Phenom ii build

[llcooljerome]

hello people this is my first post.
i am building my first pc and need some help. iv chosen amd as its cheaper and i will only be using it for simulators/gaming and browsing.
iv done a lot of research over the past week or so and just want some input on my choices and also very importantly compatibility.
id prefer not to go over £600 but if need be i will and future proofing components are wanted.

jet turbine icute (given by a friend)

corsair tx750 ( should i get more?)

asus crosshair iii formula (many options here but fort this was best?)

phenom ii x4 955 be

wd 1tb black caviar (also many options here if peeps recommend something else?)

ddr3 4gb (any suggestions on brand would be good and i will add more ram later on)

gtx 260 or hd 4870 ( dont wana buy the newest to save some money)

thank you,

jerome

 

[ryanhmusic]

for a system with the phenom and an hd 4870 you REALLY DON'T need an asus crosshair iii formula... if you were running 3 hd5870's in crossfire and a phenom ii 955 @ 4.5 ghz then the Crosshair is worth it.... for the setup you are talking about an ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX is the perfect mobo and on newegg there is a combo between that mobo and the 955be:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273337

 

[ryanhmusic]

also for your hdd:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136113

three or four of those or two of these in RAID0 is a much better option in terms of performance and basically the same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

You could even used the money saved buying the cheaper mobo and buy four of these in RAID0 and they would be SMOKING fast!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148309

 

[llcooljerome]

bloody hell that was quick lol cheers. well i went for the best to try and future proof myself and fort to spend the money on the mobo. im not thinking about doing it but if i were to in the future add another gpu then wudnt it be better for the 1 iv chosen??
what do you think of my other parts listed? does it sound ok.

 

[llcooljerome]

sorry you replied before id finished. thanks, i was hoping to get some alternatives for the hdd as i was sure there were better ways. i dont understand this raid o and raid 1 stuff tho. im guna search soon to find out exactly.

 

[obsidian86]

the asus 790xtd is an excellent board (not just saying it cuz i own one)

for ram the g skill ripjaws 1600 mhz cas 7 are a good choice

and with the cash saved on the board you could get the lastest gpu namely 5850

for hdd alternative the samsung f3 1tb

 

[ryanhmusic]

Future proofing is one thing and I really appreciate the idea of future proofing... However, there is a major flaw in the logic of "future proofers" <-- yes i just made that up
if you spend $200 for the crosshair now in three years a board of the same quality and/or better features will be $75. If you spend $90 on a board (like the one i linked) in three years a board with the same features and quality will be $60. You loose a lot more on the more expensive board, the cheaper board that i linked has almost all the same features and really is an exceptional board. The biggest parts that are going to future proof your build are the CPU, RAM, and GPU; since RAM is easily upgraded and done all the time you really want to be nearly on the cutting edge for CPU/GPU. The 955BE is the perfect example of that for a CPU and an HD4870/4890 is a great GPU that will last three to four years still performing great on new games. Six core cpu's will come out in the near future but quad cores didn't come out all that long ago, so six cores with be for the enthusiast (the guy with too much money to spend on electronics) the four core for the gamer/ bang for buck guy whereas dual cores will remain household CPU's.

As for other components...

RAM: I personally love OCZ for their quality and rather low prices.
HDD: I discussed this in my last post
GPU: Definitely a HD4870 or 4890 (1gb VRAM at least); Maybe if you want a 5770, it looks good on paper but I've never used one/seen benchmarks of one.
PSU: Nice choice, that'll last you a long time with high end components...

 

[deadcell]

The corsair TX750 is plenty of power for the GPU and the setup you be running (maybe limited to no SLi). The phenom II x4 955 can be easily oc'ed to 965 specs, real good gaming CPU value, specially in this budget range. Invest your money in the Seagate Barracuda 1TB or 1.5 TB. They eat Caviar for breakfast. You can't go wrong with 2x500GB Samsung F3 series eighter. They have a single 500GB platters and they are great value for performance. 4G DDR3 is a good start, but try this: CORSAIR XMS 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 @1333 Model CMX6GX3M3A1333C9 (timing 9-9-9-24), retail at 149.00USD. As for GPU, go with the BFG GTX260 (Maxcore 55 edition, 896MB), retails for 159.00USD after $20 rebate. Good performer and excellent value. If you have to have ATI, than the XFX HD4870 1G would of been my choice which retails right now on newegg for 144.00USD. I would spend little more and get the 260, it would be the best choice between the two. I like others to comment on the MOBO, as this is not my field of expertise, that being honestly said. Hope that I helped. Let me know what you think...
deadcell

 

[llcooljerome]

i just checked out the differences and i think i am sold. the evo it is!!! thank you for both your inputs. your points were very valid and i also didnt realise how much cheaper this board was lol. i will check out both your options for the ram and see what i can find out.
pretty sure il stick with hd4870 and yes defo going for the 1gb.
i think the only thing left before i start buying is to work out the best hdd to buy. il look into your options and see if i can make sense of all this raid 1 stuff lol. cheers for all the help. im actually at work and finish at 9pm so doubt il be on here so apologies if i dont reply to a suggestion or something.

