Phenom II 940 build

uhyu

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What do you guys think of this build?

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HDZ940XCGIBOX
Mother Board: MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ
Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
or
SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
(additional $50)
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
CPU Fan: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Case Fan: COOLER MASTER R4-L2S-122B-GP 120mm 4 BLUE LED LED Case Fan
DVD Burner: LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30

Cost: $887.36 + $29.81 SH = $917.17

My budget is $800 - $900

Should I get the 1GB version of 4870?

Someone suggested me another case (COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case), but i don't think ill need major cooling. The Antec 300 is great cooling anyway + 4 fans that I'll be buying. (if I'm wrong tell me please)

Thank you for any comments that you put here. =)
 
The motherboard is the weak spot IMO.

Its a combo on newegg with the 940 [ or was ] but I would spend a bit more on a better asus or gigabyte mb

Good to see you using 1066 MHz ram . Phenoms onboard memory controller can use the extra bandwidth so dont be put off by experts who assume the architecture is the same as intel c2d because it isnt
 

uhyu

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Thanks for the advice. I was kinda thrown off by the new egg comment on this mobo. Can you suggest me an another mobo taht wont go out of my budget?
(Would be great help if you can give me link to it on newegg)
 

boulard83

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I dont really love ROSEWILL PSU ... you can find better for similar price. The psu is the base of your computer with the mobo.... my opinion.

Corsair-Antec-OCZ-PC P&C and many others. Read reviews, rosewill arnt the best.

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W 115$ (90 after MIR)

PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W 100$ (70 after MIR)

http://www.jonnyguru.com/
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/
http://www.hardocp.com/

Thats some of the site i use. Hardocp is really nice for GPU-MOBO-CPU too.

MSI K9A2 Platinum ( chipset 790 for 124$ after MIR ..)

you can go for a X4 920 and save more bucks. ( OC to the 940 speed ... ! )

Why the DDR2 1000 ? 1066 2x2gb is cheap now.

While saving bucks on the parts im telling you, Buy 2 HD 4850 and have some fun ! ;)
 

uhyu

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I get the Rosewill PSU as a combo with the Antec 300.
I get a discount of $30.
Does that change anything or would I still need another PSU?
Its actually a little more expensive now, so I cant get 2 4850 for sure, but thanks.
 


I have no direct experience of this mb , but have used Asus and Gigabyte exclusively for a while now because the quality is obvious so if I was building a PC like this I would use

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128381
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4

instead of the foxconn .

Definitely use a mb with a 790 series north bridge chip and a 750 series south bridge

I kept thinking about this at work today . I might have to build one of these when my tax is finalised in march !
 

shabodah

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Normally I'd agree with these guys on the going against the Foxconn. However, as far as 790FX/SB750 boards go, the foxconn is actually the best one. While overclocking the Asus and DFI boards, temps were much higher on both the cpu and the chipset compaired to the Foxconn, and the foxconn was able to sustain higher/better northbridge and hypertransport speeds. I'd call it a fluke, but that board is actually quite good.
 

boulard83

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happy to see that your now using a CORSAIR psu ! :)

For the vid card. the 1gb version isnt really better, only if you plan on playing GTA4. thats the only game where there is a real advantage for this card ATM.
 


Foxconn have released some pretty high end motherboards recently so maybe they are moving up in quality
 

boulard83

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fear 2 1680x1050 . MIN-MAX-AVG
4870 1gb . . . . . . . . . 30-88-55
4870 512 . . . . . . . . . 32-88-63

fear 2 1920x1200 . MIN-MAX-AVG
4870 1gb . . . . . . . . . 27-70-52
4870 512 . . . . . . . . . 30-70-52

Left for dead 1680x1080 . MIN-MAX-AVG
4870 1gb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-62-42
4870 512 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-63-49

Left for dead 1920x1200 . MIN-MAX-AVG
4870 1gb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-62-38
4870 512 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-70-40

fallout 3 and farcry2 same thing ..... using 2560x1600 is the only place where the 1gb takes the lead by being able to use 2xaa vs NOaa for the 512 for the same FPS.... the 1gb is useless on those 256bit card .. the BUS isnt fast enough to use correctly the 1gb. its a lil advantage on VERYHIGH res with just 2xAA... no BANG there ..

AS i told, GTA 4 is the ONLY game where the 1gb takes the lead ...

 
Talk about cherry picked results. Have a look at the GRID section and the 2/4 AA results for about every game. I do remember saying that it helps at high resolutions with AA cranked up. That's why I asked what resolution his monitor runs at.