New AM3 build, please check for conflict/compatibility/suggestions!

[Agent_Orange]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: As soon as possible BUDGET RANGE: $1500CDN

SYSTEM USAGE: gaming

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.ca, bestdirect.ca

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Yes (In the future)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

Here are the parts I'm looking at:

AMD Phenom II 965

Gigabyte 790FXT-UD5

Sapphire Radeon 5770 Vapour-X

OCZ AMD Black edition 4GB DDR3-1600 Dual channel

WD Caviar Black 500GB x 4 in RAID 10

Antec 750W Modular 80+ Bronze

Rosewill wireless N adaptor

Apevia X-Cruiser Case

Samsung DVD burner with lightscribe

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Please note, my old computer is going into the Apevia case, all this wonderful stuff is going into an Antec 900 case.

Thanks for any help!

-AO

 

[saint19]

Hi newcomer and welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

Good parts, the mobo is excellente.

I exchange the PSU for someone of this:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090058%20113142557%201131509966&CompareItemList=N82E16817341018%2CN82E16817171037%2CN82E16817153035%2CN82E16817341036%2CN82E16817139012&page=2&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True

My votes goes in this order:

1- Thermaltake
2- Corsair
3- Coolermaster
4- OCZ Z-Series
5- OCZ ModXStream

 

[lunyone]

Concerns:

* RAID 10?? For a gaming rig I'd probably have 1 fast drive for the OS and programs and 1 data drive (=>1 TB).
* If you putting your old computer parts in the Apevia, you could get one that is quite a bit less.
~$60
Antec Two Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129070

~$51
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047

* I'd consider the 955 over the 965 CPU, espcially if your going to OC the chip. The 955 OC's about the same and costs ~$30 less.
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674&cm_re=955-_-19-103-674-_-Product

* I don't see spending >$200 on a mobo with the resolution that your going to be gaming under. Yes you could X-fire some 5770's, but if you don't initially buy them, your better off using the best single GPU that you can afford. With your budget you should be able to fit in at least a 5850 or 5870 GPU. This will last quite a bit longer than the 5770 will. It will also allow you to upgrade your monitor later and not have to upgrade the GPU to play your games well.

* I'd consider getting an aftermarket CPU HSF for your CPU. This will allow better OC's (if you decide to do that) or at least it will keep the chip cooler and the system a bit quieter too.

 

[Attila_the_pun]

I have that motherboard and am very satisfied with it, but you could probably get it for significantly less than $200. Give me a few minutes to try to find it cheaper. I was able to find it for $160.

 

[lunyone]

But if your not X-firing the system, why spend $200 on it when a $80-120 mobo will do just fine on a single GPU setup?? Not saying the mobo is bad, just doesn't seem to make much logical sense at this point.

 

[Attila_the_pun]

That would depend on what he would use the computer for, but this motherboard has a lot of ports and also 2 network adapters. I was also impressed by the quality of the on-board audio.

 

[lunyone]

Oh I'm not questioning the mobo, just the cost of it. Most people won't even use all of the ports, so that is why I'd consider getting a different one. The OP might want the mobo anyway, but I'd rather spend more $ on the GPU than on the mobo, especially when it comes to building a gaming system. These are just my opinions, so take them with a grain of salt.

 

[Agent_Orange]

Hey guys wow thanks for the quick replies!

Saint, do you think a 650W PSU will be sufficient for a crossfire setup in the future?

Luny, in addition to gaming I am *slowly* getting into some amateur photography so I want some redundancy for my in-computer storage, raid 01 is what I intended to put there.
The Apevia is the choice of my wife, who will be the recipient of my old parts. I was *trying* to find a GMC R-2 Toast in Pink however I couldn't find one in Canada, and the shipping costs from any of the American suppliers were obscene.
Regarding the mobo, I really like the onboard Dolby, and intend to add a BluRay drive in the future once the burner prices come down. I also don't really plan on OC'ing until this platform starts getting maxed out.

