AMD budget gaming build

[mastercormic]

I need some opinions on this build:
are the parts compatible?
will it offer future upgrades such as an identical GPU?

BUILD:
CPU- AMD Phenom II x3 720 BE 2.8 Ghz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&Tpk=AMD%20Phenom%20II%20x3%20720%20BE

PSU- NOX Pulsar 750w *-is this a good PSU?

VGA- HIS HD4890 1GB DDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161298&cm_re=HIS_HD4890-_-14-161-298-_-Product

RAM- G-Skill DDR3 1333 4GB (2*2GB) w/ latency 7-7-7-21-2N
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276&cm_re=G-Skill_DDR3_1333-_-20-231-276-_-Product

MOBO- ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AMD 790X/SB750 for AM3 socket CPUs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402&Tpk=ASUS%20M4A79XTD%20EVO
*-will this be compatible with all other parts?Crossfire?

HD- Seagate 500 GB Baracuda

CASE- Raidmax Smilodon Extreme Black/Green Mid Tower *-will this fit 2 HD4890s?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156078&cm_re=Raidmax_Smilodon_Extreme-_-11-156-078-_-Product

OpDrive-LG DVD writer 22x22

Any Help is welcome
thanks in advance

 

[Proximon]

PSU- NOX Pulsar 750w *-is this a good PSU?

No, I don't think so.

Also, the case is just gimmicky and a bit tight for large cards.

Get this combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.246591


... Or look at the sticky at the top of the forum and give us some more info

 

[tecmo34]

Go with the combo deal above and switch out your hard drive to this one... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&cm_re=Samsung_F3-_-22-152-181-_-Product

This is the fastest non-SSD hard drive out and you can't beat the price!

 

[brockh]

I need some opinions on this build:
are the parts compatible?
will it offer future upgrades such as an identical GPU?

BUILD:
CPU- AMD Phenom II x3 720 BE 2.8 Ghz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649&Tpk=AMD%20Phenom%20II%20x3%20720%20BE

PSU- NOX Pulsar 750w *-is this a good PSU?

VGA- HIS HD4890 1GB DDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161298&cm_re=HIS_HD4890-_-14-161-298-_-Product

RAM- G-Skill DDR3 1333 4GB (2*2GB) w/ latency 7-7-7-21-2N
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276&cm_re=G-Skill_DDR3_1333-_-20-231-276-_-Product

MOBO- ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AMD 790X/SB750 for AM3 socket CPUs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402&Tpk=ASUS%20M4A79XTD%20EVO
*-will this be compatible with all other parts?Crossfire?

HD- Seagate 500 GB Baracuda

CASE- Raidmax Smilodon Extreme Black/Green Mid Tower *-will this fit 2 HD4890s?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156078&cm_re=Raidmax_Smilodon_Extreme-_-11-156-078-_-Product

OpDrive-LG DVD writer 22x22

Any Help is welcome
thanks in advance

I see what you're going for; here's the build I just did:

Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Hard drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

Power supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ... - Retail

(Combo) Processor/motherboard: AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail

(Combo) Video card/memory: SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100269VXLE Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

That's $571.46 after mail-in rebates (including shipping)!

What you can do is find a new processor/motherboard combo that supports CrossFire or, you could just keep the single card solution as it'll probably be more cost efficient to just upgrade to a 5 series ATi card when they're released and you think you need the extra performance. Also, it'll save you having to get [maybe] a more expensive power supply.

 

[Guest]

to brockh, only 1 combo per order.

 

[brockh]

to brockh, only 1 combo per order.

Uh, what? I had two combo discounts ($20/each) on a purchase I made on Friday. That price I quoted was in the shopping cart ready to go.

 

[xaira]

720, why not 620?

 

[mastercormic]

updated parts:
Power supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w
HD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB
Case:- can anyone suggest a good case for $70 or less
Is the motherboard that I have chosen compatible w/ the other components?
can it crossfire 4890s?
*note* i do not live in the US, i am using newegg for product ref.+reviews

is 600w sufficient to power 2 HD4890s and all the other components?

what do you think about the CPU i have chosen? would it be worth it going for a 955 be?

ps. this is my first build and i dont really have much experience in building my own comp...

soz.. for any mistakes..sleeepy

 

[tecmo34]

With out knowing what you have available to you, here are my two case recommendations.

Cooler Master RC-690 (first choice)
Antec 300 (second choice)

Your motherboard can Crossfire two 4890's with no problem.

600w PSU can't handle two 4890's. You will need at least 750w PSU to Crossfire.

The 955 BE is a good upgrade over the 720 BE, if you have the additional funds without causing you to spend less on other components.

