Okay. I wanna build a computer for my little brother and the parts including the OS totaled to about 600 USD. I want your opinions if I could somehow cut down the cost while keeping performance the same or increasing it.

LIST:
AMD Phenom II 965 Black editions AM3 socket - $135
ADATA 8Gig (2x4 gig) DDR3 RAM 1333Mhz - $50
Corsair Enthusiast 650W - $95
Galaxy GeForce GT 430 (is it good or can i do better? still unfamiliar with GPU's) - $70
ASUS mobo AM3 socket Integ radeon 3000 graphix Up to 16 gig RAM dual channel - $63
Samsung 1tb 7200 RPM HDD - $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageGallery.aspx?CurImage=11-103-014-17.jpg&Image=11-103-014-17.jpg%2c11-103-014-18.jpg%2c11-103-014-19.jpg%2c11-103-014-20.jpg%2c11-103-014-32.jpg%2c11-103-014-21.jpg%2c11-103-014-22.jpg%2c11-103-014-23.jpg%2c11-103-014-24.jpg%2c11-103-014-25.jpg%2c11-103-014-31.jpg%2c11-103-014-26.jpg%2c11-103-014-27.jpg%2c11-103-014-28.jpg%2c11-103-014-29.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&WaterMark=1&Item=N82E16811103014&Depa=0&Description=XCLIO%20A380PLUS-BK%20Fully%20Black%201.0mm%20SECC%2f%20ABS%20ATX%20Full%20Tower%20Computer%20Case - $75

Tell me: is the GPU worth it, or should I get a new one? He will be using it mainly for playing flash games online and the occasional downloaded game. If I left anything important out that you need to know,tell me.

Get rid of the 8 GB of RAM. Go for 2x2 to get 4GB. 8 GB is way to much for most users and you should not use it for a low budget build.

650 W seems a bit much to me, especially with your current components. Consider dropping it and saving some money on the PSU

The GT 430 will be fine assuming he doesn't intend to play games, it's meant as an HTPC card.

I wouldn't spend $75 on a case for a ~$600 build, look in the $50 range.

If it's strictly for flash games and such then you could do with a cheaper CPU, and 4GB of RAM would be plenty. To be honest, I've been out of the loop on hardware for a while now, but something like the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103896 should get the job done just fine.

I wanted to future-proof the computer. i needs to last him a LONG tme as my mom says "a computer should not be tampered with and last you 5 years" when I got a dell as my first computer, that thing did not last me 3 before I moved on to a laptop with integrated grapcics and a core duo. I am going to be leaving in 2 years so i will not be around to upgrade it.

If all he does is play flash games and word processing you won't have to upgrade it. Do you mean the Dell broke? This is less likely to break because it is built with better quality components. I would be *very* surprised if in 5 years the average user will need 8 GB of RAM. The 650 W is especially overkill if you don't plan to upgrade it.

He may start playing more than just flash games. you never know. alot can happen in 5 years. I wanted someting that is halfway cheap, but it still will be able to hold it's own after awhile. My first computer was a dell with 128 MB of RAM with integrated graphics and an old pentium 4 that did not even support hyperthreading and had i think it was a 60 GB HDD. I want My brother to have something nice. that is why I am going all out.

I don't see a problem with going "all out" but you are putting money where you shouldn't be and leaving things behind that should be upgraded. Look in the tech thread, people with more expensive builds than your brother are getting 4 GB of RAM, what does that tell you? As it stands you are wasting money in the build in your OP.

I'd also get this card over the GT 430:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102930
It comes out to $54.99 after MIR.

okay. thanks on that note. I can be a bit thickheaded at times and i appreciate that.

I'm keeping the case...

It's not worth it but it's your money to waste. :shrug:

Can you link to your other components I want to look at them but don't feel like searching through Newegg to find them.

EDIT: I just made this and I think it's a bit better than your build, you can be the judge of that though. Also double check to make sure everything works, I haven't built a PC for someone for a while.

MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130290
APPHIRE 100289VGAL Radeon HD 5670 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102930
SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
+The case you wanted, + HDD
=~$620
*You could save $25 by switching it to a better case.

This is what I settled on for now. I will check out the build you suggested me in a bit.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103903
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148418
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153139
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131672
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145368
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103014
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136228

EDIT: that CPU is the same I started with...

I wouldn't go for the Hitachi HD there and would probably spend about $30 more for the Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB drive. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 You don't want to go for the caviar green since i've heard they can be quite the PITA to deal with. However other than that it looks like everything is golden unless you want to go for 6 gigs instead of 4, but 4 should suffice. Most games I see want 1 gig min about 4 gigs max and 4 should do plenty.

Best thing about building the machine yourself is that it is already future proof where you can upgrade it yourself. If you bought it from dell you would be screwed since some of those computers can't be upgraded. Already considering buying a 2nd 1TB HD myself since i'm already near filling up my 1TB drive atm.

decided to try a different case. went with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

I have a 1TB Caviar Black in one machine and a Samsung F3 1TB in another. I like the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185 a lot better, to be honest. It's faster, quieter, and runs cooler.

The processor isn't a bad choice as long as you don't mind taking the hit on performance and giving up 2 cores. Also keep in mind that (supposedly) Ivy Bridge is going to make quad-core mainstream.

I would go with the PSU I linked to over yours.

Also be aware that Bulldozer is coming out in a few months and that's going to mess with prices a bit. I believe AM3+ is backwards compatible so if you are looking to future proof it wouldn't hurt.

Glad to see you finally came around with the case though.

Deacon, I checked the PSU, and I like it, so that one is going in my case, and with the samsung hard drive that softenerd says is good as the caviar black is out of my budget. I will take pictures and will most likely put into a video or on another computer forum. When I have it in order, I will post the link to whatever it is in the community tech thread.

Are you saying that you are going to put the Thermaltake into your build or the Seasonic? Seasonic is a much better brand.

seasonic

Excellent choice good sir.

My Caviar Black is very reliable and it's probably kept cool due to me having that http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133056 series with the fan cooling for the HD. Only thing that even makes a sound in my computer is the CPU fan which revs up every now and again.

The Caviar Black 1TB is a great drive. I'm just making a comparison based on my experiences with both drives. The Caviar Black has a longer warranty period. The Samsung F3 performs a bit better and tends to stay cooler and quieter (judging this by running them in an identical environment outside of a case in a USB "toaster"). They're both excellent drives.

This what I would do with $600...

CASE+CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.679951
MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131734
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104221
HDD: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=HD-HD103SJ&title=Samsung-SpinPoint-F3-HD103SJ-1TB-SATA2-7200rpm-32MB-Hard-Drive
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371047
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102940
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

That's around the $600 mark.

Might be able to unlock the 4th core on the X3 450 utilizing the Core Unlocker feature of the board. The board is prepped for AM3+ CPUs too for the future.

The Antec PSU is basically a rebadged Seasonic S12 520W...just cheaper.

This is a better build than both of ours. ALL HAIL.

EDIT: If you still haven't bought it grab Win7 Home premium 64 bit for $80 with the code you get in the emails.