I chose the 5770 over the 58 series primarily due to cost. If I get limited in the games I play or start to see lower framrates, I can pick up a second 5770 for cheaper than what I'm looking at now, and have performance close to a 58xx and still come in cheaper.

I'll be moving later next year, and my new office should have space for a multi-monitor setup, so I really like the flexibility and future-adaptability the board and chip provide. I'll definitely take a closer look at the PSU though.

 

[Attila_the_pun]

on ewiz the motherboard costs $190 and there is a 20 dollar discount for orders over $200 and that same cpu costs the same amount there.

 

[lunyone]

I understand your concern with the mobo. I think that you could still stick to a single GPU selection and when/if you need more GPU power in the future, just buy the best you can afford in the future. This will limit the costs now and in the future, if you stay with a 1 GPU setup.
Things that you'd save on, if you stick with 1 GPU setup:
* Less power used with 1 GPU instead of 2 GPU's.
* Less heat generated due to less parts in the system, mainly the GPU's.
* Less Power supply requirements, due to not needing quite as big as a PSU.
* Less GPU's to buy! Obvious here
* Less Mobo to purchase. This can be a $100 savings, but if you like what you like than get what you want. I'm just giving you options, so you can make an informed/intelligent decision.
* Possibly less driver issues (namely X-fire issues).

Now with your original build you would only need about a 350-450w quality PSU. I'd recommend the Corsair 550vx or even the Antec 500w PSU. This will allow you some upgrade paths too. If your going to crossfire than a quality 550w or bigger will do quite well. The Corsair 550vx will crossfire 2 5770's quite well.

Mind you these are just ideas/thoughts on your proposed build, so take them with a grain of salt.

 

[uther100]

I just ordered an am3 build. First damn the Canadian deals are much better than the American ones!

The suggestions I would make would be to first:

Go with a cheaper 790gx board then you get onboard video for backup in case you fry your video card. Current systems cannot take advantage of memory clocked that high if that is why you picked that board.

Secondly you could also save money and still have high performance with two 1tb drives. They have multiple heads and are actually a bit faster than some of the 500gb 1 platter models. But I can see why you might go with 4 drives. Personally I would not.

Cas 7 memory is pretty much the performance point of ddr3 right now. Maybe you picked those dimms for super high overclocking capacity? For the money I would get 777-20 ram. Forgot to mention. If you are getting into photo editing you could take some of these money savings and buy 8gb of Ram. Or just spend more and get 8GB. Photoshop will eat all the ram you throw at it just about.

The antec 900 is definitely cherry. If you want a nice alternative one you could also get an Antec 300 Illusion. It's cheaper and the one I just ordered.

 

[saint19]

Hey guys wow thanks for the quick replies!

Saint, do you think a 650W PSU will be sufficient for a crossfire setup in the future?

Luny, in addition to gaming I am *slowly* getting into some amateur photography so I want some redundancy for my in-computer storage, raid 01 is what I intended to put there.
The Apevia is the choice of my wife, who will be the recipient of my old parts. I was *trying* to find a GMC R-2 Toast in Pink however I couldn't find one in Canada, and the shipping costs from any of the American suppliers were obscene.
Regarding the mobo, I really like the onboard Dolby, and intend to add a BluRay drive in the future once the burner prices come down. I also don't really plan on OC'ing until this platform starts getting maxed out.

I chose the 5770 over the 58 series primarily due to cost. If I get limited in the games I play or start to see lower framrates, I can pick up a second 5770 for cheaper than what I'm looking at now, and have performance close to a 58xx and still come in cheaper.

I'll be moving later next year, and my new office should have space for a multi-monitor setup, so I really like the flexibility and future-adaptability the board and chip provide. I'll definitely take a closer look at the PSU though.

---------

Is enough, a 650W support two GTX260 on SLI and the HD 5770 use less power that the GTX260 and both are in the same range here, so, is enough for the X-Fire.

 

[Agent_Orange]

Parts are ordered, no change in the list except the PSU, went with the Coolermaster that Saint recommended.

Thanks for all your help and for making sure my parts decisions were well thought out! (at least, in my head!)