First Build, Will It Work?

[zaneski13]

Sunbeam Transformer IC-TR-US-BA-WOPSU Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case Item #: N82E16811166004

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136319

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131366

EVGA 768-P3-1362-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card Item #: N82E16813131366

LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106276

Sunbeam PSU-H680-REV-US 680W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply - OEM
Item #: N82E16817709027

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231310

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103727

Im also purchasing speakers and a monitor so don't say I need them... Its my first time building a computer so I could have easily missed something.

Things that this system needs to be able to do:
Games
Multitask
Wireless Internet (does this motherboard have wireless internet built in? I cant tell)
just be all around FAST

 

[fffblackmage]

I don't believe any mobos have built-in wireless, except for a few Zotac ITX mobos. Just buy a wireless card separately.

The 790GX mobo is rather pricey. It's not like the 790GX will make the computer run any faster. Pick up a 785G or 770 or 870 mobo for less than $100 instead.

For the price of the GTX 460 768MB you picked out, you could pick up the GTX 460 1GB for just a little more. It's worth the few extra bucks if you're gaming at 1080p.

Don't buy a cheap PSU. Despite providing "less" power overall, this Antec TP-550 actually provides more power on the 12V rail (more important than the 3.3V and 5V rails) than the cheap Sunbeam PSU.

Just so you know, you pick out a single stick of DDR3-1333 ram. There's no problem with that, but you won't be able to take advantage of dual channel.

You might also want to consider the Samsung F4 320GB if you want a fast HDD. The WD 640GB Black is just a bit outdated now.

 

[biostud]

or choose a 1 or 2TB drive

 

[mfenn]

Define "work". Yes, your parts will (probably) be compatible. No, that is not a build that I would recommend.

Let's start from the top:
Case: Personal preference. I will caution you that that case is based on an ancient design. The main problem with this is that it only uses 80mm fans which will be louder and have less airflow than a modern case with 120mm+ fans. Look into something like an Antec DF-10 or NZXT Apollo if you want a "gamer" style case.

HDD: Really old design. I bought two of those drives like 3 years ago (before they had the "Black" branding). Spend the extra few bucks on a Samsung F3 1TB.

Mobo: Like fffblackmage said, an 790GX is expensive and pointless for you. Get this MSI 870A-G54 instead.

GPU: Also agree with blackmage. Step it up to a GTX 460 1GB if you're going to be doing 1080P.

DVD: There's no point in buying a DVD-ROM these days. You can get a DVD-RW for the same price.

PSU: No, just no. The TP-550 that blackmage recommended is good, as is the S12II 520W.

RAM: I'd recommend taking advantage of dual channel memory.

CPU: There's no point in buying a 965 since the 955 is also multiplier unlocked.

 

[zaneski13]

Thanks for all your help! I've rethought my build because, for starters I couldn't find any AMD motherboards that supported SLI. So I decided to use a different GPU

I chose the HIS H687F1G2M Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

I also decided to spend an extra $20 to add 1/10 of a Ghz to the CPU, I'm going to purchase the

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition Deneb 3.5GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDZ970FBGMBOX

Now, what I'm stuck on is finding a Motherboard. It needs to support CrossFireX so in the future I can link together my graphics cards. It also needs to have multicore capability. When I searched on Newegg for AMD motherboards, under the CPU Type, there are 2 options that get me confused. Phenom II and Phenom II X4 / Phenom II X3
I select the Phenom II X4 / Phenom II X3 because I figure the X4 means 4 cores (quadcore) Is this true? If thats the case then there's only 3 motherboards on newegg that support the Phenom II quadcore CPU. would I be safe / get the same performance if I chose the CPU Type: Phenom II
???

thanks.

and thanks again for all your suggestions, I never would have known that the hard drive was slow and that the PSU wasn't good.

 

[mfenn]

The 6870 is a fine GPU, but "upgrading to Crossfire" is a bad idea. You'll spend more on the motherboard up front and by the time your ready to upgrade, newer single GPUs will be out that are faster than 6870 Crossfire.

As I stated earlier, you're going the wrong direction on the CPU. All AMD Black Edition parts are multiplier unlocked, and the only difference between the 955, 965, and 970 is the multiplier. Buy the 955 and bump its multi up by 2, et voila! You have a 970.

As for the mobo, pretty much any 770+ and 800 series chipset is going to support all of AMDs AM3 cpus. Get the MSI that I suggested earlier.

 

[jaydeee]

looks to be a perfect PC for me.

 

[zaneski13]

The 6870 is a fine GPU, but "upgrading to Crossfire" is a bad idea. You'll spend more on the motherboard up front and by the time your ready to upgrade, newer single GPUs will be out that are faster than 6870 Crossfire.

VERY good point. You may have just saved me a couple hundred bucks

As I stated earlier, you're going the wrong direction on the CPU. All AMD Black Edition parts are multiplier unlocked, and the only difference between the 955, 965, and 970 is the multiplier. Buy the 955 and bump its multi up by 2, et voila! You have a 970.

