CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145315
$95 -> $75 after rebate

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147153
$55

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB
L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103727
$160

MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit
GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127565
$250

BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813138179
$60

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139005
$90 -> $80 after rebate

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X 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 CD/DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827106289
$17

$727 before tax/rebate.

8 gigs ram
GeForce GTX 560 Ti
3.4 GHz quad core

Calculated power requirement of 650W with 3 7200 RPM hard drives.

What do you think of this setup? I have a fresh 1TB hard drive ready to go, so I wouldn't need to get that, and I think we have a monitor/keyboard/mouse I can use for it.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I've been told I'd probably need to look closer at cooling, as the 4 case fans might not cut it for my setup, but I'm new to all this, so I'd appreciate more insight.

your computer case link is the corsair memory link

but from the way it sounds, if your case has 4 fans and you don't plan on overclocking that case will work just fine

the two main concerns for temperature are cpu and gpu but with that gpu which has 2 fans (like my gtx460 1gb) it should cool itself down enough that even in a poorly ventilated case you wont have problems

as for the cpu, i have the exact same cpu as you would get and trust me it's an awesome cpu. i have it at 4.07ghz right now on air with a zalman 9500a (i would suggest a better cpu cooler if you plan on overclocking that high, i hear the corsair h50 works good)

i have a cheap $55 computer case though (coolermaster elite 334 nvidia edition) and it only has 2 120mm case fans which work well enough to keep the overall computer from overheating.

you only really need a 550w even if you plan on adding 3 7200rpm hdd's as i have 2 7200 rpm hdd's, a gtx 460 which is overclocked, and an overclocked 965BE with only a 500w psu.


http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp if you want to find out the exact psu requirements

i made a custom pc once it was small and for some reason always blew out a white/blue flame at the top[the top of it had no cover it was solar powered solar power cost 3000 or more nowadays. the flame puffed.] and the usb ports and monitor ports were on back. the problem was it set on fire once when i plugged in my usb pc controller[idk why.] im making a new one but its a beta ill take pics of it when its done the outside is almost done. its small, but video card is not all that good it can run cod black ops at full speed and wii emulator at full speed. the video card cannot run firefox themes, toribash shaders, and for some reason the connected monitor keeps flickering black every 6 hours.

I think your harddrive will surely hold your system back in practical use.

I noticed the i7 series outperformed the AMD Phenom II chips by a pretty wide margin, it will add a couple hundred onto the pricetag though, with a different board for the i7. It'll end up taking less power though, which is pretty neat.

GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128425
$129

Intel Core i7 2600 LGA 1155
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0354588
$279

I'd probably stick with the 2600 over the 2600K, as I'm not very interested in overclocking.

Those replacements would bring my total to $915 from $727.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

According to PassMark benchmark tests, the i7 outperforms the AMD Phenom by more than double, so I suppose that might be worth upgrading for, but I don't really understand the significance of these benchmark tests and what it'll mean for performance in gaming/3D rendering, etc.

BUT, after looking at this , I realized that the motherboard I was looking at was for the 1156 series, not the 1155, and that I won't be able to USE a 1155 until the end of this month. Damn you Intel.

Man, I wish i coulda gotten these parts for these prices a year ago :P

If you are gonna be doing just gaming, the extra cpu power probably would go unnoticed in most games, but since you are doing rendering, I definitely think that you'd do well to upgrade to the i7.

after looking at your specs, my pc feels outdated again

Dude is it DDR3 or DDR2?
If DDR3 I have something in mind :P

i believe this link will give you your answer souldevilj

also i agree with DarkJak gaming doesn't see much benefit from the more expensive intel cpu's but rendering would.

makes more sense going with intel from that standpoint.

i still suggest a 500 - 550w power supply for the system though as anything higher would be overkill.

I was talking with my friend, and he said at the level of the graphics card I'd be going with, I'd be fine with the AMD chip, so I might go ahead and go with the cheaper non-Intel setup unless I see anything new on the 1155 motherboard/chipset front.

Oh yeah, this should have been posted but I forgot.