New AMD build - all opinions welcome

[Guest]

I am upgrading from the old socket 754 build I put together in college. This is my preliminary list of hardware. I don't have many builder friends, so any opinions and input would be greatly appreciated

Motherboard
BIOSTAR TF8200 A+ AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
I chose this board because of its favorable reviews, integrated graphics, good BIOS (as long as I flash to the most recent one, apparently), and expandibility to a better GPU and CPU

Processor
AMD Phenom 9850 Black Edition
you sold me

CPU Heatsink
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler
Solid reviews and it's within my price range (I just hope it fits)

Video Card
XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Black Edition
I'd like to be able to play some games and make use of the HybridPower feature of the 8200

Memory
2x OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
This memory has solid reviews and good overclocking potential, plus its dirt cheap right now

Case
APEVIA X-Dreamer II Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
This case has the primary features I was looking for (side window, side fan, front LCD) along with an overall good review record

PSU
Zalman ZM-850HP 850W
The major features I was looking for, (80% Certified, Active PFC, modular cabling, Hybrid SLI compatible) along with a good review record

Hard Disks
Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Fast, large enough for my needs
Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Good value storage drive

Optical Disks
Lite-On 20X Super Allwrite IDE drive
Cheap DVD burner with good record

Monitor
ASUS Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor
A major step up from my bulky old Dell CRT


My primary uses are internet, music, video, word processing, some scientific computing, and low-graphics gaming. As my new PC will allow it, those uses would expand to CAD and high graphics gaming.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

 

[kawininjazx]

I would say build an Intel system, but lets skip that.

For video get the HD4850 and sub the Raptor for two 640GB western digital hard drives, then you have one for backup. I have a raptor and Im gonna sell it and get three 640s in RAID 5

 

[pat]

I suggest to wait a little bit for the AMD 790GX chipset, which should be out shortly. It has better graphic performance than the nvidia, and performance with the Phenom is better. For CAD, a 4 cores is better than 2 cores, so I would suggest a Phenom. But get the one that end with 50, like the 9550 or the 9850. Newer core, without the tlb bug. Even if that bug doesnt matter for 99.9% of the people, some BIOS has a patch (that can be disabled with AMD overdrive) that can affect performance. The provided cooler will be sufficient if you don't overclock, so better save on that. ATI video card has an edge over nvidia for now, so check them. What you saved from using the stock cooler wold allow you to get 4 gigs of RAM. That will be much better especially for CAD apps..

If you think that 150gb is enough.. well, better get a storage drive.. As for DVD burner, they are all cheap and reliable, so just pick the cheaper of the bunch.

 

[doomturkey]

I would say build an Intel system, but lets skip that.

For video get the HD4850 and sub the Raptor for two 640GB western digital hard drives, then you have one for backup. I have a raptor and Im gonna sell it and get three 640s in RAID 5

+1.
I have a WD 640gb drive and its fast, hell benchmarks show it being faster than the Raptor. Its also cheaper and provides more storage space, of course. The 10k raptors are pretty old tech by now, if you want a really fast drive get a velociraptor or solid state drive (both are pretty expensive).

 

[zenmaster]

Serious Overkill on the PSU - A Good 80+ Certified PSU that will easily handle that systme could easily be found for $100-$150 Less.

Get a 2nd HDD for Backup Purposes if nothing else.

 

[stinkbob]

If you wanna do CAD, go for the Phenom. It will run much faster than the X2 series.

 

[Guest]

Great input, guys; much appreciated.

Here are some changes I made:

CPU - Going for the Phenom 9850, as it sounds like it meets my needs the best

RAM - Doubled up to 4 GB

HDD - Velociraptor (instead of Raptor X) and WD 640 GB for storage

 

[orangeskill]

I'm currently running that mobo w/ similar ocz ram, a 5000+ BE overclocked to 3ghz, and an 8800gt. I have had 0 problems. This is w/ the integrated video turned off and running xp.

 

[Nik_I]

my only recommendation to you would be to skip the 9800GTX and get a 4850. i know you said you want to use the hybrid sli feature, but it's not really worth sacrificing performance for it.

 

[jamesl]

from these 3 reviews the 9800 gtx and the hd 4850 seem to be very close at most resolutions

http://www.guru3d.com/category/vga_2/

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4850,1957-14.html

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=13

 

[kelfen]

from these 3 reviews the 9800 gtx and the hd 4850 seem to be very close at most resolutions

http://www.guru3d.com/category/vga_2/

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4850,1957-14.html

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=13

Yea but 4850 is the better value. It supports directx 10.1 which will be used in games in the near future since NVIDIA is going to support it also in their next gen cards.