I'm a noob. (here's how I interpreted it)
so your saying that the AMD Phenom II Quadcore 3.2 Ghz is the same as the AMD Phenom II Quadcore 3.5 Ghz? I thought that the higher the Ghz the better? whats does it mean for a CPU to be 'multiplier unlocked'?

thanks for the advice btw

 

[mfenn]

I'm a noob. (here's how I interpreted it)
so your saying that the AMD Phenom II Quadcore 3.2 Ghz is the same as the AMD Phenom II Quadcore 3.5 Ghz? I thought that the higher the Ghz the better? whats does it mean for a CPU to be 'multiplier unlocked'?

All Phenom II X4 processors (945, 955, 965, 970) are physically identical chips. However, in order to sell products at difference price points, AMD and Intel separate the chips into different "speed bins". So, some chips become 955s, some becomes 970s, etc.

Also, a CPUs clock speed is determined by the bus speed (200MHz for AMD) times a multiplier. For example, a 955 has a multiplier of 16 (200Mhz x 16 = 3.2GHz). Normally, the multiplier is locked in at the time that the chip is made, meaning that in order to overclock the chip, you have to raise the bus speed.

However, AMD's "Black Edition" chips have an unlocked multiplier. That means that you can overclock the chip simply by changing the multiplier in the BIOS. That's why it is pointless to buy a 970. You simply buy a 955 and change the multiplier to 17.5. Suddenly, you effective have a 970. Technically, it is overclocking, but 300MHz is a very mild overclock which doesn't require you to change any other BIOS settings.

 

[zaneski13]

thanks, I'll get the 955 and just overclock it then. Save some $$$

So, I'm almost done with the list. The only thing thats remaining is the PSU

Now, I'm thinking ahead and if by any chance I do use crossfire, I want the PSU to have enough power to handle 2 ATI Radeon HD 6870 Cards.

I used the Newegg Wattage Calculator and plugged in 2 ATI Radeon HD 5870 (6870 wan't on the list) and my other parts, and I got 1100 watts. This seemed like a lot so I looked at the specs of the Radeon HD 6870 and the CPU
The graphics card says "500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for AMD CrossFireX technology in dual mode)"

So I'm guessing that I only need 600 watts to power 2 of these cards...

The CPU needs 125 watts, and the other parts, it doesn't say, but it can't be too much.
Is 800 - 900 watts sound like enough for this system if I decide to use 2 graphics cards?
and can you give any PSU suggestions, if you have any? Thanks

 

[muskie32]

I believe a 750w PSU would be enough (get get a good brand) croshair, Sea sonic, xfx...

 

[RussianSensation]

I see no reason not to spend another $40 for a Core i5 750/760 when building a brand new system from scratch. At 3.9ghz+ overclock, no AMD chip can come close for the tasks you have described. On top of that AMD cpus consume more power at idle and at load. There is almost no reason to get an AMD CPU when we are talking about >$140 price range. The $40 is well worth spending when already talking about a $700+ build. Keep in mind, Intel is launching Socket 1155 and Sandy Bridge architecture around January 6-9th. Just letting you know

The 2nd thing I would do is spend extra $5 for a 1TB hard drive such as the Samsung F3.

The 3rd thing I would do is get DDR3-1600. At $65, there is no reason to settle on DDR3-1333.

The 4th thing is the PSU. For a single card setup, Corsair 550W at $50 is very good if you don't need a modular PSU. If you are not going to overclock HD6870s in CF, the 650W corsair is sufficient for $10 more than the 550W version. If you are going to overclock 6870s and the processor, get at minimum a 750W PSU. Brands such as Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, PC Power & Cooling and XFX are very good.

The Lite-on DVD-rom doesn't appear to be a writer. Grab this Asus instead.

If you need help picking a motherboard for the Core i5 760, let me know. BTW, you are going to need an aftermarket CPU cooler if you plan on overclocking the CPU.

A couple budget picks for CPU coolers are Thermalab Bada for $26, Corsair A70 for $33

 

[mfenn]

thanks, I'll get the 955 and just overclock it then. Save some $$$

So, I'm almost done with the list. The only thing thats remaining is the PSU

Now, I'm thinking ahead and if by any chance I do use crossfire, I want the PSU to have enough power to handle 2 ATI Radeon HD 6870 Cards.

I used the Newegg Wattage Calculator and plugged in 2 ATI Radeon HD 5870 (6870 wan't on the list) and my other parts, and I got 1100 watts. This seemed like a lot so I looked at the specs of the Radeon HD 6870 and the CPU
The graphics card says "500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for AMD CrossFireX technology in dual mode)"

So I'm guessing that I only need 600 watts to power 2 of these cards...

The CPU needs 125 watts, and the other parts, it doesn't say, but it can't be too much.
Is 800 - 900 watts sound like enough for this system if I decide to use 2 graphics cards?
and can you give any PSU suggestions, if you have any? Thanks

I think you probably made a mistake when you entered your values into the Newegg calculator. I tried a few permutations and didn't get anywhere close to 1100W. Anyway, a 650W is plenty for 6870 CF. Even with an overclocked i7, the total system should only draw something like 415W.

 

[zaneski13]

Thanks! I'm done with my list now