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Question: new computer build ... thoughts?

Well..
I recon if you dont do much multi-threaded processing, then for the time being an X6 is an overkill PhenomII X4 955 BE or 965 BE. (I have 955, works perfect)
- 48 $

Also.. Might wanna look into Radeon 5870 ( or 5850) versus 460 fermi. Might cut you some costs and increase perf.
Edit. oops: the 58xx series are expensive :p
but still
XFX HD-585X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
279.99
+50$

(460 vs 5850 link)

Edit2: 2x 460 OC SLI beats 2x 5850 XF... so... i really dont know :D

Also.. 250 GB HD? Are you only playing EU and making random excel sheets?

I now bumped up your budget by 2$.

Cheers :)
 
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first thanks for a good review.

the only reason i put a x6 was that its a combo deal. its processor, ram, case, and power supply, and motherboard with a Combo Discount of $52.97.

when it comes to video i guess some would say im a snob. i say im brand loyal. the first 3d accelerator i bought was a 3DFX Voodoo 3, since Nvidia bought them up i now buy Nvidia cards and have never been let down. i have friends that have bought ATI and had nothing but problems. i understand this poses a new WTF since i am also loyal to AMD processors hence the x6. isnt loyalty a pain, but oh so hard to break.

from my understanding the x6 pairs very well with the 460

some proof here LINK
look at the crysis marks to keep it relevant.


as for the HDD, i have an external i keep the movies/pics/pron/storage on so upping from a 30Gb IDE drive to a 250Gb SATA will be amazing.


CPU vs GPU chart

 
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Eron² said:
first thanks for a good review.

the only reason i put a x6 was that its a combo deal. its processor, ram, case, and power supply, and motherboard with a Combo Discount of $52.97.

when it comes to video i guess some would say im a snob. i say im brand loyal. the first 3d accelerator i bought was a 3DFX Voodoo 3, since Nvidia bought them up i now buy Nvidia cards and have never been let down. i have friends that have bought ATI and had nothing but problems. i understand this poses a new WTF since i am also loyal to AMD processors hence the x6. isnt loyalty a pain, but oh so hard to break.

from my understanding the x6 pairs very well with the 460

some proof here LINK
look at the crysis marks to keep it relevant.


as for the HDD, i have an external i keep the movies/pics/pron/storage on so upping from a 30Gb IDE drive to a 250Gb SATA will be amazing.


CPU vs GPU chart

Click to expand...

Your gfx says it all really.. What I have been saying since the announcement of cry2.
The CPU you buy doesn't matter much.. the GFX card makes all the difference
From your benchmark the cheapest CPU and the most expensive lead to a difference in framerate of 2 fps.
My advice: get the cheapest CPU and use the money you save on the fastest GPU. Cry2 is very much GPU dependant.
 
Is this a gaming computer, I could make some builds for ya.
 
Id be leary of only a 650 watt power supply. If you plan on any OC at all on either the vid card OR the proc and mem Id go minimum 750 or 850 watts.

I went caviar blue in my system and thats the weak link when benchmarking..if you got 6gps Id go with a smaller and faster drive and use yer old one as a storage drive.

Oh yea and what ya gonna do for cooling?
 
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for 900 you wont get any badass comp. You will get a decent gaming comp though :) Badass would be atleast $2000ish.
 
if your budget allows it, add another $300USD and get a laptop instead, since whole your last computer tells that you have not upgraded your computer in 7years, tells to me that your need for a stationary PC is easily replaced by a laptop.

Only bad thing is it cost a little more.

To get a laptop to play most up to date games you need to pay around $1200USD,.
 
Well, this is what I came up with, with the money you save get a better CPU (if you want) or a better monitor, or whatever.

$17.99 - LG 22X DVD Burner
$69.99 - COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN3 CM690 II Basic Black Steel
$54.99 - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB
$129.99 - Hanns·G HZ201HPB Black 20" 5ms HDMI
$229.99 - ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 460
$84.99 - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI
$84.99 - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$173.99 - COMBO:
· ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
· AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad
Subtotal: $846.92


Much better hardware than the combo you had, and cheaper.

Link to the wishlist (no combo)
 
Legion said:
for 900 you wont get any badass comp. You will get a decent gaming comp though :) Badass would be atleast $2000ish.
Click to expand...

Throwing numbers?

With US prices a badass comp for gaming can be built with 1300-1500$ easy. Everything above it is an overkill unless you're a badass benchmarker.

.........

And Angels setup is good. If your budget allows though, I would invest in a better PSU: 750-800W should be good for upgrades but i may be off a bit since i'm not too familiar with nvidia GPU powerneeds. Nevertheless I'd suggest to invest more in base components so, with the christmas bonus, you could upgrade your other components at ease.

