I woke up this morning to discover the mobo in my old 939 box died overnight.
I plan to re-use my EVGA 8800gts 640 video card, WD 250gb sata hdd, Tuniq Tower 120, Lian Li case, and OCZ PSU (31amp on 12v). That means I need CPU, Mobo, and Ram only.
I would like to spend in the $300-$350 range with as much future proofing as possible. I will unlock cores and do a moderate overclock to increase performance. I will surf (40%), play poker(20%), and play Aion(40%) with this machine. I am very "value conscious" and constantly looking at bang for buck items, so if you see something better for a minimal increase in budget feel free to toss out options. Ideally I will get something to out perform my C2D 6420 @ 3.4 on Asus P5K Deluxe with 4GB DDR2 RAM.
I am currently thinking one of the new AMD Phenom II Black CPUs with unlocked multipliers is my best bet for low-budget power and over-clockability:
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
I have had good luck with Gigabyte, Asus, and Abit mobos in previous builds, but am open to any brand as long as they are reliable and over-clockable (MSI?). The motherboards I am considering:
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
I have had good luck with OCZ RAM and Corsair RAM before and used Patriot RAM in a buddies build. Both of these choices are AMD certified, if that makes any sort of difference, if not feel free to offer additional suggestions. I am sure I will end up tweaking the RAM timings regardless. 2X2GB DDR3 Ram choices:
OCZ AMD Black Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3BE1600C8LV4GK - Retail
Patriot Gamer Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PGS34G1600ELKA - Retail
I am leaning towards the X3 720 combo priced with the Gigabyte 790GX mobo and the Patriot RAM. Total on that with free shipping is just under $300. I am sure I am forgetting a bunch of worthy brands and choices so please comment on my selections and add ideas of your own with a special eye to bang for buck. I will likely wait until just after Christmas to make my purchase, but if I see a deal on something before hand, I may go ahead and pull the trigger, so I wanted to get info as soon as possible. Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.
I plan to re-use my EVGA 8800gts 640 video card, WD 250gb sata hdd, Tuniq Tower 120, Lian Li case, and OCZ PSU (31amp on 12v). That means I need CPU, Mobo, and Ram only.
I would like to spend in the $300-$350 range with as much future proofing as possible. I will unlock cores and do a moderate overclock to increase performance. I will surf (40%), play poker(20%), and play Aion(40%) with this machine. I am very "value conscious" and constantly looking at bang for buck items, so if you see something better for a minimal increase in budget feel free to toss out options. Ideally I will get something to out perform my C2D 6420 @ 3.4 on Asus P5K Deluxe with 4GB DDR2 RAM.
I am currently thinking one of the new AMD Phenom II Black CPUs with unlocked multipliers is my best bet for low-budget power and over-clockability:
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail
I have had good luck with Gigabyte, Asus, and Abit mobos in previous builds, but am open to any brand as long as they are reliable and over-clockable (MSI?). The motherboards I am considering:
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
I have had good luck with OCZ RAM and Corsair RAM before and used Patriot RAM in a buddies build. Both of these choices are AMD certified, if that makes any sort of difference, if not feel free to offer additional suggestions. I am sure I will end up tweaking the RAM timings regardless. 2X2GB DDR3 Ram choices:
OCZ AMD Black Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3BE1600C8LV4GK - Retail
Patriot Gamer Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PGS34G1600ELKA - Retail
I am leaning towards the X3 720 combo priced with the Gigabyte 790GX mobo and the Patriot RAM. Total on that with free shipping is just under $300. I am sure I am forgetting a bunch of worthy brands and choices so please comment on my selections and add ideas of your own with a special eye to bang for buck. I will likely wait until just after Christmas to make my purchase, but if I see a deal on something before hand, I may go ahead and pull the trigger, so I wanted to get info as soon as possible. Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.
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