Critique my build <$1000

[SupremeRuler]

Make any suggestions on how I can improve it. I have to keep it under $1000 and I'd like to be able to play most recent games on normal settings.



A179-1990 CA ::Acer V193W EJb 19" Class Widescreen LCD Monitor - 1440 x 900, 16:10, 50000:1 Dynamic, 5ms, 75Hz, VGA, Energy Star(9.35 lbs)
$99.99
Buy the Acer V193W EJb 19 Class Widescreen LCD Monitor at TigerDirect.ca


C44-3400 ::Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE(0.45 lbs)
$32.99
Buy the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE at TigerDirect.ca


C283-1221 ::Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid-Tower Black Case - 5 Exterior 5.25" Drive Bay, 1 Exposed 3.5" Drive Bay, 5 Interior 3.5" Drive Bay. "Supports Nvidia GTX 480"(22.9 lbs)
$87.99
Buy the Cooler Master Storm Scout ATX Mid-T Blk Case at TigerDirect.ca


ULT-LSP650 ::Ultra LSP650 650-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan, Lifetime Warranty w/ Registration(4.75 lbs)
$60.99
Buy the Ultra LSP650 650-Watt Power Supply at TigerDirect.ca


L12-1312 OEM ::Lite-On IHAS124-04 Internal DVD Writer - DVD+R 24X, DVD-R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD+R DL 8X, SATA (OEM)(0.3 lbs)
$17.99
Buy the Lite-On Internal 24X DVD Writer at TigerDirect.ca


TSD-1000AS7 ::Seagate ST1000DM003 Barracuda 1TB Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200RPM, 64MB, SATA 6Gb/s(0.1 lbs)
$99.97
Buy the Seagate Barracuda 1TB Hard Drive at TigerDirect.ca


C19-6177 ::Crucial Ballistix BLS2KIT4G3D1609DS1S0 Desktop Memory Kit - 8GB (2x 4GB), PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, 240-pin DIMM, 1.5V, CL9, Non-ECC, Unbuffered(0.3 lbs)
$44.97
Buy the Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600MHz Destop Memory Kit at TigerDirect.ca


E145-0552 ::EVGA 01G-P3-1557-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti SuperClocked Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Mini-HDMI, Dual DVI, DirectX 11 SLI Ready, (1.3 lbs)
$144.99
Buy the EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB GDDR5 at TigerDirect.ca


A79-1965 ::AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition AM3 CPU HDZ965FBGMBOX - 3.40GHz, Socket AM3, 6MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s) FSB, Retail, Processor with Fan(0.95 lbs)
$119.99
Buy the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Quad Core CPU at TigerDirect.ca


M17-7302 ::Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT Operating System Software - OEM DVD, English(0.5 lbs)
$99.99
Buy the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT - OEM DVD at TigerDirect.ca


A455-3067 ::ASUS M5A97 AMD 9 Series AM3+ Motherboard - ATX, Socket AM3+, AMD 970 Chipset, 2133MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, CrossFireX Ready(2.2 lbs)
$89.99
Buy the ASUS M5A97 AMD 970 Socket AM3+ Motherboard at TigerDirect.ca

 

[MrBrooks]

Motherboard
The motherboard is a great choice. Supports Phenom II and FX series CPU. The motherboard will last you a good 10 years I would say. The expansion slots are great: 4 DIMMs with up to 8GB supported per DIMM, a handful of USB ports, 2 PCI-Express ports. There's no on-board graphics but that doesn't matter as you've chosen the GTX550 Ti. Great value board.

Processor
Not much I can say expect it's the top end 4 core Phenom II. I used it in a previous build I did for someone and it's very quick and will last for a 10 year+. It's rare you see anything use all 4 cores.

Memory
Memory is very good for the price. 8GB is plentiful, games won't demand all 8GB.

Power Supply
650W is enough for a system of this degree. There's enough connectors for what you want and if you ever need more you can buy adapters and such. One thing I would recommend would be to go for a more well-known brand, so Corsair, OCZ, Thermaltake, etc.
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650
OCZ OCZ-ZS650W ZS Series Power Supply
Just some recommendations.

Graphics Card
Nothing bad to say about it really. Will run every game at maximum resolution fine. Stick another one in the future for SLI.

Hard Drive
Nothing bad I can say about it. Advantage is that it's got a SATA 6GB/sec interface so you can take advantage of the SATA ports on the motherboard to gain maximum efficiency and performance.

Case
Overall great case. Can't bash it really. I had to check the specs of it with the GPU to see if it would fit and it appears it does, as a 560Ti also fits and is a little bit longer.

Sound Card
Reviews make it out to be a great product. Personally I don't have a sound card, I don't feel the need for one. The motherboard already has 7.1Ch sound though so I'm confused as to why you would need to sound card. Unless you have a headset that requires a dedicated sound card.

Monitor
I have to say it's a no go on the monitor.
The faults are:
1440x900 - For gaming or graphics design, etc. it's not great. Either a 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 is needed for the best experience.
VGA - The display is VGA only. You have a graphics card that supports dual DVI and Mini-HDMI. Also building a machine like this is normally made for gaming or design work, and with a GPU that has those options needs a monitor that has those connections.
Highly recommend these two:
Philips 227E3LPHSU 22" Class Widescreen LED Backlit Monitor - 1080p, 1920 x 1080, 16:9, 20000000:1 Dynamic, 60Hz, 2ms, HDMI, DVI, VGA $124.99
Gateway FHX2201QV bmd 22" Class Widescreen LCD Monitor - 1920 x 1080, 16:9, 5000:1 Dynamic, 60Hz, 5ms, DVI $114.97

DVD Drive
It's fine, a DVD drive is a DVD drive, ya know?

Operating System
Good choice, wise going for 64Bit to take advantage of the RAM.

