A few build questions.

[shocktopuslol]

Putting in my order in a few days and just want to see if there is anywhere i could improve,
here is what i am currently looking at buying.
http://i.imgur.com/tOZVQ.jpg
Would i be better of building it with an i3 2100 instead of what i'm currently looking at?
is 4GB enough ram?
Thanks in advance.

User received an infraction for this post; pictures are not allowed to be wider than 800px.

[Zkeya]

I think it's really expensive.
To answer your questions: 4GB RAM is enough for most games. i3 2100 is better than Phenoms for most games (and the i5 2500k is almost the best CPU for games, with i7 2600k being a little better and much more expensive). On top of that, 5850 is a somewhat old card and the HDD is absolutely OVERPRICED!

Gaming 750

MoBo: MSI P67S-C43 – $89.99 CPU: Intel i5 2500k – $219.99 RAM: G.Skill 1600MHz Ripjaws 2x2Gb – $29.99 GPU: MSI GTX 560 Ti – $244.99 HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500Gb – $54.99 PSU: XFX ProSeries 450W – $59.99 Case: CM Elite 430 – $39.99 Review Estimated Total Price – $740

Recommended for: Potent gaming build that will take care of almost all gaming needs; will exceed in most games but lacks the power to cope with really demanding titles at max settings.

Gaming 1000

MoBo: MSI P67A-G43 – $129.99 Review CPU: Intel i5 2500k – $219.99 RAM: G.Skill Sniper 1600MHz 2x4GB – $54.99 GPU: Gigabyte Radeon 6970 – $349.99 HDD: Samsung Spinpoint 1TB – $59.99 PSU: Corsair CX600 V2 – $69.99 Heatsink: CM Hyper 212+ – $27.99 Review Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 – $89.99 Review Estimated Total Price – $1003

Recommended for: Strong gaming build that will take care of most gaming needs. With a stronger PSU there is room for another GPU (SLI/CF).

A combination of the 2 above will probably fit in your budget. (if you choose to just buy the first one, BUY THE HEATSINK from the second setup so you can O/C)

[shocktopuslol]

the price is in NZ dollars not american dollars, and that is pretty average price in new zealand. (jelly of US prices)
is there any reason to use the phenom over the i3? will the phenom perform better than the i3 if it is overclocked or will the i3 always be better

[Zkeya]

the price is in NZ dollars not american dollars, and that is pretty average price in new zealand. (jelly of US prices)
is there any reason to use the phenom over the i3? will the phenom perform better than the i3 if it is overclocked or will the i3 always be better

I didn't check prices for everything, but the HDD is a complete rip off. Samsung's 1TB disk costs 76$ and you're getting an almost 7 times smaller disk for 3.5$ less.
Still getting this M/B with an i5 2500k seems a much better deal. There's a 6870 which costs 250$ and it's better than the 5850. Corsair CX500 or CX600 PSUs should be enough for that system, so you can save about 40-50$ for the CPU/Motherboard/GPU.

EDIT: just noticed I deleted the "I don't the exchange rates for NZ dollars" from my first post. Sorry for the confusion :S

[Deleted]

It's probably a result of the flooding in thailand, it flooded several HDD factorys, making them shut down and thus rising the market price because of short supply.

[Deleted]

I would definitely suggest getting the i3 2100; it is the budget gaming CPU as of today. Further, I honestly think you are putting too much of your budget on that case. I'd personally (considering what you are willing to get/pay for) suggest a cheaper case. Further, the PSU is complete overkill for that system; a good 430-450W would do just fine. I would also personally avoid such an outdated GPU and get something with a bit more power (GTX 460, R6850, R6870).

Take a look at this build, it should be around your budget (perhaps a bit more):

Budget Gaming 550

MoBo: ASRock H67M (B3) – $79.99 CPU: Intel i3 2100 – $124.99 RAM: G.Skill 1333MHz 2x2GB – $29.99 GPU: XFX Radeon 6870 – $169.99 HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500Gb – $54.99 PSU: Antec EarthWatts 430W – $44.99 Case: NZXT Gamma Classic – $35.99 Review Estimated Total Price – $541

Recommended for: Strong budget gaming build that can tackle most newer games. Enough if you only play World of Warcraft.

If you want to check out different cases, I'd suggest giving this thread a look: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...4-Case-Catalog
I'd personally go with the CM Elite 430 or the NZXT Gamma, as they are very price-worthy cases.

[shocktopuslol]

http://i.imgur.com/hqcpU.jpg
took advice here and came up with that, do i really need a 600 watt PSU to run that or will it do fine on a 500 watt.

[taekvideo]

http://i.imgur.com/hqcpU.jpg
took advice here and came up with that, do i really need a 600 watt PSU to run that or will it do fine on a 500 watt.

Looking good.
I'd recommend sticking with the 600w. 500w would run it but 600w leaves more room open for overclocking/upgrades.

[Zkeya]

I would add a heatsink, but you can buy that later. Not overclocking a 2500k is a waste!