800--900$ Build

[sunny27]

hi!
i have a good enough pc right now--see signature below---for photo editing/basic computing/etc---i plan to give it to my sister.
i am looking for a good 800--900$ build.

PARTS I WOULD BE KEEPING FROM MY CURRENT BUILD::
dell p2210---22"(1680x1050)
seagate 7200.12--1TB hdd,2x500gb wd caviar green drives.
sony dvd writers--2
speakers

PARTS I NEED FOR THE NEW PC
cpu------------------------amd phenom2 x4 955BE
motherboard------------anything reliable with ddr3 which would allow me to upgrade to 6/8 core cpus when available
ram------------------------corsair 4x1gb ddr3 1333mhz sticks/ocz/---would upgrade to another 4gb stick later
gpu------------------------ati radeon 5xxx(i want to play games @ 1680x1050 with everything set to maximum)
a good psu---------------preferably corsair/glacial power/tagan
cpu cooler/heatsink----coolermaster hyper 212+/thermalright 120 black/thermolab baram + 120mm silverstone fans
a good case-------------should be spacious enough for after market coolers,should have facilities for cable mamngement(no garish led fans please!!!!!)
a cheap 19"lcd---------i have decided on a dell 1910in/samsung 933nw
a good gaming mouse---i play a lot of fps titles---would a razer death adder be good enough for me???

the operating system i would use---windows 7 ultimate 64 bit

the cpu/motherboard/ram/gpu/psu are of extreme importance now---also can i play games at maximum settings@1680x1050 with the config i want?

thanks in advance!!!
cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cryslayer80]

You can, just be sure to get a decent card. My recommendation goes to GTX285.

 

[sunny27]

not a very convincing answer!!

was looking forward to more suggestions+recommendations!!!

 

[enzo matrix]

What games do you intend to play?

 

[sunny27]

i play fps titles and a few racing games.i dabble in a bit of video editing .
i want a good stable platform which can be upgraded to the 6/8 core cpus when they release.that would rule out the i5 platform.leaves the am3 and 1366 platform -the 1366 is out my budget.
any more tips would be welcome
and now i have a 24incher--dell g2410 which dell gave me when my p2210 stopped working.which means i need something that can handle 1920x1080 with 16x aa and 8xaf.

 

[yannifb]

The ATI Radeon HD 5850- it is stronger and cheaper than the gtx 285 and can handle that res easily.

 

[jj463rd]

This is the motherboard to go with ( MSI 790FX-GD70).It was used on Toms Hardware's recent System Builder Marathon on 2 systems as you can see here.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/performance-gaming-amd,2415.html

Very feature rich and inexpensive.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223

Here is a good quality beefy power supply from Corsair.I chose this model on a recent build of mine.I prefer about 850 watts in case I choose to add on an extra beefy graphics card in crossfire.You may not need this much power but you might regret not having it later on.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

Here is a good inexpensive very spacious mid size tower which I used.
It does have BIG LED fans (can easily turn off the lighting effects though).Great cooling(airflow) and a lot of space for extra long large size graphics cards
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197
This Mid Tower is BIG for it's size and very long.

I would choose Windows 7 Professional 64 bit over Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit because it's substantially less in price.
Both Pro and Ultimate have 10 years of updates.

 

[sunny27]

thanks for the answers!
i just wanted to confirm that the core i5 platform aka 1156 would not be getting the newer 6/8 core cpus.
also can i use opteron cpus with am3???

 

[jj463rd]

No word on the LGA 1156 Platform.I've heard rumors of newer faster CPU's though then again those are rumors.There is a 6 core i9 Gulftown CPU coming out for the LGA 1366 Platform most likely a $1,000 CPU.From benchmarks Core i9 looks like it's worth every penny but only über enthusiasts could afford it.

There is a 6 Core Thuban CPU coming out for the AM3 Platform as a drop in replacement.You will probably prefer a Thuban to an expensive Opteron (I think that uses a different socket).
A possibility exists that the 6 Core Thuban might work on older AM2+ motherboards as well.It would probably be much cheaper than Intel's Core i9 but would most likely have lesser performance and probably would give performance more on par like Intel's Core i7.

