First Build Help

[dunderklumpton]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Order *before* Dec 18th (I'll be building it Christmas Day/Weekend so I want it there a day or two early just to play it safe)

BUDGET RANGE: Trying to keep it under $600 after the New Parts I'll be getting from Santa (See Below)

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (TF2, L4D, COD4/5, Batman, BF2/1943 when it launches) Surfing, Watching Movies/Pr0n

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, OS, Case, PSU, HDD, DVD/RW

PREFERRED WEBSITE FOR PARTS: Newegg

PARTS PREFERENCES: Planning to go with AMD Phenom II but am open to Core i5 arguments

OVERCLOCKING: Yes/Maybe

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080


NOT REQUIRED:

Monitor: *Brand new* Acer X233Hbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009163

Case: *Brand new* Antec 900
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

PSU: *Brand new* Antec TruePower Quattro 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009

CD/DVD RW: *Brand new something* Santa is tech savy, I trust him

HDD: 30-Day Old Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319


MY THOUGHTS: I'll be running Windows 7 64 Ultimate and was planning on picking up a Phenom II 955BE, 790FX mobo, 4GB of DDR3 1600?!? and another HD4770 to match my current 5-month-old 4770 for CrossFire. Any tips/suggestions are most welcome, will entertain Core i5 750 or alternate GPU arguments within rea$on.


COMPONENTS I PLAN TO PURCHASE: Or 'what I need help with'

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674

MOBO: MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223

GPU: XFX HD 4770 512MB (Will be matched with my current POWERCOLOR HD 4770 512MB, anyone see any issues with this?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150369

RAM: Help me please?!?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276

So far I'm at $481.86 with tax and shipping w/o RAM, so approx $570+ *with* RAM??


THANK YOU in advance GURU's and Enthusiests !!!

P.S. Coming from a Dell E521 w/ Athlon X2 5600+ Windsor, 4GB DDR2 800 & a HD 4770 pushing an analog 17in monitor so I'm STOAKED to take this leap in performance!

 

[MadAdmiral]

Switch the 4770 for a 5770. They perform about the same, but the 5770 supports DirectX 11, runs quieter and cooler, and will stay more current.

RAM: Go with the DDR3 1333 CL 7. These are fast, and fairly cheap.

Mobo: You do not need 4 PCIe slots. Crossfiring doesn't scale up well with more than 2 cards. At most you need two 16x/16x slots, or if you save some cash, 8x/8x. Check this one out: ASUS M4A79XTD EVO.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The build looks pretty good. I wouldn't get an MSI motherboard. I haven't had good long-term reliability luck with them. You also don't really need a 790FX board. The difference between 16x crossfire and 8x crossfire is very minimal. I would check out this combo.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.303822 $265.98 - $10 MIR (Phenom II X4 955 + Asus M4A79XTD EVO combo)

I would get the last RAM kit you linked (G.Skill DDR3 1333 CAS 7 1.5v).

 

[dunderklumpton]

Thanks for the tips, with that combo and the RAM you recommended + another 4770 I'm @ $528.51 with tax & shipping!

Couple questions:

1. You mentioned that there is not much of a diff between x16 & x8 for CrossFire, so I won't be missing anything with the 2x 4770s?

2. Do you see any issues with running the XFX4770 in slot 1 and the Diamond4770 in the second?

The build looks pretty good. I wouldn't get an MSI motherboard. I haven't had good long-term reliability luck with them. You also don't really need a 790FX board. The difference between 16x crossfire and 8x crossfire is very minimal. I would check out this combo.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.303822 $265.98 - $10 MIR (Phenom II X4 955 + Asus M4A79XTD EVO combo)

I would get the last RAM kit you linked (G.Skill DDR3 1333 CAS 7 1.5v).

 

[dunderklumpton]

Was really hoping to put my older 4770 to use in XFire...

Switch the 4770 for a 5770. They perform about the same, but the 5770 supports DirectX 11, runs quieter and cooler, and will stay more current.

RAM: Go with the DDR3 1333 CL 7. These are fast, and fairly cheap.

Mobo: You do not need 4 PCIe slots. Crossfiring doesn't scale up well with more than 2 cards. At most you need two 16x/16x slots, or if you save some cash, 8x/8x. Check this one out: ASUS M4A79XTD EVO.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

There won't be any noticeable difference in 16x crossfire vs. 8x crossfire with your 4770's.

Running the XFX and Diamond cards together should work just fine.

 

[MadAdmiral]

I didn't see that you already had a 4770. Disregard my 5770, but eventually you will want to upgrade to DX11...

Agree with shorstuff on not having a noticeable difference between dual 16x in Crossfire and dual 8x in Crossfire.

 

[dunderklumpton]

Awesome, I'll all for saving $$ so if I won't notice any diff then 8x is the way to go. On a side note...on board Audio, is that VIA VT1708S any good?

(Sorry for the delay, got busy @ work)

There won't be any noticeable difference in 16x crossfire vs. 8x crossfire with your 4770's.

Running the XFX and Diamond cards together should work just fine.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Onboard is always fine, unless you're a huge audiophile. There is almost no noticeable difference between onboard audio and audio cards now days. Don't waste the money on the extra card.

 

[dunderklumpton]

Read an article last night where they benchmarked 2x 4770's on 2 diff boards, one with x16 on both and another with x8 on both. Results showed what you mentioned, less then %4 in most games/resolutions but in Crysis for example @ resolutions of 1900x1200 or more with 8x AA it showed a large drop off. Think that's coincidence or something that may justify an extra $40-50 on a MOBO?

 

[MadAdmiral]

Was the benchmarking just for Crysis? Were other games included?

If it was just Crysis, that resolution is so high for that game, it won't matter what you put in it. Also, that might only matter for this game.

Can you post a link?

 

[dunderklumpton]

N/M, I suck

Went back to check the article I mentioned, 16x + 16x board had PCIe 2.0 vs the 8x + 8x @ PCIe 1.1

And the benching was done with factory drivers before CCC support. I promise I won't make any more dumb posts.

Thanks for all the help guys, going to keep an eye on prices and pick up the CPU/MOBO/RAM/GPU by Friday!