Getting closer to pulling the trigger

[Dravic]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
-Gaming + Imaging (photo/web)

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$700-750

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

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.
leaning AMD

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
re-using all parts not listed

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
but of course

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

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
When is shows up on my door step



Current Build in the Cart:
Mobo + CPU + RAM = $399 ($40 MIR)
720BE Combo
- GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P AM3
- AMD Phenom II X3 720
- OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

HD = $69.99
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB

Vid Card = $204 ($25 MIR)
HIS Hightech H487FN1GP Radeon HD 4870

PSU = $79 (30 MIR)
OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W

HSF = $37 ($10 MIR)
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283

Was on the am2+ Phenom II 940 kick for a while.. but its $90 more expensive, and going with the 720BE gets me a better Mobo and 3rd party HSF.

ddr3 down to $64 for 4GB

total cost

$791.93 - $105 MIR + $12 S+H = $698


I was also tempted to go AM2+ and try for the "free" 4th core, but i'd rather have 3 cores at 3.6+ then 4cores at 3.2 with enough volts to stabilize the core.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I'm going to have to say drop the AMD and go with an Intel Solution. You'll get so much more performace for your dollar.

Honestly, I can't imagine ever getting an X3 processor. The X3's were born because of the high failure rate of created quad cores. Instead of trashing them they decided to sell failed quads as tri cores.

Personally I'd go with a q6600 and Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R and 4GB ram. On newegg that set up is $382.97
So roughly $18 cheaper up front and there's a $20 rebate on the mobo. So price wise that equals out.

The Q6600 is going to achieve a higher OC and give you more performance with less heat.

 

[wjgollatz]

For $5 more and 140 less gigs, you can get a more recent WD hard drive with 32mb cache

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

 

[Dravic]

Originally posted by: wjgollatz
For $5 more and 140 less gigs, you can get a more recent WD hard drive with 32mb cache

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Looks interesting.. but i dont think the extra cache is going to do me as much good as the increased density of the 320GB platters. I'm more interested in loads off disk then repeated access to things that may fit into the 32mb cache. I'll have to look over some reviews of the 1TB version to see, as i dont see many reviews ofthe 500GB version.

 

[Dravic]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
I'm going to have to say drop the AMD and go with an Intel Solution. You'll get so much more performace for your dollar.

Honestly, I can't imagine ever getting an X3 processor. The X3's were born because of the high failure rate of created quad cores. Instead of trashing them they decided to sell failed quads as tri cores.

Personally I'd go with a q6600 and Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R and 4GB ram. On newegg that set up is $382.97
So roughly $18 cheaper up front and there's a $20 rebate on the mobo. So price wise that equals out.

The Q6600 is going to achieve a higher OC and give you more performance with less heat.

The AM3 board is the better of the two, and gives me crossfire support which i may actually take advantage of as both ATI and Nvidia look committd to multi GPU, as oppose to it being a niche 2 years ago. It also allows me to complete the transistion to ddr3 now.

My biggest issue with the LGA775 is its an EOL(end of life) socket. I'd betting(literally) that what i'm able to upgade to on the AM3 socket at it's EOL will suprass whats available on LGA775. I'd be more interested in what i5 brings, but i'm also sure intel is going to somewhat hamper the upside of that socket to keep it from canablizing the i7 highend/enthusiast segment.

I wasnt too sure about the x3 myself until the 710/720 Phenom II verison. It has more cache per core, same OC ceiling as the x4, $90 cheaper, less heat/power and it performs as well or BETTER(again more cache per core) then the x4 in some games that aren't quad core optimize.

I dont do ANY encoding unless 10min home video segments count.


I expect the overlcocks (Q6600 vs PII 720be) to about the same, and I would actually expect a slightly higher ceiling for the 720. The 720 comusume less power then a Q9550 and an i7 920 under load, and about equal to the i7 920 at idle.

 

[theAnimal]

For $10 less and 140 less gigs, you can get a single platter 500GB drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

 

[nerp]

I'd voice my support of your current setup. I think you have an awesome platform shaping up. AM3 is a smart choice for the reasons you described.

I personally would choose a different PSU, but that's just me. I got my PCP&C 500 for $49 on sale and it would be more than enough for your build. BFG makes good units too. If you're interested in crossfire down the road, you might want more power than the 500w model, but then again, unless you plan on running dual 4870x2 boards, even 500W would be more than enough.

 

[Dravic]

The PSU has been one of my more frequently changed items.

My orignal two choices were:

PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W for $70

and

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W for $75

I also looked at -

The OCZ 700w that was on sale for at $70 until recently


Before i hit the buy button one of these first two will prob end up as the PSU.. I'm just looking at maximizing cost and the 600w OCZ grabbed my attention at $50.... the PSU will most likely out last the other more upgradable compenents, so $20 seems like s foolish amount to bicker over while still in my budget range.

 

[alpha88]

I bought that Motherboard and CPU combo a few days ago and am very happy with my purchase.

