First Homebuild (Gaming AMD Build ~$1000)

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Sometime this month

BUDGET RANGE: US$1000-1200

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: gaming, streaming videos, surfing internet

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD, nvidia

OVERCLOCKING: Yes

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe in future

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: It is likely that I will stick with nvidia single-card solutions; however, I am not totally opposed to CF. I will be playing diablo 3, starcraft 2, WoW, call of duty MW 1&2, Fallout 3, Oblivion, and maybe more graphics-intensive games in the future. My concerns with CF are heat & noise and also ATI driver issues; if my concerns are unwarranted, let me know. I would like my system to be relatively quiet, so it's not all about performance & price with video cards; I've been scoping out the newegg customer reviews for cards that are praised as quiet/cool. At this point, I'm still not sure whether to go with the X3 720 or the X4 955, the 790GX or the 790FX, and I'm definitely open to video card suggestions. I'm looking for a PC that will have a good lifespan and will be readily upgradeable (I'm fine with playing games on medium settings in the future to extend PC life).


AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Retail ($125)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103649

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - ($140 - $15 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131366

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail ($100)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119197

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail ($120 - $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006

EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail ($240 - $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130475

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBPI - Retail ($75)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231200

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM ($75)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136319

Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - Retail ($40 - $15 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835207004

LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM ($25)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136144

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM ($110)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116677

TOTAL: $1050 - $70 MIR = $980


If X4 955 and/or 790FX are highly recommended for futureproofing purposes, it looks as though I can afford them if the rest of the build remains relatively constant. Let me know what you think!

You only get small improvements by moving from triple to quad core , and in many graphically intense games the gfx card will be the limit not the cpu.
[edit: when the clock speeds are the same that is , and both the 720 and 955 top out at around 3.8GHz for most people ]
I think you will be fine with the 720 be , but you could also go with the 945 instead . The 945 is a good compromise since it overclocks to more than 955 levels any way .

Im not sure what you mean by driver issues with ATI cards . Id go with a 4890 . Theyre a bit cheaper than the gtx 275 and very similar performance . And it does leave the crossfire door open for the future

You could easily go with a 650 watt psu for a single card

Maybe you could also save money with the motherboard and get a MSI 770-C45 ir a Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P if you do not plan ever to do xfire/sli.

The MSI 770-C45 is very cheap and I heard it's still a great overclocker...

I spent to much money on my motherboard (gigabyte ga-ma790fxt-ud5p) and now I regret it.