When it comes to nvidia vs ati (soon to be known as amd radeon) - they are luckily throwing equal punches now. Looks like Nvidia has taken the lead for the moment, but amd is soon to come out with its 6k series cards, which, by rumors should be on top of the fermi family. Fermi on the other hand looks like it cant take much more out of the current structure (heat) and I havent heard any rumors of a new family coming out. I know that for the moment this is all pointless, cause its the future, but maybe what I'm trying to say is that it pays to keep an eye out on such stuff when choosing a mobo.

I guess it all comes down to whether you wanna buy a computer now and a new one in a few years or if you are going to upgrade it inbetween.
 
For an extra 300 bucks add two 64 GB ssd drives in Raid 0 for your OS drive and use the SATA drive for storage. You haven't seen fast until you've had 450 MB/s read speed.
 
Maska said:
Throwing numbers?

With US prices a badass comp for gaming can be built with 1300-1500$ easy. Everything above it is an overkill unless you're a badass benchmarker.

.........
Click to expand...

Going by swedish numbers, sure us would probably be a bit less but not by THAT much. And he said he wanted a badass comp.
 
burnsey said:
For an extra 300 bucks add two 64 GB ssd drives in Raid 0 for your OS drive and use the SATA drive for storage. You haven't seen fast until you've had 450 MB/s read speed.
Click to expand...

Sir, that is completely unnecessary for such a low budget. And about the power supply I have a bigger system and never go over 450W (Core i7 OC'd, 6Gb RAM, GTX260, 3 HDD etc..) so with 550W 80 plus I think he'll be ok (no SLI or Crossfire mobo so...only one GPU).
 
thanks for the comments.

@trina, i dont plan any OC so cooling will be stock.

@Legion, compared to what i have a $400.00 best buy computer would feel badass.

@Tomkat not really a laptop for gaming guy and with a desktop i have the option of making upgrades.

to clarify the system im using is an AMD athlon XP+1800 with 1 GB of DDR, and an AGP 7600GS and EIDE HDDs.


@Angel, thanks for your input and build ideas. i took them and ran with it abit. i took that CPU/MOBO combo, but went with a different RAM case and PSU.

i seem to be failing at making a public wislist with a link but whatever, the items are:
OCZ Signature 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
item# N82E16820227586

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W
item# N82E16817341017

Rosewill DESTROYER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
item# N82E16811147144

i would love to hear your feedback on those if you wouldnt mind. also i stuck with the same video card, display, HDD, optical as my first post.

all said and done with a copy of win 7, a HDMI cable, and arctic silver and the above im coming in at 892.40

on top of that there are 35.00 bucks in rebates but i never hold my breath on getting them
 
Check that power supply to make sure it's a single 12v rail. You really want that. Also, don't just look at watts, check the amps on the 12v rail and make sure it's enough for your vid card plus the rest of the system.

And the first upgrade I would make (if you can't afford it in the initial build) is a smaller ssd (40GB is enough) for the OS and EU (and some programs). This is what I did and it makes a big difference.
 
Xen said:
Check that power supply to make sure it's a single 12v rail. You really want that. Also, don't just look at watts, check the amps on the 12v rail and make sure it's enough for your vid card plus the rest of the system.

And the first upgrade I would make (if you can't afford it in the initial build) is a smaller ssd (40GB is enough) for the OS and EU (and some programs). This is what I did and it makes a big difference.
Click to expand...

according to the PNY site the specs for the card state:
"Minimum 450W or greater system power supply (with a minimum 12V current rating of 38A)"

the power supply states: 2 12v rails of 25A

so.... considering it needs 2 6 pin connectors one off each rail good or no?

as for SSD im really thinking about it but im not sure i can push the budget that far and keep my better half happy
 
Eron² said:
i wanna make a computer that is badass but not budget busting. my budget is 800 to 900 dollars. what ive come up with is a little over already but im looking for your thoughts and comments on such a build. keep in mind that most of the parts in my current setup are at lest 7 years old so im starting from scratch here.


the part list:


AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
Antec Nine Hundred + EA650 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 650W Power Supply
GIGABYTE GA-870A-UD3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop

combo price is 499.99

PNY XLR8 VCGGTX4601XPB-OC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) OC 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0

price 229.99

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAKS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"

price 44.99

LG 22X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA

price 17.99

Hanns·G HZ201HPB Black 20" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor

price 129.99

and a tube of artic silver ... i lost the one i had. and it was old as dirt anyway.


total: 932.94

all from newegg.com

note: all values are USD
Click to expand...

that AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor is going to be one hell of a HOT Processor. last thign you want is that thing overheating on ya. P4 Prescott run an average of 150 Deg far with stock cooling and they are rated at 90 watts.


I strongly recommend that you use one of these on there. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185096
Or this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142

I have the Katana3 on a P4 Prescott 3.2ghz it works Very well average temps of 111 deg f Form 160 with stock. and its rated for six core Procs. they use Copper construction with Nickel plated base and fins
Scythe is a Very good the company has excellent customer service.

Yes were going into wintertime weather and your not going to see overheat problems then but come summer time you will.

I also agree with another review of your build which is not enough Power You will want to have a 900 watt PSU especially for that gfx card your looking at.
 
