Hello there I;m looking for some feedback on this build .. The total cost on newegg is $1.144.90 the case has some pretty good reviews so hopefully heat wont be a huge issue ..i do wanna overclock this system if a couple cheap fans or a heatsink will help let me know im sure there's tons of overclocking room on the cpu and the two gpu's Im definatly not gonna be talked out of buying this particular processor It's truly the best possible value I've found for a pc running crossfire.. I;m not really wanting to wait around for the Radeon 5ooo series cards I mean how many DirectX 11 games will there really be in the next year or 2 ?? Ive heard a great deal of good about the 4870's so thats what I must have..I'm willing to make improvements on this build if needed tell me what u guys think
System specs:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX $189.00 Newegg
Two: SAPPHIRE 100279-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Cards (crossfire) $149.00 each Newegg
The build is off to a good start. One thing that should be changed is that old hard drive. The newer drives offer higher data density and are considerably faster. You might as well get the version of Vista that comes with a free upgrade coupon to Windows 7. Here's a combo deal with a modern fast hard drive and Vista with a free upgrade to Windows 7:
You should get a HSF since you're planning on overclocking. The stock HSF will work fine for a stock speed CPU, but don't work very well for overclocking.
The build is off to a good start. One thing that should be changed is that old hard drive. The newer drives offer higher data density and are considerably faster. You might as well get the version of Vista that comes with a free upgrade coupon to Windows 7. Here's a combo deal with a modern fast hard drive and Vista with a free upgrade to Windows 7:
You should get a HSF since you're planning on overclocking. The stock HSF will work fine for a stock speed CPU, but don't work very well for overclocking.
You didn't give a budget for the build, so I don't know how close you are to the max. The comment that I have on your build is regarding your monitor --- I think you can do much better for not much more.
First thing is that I think most monitors can and should last for several years longer than the computer they come with. So, the money you put into a nice screen now is money you can save a couple years from now when it comes to time to have a new build.
Anyways, some concrete suggestions:
ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR) Built in Speakers - Retail
Full HD 1080P - $169.99 after $20 rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236059
Finally, the full sized cased that lots of people love to recommend here is:
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail - $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129043
This is $80 more than your existing selection, but a great case with awesome airflow is one of the things that makes assembly and overclocking much much easier.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.256454 Combo Discount: -$20.00 Combo Price: $254.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate Card Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $234.98
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100269VXLE Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] 22-152-181 Combo Discount: -$10.00 Combo Price: $149.98 Free Shipping*
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Retail
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM | Includes free Windows 7 upgrade coupon
Why_Me, I think he wants to do Crossfire with two GPUs, not just one. He also says he wants the AMD PII 955.
@OP, were you to decide you wanted a faster CPU, you might consider this option:
ASUS P7P55D LGA 1156 Intel P55 Intel Motherboard - $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131404 Will do Crossfire.
Intel Core i7 860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - $290
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115214 If you need a stronger CPU, i5 is a wannabe, missing some good features that the i7 has.
Personally, I think the AMD CPU is a perfectly viable choice, especially considering how much cheaper than i7 it is. AMD may yet come out with something notably better for socket AM3; I wouldn't bet they're going to leapfrog Intel any time soon, but improvements are still likely.
Sorry guys I didnt mention a budget my max budget is about $1200.00 and the only possible way to fit two radeon 4870's in this budget is to go with the Amd phenom quad core CPU... The stock speed is pretty quick @ 3.2GHz...now what im wondering is how much can this phenom be SAFELY OVERCLOCKED and iwill it make enough of a difference to outweigh the risk of overclocking ? Ive heard these can be overclocked well over 4GHz ... How safe is that though ? Will this machine perform well if i use it without any overclocking?
You didn't give a budget for the build, so I don't know how close you are to the max. The comment that I have on your build is regarding your monitor --- I think you can do much better for not much more.
First thing is that I think most monitors can and should last for several years longer than the computer they come with. So, the money you put into a nice screen now is money you can save a couple years from now when it comes to time to have a new build.
