Need advice on building a new $500-$800 amd machine

[safwan0308]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: black friday

BUDGET RANGE: $500-$800 Before / After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: vmware, pinnacle studio, adobe photoshop, dreamweaver, ms visual studio, internet, movies. A lot of multitasking and very little gaming.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: speakers, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg, zipzoomfly

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: usa

PARTS PREFERENCES: i would prefer to use amd 955 cpu and 785g amd3 mobo

OVERCLOCKING: Yes SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: any. preferably large monitor (22-24inch)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: i am thinking of building AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2GHz with 785g amd3 mobo. The reason I chose this mobo because it has an onboard graphic card. since i don't play lot of games, i don't want to spend a lot of money on graphic card.

i will be using this computer for school work. i do a lot of multitasking and will be installing virtual machine on this computer. i prefer mid tower case with side panel window. hope you guys can give suggestions and advice.

thanks in advance!

 

[gkay09]

Hi...
That was a good decision with the CPU and the onboard graphics...

Here are few general suggestions about the components...

Mobo -
Go with ASUS 785 EVO boards as they have 128MB sideport memory, that would be useful...

RAM - Any RAM from Corsair, GSkillz wtih rated speeds 1333MHz/ 1600MHz preferrably with lower CAS(Timings) - 7 or 8

CASE - If you want a cheap but still decent quality case with side panel, then check out the NZXT Alpha
Other options - CM Scout, Tempest, Antec 900

PSU - Make sure you get a quality PSU from Antec EA/ Corsair/ Seasonic/ Silverstone/ PCP& S... For your setup, even a 380W PSU would do but buy a 500W PSU, that could handle discrete graphics card, when you want one...

HDD - Samsung F3 500GB/ Seagate 7200.12/ Wd Black 640GB if you get a good deal...

 

[safwan0308]

awesome! thanks!

 

[hunter315]

dual channel means that when the ram is installed in pairs you will get twice the bandwidth

No point to go all the way up to DDR3 1800, it gets expensive quickly and you wont get a significant speed boost out of it. Depending on how much photoshop work you do you may want to consider 8GB of ram instead of just 4, but if you get more than 4 you need to get a 64 bit OS to be able to use it.

 

[gkay09]

^+1 No use of the DDR3 1800MHz...
Always when buying RAM, go for tighter timings rather than faster RAM...

 

[safwan0308]

what dou you think of this one?
OCZ OCZ3X1333LV6GK 6GB PC3-10666 (DDR3-1333) Triple Channel Memory Retail
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009748

somehow it is not available right now

i read that the black edition cpu from amd comes without heat sink. which heat sink would you recommend me to buy?

 

[gkay09]

^ Dont get that RAM...get 4GB kit - 2x2GB...If you populate 3 slots on the mobo, you would loose Dual channel config, hence reduced memory bandwidth...So get something like this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231278

And about the RAM that you have linked, I highly doubt its price would be the same when it is restocked...because the RAM prices have increased over the past few weeks...

And the black edition CPUs do come with the heatsinks now...
But as you will be overclocking, it is better to get an aftermarket CPU cooler...
This one is a very good option and comes with a good thermal grease too...
Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

 

[safwan0308]

what do you think of my build so far..

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674&cm_re=amd_955-_-19-103-674-_-Product

ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131406&cm_re=asus_evo_785-_-13-131-406-_-Product

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&Tpk=samsung%20f3

OCZ OCZ700MXSP 700W SLI/CrossFire Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009502
(the only reason i choose this psu because it is cheap compared to the other quality 500W psu)

Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

AZZA Solano 1000 Black/Black Japanese SECC Steel/Metal mesh in front ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&Tpk=samsung%20f3
(i might go with cm scout as i don't have enough space for full tower case)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231278

24-inch Widescreen LCD Display with Wireless Desktop MK 300 Keyboard and Mouse Bundle
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Monitors/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A3138265

LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM SATA Internal 4X Blu-ray Disc Reader Model iHOS104-08
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106326

 

[gkay09]

^ Thats good...
Just found this combo...
Comes nearly the same price as the CPU + Mobo combo above but this mobo has additional features...So why not this for the same price...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.265477

And I highly doubt you would need 700W PSU...But still its a good deal though...

 

[safwan0308]

that's very good deal!

does the 790gx mobo has better onboard graphic card compared to 785g?

 

[gkay09]

^ The 790GX's onboard is more powerful than the 785G...And I dont think you would require the additional feature/s of the 785G as they are more oriented towards HTPC setups...

 

[Guest]

extreme tech and others clearly recommend the 785 over the 790 chipset.. saying the higher number is misrepresentative of a better stronger chipset.