 

[llcooljerome]

cheers for your input deadcell. sorry i have to make this short as im leaving now. why would i be limited to no sli? because its only dual x8? to be honest, i liked the idea of having the option to sli but i kno that i wil never buy 2gpus lol.
i will defo check out your corsair option as the price looks very good.
i dont have to have ati, just trying to be decisive but if you really think the gtx260 is the one then that wil be the one cos i kno nothing about gpus.
well i tried to make it short lol cheers bye bye

 

[ryanhmusic]

About your second to last post... RAID0 is the performance speed setup (the one you want)
RAID1 is the slow but safe data way...

 

[sonic-boom]

Definately take a look at this HDD its the fastest at the time and is very cheap http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&cm_re=spinpoint-_-22-152-181-_-Product

 

[llcooljerome]

thank you for the description of raid0 and 1. this raid0 really interests me. iv read many places that seagate get a lot of bad reviews.
i have heard that some hdd struggle and fail sometimes when doing the raid0, what are your thoughts on this and are the hdd's you recommended definately ok to do this?
btw im in england so cant use the newegg site, which is a shame cos their prices are so god dam cheap compared to over here. the best site i can find so far is www.novatech.co.uk

 

[ewood]

None of these mobos support sli, but they all support crossfire. (nvidia=sli and ATI=crossfire). as for the 8x slot, it will work fine. toms did a article on it and they had to go down to 4x to see any tangible performance hit with two gtx285s ( i think it was 285s?) in short, dont worry about it an 8x slot if plenty.

 

[1ce]

The GTX 260 and the 4870 perform almost identically, get whichever is cheaper. The 4890 is faster than both so if you can find that for a reasonable price then get that one.

 

[llcooljerome]

sorry i meant to say crossfire, not sli. thats interesting that u say u cant see much of a difference from 16x to 8x. that makes me more happy that i was guided towards the m4a9xtd now then as it is considerably cheaper than the crosshair. prob wont go crossfire but nice to kno its still poss without much performance loss.
thanks i already looked at the 4890 and its still too much for me. we wil c anyway, cos guna buy the gpu in about 3weeks time so could come down a bit.
cheers everybody.
still would like some info on the hdd as i feel this is the only thing that is baffling me?! i dont mind spending money on this part as i think it would last a long time and be used in future builds if need be. not ssd tho!!! lol

 

[deadcell]

Sorry for the long delay llcooljerome. As for the input on the Corsair TX750, I wanted to inform you that this (may contain) the minimum power requiremnet for 2-way SLi or CrossX, should that 750w be continuous, not peak. My rule of thumb is to go with no less than 850-900w "continuous" PSU when running 2-way SLi or crossX. Thats also the recommended power addressed by many well known sources. Someone else might dispute this argument, but I wouldn't take chances in the PSU department. However, you are sure that you will not be running SLi or CrossX, at lease not for now, so this PSU is the best option for you. Just always think about the future upgrades and spending little bid more money now, might save you from buying another PSU tomarrow. As for the GPU, I read someone recommended the 4890. The 4890 is in a different class than the 4870 and the 260, and by class I mean cost factor. This card demands 200 Washingtons, starting point. At this price range, the GTX275 is a better card by far, which also runs about 200.00USD. So the 4890 may not be the best investment in this class, as the GTX275 would sweep the floor with this card. But as you clearly put it, this is too much for you and you don't want to go this route. There is only $50-60 difference between these two classes, but for some of us, thats plenty and I respect that. I did some more research for you and I would say that the XFX HD4870 1G card that I recommended earlier might be the best choice for you (retailed at unbeatable 144.00USD). The 260 is a good card, it just not worth the extra $35-40 price difference. If you manage to put little bid more money in the GPU department, I go with the GTX275 110%. One of the best value for performance cards ever...
Talk to you later
deadcell

 

[llcooljerome]

thank you, thats very good info you have for me there. im all about future proofing and ideally dont wana upgrade the psu in the future so will look for some good options there.
as for the gpu, our prices are very different from the US prices! the reason im goin with the xfx hd4870 is cos the price over here is 105pounds. as oppose to 130pounds for the gts260 and 155pounds for the gtx275. man i wish we had newegg over here lol.
but as you say, i should spend a little more in this department so we wil c how money goes after buying the other components.
thank you ver much for your input. by the way, this hdd choice is mind boggling so iv decided im just guna buy 2x 640gb wd caviar blacks and run this raid 0 thingy wen i work out how to do it lol.
cheers everybody

 

[deadcell]

Sounds good my friend. I see now how your currency differ from ours and yes, newegg is one of the best sources for US builders. I also wish that you had this site at your disposal. Those CaviaR blacks are built for performance, I like that setup. Also, as for the GPU, take your time and find a great value for performance card. Since the main functionality of this build is gaming, I would spend little bid more than I budgeted for in this department. It makes a world of difference. Best of luck and please keep me posted...
deadcell