Best Price / Performance - Help a Noob and Discuss!

[SitrukFlow]

I'm looking to build the best price/performance PC possible. I don't plan on upgrading the PC after the initial purchase, so upgrade options don't need to be considered. This will be used 100% for gaming and web-surfing. I play on 1440x900 resolution and my goal is to buy a PC that will get me great frame rates without wasting any performance.

I will only purchase AMD / ATI products. I also prefer to stay with quality brands / products. I prefer not to overclock, but will consider it if need be.

I am in love with MSI 790FX-GD70 motherboard but feel it may be a overkill.

I will greatly appreciate all advice given. Here are a list of the items I have been considering. Chipset and Brand advice would be greatly welcomed.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz / AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz / AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz / AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz
Motherboard: 780G / 790GX / 790FX (MSI / ASUS / Gigabyte)
Memory: 4GB 2xGB DDR3 1666 (Corsair / Geil / OCZ) - DDR2 if needed.
Video Card: 4850 / 4870 512MB & 1GB / 4890 1GB

I already have a Raidmax Smilodon case w/ 500w power supply. I will also only be using 1 500GB hard drive and 1 dvd burner.

I plan on using Windows Vista 64 and Windows RC 7, eventually.

I need someone with more knowledge of the parts as I have been out of the scene for over a year. Please help guide this clueless noob.

Thanks in advance,
Sitruk

EDIT: CPU's I have it narrowed down to - Suggestions / Advice and Motherboard recommendations welcome.

 

[o1die]

Newegg has an HIS 4850 video card for $79.99 after $20 rebate. Amazon.com has ocz 1333 ddr3 2 gb sticks for about $21.xx shipped, with no rebate hassles. You can look up the links at fatwallet. For the cpu, I can't recommend any particular one. I use the best bang for the buck, and you'll get all kinds of advice for this. For example, the q9400 was about $129.99 at microcenter (in store only). I use Fry's in store specials, but you may not live near either one. Amd is coming out with a 605e quad core soon that only uses 45 watts. For the power supply, I would ditch the raidmax as soon as you can afford to. I only use antec, corsair, enermax, pc power and cooling, and seasonic whenever possible. I use lesser brands for testing purposes only.

 

[Sylvanas]

Don't skimp on the PSU, it is the most important part to get right in a new build- as o1die said, Antec, Corsair, Enermax, pc power and cooling, and seasonic are quality. The MSI GD70 is not really a budget board, it's actually arguably the best AMD board atm so only get it if you will make use of it, if you don't overclock it's a crime against humanity on that board. So, we need a budget or something to work with, from what you listed the end price of your build can vary dramatically so try to narrow down what components you want or what price you want to spend all up.

 

[SitrukFlow]

Thanks for the replies so far. The budget I am looking to spend is roughly $700-800 and I prefer not to use mail in rebates if possible.

I planned on replacing the PSU eventually but I figured without overclocking and using only 1 hard drive and a dvd burner, I won't really be taxing it.

I figured the MSI GD70 was overkill because I prefer not to overclock. It just seemed like such a quality board and if I did decide to overclock the OC knob on the motherboard seemed useful.

The main focus of this computer is price / performance without wasting any of that performance using 1440x900 resolution. For example if I don't need a 4890 1GB then I don't want to waste the money on it.

If I don't need the MSI GD70 then what Chipset / CPU would be good for my needs? I've read some of the reviews and heard the SB750 is much better than the SB700. However for what I want, will I notice?

Thanks again for all your help guys!

- Sitruk

 

[Sylvanas]

All you really *need* is the cheapest board with an SB750. A quick and dirty search I came up with:

MSI G65 AM3 mobo

or:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P

Phenom II X4 940

Some cheap and decent DDR3

4870 1GB

Total: $532

That's the basic setup, any upgrade from what's there will give small gains. For example you could keep it like that and pocket the rest or go to your $700-$800 budget and replace the 940 with a 955 or the 4870 with a 4890. IMO 940 to 955 is not worth it so don't bother with that, you'd see larger gains going to a 4890 but really at your resolution a 4870 is enough and a 4890 will be marginally better at best- don't even bother with Crossfire at that rez. Speaking of boards, the two linked around the same price and just some of the more common choices, you could also throw in the Biostar and DFI which are equally as good as those listed ( I like the look of the Giga board though ). It's up to you, I like my DFI board, but the Giga, Biostar, MSI boards are all equally as good- we are quite spoiled for AMD boards recently.