 

[yannifb]

You also have to remember that a few months after Thuban (Summer 2010) Bulldozer will come out, which is a completely new arch with 8 cores and 16 threads.

 

[yannifb]

IMO Amd is still an utter ripoff compared to the I5 and i wouldn't buy an X4 at current prices. The 750 beats down pretty much everything amd has to offer and is CHEAPER. Before anyone asks where. A and a tech's I5 750 review. 750 beat down the 965 in 22 of 25 tests.

Here's another option for you....

MSI P55 - 119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130246

G Skill 4GB DDR3 1600 Ripjaws - 93.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

Core I5 750 - 149.99
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317379

XFX 5770 - 179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

CM 690
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

Don't let the Amd fanboi's fool you on this forum. Amd makes a good product but with the introduction of the I5 it's not even close. I5 is the "Bang for the Buck" Quad core on the market today and in a month the I3's are going to decimate the X3's and Dual core offerings from Amd.

Perhaps you forgot the upgrading part? If not, read the OP before going on and trying to bring everyone to Intel no matter what. Unfortunately LGA 1156 won't have 6 core CPU's- look at the roadmap Tomshardware put up a few days ago.

 

[jj463rd]

He also forgot that the Core i5 750 at microcenter is in store pickup only.
That means no ordering online and having it delivered by UPS or Fedex.

That's a deception because fewer than .1% of the population in the United States probably lives within 10 miles of a microcenter retail store where as nearly everyone within the United States (and Canada) can order from newegg where the price would be this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

at Tiger Direct they have a sale on the Core i5 so its $10 less

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4959973&Sku=I69-0750

Tiger Direct has a good deal here on the i5

The OP stated "motherboard------------anything reliable with ddr3 which would allow me to upgrade to 6/8 core cpus when available"
So read yannifb's previous post.

 

[sunny27]

1156 is of no use to me!
and i am not a fanboy i've held my opteron dual core with the 939 system together for 6 years now and i have played everything that came my way @ max settings now with a 24 incher i believe the 939's days of glory are finally and truly over and its been an amazing and fantastic experience and never once did it bail out on me -- btw i am from india so these deals wouldn't apply to me and the rates for intel's offerings are pretty high here in india compared to amd's approximately 40--50 us $ difference between the phenom 2 x4 955 and the intel core i5.
i won't mind splurging the extra cash on an intel platform but that would have to be the 1366(way too expensive) and not the 1156.

 

[yannifb]

1156 is of no use to me!
and i am not a fanboy i've held my opteron dual core with the 939 system together for 6 years now and i have played everything that came my way @ max settings now with a 24 incher i believe the 939's days of glory are finally and truly over and its been an amazing and fantastic experience and never once did it bail out on me -- btw i am from india so these deals wouldn't apply to me and the rates for intel's offerings are pretty high here in india compared to amd's approximately 40--50 us $ difference between the phenom 2 x4 955 and the intel core i5.
i won't mind splurging the extra cash on an intel platform but that would have to be the 1366(way too expensive) and not the 1156.

Yeah the best AM3 socket option imo is the 955 (since its cheaper than the 965 and easily oc'able to same speed), however the C3 VERSION of the 965 (which is 125 watt tdp) can overclock higher than the old 965 and 955. The new c3 revs can get 4.0 ghz as easily as most people got 3.8 on the c2 revs.

 

[sunny27]

c3 revision is what i am looking for,but then the 965 would make no sense becasue i would be instantly moving onto a better 6/8 core cpu whenever it comes out next year--so the 955 would make better sense wouldnjavascript:%20validform(this);'t it??

 

[yannifb]

c3 revision is what i am looking for,but then the 965 would make no sense becasue i would be instantly moving onto a better 6/8 core cpu whenever it comes out next year--so the 955 would make better sense wouldnjavascript:%20validform(this);'t it??

Yeah the 955 would make a lot of sense. Its one of the high end gaming CPUs- you cant go wrong with those . Also its price is amazing.