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$1000 Budget - What do I do?

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - $1000 Budget - What do I do?

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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Undetermined. BUDGET RANGE: <$1000

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Word Processing, Gaming, amateur Video Editing, and Web Surfing

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, and Speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg?

PARTS PREFERENCES: Unsure

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Possibly in the future.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050, 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'm wondering whether I should just hold off on building the system 'till the end of July or later. Should I wait for an i5? When will there be price cuts on Core i7's and X58 mobos? What's the best Core 2 Quad for under $300? What's the best "Bang-for-Buck" Core 2 Quad? Is the Phenom II 955 BE better than a Core 2 Quad? What new technologies are around the corner in terms of "average" computer building? What threats does minor overclocking pose?

The local computer technician said he had some bad experiences with Newegg. I guess he recieved some products that had already been used. He prefers a site called Maxgroup.com that has a very limited selection of most everything. He also said that EVGA sucks, but I thought that EVGA made some nice products.

Also, have any of you had experience with Gateway Monitors? I posted this in the LCD section and I haven't gotten any replies.

Possible Configurations:

AMD "Dragon" Platform
- CPU: AMD Phenom II 955 BE
- Motherboard: MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
- GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4870 1GB (Overclocked) or SAPPHIRE TOXIC Radeon HD 4870 1GB
- HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
- RAM: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
- Heatsink: XIGMATEK Dark Knight
- PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
- Case: COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper
- Monitor: Gateway FHD2102bmidgz Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor?

Core 2 Quad
- CPU: Q9550
- Motherboard: I'm at a loss when it comes to choosing a LGA 775 Mobo, but this GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P seems decent.
- GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4870 1GB (Overclocked) or SAPPHIRE TOXIC Radeon HD 4870 1GB
- HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
- RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
- Heatsink: XIGMATEK Dark Knight
- PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
- Case: COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper
- Monitor: Gateway FHD2102bmidgz Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor?

Core 2 Duo
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz
- Motherboard: I'm at a loss when it comes to choosing a LGA 775 Mobo, but this GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P seems decent.
- GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4870 1GB (Overclocked) or SAPPHIRE TOXIC Radeon HD 4870 1GB
- HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
- RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
- Heatsink: XIGMATEK Dark Knight
- PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
- Case: COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper
- Monitor: Gateway FHD2102bmidgz Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor?

Message edited by brettdaniel117 on 06-20-2009 at 03:35:50 PM

Add a reply

Before I can answer that I need to know more about what you need.

If this is only a gaming computer the build is far different from a general use computer, which in turn is different from a video processing computer.

------------------------------ My Guide to choosing parts
A big list of recommended parts
Troubleshooting Guide w/links
Reply to Proximon

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ild-advice

Edit your original post to use that format, once you do that someone can get you a nice set of parts picked out rather soon. Like proximon said the build depends on the usage, make sure you list what parts you already have and link to them on newegg or a similar site it makes it easier.

Reply to hunter315

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 - $229.99

Core 2 Quad vs Core i7 920 - Anandtech Bench - Similar performance, C2Q is quite a bit cheaper
Core 2 Quad vs Phenom II X4 955 - Anandtech Bench - Core 2 Quad has an edge, better performance than Phenom 955

Upcoming Intel processors.
Source: Intel Quietly Announces Core i5 and Core i3 Branding

Quote :

Core i7 -- Cores: 4, Threads: 8, Turbo: Yes
Core i5 -- Cores: 2 or 4, Threads: 4, Turbo: Yes
Core i3 -- Cores: 2 or 4, Threads: 4, Turbo: No

Only the Core i7 is allowed to run in a LGA-1366 socket, however there will be LGA-1156 i7, i5 and i3CPUs . The number of memory channels and the presence of a QPI link does not determine branding. In other words, Lynnfield will be both a Core i7 and a Core i5 depending on the SKU.

The LGA-1156 Core i7s will be the 8xx series, while the LGA-1366 i7s will be the 9xx series. The i5s will be the 6xx series and the i3s will be the 5xx series.

