Windows 7: Help on an Intel $800-$900 budget build

Hi all,
I am planning to build a general-purpose PC with a budget around $850AUD, but I could go over if necessary. It will be used for programming, a bit of gaming, schoolwork and Internet. I will choose Intel.

Parts so far:
CPU - 2500k - $218.00
Motherboard - Asrock Z68-Extreme 4 LGA1155 - $166.00
RAM - 4096Mb Kingston (times 2) - $48.00
Graph. - Sapphire 7770 - $159.00
HDD 2TB WD Caviar Green - $119.00
Power - 600W CoolerMaster Silent Pro - $125.00
Case - CoolerMaster Elite 371 - $59.00
ODD - Samsung DVD Writer - $16.00
TOTAL: $910.00

All costs from my local computer store. Gives you an idea of what prices will be like here in Australia.

What do you guys think? Open for suggestions. At the moment, I am slightly over budget, so what could I do to get it closer to $850, but with equal or as close to current performance as possible?

One major priority is for it to be easily upgradable in the future.

Thanks in advance,

ratman

Can you post the link to the web site of your source for these parts--or maybe a couple of other sites--so we can get an idea of your available choices?

Do you have overclocking intentions?

If you cannot post a web site, what are your brand choices for case, motherboard, and power supply?

Most would tell you to lean away from WD Green in favor of WD Black or Blue for a single hard drive system. Is 2 GB a necessity?

These are a few of my local stores:
PC Case Gear
NetPlus Micro Computers
Welcome to PLE Computers Online

I don't really care about a particular case, but I want a closed-in one, not like an Antec Skeleton.

2TB is not a necessity, but at least 500GB.

The only reason I chose green was because it was a good price for 2TB.

I don't intend to overclock, so we don't need the 2500K, maybe something cheaper. But I still would like something close to the same power as the 2500k. Could go for the 2500.

Thanks,

ratman

From Netplus:

CPU: Intel 2500: 203; saves 15
Hard Drive: WD 1 TB blue; 109; saves 10
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V Gen3 Z68 LGA1155; 139 or Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 Z68 MB; 128; saves 27 to 38

Total savings 52 to 63; rest of components unchanged

That Asrock board you chose may have some particular features that the Asus and Gigabyte I chose do not. I did not check all features.

The WD Blue is faster and cheaper than the WD green you chose; I have no idea if it has enough capacity for you.

You could easily drop down to a 500 watt power supply from a better manufacturer than Coolermaster, but the choices at Netplus are limited.

This would do fine and is made by Seasonic, a premier manufacturer:

http://www.ple.com.au/ViewItem.aspx?...CategoryID=318

75 plus shipping

Thanks for the help so far. Those changes are good, thanks.

For the graphics card, which particular brand do you think is a good one. In the past I have chosen Sapphire, but I have not had any experience with other brands (Gigabyte, Asus, XFX, etc). Is there a better brand to choose from?

I'm no authority on graphics cards.

I have used Sapphire in the past with no problems. The other brands you mention are known to make quality components generally and as far as I know their graphics cards are OK.

But I'd concentrate on the particular video chip you have in mind. Most likely, several reputable manufacturer's assemble video cards with your chosen chip. The assembled video cards may differ in some respects even though they have identical chips and may have different build quality. I can't really help you on that.

I'd try to find reviews of any particular card model I had in mind. Of course, you can have bad luck with any chosen brand or card model--DOA or whatever.

I like XFX or eVGA video cards myself as both companies have outstanding warranties. I almost always buy Nvidia cards myself (I prefer their drivers), so it's almost always eVGA for me.