 

[obsidian86]

600 is not enough for 2 mid-high end cards 750watt is reccomended for higher end cards case the antec illusion 300 is $70 the board is fine the 720 is a good cpu if you wanna go for a 955 you might as well go for an i5 .the i5 beats the 955 and 965 at the same price but get a good cpu cooler for your cpu

 

[mastercormic]

thx for the quick replies
-i was thinking of the cm 690 but i guess that's the way to go now
-thx for clarifying my concerns with the mobo about crossfire compatibility
-i will look into a 750w psu
-i dont think i can go over a x3 720 cuz of limited funds,
i heard it overclocks well even on stock cooling

--this computer build is actually for a school personal project and i just needed
the O.K and some advice

*to what extent is this build upgradable? how long will it last me without upgrades?

 

[tecmo34]

Your system is very upgradable... Your MOBO will allow you to upgrade your CPU to an AM3 x4 or their next chips, along with future upgrades of your GPU.

Your current system will last most likely a year or so (depending on usages) before an upgrade would be required. How long the total system will last is hard to say. People are still running P4's and doing everything they need to.

 

[brockh]

thx for the quick replies
-i was thinking of the cm 690 but i guess that's the way to go now
-thx for clarifying my concerns with the mobo about crossfire compatibility
-i will look into a 750w psu
-i dont think i can go over a x3 720 cuz of limited funds,
i heard it overclocks well even on stock cooling

--this computer build is actually for a school personal project and i just needed
the O.K and some advice

*to what extent is this build upgradable? how long will it last me without upgrades?

Look, there's no reason to pay the extra money for a CrossFire capable motherboard and then a more expensive power supply. The new single ATi cards being released within 48 hours are going to outperform any current CrossFire combination with less power for less money. Save yourself the trouble, I'm just trying to help.

 

[mastercormic]

so, what is the performance difference between the 4890 and the 58xx cards?
i was thinking of buying one ati 4890 and when the time comes get a second.
i am still in high school so I dont get much money to go all out on the new cards..
+ i am already just on the edge of my budget.

*can u update me of the 58xx performance compared with the 4890?
i dont really think it would be the best price-performance wise..

p.s. its like 3 am ..finishing an essay lol

 

[xaira]

lets just put it as, the 5870 will beat an nvidia gtx 295, the 5770 should be in ur price range or the 5850

 

[brockh]

so, what is the performance difference between the 4890 and the 58xx cards?
i was thinking of buying one ati 4890 and when the time comes get a second.
i am still in high school so I dont get much money to go all out on the new cards..
+ i am already just on the edge of my budget.

*can u update me of the 58xx performance compared with the 4890?
i dont really think it would be the best price-performance wise..

p.s. its like 3 am ..finishing an essay lol

The 58xx cards should outperform the 4890 by, I don't know, 100-200% (a lot, regardless)? I understand why you're saying "when the time comes I'll just add another one." I used to think like that too, but what you don't understand is by the time you want to upgrade, the 58xx series will be cheaper (or there will be a 57xx or 56xx series that is cheap enough -- not to mention you don't have to have a ridiculous power supply, and less money spent on a CrossFire motherboard) and they will, as a single card, beat the double 4890 performance, as well as including DirectX 11 support and any other innovations that may happen in that time. For now, the 4890 is probably your best cost effective option, because the 58xx series is going to be at least $300-400 US for a while. And that 4890 (with the combo) is costing you like $135.

 

[mastercormic]

yeah, i saw a few charts showing the performance of the 5870 over the 295.
It destroys it. The 295s are like $500 (17,000 B) in Bangkok, Thailand.
These new cards look pretty amazing and the performance is quite unbelievable.
I dont think it will be out in Thailand for another month or so since they only are just stocking the i7 750 CPUs at $630.

*Brockh, You have a really similar build to what I was aiming for, how does it perform and how long would you wait until an upgrade?
is the 4890 fan as loud as it is said to be?

thanks for everyone's' quick and helpful replies!

 

[brockh]

It performs great. I have the stock cooler on the processor, but it was easy to bump it up from 2.8GHz to 3.0GHz, and I may bump it up a bit more if the temperatures are okay. The 4890's fan is barely audible. The fan that I can hear is the big one on top of my Antec 300 case, which I think I need to turn down, because the case sits right next to me. :/ I've been trying to find the beta bios for my motherboard to unlock the fourth core to try it out so I can't comment there yet, but the memory also overclocked (to it's stock frequency in this case) to DDR3 1600 easily.

The air is never hot though. The 4890 stays around 50-55 degrees C while idle and 60-65 C while under load (1080p on Fallout 3/Team Fortress @ All settings maxed with AA); I forget the processor temperatures but they're also normal.

To be honest, I can't see upgrading this 4890 for a while. At 1920x1080 it runs everything I have without ANY stuttering. And if I find something that does stutter, I can probably keep all the details settings high and just turn off AA. I really don't think it can be beaten for the price I got it for, even the UPS guy (who was strangely interested in my computer parts) was suprised. As far as benchmarks goes the new cards are definitely superior, but if you don't want to spend the extra money (~$150 more than the 4890 I think?) right now, the 4890 still offers great performance as long as you can find the price point around where I did (~$130 with combo/mail-in rebate).

Also, I'm using Windows 7 x64 RTM; It's great, definitely put it on your build.