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Another new build thread

contagionxcontagionx Member Posts: 4

Hi guys. I've been prowling around lately looking for some advice on new hardware builds and I must say the posts from you hardware gurus have been quite helpful so far. Below you'll find my proposed new build (I'm going for cheapish).  Any suggestions/critiques are very welcome. Thanks!

Antec 300 case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

Asus M4A87TD Mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131647

Sapphire Radeon 5770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873

Antec 650w PSU  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021

Phenom x2 555 Black  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846

Gskill Ripjaw 4gb ddr3 1600 RAM  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

Along with that stuff some Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound and a new ESD strap =) I already have a solution for storage and operating system as well so it helps to keep the price down. Thanks again!

Comments

  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383

    Pretty solid build. If you are looking for expansion in the future (crossfire, upgraded video cards, etc), the 650W power supply range is a good choice and can tackle most any single CPU/GPU, and some of the lower power SLI/Crossfire combos. Antec power supplies perform generally well. If this is all you see this computer doing, the Phenom X2 and the 5770 are both pretty low power components, and you could get away with as low as 450W.

    Should play pretty much anything out there on pretty high settings, and be set to tackle new releases on at least mid-settings for the next couple years, with ample room to upgrade (plenty of socket AM3 cpu's, and enough power for top-end video cards)

  • wallet113wallet113 Member Posts: 231

    I love Gskill memory never ever had problems (always with corsair and ocz)

    OC that CPU! just make sure it doesn't over heat =)

    Pretty  good build on a budget.

  • contagionxcontagionx Member Posts: 4

    Thanks for the responses! I found a couple different pieces that may be good changes.

    Asrock 770 Extreme3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157195

    Sparkle Geforce GTX 460 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187116

    I found the graphics card in a tomshardware article. For only a few more bucks it seems to be a pretty decent improvement over the former radeon HD model. This turns out to be about the same price.

    Apparently the motherboard in my original build is one of the kinds that has the potential to unlock the other cores in the CPU, I don't know if I'll need to do that but it's nice to have the option.

  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383

    I don't know much about ASRock motherboards, so I can't comment about them really. I have had pretty good luck with Asus motherboards in general though.

    That 460 is a 768M version, so it's performance is lower than some other 460's out there. At stock speed, it is just a bit faster than the 5770 and supposedly overclocks fairly well. The rebate on that card makes it worth considering and a good find, without the rebate, it's value is kinda ho-hum though.

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347

    I'd advise against a Phenom II X2 unless you're going to try to unlock the extra cores.  If that's your budget, try an Athlon II X4, which will perform better in many games today, and that advantage is set to grow in the future as games are coded to scale well to more cores.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871

    It also comes in a $15 off combo discount with the video card you had picked initially:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.593821

    Be warned that the "new" motherboard is actually rather old, and lighter on features than the one in your original post.  AsRock isn't really the best brand for motherboards, but they're not that bad of a brand, either.  Their motherboards do tend to be cheaper for a reason, though.  If you want to save some money on the motherboard, then go ahead.

    The GeForce GTX 460 768 MB you've picked is $35 more than the Radeon HD 5770.  I'd call that more than a "few.  You should also be warned that Sparkle's "lifetime warranty" means "until we discontinue the card", which for a GTX 460, may be pretty soon, as the replacement for the GPU chip it is based on has already been released.

    If you're inclined to go with a GeForce GTX 460 768 MB, then I'd say go with this one if you do rebates:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162058

    or this one if you don't:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127519

    Compared to the Sparkle card, they're better cards from better companies, and cheaper, too.

    You really don't need a 650 W power supply.  You're looking at parts that won't draw 300 W from it.  Something like this would fill your needs much more cheaply:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030

    It's not as good as the TruePower New, but it's good enough.  If you want to pay more for a nicer power supply, though, don't let me stop you.

    You don't really need 1600 MHz memory.  Neither a Phenom II nor an Athlon II is fast enough to benefit from 1600 MHz memory rather than 1333 MHz, and indeed, the memory controller officially doesn't even support 1600 MHz memory at all.

  • contagionxcontagionx Member Posts: 4

    Ahh yes that's just the sort of nuanced info I was seeking. Thanks a lot for the recommends on the CPU and motherboard I've kept the original board and swapped to the CPU you mentioned. I figured 650w may have been overkill on the PSU but I figured I'd be cautious. That's a sweet little unit you linked.

    As for the graphics if I'm going to be spending in the area of 150 anyway would it be better to find a 1gb version of the gtx 460 or go with an HD 6850?

    For some reason I'm kind of thinking the package deal with the original graphics card and the CPU should suffice for whatever will come out this year in terms of games.

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347

    If you do rebates, then the Galaxy card that I linked above is an awfully good deal.  It comes with two free games, too.  The next natural step up would be something like this:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908

    That's faster than a GeForce GTX 460 768 MB, but not by enough to justify the extra cost if you do rebates.  Note the promo code; that's basically another $10 off.  If you don't do rebates, then they're more competitive.

    For the same price, I'd rather have a Radeon HD 6850 than a GeForce GTX 460 1 GB.  But it's not by a huge margin, and some reasonable people would disagree.  If either a Radeon HD 6850 or a GeForce GTX 460 1 GB (not SE!) is substantially cheaper than the other that day, then just get the cheaper one unless you have a strong preference for brands or vendor-specific features.

  • contagionxcontagionx Member Posts: 4

    Thank you all for the very helpful information. I've ordered the parts and it should be a good time putting everything together. The ending bill was about 50 bucks more than I intended to spend but with that said I ended up with better hardware than I thought I would too. Once can get a pretty good bang for the buck these days :D

     

    Once again thank you guys for using your spare time to help all of us on this forum out. Wish me luck!

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