A Mid-Range Complete Build

[imported_trans]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming, Movies, Daily Tasks and will even be my 24*7 rig.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
1000$

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA


4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
None

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
None

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Yes


7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

No Overclocking.

I have chosen some parts.

Processor AMD X2 5600+(Link)
Price $140

Motherboard DFI INFINITY NF570-M2/G (LINK) Price $100

RAM OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (LINK) Price 50$ (AR)

Graphics Card SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 2900PRO 512MB (LINK) Price $280

Hard Drive Seagate Barracuda 250GB (LINK) Price $70

DVD Writer Samsung (LINK) Price $30
Power Supply OCZ StealthXStream (LINK) Price $75(After Rebate)

Cabinet COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 <a target=_blank class=ftalter...em=N82E16811119077</a> Price $40 (After Rebate)

Monitor Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" LINK Price $225

Keyboard-Mouse Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 Price $22

Speakers Logitech X-230 LINK Price $39

Total $1070

Please tell me whether this computer will be able to handle mordern games like Bioshock, Medal of Honor Air Bourne, Crysis, etc.

If any changes to be made please tell me.

 

[MarcVenice]

Can't say how it will run Crysis, it does meet the recommended system reqs for Crysis though, so according to 'them' it should run Crysis just fine.

I think everything is looking pretty good, is the mobo am2+, meaning it's ready for phenom? Maybe you wanna drop in a qaudcore for cheap in a year or so, who knows? And I''d change the PSU, for this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...E16817139004&Tpk=550vx or for this one: http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=CA6200026

the last PSU is highly recommended, just a little more hassle with rebates, but it's modular which is a big plus if you ask me.

 

[jkresh]

right now ati/amd's directx10 performance is way behind nvidias (the 2900 competes well in dx9 (without AA anyway) but not in dx10), its possible (maybe even probable) that driver updates will solve this but if you are really interested in crysis/Bioschock then at the moment it looks like an 8800gts will be better (though as Marc said Crysis doesn't even have a single player beta out so there aren't any performance tests to go on yet).

 

[videogames101]

any reason for the amd selection? I'm fairly sure something like This will blow a 5600 out of the water

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: videogames101
any reason for the amd selection? I'm fairly sure something like This will blow a 5600 out of the water

Reasons are that it is $55 cheaper and he's not overclocking. At that lower price the AMD chip is competing with an E4400.

 

[LightningRider]

I'd go with the Core 2 as well though unless you really really can't afford the extra ~$50.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Originally posted by: LightningRider
I'd go with the Core 2 as well though unless you really really can't afford the extra ~$50.

Yeah, then he only has to fork out an additional $50 for an equivelant Intel board to support the more expensive Intel chip.

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: Dazed and Confused

Originally posted by: LightningRider
I'd go with the Core 2 as well though unless you really really can't afford the extra ~$50.

Yeah, then he only has to fork out an additional $50 for an equivelant Intel board to support the more expensive Intel chip.

well, it's a huge difference for $100

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: videogames101

Originally posted by: Dazed and Confused

Originally posted by: LightningRider
I'd go with the Core 2 as well though unless you really really can't afford the extra ~$50.

Yeah, then he only has to fork out an additional $50 for an equivelant Intel board to support the more expensive Intel chip.

well, it's a huge difference for $100

It's not as huge a difference if he doesn't overclock. Actually with an AMD chip he can even go with a cheaper motherboard, say a nice Nforce 520 or 560 chipset board for ~$60.

Why is it that whenever anyone says they have such-and-such a budget and aren't overclocking, and asks about an AMD processor, people automatically go "but if you pay $$$ more and overclock the Intel..."

Yes, you can always pay $$$ more and get something faster. At some point you have to stop due to budget reasons. What happens when you go "but for $100 more your CPU will be faster?" How about "for $100 more you can get a faster video card like the 8800GTS 640MB?" Where does it stop?

 

[MarcVenice]

Agreed, people think that because Intel has the performance crown, AMD just totally sucks. But amd is VERY competetive all the way up to the x2 6000+. But especially lower-end cpu's, 2.2-2.4ghz, which are still plenty fast, will be cheaper, more so when you consider the mobo, if you buy from AMD.

 

[imported_trans]

I guess then maybe I should change the graphics card or maybe I should go for a cheaper option right now and upgrade once crysis comes out ? I chose this processor because its 65nm has a lower power rating and due to its even mulitiplier it can run 800mhz ram at full speed....

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
amd is VERY competetive all the way up to the x2 6000+

Absolutely. If not overclocking, AMD is very competitive in the $160 and under segment. Not everyone has $275 to drop for a quad core.

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
will be cheaper, more so when you consider the mobo, if you buy from AMD.

Absolutely again. Can get decent and overclockable motherboards starting around $60, while for Intel the price starts around $90 (not counting rebates for either). For an "expensive" feature filled board, with AMD you are talking around $100-150, and for Intel $200-300.

Originally posted by: trans
I chose this processor because its 65nm has a lower power rating and due to its even mulitiplier it can run 800mhz ram at full speed....

All AMD socket AM2 chips can run DDR2-800 at full speed.

The chip you choose (x2 5600+) is not 65nm and does not have a lower power rating, unless compared to the 6400+. No 65nm chip has 1MB (x2) cache. If you want lower power rating, then go for the ADO5200CZBOX chip, which is 200MHz less (2.6GHz versus 2.8GHz) than your chosen chip, but is "rated" almost 25W less because of lower voltage. Note that there are two different 5200+ chips, and the one I linked is the low voltage version.