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sa_gem

sa_gem

Banned
Jan 25, 2010
3
0
0
I have about 600 to spend on a motherboard cpu and ram. I have some sata and ide drives i need to put in it as well as an ocz powerstream 600 with a case i can use. I also have a geforce 250 to use for the vid. I was hoping for maybe 8 gigs or more of ram, phenom 2 for cpu, might buy aftermarket hsf to go with, unless recommendation here are better for the complementary motherboard to work well with each other. please let me know of any build you might have done and i can go price compare for stuff now. Trying to make the hd the only thing causing bottlenecking at this point, until i start doing my raids with more money and hds..
 
f4phantom2500

f4phantom2500

Platinum Member
Dec 3, 2006
2,284
1
0
i, personally, would go with an athlon ii x4. the phenom ii's don't offer enough extra performance for the money, imo. i recently built a new rig with an athlon ii x3 (woulda got x4 but i couldn't justify spending $10 to get an extra core and lose 300mhz, but with the recent price changes that's all changed...plus i was hoping to unlock the x3, but that didn't pan out) and it's a great cpu.
 
zsdersw

zsdersw

Lifer
Oct 29, 2003
10,505
2
0
With that kind of money you could easily get a very nice Core i5-750 system, if not an i7.
 
lifeblood

lifeblood

Senior member
Oct 17, 2001
999
88
91
Go with a X3 as it's your best compromise. Some apps like faster cores, some apps like more cores. An X3 provides a good compromise between those two, being faster than X4's (for the same money) and more cores than the X2's.

I've had zero problems with my rig, but it's an AM2+ and you'll want a AM3. Do you plan on overclocking?
 
lopri

lopri

Elite Member
Jul 27, 2002
13,314
690
126
These two boards would be on the short list if I were to build an AM3 system for myself:

790X
790FX
 
L

LoneNinja

Senior member
Jan 5, 2009
825
0
0
With your budget there is no need to drop down to an X3 or an Athlon II X4. Go for a Phenom II X4 955BE if you intend to overclock, it clocks just as well as the 965BE.
 
N

nyker96

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2005
5,630
2
81
with 600, i'd get the following for myself:
790GX board, 4gb DDR3s (all i think you really need - or 8 if you really into ram), 955BE (the new rev), hyper 212+ cooler. sell off that 250, get a hd5850, that should be pretty decent machine that you can oc to 3,8ghz with that cooler.

specifically: with 600 you can really get a nice system, some suggestions here.

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX: $140 (Xfire capable)
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb (C3 stepping): $165
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600: $105 ( 1 or 2 set up to you)
HIS H585F1GDG Radeon HD 5850: $290 (sell off that gts 250)
 
srp49ers

srp49ers

Senior member
Jun 2, 2001
245
0
76
Axon said:
955 is a baller chip.
Click to expand...

What he said.
I just upgraded, Today in fact, from a PHII X3 720@ 3.2 to a X4 955. What a nice boost in performance that was. Didn't think it would be much of a difference, really upgraded to get one the new C3 rev chips so i could oc further. I got that along with the OCZ black edition ddr3.
 
BD231

BD231

Lifer
Feb 26, 2001
10,568
138
106
srp49ers said:
What he said.
I just upgraded, Today in fact, from a PHII X3 720@ 3.2 to a X4 955. What a nice boost in performance that was. Didn't think it would be much of a difference, really upgraded to get one the new C3 rev chips so i could oc further. I got that along with the OCZ black edition ddr3.
Click to expand...

This is helpful, I have a 720 @ 3.7 I'd like to ditch for a fourth core but wasn't quite sure it would even be worth it.
 
N

nonameo

Diamond Member
Mar 13, 2006
5,902
2
76
I love amd stuff, but I'll have to second the vote for the i5 750. That just can't be beat. If you go AMD, you should go where the value is, and I think that the value is currently at the athlon II x3 425. Also, I think 8gb is overkill. 4gb will do you fine. Spend the money on a better graphics card or an SSD, especially with RAM prices like they are right now.

