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High end AMD gaming rig: why and why not?

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - High end AMD gaming rig: why and why not?

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No OC, AM2+ / Crossfire capable rig

5600 Windsor = $139
MSI K9A2CF = $99
HD 3870x2 = $449
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102723
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] eam-3870x2
Earthwatts 500W = $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371007
NZXT Hush casing = $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811146035
2gb Ram = $34
250GB HDD = $70
Acer LCD = $189
Total = $1085 (almost half of it = GPU )

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by batuchka on 01-31-2008 at 01:28:28 PM

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batuchka wrote :

I guess you are on a budget.

I am also looking to build a new PC.... I doubt it will happen, but I want to do it. Maybe if I get sponsored or something?

Although the 5600 is good, I would either step up to the 6000 or the Phenom (when B3 hits).

For your hd, why not get 3 more and then run raid 5??? You get speed increases for read and some write. You also get the dependability and reliability.

Your powers supply, do you trust it? I only trust thermaltake toughpower.

------------------------------ And on the third day, God created the Remington bolt-action rifle, so that Man could fight the dinosaurs. And the homosexuals.
Reply to spaztic7

batuchka knows the best GPU out now. Thumbs up.

If you're planning on B3, don't. I'm having a 2nd thought about AMD. B3 is nothing to write home about: won't overclock any better than pre-B3. The bug is fixed. That's it.

I am not sure if the 500W is enough for that card. Have you looked at the power consumption?

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/for [...] ew-14.html
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/har [...] view.ars/4
http://www.anandtech.com/video/sho [...] =3209&p=12

Message edited by akhilles on 01-31-2008 at 02:21:31 PM

Reply to akhilles

my 3870 rocks i bet the x2 will not let you down

------------------------------ Sealab 2021 season2:

What does thou mash and weep and scream crap?

Reply to jnava121

i would take a 650W PSU minimum,

a good one would be : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817339003

cheapest i could find was : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817101013

they both support crossfire and are 650W.

hard choices, if ~$1000 usd is your budget then this is probably the best you can get.

if you have any more cash to spend i would invest in a bigger screen (looking at the price it cant be very big, 19"?) a decent 24" tft starts at around $300 usd which is none too big for that videocard.
also allows you to play real HD.

second thing would be the hdd but that depends all on how much data you need to store.

hope this helped.

Reply to smokegfx

About the motherboard you should know that it does not support 125w processors, such as the proposed 6000+, however the Platinium does(if you want to stick with MSI) but at a higher price.

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ It's the little things that do the big difference!
Reply to justjc

Sorry, I did not look at any of the motherboard stats...

------------------------------ And on the third day, God created the Remington bolt-action rifle, so that Man could fight the dinosaurs. And the homosexuals.
Reply to spaztic7

justjc wrote :

About the motherboard you should know that it does not support 125w processors, such as the proposed 6000+, however the Platinium does(if you want to stick with MSI) but at a higher price.

good catch didnt even notice.

asus has a slightly more expensive motherboard you might want to look at - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131095

or the cheaper MSI K9A2 CF-F AM2+- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] I%2bK9A2CF

Reply to smokegfx

Whoa thks guys - lots of interesting opinions! Ya after looking at those power consumption graph this is one rig where a 800+W PSU woukdn't be an overkill if ever i want to run 3870x2 in crossfire? Hmm ok for upgrade path: i would only move up to a B3 phenom black wih unlocked multiplier yada yada so not that much in a hurry Also considering MSI K9A2 Platinium for slightly more ^^

Reply to batuchka

Why not get a 5000+ BE instead? its $99 on new egg. You spend the 40 dollars you save and get a good Zalman cooler.
You be able to hit much higher speeds on the BE with less fiddling (ie just change multiplier and voltage instead of messing with htt settings.
Well its preference 2.8 ghx w/ 1 meg l2 cache per core.....or put the BE to 3.0-3.2 ghz but /w 512 cache per core.

But in the long run you can always change out CPUs later and recycle the Zalman.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Mendoza

batuchka, you'll be disappointed with B3. If the rumor is true, there'll be a B4 - which has the TBL fix & MUCH better overability, but the ETA is H2/2008 (best guess would be sept/oct). They might as well call it BS. Pun intended. I can't wait that long. Wolfie here I come.

BTW, unlocked Phenoms don't mean s*it. The current 9600 BE is unlocked. Look at the lackluster 300mhz overclock. If that's any indication, the B3 BE will overclock about the same. Go ahead. Preorder one. See for yourself. My Wolfie will be wiping the floor with your B3.

Message edited by akhilles on 02-01-2008 at 02:40:37 PM

Reply to akhilles

Mendoza wrote :

That would be my choice as well.

Also the 500w is tight since that GPU sets new records for power usage for a single card under load.
Consider the 550vx Corsair. I think Buy.Com has it for $60ish.

------------------------------ If its good in theory but not in practice,
its not good theory.
Reply to zenmaster

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