Build for friend...please review

[ahslan]

My friend wants me to build him a new desktop computer. He plays A LOT of online poker (plays like 12 tables at a time for like 5 hours a day) and therefore wants something that won't lag under stress. He makes a lot of money playing so he wants a good computer but not an overpriced one. Besides from playing poker, he's just gonna use the comp for internet, having all his music on it, and watching videos. Me being an amd fanboy came up with this build for him:

Case: Still in question...Haven't made him choose which case he likes the most, so I am open to all suggestions.

CPU (man im gonna get a lot of heat for this):
AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16819103249

CPU Heatsink: GIGABYTE GH-PDU22-SC EVR Sleeve CPU Coole
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16835128012

Mobo: ECS A780GM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813135075

PSU: RAIDMAX RX-700SS ATX12V / EPS12V 700W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817152030
Liked it because its modular

RAM: 2 Sets of G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Summing to 8gb of RAM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16820231122

HDD: 2 Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16822136178

I didn't bother putting the dvd burner here...

I also wanted to ask you guys if you think I should add a video card to this set up...I chose the ECS mobo because it has the 780g chipset with integrated Radeon HD 3200...but do you guys think that will be enough? He doesn't play any video games at all...I guess I still need to ask him what kind of display he will be using...lol


Thanks!!!

 

[Onus]

Raidmax PSUs are on tier-5 ("Do not buy") of the list at http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon. Choose one from tier-3 or better.
If he plays 12 tables at a time, perhaps he would like to have >1 monitor. I think the 780G supports that, but may still be the wrong board. I don't have the link, but Anandtech did an article explaining how most of the 780G boards cannot handle that particular CPU, typically smoking in less than a minute.

 

[Andrius]

Get this PSU, great quality, good reviews (costs 10$ more):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

Harddrives, same price, more cache (always good):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073&Tpk=5000AAKS

For dual monitors get something like this (2x DVI):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102731
or this motherboard (costs 30$ more and has an onboard DVI (it does not support the 9850BE processor however) so two monitors are also an option:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128090


770/780G boards in general don't have support for 9850.
I'd recommend a 9550 for a 780G board and skip the CPU cooler.
If you really want him to have the X4 9850 BE you'll have to buy a 790X chipset board (or check the CPU support lists for specific boards).

Keep in mind that the 125Watts of the X4 9750 are supported by Gigabyte's 780G boards (I wouldn't risk it though).

 

[akhilles]

Quick question: is he on comcast? If so, good luck. He'll need it.

What they said is true that the 9900/9850BE or 6400+ X2 will burn out the cheap 780 boards in a matter of minutes. The only exception is the more expensive 780 boards that have more than 3 power phases. Go with a budget 790 board like ASUS M3A.

 

[ahslan]

thx! Do you guys think the performance difference between a 9500 and a 9850 is noticeable??? if so, it seems im going to have to cahnge the mobo, the PS and add a video card cuz he told me he uses dual 24" monitors....(god im jealous)...but if it isn't, then ill just switch out the 9850 for the 9500...but still change the PS and video card.

Thx

 

[akhilles]

Forgot the link in my previous post:

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3279&p=2

I think even an X2 is fine for his uses.

http://www.techspot.com/review/93-amd-phenom-9850-black-edition/page2.html

 

[Andrius]

X4 9500 is the old B2 buggy stepping. DO NOT BUY THAT!

X4 9550 is the new B3 stepping. BUY THAT for a 780G motherboard.
With online poker, watching videos and not much 3D gaming a 9550 and a 9850 should not be that different. With encoding video/gaming you'll notice the difference.

For dual 24" monitors the onboard graphics is enough BUT you need 2 DVI outputs (or DVI and HDMI). Text over analog/D-SUB15 is smudgy (like in low quality JPEG screenshots). So I recommend anything with 2x DVI for graphics.

I would not buy an X2 today unless he plans to upgrade again in a year or 18 months.

 

[ahslan]

he doesn't want to upgrade anytime soon...he wants something that will simply last...he currently uses and IBM thinkpad for playing but he tells me it just doesn't cut it...and he told me he has a pretty decked out model as well...I think I might go with the lower clocked 9550 and a cheap 2x DVI video card because he certainly won't be doing any gaming or video encoding...thx for the help