New AMD Build

[kavok]

Would appreciate thoughts, suggestions, feedback, potential problems etc... on this build:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishL...ishListNumber=13028087

I especially need suggestions for CPU cooler. Preferably one that does that job and is EASY to install. I absolutely dread installing CPU coolers.

I will be running Vista Ultimate 64bit. So if you spot any drive issues that you've run into let me know.

For people who don't want to click:

Case:
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
PSU:
ENERMAX MODU82+ EMD625AWT 625W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
GPU:
SAPPHIRE 100243-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
CPU:
AMD Phenom 9950 2.6GHz Socket AM2+ 140W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HD995ZFAJ4BGH - OEM
RAM:
4x mushkin 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory - Retail
HDD - Applications
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
HDD - Storage
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Optical Drive:
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
Motherboard:
ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

 

[LOUISSSSS]

pretty powerful rig u got there...

what is the monitor you'll be using?

what made u chose the modu82+ 625 over the 620HX?

 

[mpilchfamily]

If you don't intend to do any OCing then get a full retail version of the CPU and stick with the stock cooler. Otherwise any cooler will do and teh instalation is not that hard. You won't mess anything up.

 

[kavok]

Changed my RAM to "4x mushkin 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory - Retail " - has better reviews and is roughly the same price.

I don't specifically intend to do OC'ing but I might. I've never really stuck with the stock cooler. Had some bad issues with them in the past and I have just gotten used to throwing them away. Aren't they going to be louder than a third party product?

As far as the 620HX, I hadn't really looked at it. The reviews are nicer so I may switch. For my monitor I have a SyncMaster 226BW 2ms 3000:1 already that I'll probably be keeping.

One question though, with the Socket AM2+ Processor and RAM installed in all four slots won't it bring them all down to DDR2 800 anyways? Should I just buy DDR2 800?

 

[kavok]

Updated build:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishL...ishListNumber=13028287

Changed the PSU, moved the CPU from OEM to Retail, and dropped my mushkin RAM for some DDR2 800 Corsair.

 

[Roguestar]

Intel is a better buy at that budget range.

Either way, dropping to the G.Skill DDR2-800 is doable and will save you some cash.

Third party coolers are generally quieter and cool better, but are sometimes a little more tricky to install. In my opinion, the effort is worth it.

 

[kavok]

I am an AMD loyalist. I haven't been pulled to the darkside yet.

I mainly picked the DDR2 800 Corsair because it was listed on my motherboard computability list and it has good timings.

Could you link to the RAM you mentioned?

 

[Roguestar]

Keep the faith; if nobody buys their CPUs they'll not have any money to do R&D to get better with .

Pretty much any DDR2-800 will be fine, really.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Stick with the DDR2 1066 - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066

I prefer the practicality of the Antec 300 with the side and front air intakes but the P182 is good stuff.

The stock Phenom cooler is actually good if you will not OC very much. 'Box' CPUs have 3 year warranty - OEM CPUs = New Egg replacement. BUT, with the Asus M3A79-T Deluxe (I'm jealous ) and the Phenom 9950BE you are almost guaranteed 3GHz at stock volts with a 2600MHz HT. 3.2GHz+ should be an easy reach. However .... snag an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 65W for $59.50, downclock your RAMs and wait for the 45nm Phenoms to roll out this Fall. Make a great holiday present for yourself - LOL

Modular PSU cables - meh. There are some great deals at the Egg on 700w-800w PSUs

Consider 2 640Gb drives with your Raptor if video editing is your thang.

Don't let the Intelistas tell you any different. Your rig rocks!

 

[kavok]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
Stick with the DDR2 1066 - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066

I prefer the practicality of the Antec 300 with the side and front air intakes but the P182 is good stuff.

The stock Phenom cooler is actually good if you will not OC very much. 'Box' CPUs have 3 year warranty - OEM CPUs = New Egg replacement. BUT, with the Asus M3A79-T Deluxe (I'm jealous ) and the Phenom 9950BE you are almost guaranteed 3GHz at stock volts with a 2600MHz HT. 3.2GHz+ should be an easy reach. However .... snag an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 65W for $59.50, downclock your RAMs and wait for the 45nm Phenoms to roll out this Fall. Make a great holiday present for yourself - LOL

Modular PSU cables - meh. There are some great deals at the Egg on 700w-800w PSUs

Consider 2 640Gb drives with your Raptor if video editing is your thang.

Don't let the Intelistas tell you any different. Your rig rocks!