Eron² said:
according to the PNY site the specs for the card state:
"Minimum 450W or greater system power supply (with a minimum 12V current rating of 38A)"

the power supply states: 2 12v rails of 25A

so.... considering it needs 2 6 pin connectors one off each rail good or no?

as for SSD im really thinking about it but im not sure i can push the budget that far and keep my better half happy
Click to expand...

SSD is a nice idea but still far to expensive for cost to memory ratios

Even if your Not planning on overclocking your CPU More thermal dissipation Via heat pipes is essential. It will lower your CPU temps by 20C+ it sure did for me. with regards to power supply. Yes you will need at least a 750
watt unit Keep in mind that your running a Dvd writer as well in this build.
and id recommend looking at another company such as XFX or Asus or Sapphire. they may have something far better that what your looking at with Pny ans more compatible.

Tip Build it as though you plan on upgrading it in the near future.
 
Eron² said:
according to the PNY site the specs for the card state:
"Minimum 450W or greater system power supply (with a minimum 12V current rating of 38A)"

the power supply states: 2 12v rails of 25A

so.... considering it needs 2 6 pin connectors one off each rail good or no?

as for SSD im really thinking about it but im not sure i can push the budget that far and keep my better half happy
Click to expand...

That might work. I'd still just go with a single rail. I don't think it will be much more expensive if at all. And you don't need 900w or whatever like some are suggesting. A quality 600-750 should be plenty with the video card you plan to go with, definitely 700+. It's good to have "headroom", but 900w would be a waste. Corsair is a very good brand for ps, check those.

I also think the X6 is overkill. EU is single threaded, so you really on need one core for EU and one to handle anything else that might be running while you play. Unless you are really going to have multithreaded apps that need that kind of power. I have an i3-530 oc'd and a gtx480 and I'm not cpu bound at all. More would only give me better artificial benchmarks, which I couldn't care less about.
 
Don't get OCZ memory, they are stopping DRAM production. Corsair or G.Skill are both good. You can also save and get 1333MHz sticks, you wont notice the difference. With OCZ you can get a very good PSU or a complete shit (even with the same model), but you can't go wrong with Corsair.

The build is looking good.
 
alright, following most of the advice aside from power supply maker (just cant afford the corsair) ive come up with....


AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz
ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M700 RS-700-AMBA-D3 700W
PNY XLR8 VCGGTX4601XPB-OC GeForce GTX 460
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
LG 22X DVD Burner
Hanns·G HZ201HPB Black 20" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor

an HDMI cable, some thermal paste, and a copy of win7.

total is coming in at $917.40

thoughts on this version?

busting the budget by $17 isnt bad considering thats with the copy of windows the first build didnt at 900.
 
power from thermaltake is a good choice by price/quality ;)

P.S. if you'd ever consider going sli/crossfire on it, 750W is absolute minimum.


J.
 
Lugzan said:
power from thermaltake is a good choice by price/quality ;)

P.S. if you'd ever consider going sli/crossfire on it, 750W is absolute minimum.


J.
Click to expand...

no thoughts of going SLI, not to mention the MB cant take it. but thanks.
 
I run the thermaltake TR2 RS-850 Power supply in mine. Its 114 dollars on new egg and I am sure you can find cheaper now days.

I run proc at 4 ghz steady with the vid card maxed on all settings along with a liquid cooling setup I put together and the PS doesnt even warm up. the best part is the cables are modular and can be added as needed and not have tons of extra cables hanging in the case.

They also make a 650 and 750 watt version so that may fit your budget better if you will not be adding a second or third vidcard down the road.
 
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alright, tweeked a few things to get some combos on new egg to drop the price a little.

had to swap out the ram, the ripjaws went out of stock so picked the non-ripjaw version, and dropped the PNY vid card for the MSI N460GTX CYCLONE 1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 460 saved some cash.

at long as i dont see any horrid responses i think i will click the order button on this pretty soon
 
Looks pretty good currently I run X6 1055T black edition, MSI GTX 295, Gigabyte 890FXA-UD7 mobo, 8 gig corsiar 1333, Zalman 1000 watts, Gigabyte mercury Liquid cooled case and Swiftech water block on GTX295 :)
This pussy purrs on high frame rates and core temps never get beyond 33 decrees celcius overclocked to 4 ghtz :D

Nb Zalman have modular cables and super large cooling fans.
 
xaph said:
Looks pretty good currently I run X6 1055T black edition, MSI GTX 295, Gigabyte 890FXA-UD7 mobo, 8 gig corsiar 1333, Zalman 1000 watts, Gigabyte mercury Liquid cooled case and Swiftech water block on GTX295 :)
This pussy purrs on high frame rates and core temps never get beyond 33 decrees celcius overclocked to 4 ghtz :D

Nb Zalman have modular cables and super large cooling fans.
Click to expand...

that does not seem like a comparable build
 
just put in the order....900.49 USD ouch but wee!

when it gets here ill report back on it.
 
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