Here's what I would build for you:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115215
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128405
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-475-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231193

Comes in under 600, will perform better than anything AMD, and gets you an SSD to boot. I promise you that you'll be way more happy with this than anything you spend 600$ on for AMD.

Oh yeah, you can add an extra 4gb any time you want.
 
Last edited:
BlueWeasel

BlueWeasel

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
15,944
475
126
I'm also thinking of upgrading to a X4 955 BE.

What's a good budget motherboard that would allow me to push the 955 to 3.6-3.8Ghz? Also, I'm thinking of getting 6GB of DDR3. Will 3x2GB sticks limit performance (running in single channel vs 2x2GB in dual channel) or does it not matter with the new C3 955 X4's?
 
M

Martimus

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2007
4,490
157
106
BlueWeasel said:
I'm also thinking of upgrading to a X4 955 BE.

What's a good budget motherboard that would allow me to push the 955 to 3.6-3.8Ghz? Also, I'm thinking of getting 6GB of DDR3. Will 3x2GB sticks limit performance (running in single channel vs 2x2GB in dual channel) or does it not matter with the new C3 955 X4's?
Click to expand...

Why not get 8GB (4 sticks) instead of 6GB? That way you can keep dual channel, and you will have extra RAM.
 
BlueWeasel

BlueWeasel

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
15,944
475
126
Martimus said:
Why not get 8GB (4 sticks) instead of 6GB? That way you can keep dual channel, and you will have extra RAM.
Click to expand...

Good point. Honestly, I really don't need anything more than 4GB at this point, so I'll probably go with 2x2GB DDR3 to start.

If I were to pick up another set of 4GB in the future (for a total of 4x2GB=8GB), does having 4 sticks limit OC'ing?
 
Last edited:
cbn

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
12,968
221
106
sa_gem said:
I have about 600 to spend on a motherboard cpu and ram. I have some sata and ide drives i need to put in it as well as an ocz powerstream 600 with a case i can use. I also have a geforce 250 to use for the vid. I was hoping for maybe 8 gigs or more of ram, phenom 2 for cpu, might buy aftermarket hsf to go with, unless recommendation here are better for the complementary motherboard to work well with each other. please let me know of any build you might have done and i can go price compare for stuff now. Trying to make the hd the only thing causing bottlenecking at this point, until i start doing my raids with more money and hds..
Click to expand...

Will the RD890/SB750 AMD mainboards coming out next month help your RAIDs?
 
Last edited:
zsdersw

zsdersw

Lifer
Oct 29, 2003
10,505
2
0
Spending $600 on an AMD-based cpu/mobo/RAM combo is like buying a high-end Toyota Corolla for the same price as a V6 RAV4; you're not getting the most for your money.
 
Axon

Axon

Platinum Member
Sep 25, 2003
2,541
1
76
Except the RAV4's gas pedal/accelerator will stick on you. Zing!
 
M

Martimus

Diamond Member
Apr 24, 2007
4,490
157
106
zsdersw said:
Doesn't work with the analogy, but sure.
Click to expand...

I always find the references to Toyota cars amusing, since they have had inferior quality to GM for at least a decade, and inferior features to Ford for the same time period. It amazes me that they are able to advertise crap as gold for so long with out many people catching on.
 
zsdersw

zsdersw

Lifer
Oct 29, 2003
10,505
2
0
Ok, let's adjust the analogy:

Spending $600 on an AMD-based cpu/mobo/RAM combo is like buying a Honda Civic EX for the same price as an Acura TL; you're not getting the most for your money.
 
J

jones377

Senior member
May 2, 2004
462
64
91
zsdersw said:
Ok, let's adjust the analogy:

Spending $600 on an AMD-based cpu/mobo/RAM combo is like buying a Honda Civic EX for the same price as an Acura TL; you're not getting the most for your money.
Click to expand...

That wasn't his stated purpose however. But now that he's banned (???) it really doesn't matter anymore.
 
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