Four cores and HT enabled with turbo mode yields you a Core i7 on the desktop. If you only have support for up to 4 threads then you've got a Core i5; take away turbo and you have a Core i3.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by ambientmf on 06-19-2009 at 09:00:23 AM

Reply to ambientmf

When I look at that Anandtech link, I see an exchange of swats; it really seems to depend on the benchmark, and many are so close as to make no practical difference.
Will you overclock? What size monitor do you want?
What are you wanting to do with it? As Proximon and Hunter indicate, we need to know about the uses of this computer.

Reply to jtt283

Great bang for buck for mostly gaming, go with an X3 720 with an AM3 motherboard. Save your money for a better video card and with this selection you will have more room for upgrades in the future. Even though the Q9550 at 229 bucks is kinda of tempting, I wouldn't sink money into a dying platform (Socket 775).

------------------------------ AMD 5400+BE @3.3GHz
Abit KN9 SLi 570n
eVGA 8800GT
Mushkin 4GB DDR2 800
Reply to macabre215

Alright, I have edited my post to the correct posting format, let me know if I need to make any changes. I appreciate the replies guys.

Reply to brettdaniel117

Thanks.

Those are all three very nice builds, with one part exception.

Each build uses dual channel RAM, but you have selected triple-channel. That is only used in i7 builds.

Your usage doesn't actually include anything very CPU intensive. You should be focused more on graphics card(s).

For 1K, drop the 790FX board and get a 790GX:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.203158

Then get 4GB RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227297

Use your savings to upgrade your video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150359

And for a gaming monitor, consider this top rated one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824005109

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ My Guide to choosing parts
A big list of recommended parts
Troubleshooting Guide w/links
Reply to Proximon

Oh woops, my bad. Fix'd.

Message edited by brettdaniel117 on 06-20-2009 at 05:32:41 AM

Reply to brettdaniel117

Drop down to a Gigabyte 790X. You don't need the IGP. $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128387

And a Phenom II 940, $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103471

4GB OCZ Platinum DDR2-1066. $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227298

This saves you $170, making it much better value than the other two builds. Go with that.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by smithereen on 06-20-2009 at 06:24:46 AM

------------------------------ Phenom II X2 unlocked to four cores @ 3.8gHz,1.45V. 4GB DDR3-1600 Gigabyte 785g ATi Radeon HD4870 1GB
Run Folding@Home! Support Toms Hardware Guide, Team 40051!
CPU Buyer's Guide
Reply to smithereen

Proximon wrote :

Each build uses dual channel RAM, but you have selected triple-channel. That is only used in i7 builds.

After reviewing the AM3 mobo's specs I see that you're right. So, if I used 2GB modules of RAM I would only be able to have 8GBs?

smithereen wrote :

Drop down to a Gigabyte 790X. You don't need the IGP. $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128387

And a Phenom II 940, $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103471

4GB OCZ Platinum DDR2-1066. $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227298

This saves you $170, making it much better value than the other two builds. Go with that.

This looks good. That Mobo should also make a fairly "future-proof" system as well, right?

Message edited by brettdaniel117 on 06-20-2009 at 03:46:00 PM

Reply to brettdaniel117

Current AM3 CPUs are backwards compatible with AM2+ and have DDR2 controllers. It's hard to say for sure that future AMD CPUs will continue to support DDR2.
That, and rising costs of DDR2 while DDR3 drops, is why I recommend DDR3 builds.

However, there are other more important factors. So, if DDR3 isn't quite in the budget today I don't think it's a big deal.

There are no games that currently need more than 4GB of RAM, so I doubt you need to buy more than that today.

------------------------------ My Guide to choosing parts
A big list of recommended parts
Troubleshooting Guide w/links
Reply to Proximon

ambientmf wrote :

If the LGA 775 wasn't dying, then I would probably go with the quad. However, for now, it looks like I'm either going to go with the Phenom II 940 or wait until November/December when I have more income and the 1156 socket is out.

Reply to brettdaniel117

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