BTW: It's been proven that Low latency DDR3 1333mhz memory is better than the more expensive high speed stuff for AM3.

 

[SitrukFlow]

Sylvanas thank you for the suggestions.

I've decided to go with ECS BLACK SERIES A790GXM-AD3 AM3 AMD 790GX after reading the review here.

I now have to try and decide which processor to use. X2 550, X3 720, X4 955. My question is how much am I going to benefit from the extra cores? I want this machine to last 2.5 years, roughly. Will the Quad Core be twice as good as the X2 or X3. Will the Triple core be 1/5 better than the X2? Remember the emphasis is on gaming at 1440x900.

Note: The only reason I choose the 955 over the 940 is it's AM3. If I'm going to go to the highest tier price tag, I'll spend the extra $25 to have the newest tech and a tiny boost.

I've decided to go with HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB or GIGABYTE GV-R487-512H-B Radeon HD 4870 512MB or HIS H487QT1GP Radeon HD 4870 1GB

$20 and $65 price jump. From the benchmarks I've seen at low resolutions they all run within 1-2 FPS of one another. Any advice here? $79 AR seems like an insane value. I could always drop another one later & Xfire if they aren't keeping up.

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 was already in the cart.

Hopefully you can help me sort out this next batch of questions. I'll pocket the cash wherever it makes sense to. I don't want to over spend, but I don't want to under spend either. If grabbing the extra cores or video performance will be worth the extra price at my resolution then I'll jump.

Thanks again!
- Sitruk


EDIT: This Combo looks beastly for the money. Not my CPU or Mobo of choice, but looks like a great value.

 

[Sylvanas]

That combo looks great, definitely keep it under consideration. The jump in price from an X3 to an X4 955 is quite large so the question becomes "is it worth it?". Well, have a look at AT's X3 review and you'll note that in most things it's right up there with the X4s but falls behind slightly in other more multithreaded apps/games. If that extra performance is worth it for you, then go the X4, if not pocket the change and get an X3. Personally I'd get the X4 for peace of mind (so I'll never be saying down the track 'damn, should I have got that extra core?") and the 955s are good clockers. It also occurred so me that at your rez you will be CPU limited so IMO best to get the best CPU you can to maximize the potential for that resolution. It should be noted of course, that you *can* unlock an X3 so you gain the extra core, but that's not certain and it's hit and miss for which ones work, it's all about luck. Although it begs the question, if you buy a 955, why not get the best of both worlds and go with the combo deal you linked with a 945 X4.

 

[SitrukFlow]

Thanks for all the advice.

Here is what I ended up purchasing.

Phenom II x945 ($149 w/ combo)
MSI 790GX-G65 ($95 w/ combo)
HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB ($149 w/ combo)
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) 7-7-7-18 ($75)
WD Caviar Blue 500GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive ($55)
LG Black 22X DVD+R ($25)
RAIDMAX SMILODON 500W PSU ($90 shipped)
Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee ($110)
(Comes with RC 7 + Free upgrade to Windows 7) Vista Home Premium 64-bit w/ Tech Guarantee

The total system cost was around $750 shipped. That combo was an amazing deal allowing me to upgrade CPU, MB and Video Card for the same price as the lesser tier parts.

I'm wondering if I should just use the Windows RC 7 and save Vista for another use. Also does anyone know if the free upgrade will need to be used with a current version of Vista (Like the one purchased) or will it be it's own version of Windows 7?

Thanks again for all your help! I may be asking a few more question in the not to distant future.

- Sitruk