. Boom.

It went about a million times easier than I ever expected.

I wish I hadn't ordered a case fan though, as I currently have no way of powering it - is there a way I can get a cord like the other case fans have so I can plug it into the PSU? Can someone point me that way?

Thank you all for the help - by the way - in picking out the parts. This thing is a beast, and I love it... and it wouldn't be nearly this bad ass if it weren't for you guys. Thank you again.

[Augury]

Tri core AMD, mATX motherboard, 5670 or something gimp like that yes, but saving another $300 or so would make it much nicer and last much longer.

i paid 450 ~ and got a 6 core AMD, runs at around 19000+ but i dont even have it over clocked. got a decent motherboard and 4 GB of ram, used my old harddrive / dvd etc. great thing about PC is you can always just upgrade as long as you stay within one of the 2 major brands (intel / amd)

shop here if you're from aus http://www.umart.com.au/ its the best, dont know about other countries.

[Jurwi]

I wish I hadn't ordered a case fan though, as I currently have no way of powering it - is there a way I can get a cord like the other case fans have so I can plug it into the PSU? Can someone point me that way?

Didn't the fan come with an 3-pin -> molex adapter? Usually they do

[fadingintofall]

Not this case fan. The case fan came with... nothing. Not even instructions.