New Gaming Setup for $500-650

[Laerck]

Im looking to upgrade my machine for a budget of $500-650, looking to play power hungry games like The Witcher, Crysis, Fallout 3 etc.
Right now im looking at the

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674

ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402

ASUS EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 Dark Knight 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121291

Im a little iffy with the video card, chances are there is something better out there for the money, but since this is a combo deal and you get all 3 for $435 and it will do what I want it to do it seems like a good setup.

Also I will probably need a new case and power supply to boot.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, I havent kept up with the latest greatest hardware in years so I cant say I know whats good anymore.

 

[sirkillalot]

.


The Witcher, Crysis, Fallout 3 ?

what monitor do u have
what res do u play in

you dont have much choice if $650 is your top budget
$435 plus psu $100-$150 - case $100 ish

.................................

 

[Laerck]

Yeah, ive been out of the country for the past year and a half so ive missed out on a lot of games. But I meant the $500-650 budget for the cpu, motherboard, graphics card only. I figured memory and psu/case would be necessary extras but last time I check you can get a good psu/case for $150.
As far as monitor I have an acer 19in wide lcd (its the acer al1917w) and I dont remember what resolution I run it as since its been sitting in storage for over a year.

 

[Transmaniacon]

With that budget, I would definitely go with an i5 build. It is probably the best cost/performance hardware right now, and beats anything AMD has to offer.

Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215&cm_re=i5-_-19-115-215-_-Product ($199.99 + Free Shipping)

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128401 ($139.99 + Free Shipping)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231279&cm_re=ripjaw-_-20-231-279-_-Product ($94.99 + Free Shipping)

Total: $434.97

Edit: Realized that was for CPU + Mobo + GPU

Nonetheless, it doesn't change anything, but you can get a much better video card with that budget;

GIGABYTE GV-N275UD-896I GeForce GTX 275 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125290&cm_re=275-_-14-125-290-_-Product ($219.99)

So this makes the CPU + Mobo + GPU Total: $559.97

Add in this PSU;

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650TX ($79.99 w/ $20 MIR + Free Shipping)

And this case;

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-066-_-Product ($69.95)

And you have an amazing PC =)

Grand Total: $804.90

 

[AMDThunder]

Save $30 with one of these for compareable performance to the GTX 275:

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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102848&cm_re=4890-_-14-102-848-_-Product

Or Crossfire 2 of these for better performance at roughly the same price:

SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824&cm_re=4850-_-14-102-824-_-Product

 

[Transmaniacon]

I think a single-card solution is the best way to go, otherwise you will need a different motherboard with more PCIE2.0 lanes.

The HD4890 suggested by AMDThunder is another great option, I would check the benchmarks on those games for the two cards and see which one provides better FPS performance.

Additionally, if you want to overclock, here is a good CPU cooler;

COOLER MASTER Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-GP 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=1156_heatsink-_-35-103-065-_-Product ($29.99)

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020&cm_re=mx-2-_-35-186-020-_-Product ($7.98)

 

[AMDThunder]

What's with all teh X4 bandwidth on the second lane recently? Certainly there's a method to the madness. Doesn't make sense they'd go backwards. Can anyone explain?

 

[Transmaniacon]

The new X55 chipsets feature integrated PCIE2.0 interfaces, limiting them to only 16 lanes, see more from this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i5,2410-3.html

However, Tom's testing shows even with less lanes, the performance is still very comparable to the X58 chipsets: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-gaming,2403.html

 

[AMDThunder]

Thanks. Think I actually read that one before and forgot. So basically there no difference. Crossfire shouldn't be hindered.

 

[Transmaniacon]

Yea, but he would still need a new board as that one only has a single PCIE2.0 slot

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128400 ($169.99 + Free Shipping)

This would be a good crossfire board, and you could get good performance from 2 HD4850, though you might want to take a look at this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-4770-crossfire,2288.html

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[Laerck]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

Ive been out of the USA and western civilization for that matter for some time now so please bare with me if I am out of date (In fact I currently have 2 desktops, one that still runs dos that I put together when Wolfenstein 3D was the greatest things out there which I think was 93 , and another I last updated in 2003-04). Before today I had no idea what SLI/Crossfire was and Ive never even tried overclocking so its not something I even think of.

Thanks for all the suggestions though, and glad you pointed out the i5 that looks like the most processing power for my money, Ill have to check out the benchmarks and see whats the next step.

 

[AMDThunder]

Yea, but he would still need a new board as that one only has a single PCIE2.0 slot

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128400 ($169.99 + Free Shipping)

This would be a good crossfire board, and you could get good performance from 2 HD4850, though you might want to take a look at this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-4770-crossfire,2288.html

I guess that's where I get confused. The first board has two PCIs slots, but one runs at X4. What I assumed from the article was that such a setup didn't negatively affect a crossfire setup. But it has been a bad day, and maybe my reading for comprehension isn't what it should be.

 

[Transmaniacon]

Well the first one has 1 PCI Express 2.0 x16 and 1 PCI Express x16, so you could crossfire cards, but one of them will only operate at half the bandwidth, and since it only operates at x4 mode to begin with, it takes a considerable penalty.

 

[Laerck]

Here is what I decided to go with so far...
Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product ($199.99 + Free Shipping)

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128400 ($169.99 + Free Shipping)

SAPPHIRE 100245HDMI Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

G.SKILL Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model F3-16000CL9D-4GBTD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231282&cm_re=G.SKILL_Trident_4GB_%282_x_2GB%29-_-20-231-282-_-Product ($104.99 + Free Shipping)

Ill crossfire two 4850's with that mobo
But if anyone has any suggestions for this list or can find something comparable thats cheaper or better please let me know.
I still have to decide on a PSU and case as well

 

[obsidian86]

case http://www.provantage.com/cooler-master-rc-922m-kkn1-gp~7COOL06Y.htm and psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&cm_re=corsair_750w-_-17-139-006-_-Product

 

[overshocks]

OP's links don't work. try this combo..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.259309

or


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.259125

this one is better choice if you are crossfiring running x8 x8.

 

[Transmaniacon]

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231279&cm_re=ripjaw-_-20-231-279-_-Product ($94.99 + Free Shipping)

This RAM is cheaper and faster.