Thanks for the reply! I'm hestitant to go for the DDR2 1066 due to:
1. I have read that if you fill all four DIMMs with DDR2 1066 your AM2+ CPU will treat all four as DDR2 800.
2. I read a review on NewEgg that said over 4gigs of DDR2 1066 would become DDR2 800. I don't really want to throw my money away.

The thought of tossing in a AM2 Athlon 64 X2 is an idea worth considering. Any idea when the 45nm stuff is supposed to be out? And won't it be terribly expensive anyways? I could just keep the 9950 Black and wait 2~3 years and toss in a top of the line AM2+ if they're still being made.

Thanks!

 

[Roguestar]

FWIW Modular PSUs are really handy. I doubt they'd have caught on if they were a useless gimmick.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: kavok

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
Stick with the DDR2 1066 - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066

I prefer the practicality of the Antec 300 with the side and front air intakes but the P182 is good stuff.

The stock Phenom cooler is actually good if you will not OC very much. 'Box' CPUs have 3 year warranty - OEM CPUs = New Egg replacement. BUT, with the Asus M3A79-T Deluxe (I'm jealous ) and the Phenom 9950BE you are almost guaranteed 3GHz at stock volts with a 2600MHz HT. 3.2GHz+ should be an easy reach. However .... snag an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 65W for $59.50, downclock your RAMs and wait for the 45nm Phenoms to roll out this Fall. Make a great holiday present for yourself - LOL

Modular PSU cables - meh. There are some great deals at the Egg on 700w-800w PSUs

Consider 2 640Gb drives with your Raptor if video editing is your thang.

Don't let the Intelistas tell you any different. Your rig rocks!

Thanks for the reply! I'm hestitant to go for the DDR2 1066 due to:
1. I have read that if you fill all four DIMMs with DDR2 1066 your AM2+ CPU will treat all four as DDR2 800.
2. I read a review on NewEgg that said over 4gigs of DDR2 1066 would become DDR2 800. I don't really want to throw my money away.

The thought of tossing in a AM2 Athlon 64 X2 is an idea worth considering. Any idea when the 45nm stuff is supposed to be out? And won't it be terribly expensive anyways? I could just keep the 9950 Black and wait 2~3 years and toss in a top of the line AM2+ if they're still being made.

Thanks!

I wouldn't put a great deal of stock in New Egg reviews. They might be good for 'general trends' if there are a lot of posts but some folks tend to confuse things. (And my explanation may make it worse)

First, only the Phenom - not the X2s - will run 1066MHz. Using the Phenom, populating all slots with 1066MHz sticks should not downclock to 800MHz. You could verify this with an email to Asus - tell them you want to run 4x2Gb sticks.

Now (here comes the confusing part). The Phenom has two integrated dual-channel 64-bit memory controllers called "DCTs" which can be configured to work in two ways - separately is "non-ganged" or together which is "ganged". The ganged mode is effectively 1x128 bit which links the two DCTs together.

When all the DIMM slots are populated, as I understand it, your RAMS will run in single-channel mode - not dual-channel. BUT in non-ganged mode when all the DIMM slots are populated each memory controller on the Phenom will handle independent threads so it's kinda functioning in a 'dually' mode ....

I'd love to see a better explanation of all this from the 'experts' with a little performance testing to back it up. There is the 'real world' performance issue with DDR2 1066 v. DDR2 800, the question of dual- v. single-channel, and the question of the two DCTs handling independent threads. I always thought the whole dual/single channel was kind of a farce from what I've seen. As you noted it's the timings that effect performance more than anything else.

I'm guessing (and take this as BS at this point because I have not been able to verify) that: 1) Non-ganged controllers handling independent threads provides a big boost on the server side; and 2) Having two independent controllers in the architecture has something to do with future hardware implementation, maybe either: a) AM3 CPUs which are slated to possibly have both DDR2 & DDR3 memory controllers; and/or b) This has something to do with the way in which the Fusion architecture will address memory - Fusion will have CPU cores with a GPU core on the same chip.

As far as the 45nm are concerned, nobody's talking. With the way the current Phenoms have dropped in price it looks to me like they are moving them out and getting ready for something. Let's hope questions are answered soon - or that we can snag one in a month or so ...

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo As you noted it's the timings that effect performance more than anything else.

This is the only part of an otherwise informative post I'll take exception to; in AM2 CPUs (even more so than Intel), memory bandwidth (dual vs single channel included) is more important than RAM latencies and individual timings.