Anyways, some concrete suggestions:
ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 20000 :1 (ASCR) Built in Speakers - Retail
Full HD 1080P - $169.99 after $20 rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824236059
Finally, the full sized cased that lots of people love to recommend here is:
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail - $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129043
This is $80 more than your existing selection, but a great case with awesome airflow is one of the things that makes assembly and overclocking much much easier.
I also agree 100% with Shortstuff's suggestions
-b
Thanks man that 23" asus is a steal at that price thanks alot for the input this screen will definatly be a beautiful addition for this build I cant believe this build still comes under budget....wow!!!!!
So after taking all your input here's some final specs for my build....this will be my first build and i think its gonna be a great one due to some help from u guys>>>
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
A pair of SAPPHIRE 100279-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Cards
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
XCLIO Blackhawk Black Finish 0.8 mm SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Full Tower Extreme Cooling Computer Case
Thermaltake W0116RU 750W Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS Certified Modular
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223B - OEM
ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM
Grand total on NEWEGG its true only $1.256.00 only $56 dollars over budget and i even got a stronger psu and a faster hdd oh yeah and a bigger monitor thanks alot guys you've really helped me out.....Now what can this thing do? High settings in Crysis with "eye candy" turned on??????
As others have said, the shipment date of the next set of ATI cards isn't that far away so if you can hold off on the video card portion of the build, you might be able to save more and/or buy better than what you have listed.
One GLARING issue that im suprised no one mentioned yet, a 770 chipset CANNOT support crossfire, it only has 1 PCI-E 16x slot so you cant even get to cards on the board.
I would really suggest going with why_me's build, the i5's are a great value now, and he is so far under budget with it that you could even include a second 4890.
And please link to your parts so we know how much each one costs and where possible combos could be found, plus i havent a clue which one of the ripjaws you are looking at, there are 3 at 1600MHz all with different prices, timings, and voltages.
One GLARING issue that im suprised no one mentioned yet, a 770 chipset CANNOT support crossfire, it only has 1 PCI-E 16x slot so you cant even get to cards on the board.
I would really suggest going with why_me's build, the i5's are a great value now, and he is so far under budget with it that you could even include a second 4890.
And please link to your parts so we know how much each one costs and where possible combos could be found, plus i havent a clue which one of the ripjaws you are looking at, there are 3 at 1600MHz all with different prices, timings, and voltages.
+100 for that
LMAO!....I saw that last night and wasn't going to say anything to see if anyone else noticed that.
Message edited by Why_Me on 09-18-2009 at 03:52:48 AM
------------------------------"God invented Google so you would stop asking stupid questions."
Reply to Why_Me
With the much needed changes to the motherboard the cost total is now $1,306.50
Little over the budget but I think the changes were for the best considering well i would've been f#*ked had i ordered that motherboard thanks for the save guys Now hows it looking ??? yes im buying this after the 5000 series come out so maybe the 4890"s will take a nice price drop, so those would be an option if budgetable
The price on this build can be shaved down some with a cheaper h/s that combo's with that case, cheaper ripjaw ram with a bit slower timings, and also with the vid card. There's a few ati vid cards that combo nicely with that RAM...well with all the G.Skill ripjaw RAM. If you want to hard core o/c then I suggest you forgo the thermal paste that comes with the h/s and get some TX-2 at newegg, or better yet some MX-2 at ewiz.com. Both run right at $5 a tube. Also if your into hard core o/c this h/s down below has the option to add another fan to it.
Now this build isn't exactly what you wanted ....it's better. This allows you to add another card later on for SLI or Crossfire...whichever you choose. Ask anyone here about the i5 750 vs any AMD cpu out there right now. This will clean the floor with that 955. I'l post a newegg link at the bottom of this post so you can see some more pics and specs of that mobo. Also there is a special on Asus SLI/Crossfire (P55/i5) mobo's with a combo deal with the i5 750 that's just as cheap and they o/c like monsters. So if you want that Asus combo instead let me know and I'l link ya.