Mid-Range Gaming Rig, Final Build

[iholly]

Final Build

How does it look?

CPU:

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDX945FBGIBOX

$225

Graphics:

BFG Tech BFGEGTX275896OCE GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

$249

RAM:

OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK

$120

Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

$90

PSU:

Corsair 650W

...On a 21.5" Monitor

 

[hunter315]

Whats the resolution on the monitor and where are you buying from? You dont need triple channel memory just dual channel and you wont get any benefit from 6 GB over 4GB for gaming

 

[tecmo34]

+1 on hunter315's comments

What HDD are you going to use for the build?

 

[iholly]

I've read that buying DR33 will make it easier to upgrade in the future and it will become more useful given that DDR2 is heading out? Also, I can't find it for the life of me now, but I read somewhere that with my Mobo/CPU I need to keep my ram at 1.5 volts? Does that sound right?
I can find some DDR2 with good timing but it all has 1.8+ volts.

Resolution I was going to run 1920x1080 or under.

And as for the HDD, I was going to just pick a 650gb 7200 up from the local store.

Or if I can find it:

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives

 

[hundredislandsboy]

The CPU/GPU pair seems well balanced.

 

[orangegator]

That ram is a 3 stick i7 kit. You want either 2 or 4 sticks so you can run dual channel,

 

[iholly]

That ram is a 3 stick i7 kit. You want either 2 or 4 sticks so you can run dual channel,

Oh so I can't have an odd number with my setup?

And you guys think it would be better to run, for example, a 4-4-4-12 DDR2 then 7-7-7-24 DDR3?

 

[gondo]

Ok here's the deal. The AMD supports dual channel, the I7 triple channel. Now for AMD some boards support DDR2 and some DDR3.

Dual channel means 2 sticks not DDR2. Triple channel is 3 sticks not DDR3. You can get triple channel DDR2. Chanelling and DDR is 2 different things.

So for the upgrade find a board that supports DDR3 Ram as that is the new stuff that will be used down the road. Then get a dual channel DDR3 kit which will be 4GB. 2 x 2GB sticks.

Also check out some of the ATI vide cards...some good deals in there. What about a 1000GB hard drive...they are dirt cheap.

 

[iholly]

Yeah, I was just not thinking. My mobo is dual channel so will get 4gbs in two sticks.

I think I will get a 1tb.

Last question. Do I need low voltage ram with my mobo/cpu?

I was thinking of one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104020

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227267

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166 $54.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

 

[orangegator]

The motherboard listed in your first post uses DDR3. The new ram you linked is DDR2. It won't work.

 

[Helloworld_98]

swap the CPU for a 955 and the gfx card for a 4890, you save a good amount of money and will have increased performance.

 

[iholly]

swap the CPU for a 955 and the gfx card for a 4890, you save a good amount of money and will have increased performance.

Oh yeah, I need to either change my mobo or stick with ddr3. Thanks.

 

[iholly]

So do I need to stay under 1.65 volts on the RAM for this build or is that for the i7? Or am I totally confused?

 

[orangegator]

So do I need to stay under 1.65 volts on the RAM for this build or is that for the i7? Or am I totally confused?

Only with i7 DDR3 needs to be less than 1.65V. You can use higher voltage ram with other cpus.

 

[iholly]

Only with i7 DDR3 needs to be less than 1.65V. You can use higher voltage ram with other cpus.

Thank you for the answer!