Budget Gaming System - AMD Phenom 2 x3 with which mobo?

[Guest]

I am trying to build a budget gaming comp and have decided on the AMD AM3 Phenom2 X3 - 720 2.8Ghz processor. I have been going through many threads and forums and can't figure out which motherboard and graphics card would be best cost regardless, and which would be best cost/performance combo. The following are the motherboards and GPU's I've been looking at:

Motherboards:
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

Graphics Cards:
ASUS EAH4770 FORMULA/DI/512MD5 Radeon HD 4770 512MB
XFX HD-483X-YDFC Radeon HD 4830 512MB (LOUD)
XFX HD-487A-ZHFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB
HIS H485QT512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB


I have never built my own system, so any advice would be very much appreciated, thanks.

 

[jbakerlent]

Welcome to the forum.

For non-crossfire, this board offers great value
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

I you plan on crossfiring in the future then consider this one
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128398


For the GPU I'd recommend this one
ASUS EAH5770/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121350

Feel free to post the rest of your build here for more critiquing.

 

[mindless728]

can use this unusal AsRock 785G board for crossfire
ASRock M3A785GXH/128M AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

and if you gpus ever die it also has onboard (like the 790GX)

 

[jbakerlent]

^ Wow nice find on that 785G, interesting.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

If you have access to buy from Newegg (live in the US), then don't forget about combo deals. Here's a great deal on a crossfire capable motherboard in a combo with the 720:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273353 $211.99 - $10 MIR (Phenom II X3 720 + ASUS M4A79XTD EVO combo deal)

If you don't need Crossfire support, here's another great deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.272066 $188.99 - $10 MIR (Phenom II X3 720 + Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P combo)

Both of those motherboards take DDR3 RAM. Here's my DDR3 RAM suggestion:

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - Retail $89.99