It installed Windows 7 Beta smoothly, works great!

 

[richierich1212]

Looks good. And Jeffrey, sorry, your post is wrong.

 

[legocitytruck]

So Dravic, what did you decide?

 

[Dravic]

Originally posted by: legocitytruck
So Dravic, what did you decide?

Funds have been wife approved .. trying to force myeslf to pull the trigger.


Current incarnation

Mobo + CPU combo $218
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P 790X
Phenom II 720


HSF
XIGMATEK S1283 $31 (-5 MIR)

RAM
Mushkin ddr2 1066 5-5-5-15 $69 (-10 MIR)

PSU
OCZ 700W Modular $99 (-$30 MIR)

GPU
XFX 4870 1GB $194 (-$25 MIR)
MSI 4870 1GB $199 (-$20 MIR)

HD
WD 500GB 16mb cache $59

its ddr2, but i get 4870 1GB crossfired, $872 - (-$90 MIR) = $782


for an extra $80 i deal with pcie 2.0 x8 in crossfire, but that shouldn't be an issue @ 1920x1200



My other option is an 980a board with 260 core 216's in sli..

or

A Phenom II 955 & 4890 and avoid Crossfire/sli all together, the 4890 1GB at 1920x1200 should be sufficient = $803 - ($65 MIR) = $738

 

[alyarb]

i would do the 4890. just get it up to 1ghz. Get the WD640. Stay with the AMD chipset for overclocking.

 

[brblx]

Originally posted by: nerp
I'd voice my support of your current setup. I think you have an awesome platform shaping up. AM3 is a smart choice for the reasons you described.

i thought the same thing when i bought a s939 mobo instead of s754. guess what's in a box in the corner with the original proc still in it?

i have no problem with AMD, but phenom II's don't regularly outperform core2 quads. that makes am2 and am3 both just as 'dead' as 775 to me.

if you try and buy with processor upgradability built in, you'll probably shoot yourself in the foot every time unless you upgrade processors once a year or more. the proper advice is for him not to worry about it and just buy what performs best.

end of rant.

 

[Dravic]

"F&*%& it, i'm getting what i want" build


AMD version(s)

PH II 955
MSI GD70 790FX
4GB DDR3 1600 OCZ ram
WD 640 GB HD
Sapphire 4890 1GB
PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W PSU
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 HSF
LG x22 dvd burner

$921 - $55 MIR = $866.91





DONE!!!!!!!!!!! ORDERED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Dravic

"F&*%& it, i'm getting what i want" build

:laugh:


With or without Wifey approval ?

 

[SparksIT]

Originally posted by: Dravic
AMD version(s)

PH II 955
MSI GD70 790FX
4GB DDR3 1600 OCZ ram
WD 640 GB HD
Sapphire 4890 1GB
PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W PSU
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 HSF
LG x22 dvd burner

$921 - $55 MIR = $866.91

You get all your parts from Newegg? I'm looking at pretty much the exact same build, but my initial price before MIR was closer to $1000, and before I added the Antec 1200

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

All of those are good choices. Especially glad to see you went with the better WD drive and the PCP&C PSU. Phenom II is an attractive platform right now. Well done. Hope you enjoy your build.

 

[Dravic]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: Dravic

"F&*%& it, i'm getting what i want" build

:laugh:


With or without Wifey approval ?

Well it originally started as a ~$600 upgrade for me, but she wanted a new office machine so it got bumped up to $800. This way I didn't have to canalize too many parts and can get her off my Linux workstation (windows office/email/bills VM). Prob hit $900 after I include a new game or two or eight


Considering she(well we) just brought a $1900 refrigerator and $2000 sofa and recliner, and $1000 on landscaping. Along with the fact I have spent the last 4 days power washing carpets. I'm not all that worried....




SparksIT

Yes, I got it all from Newegg.


Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 32mb cache
$69.99

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
$63.99

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
$245.00

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283
$38.99

HIS Hightech H489F1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB
$224.99

MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$169.99


PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous
$104.99


906.83(after combo discounts) - $60 (MIR's) = $846.83 total


dropped the dvd burner at the last minute, will just use an old dvd rom for now.. my workstation has a burner already.

 

[Dravic]

Thanks everyone who took a look

Up and running


PH II 955 @ 3.62 1.45v (left from the 3.7 tries, can prob be lower) - still tweaking can run 3dmark06 at 3.7+, but its not occt stable there.
Vista Ultimate 64 (limiting my overclock i know, prob get 3.8 or more on 32 bit)

17483 3dmark06

Not a big fan of the 120mm fan included with the XIGMATEK S1283, may get something that moves a bit more air, think i can get 3.7 stable in vista 64 with better cooling. I wish the clip or cooler were turned 90 degrees. May end up moving it to my old school chieftec full tower with all the fans over the tsunami dream.


The MSI GD70 is incredible, well worth the money.