Overall good build, except the monitor.

 

[Slapshot136]

I agree with Mr.Brooks, get a higher/standard resolution display, and a better-known PSU make

I would probably go with a SSD and a separate storage drive (price are unreasonable high)

 

[SupremeRuler]

Thanks for the great reply.
I wasn't sure or not if I needed a sound card but if the motherboard can do it adequately, then I'll save myself $30.
As for the monitor, I'd like to keep it 17-20" in size and couldn't find any with a good resolution at that size (which is strange since my laptop is 15.4" w/ 1680x1050 resolution). Is 1440x900 really that bad?

Motherboard
The motherboard is a great choice. Supports Phenom II and FX series CPU. The motherboard will last you a good 10 years I would say. The expansion slots are great: 4 DIMMs with up to 8GB supported per DIMM, a handful of USB ports, 2 PCI-Express ports. There's no on-board graphics but that doesn't matter as you've chosen the GTX550 Ti. Great value board.

Processor
Not much I can say expect it's the top end 4 core Phenom II. I used it in a previous build I did for someone and it's very quick and will last for a 10 year+. It's rare you see anything use all 4 cores.

Memory
Memory is very good for the price. 8GB is plentiful, games won't demand all 8GB.

Power Supply
650W is enough for a system of this degree. There's enough connectors for what you want and if you ever need more you can buy adapters and such. One thing I would recommend would be to go for a more well-known brand, so Corsair, OCZ, Thermaltake, etc.
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX650
OCZ OCZ-ZS650W ZS Series Power Supply
Just some recommendations.

Graphics Card
Nothing bad to say about it really. Will run every game at maximum resolution fine. Stick another one in the future for SLI.

Hard Drive
Nothing bad I can say about it. Advantage is that it's got a SATA 6GB/sec interface so you can take advantage of the SATA ports on the motherboard to gain maximum efficiency and performance.

Case
Overall great case. Can't bash it really. I had to check the specs of it with the GPU to see if it would fit and it appears it does, as a 560Ti also fits and is a little bit longer.

Sound Card
Reviews make it out to be a great product. Personally I don't have a sound card, I don't feel the need for one. The motherboard already has 7.1Ch sound though so I'm confused as to why you would need to sound card. Unless you have a headset that requires a dedicated sound card.

Monitor
I have to say it's a no go on the monitor.
The faults are:
1440x900 - For gaming or graphics design, etc. it's not great. Either a 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 is needed for the best experience.
VGA - The display is VGA only. You have a graphics card that supports dual DVI and Mini-HDMI. Also building a machine like this is normally made for gaming or design work, and with a GPU that has those options needs a monitor that has those connections.
Highly recommend these two:
Philips 227E3LPHSU 22" Class Widescreen LED Backlit Monitor - 1080p, 1920 x 1080, 16:9, 20000000:1 Dynamic, 60Hz, 2ms, HDMI, DVI, VGA $124.99
Gateway FHX2201QV bmd 22" Class Widescreen LCD Monitor - 1920 x 1080, 16:9, 5000:1 Dynamic, 60Hz, 5ms, DVI $114.97

DVD Drive
It's fine, a DVD drive is a DVD drive, ya know?

Operating System
Good choice, wise going for 64Bit to take advantage of the RAM.

Overall good build, except the monitor.

 

[MrBrooks]

Thanks for the great reply.
I wasn't sure or not if I needed a sound card but if the motherboard can do it adequately, then I'll save myself $30.
As for the monitor, I'd like to keep it 17-20" in size and couldn't find any with a good resolution at that size (which is strange since my laptop is 15.4" w/ 1680x1050 resolution). Is 1440x900 really that bad?

Always check the specifications of products before final purchase. You may end up buying something you won't need or isn't compatible. Your motherboard will support 7.1ch sound.

1440x900 is one up from the average laptop resolution. If you are going to play games and such, which I assume you are with a build like this, then you definitely need a high resolution monitor. The monitor won't suffice due to the card being DVI and Mini HDMI. The monitor is VGA. The resolution will be sloppy and you won't be taking full advantage of the monitor. You may as well spend the $30 you saved from the sound card to get the monitor that's full 1080p HD and is 22". Gaming on a 17" isn't ideal and neither is graphics design as you require more pixels per inch. Anything up to 28" is great for gaming on. I highly recommend you spend that $30 extra for the monitor as you will be more pleased with it than the square VGA monitor, which is essentially garbage.

Conclusion: The monitor is bad in the ways that I pointed out. You'll thank me in the future for getting the better monitor, haha.

 

[SupremeRuler]

Well, in the end, I decided not to buy a monitor since I already have a 24" one w/ 1920x1200 resolution I bought to use for when I play PC games that can be played with a controller effectively. + W/ taxes it came to over $1000 if I did get a monitor.

Also had terrible customer service from tigerdirect.ca. Almost wanted to cancel my order and order with newegg.

Always check the specifications of products before final purchase. You may end up buying something you won't need or isn't compatible. Your motherboard will support 7.1ch sound.

1440x900 is one up from the average laptop resolution. If you are going to play games and such, which I assume you are with a build like this, then you definitely need a high resolution monitor. The monitor won't suffice due to the card being DVI and Mini HDMI. The monitor is VGA. The resolution will be sloppy and you won't be taking full advantage of the monitor. You may as well spend the $30 you saved from the sound card to get the monitor that's full 1080p HD and is 22". Gaming on a 17" isn't ideal and neither is graphics design as you require more pixels per inch. Anything up to 28" is great for gaming on. I highly recommend you spend that $30 extra for the monitor as you will be more pleased with it than the square VGA monitor, which is essentially garbage.

Conclusion: The monitor is bad in the ways that I pointed out. You'll thank me in the future for getting the better monitor, haha.