Phenom II 955 or i5 750

[pipes990]

I am doing a new build for my brother. Trying to keep the budget under $1000. I quit using AMD in 2002 and swore I would never subject myself to the problems I was having. However, I find myself looking at the 955 and thinking it might be the way to go on this build. It gets great reviews and the numbers also look good. What does everyone think.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Might want to follow the guidelines from the link in my signature.

Is it a gaming PC? If so, the 955 is definitely the way to go. Here's a generic gaming build:

CPU: X4 955 $166
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 $135
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115
HDD/PSU: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB and OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Combo for $95 after rebate
Optical: Cheapest SATA DVD burner $20
Case: HAF 922 $90 after rebate
GPU: HD 5870 $395
OS: Windows 7 64-bit OEM $105

Total: $1,006.

 

[Silvune]

I like that build. However considering that the OCZ 700W PSU doesn't have enough connectors to be able to power more than one 5870, then save some money and change to this combo: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB & OCZ ModXStream 600W $110 with $25 rebate.

 

[pipes990]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. This is not a gaming computer. Web browsing, office documents, Java programming, etc. I am not planning on spending more than $70-$100 on the GPU. Here are the other products I am using.


Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP $79.99
Power Supply: Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU $34.99
Hard Drives: Intel X25-V $114.99
SAMSUNG F3 HD502HJ $54.99
Memory: CORSAIR XMS3 $154.99
Video Card: MSI N9600GT-MD1G $94.99
OS Microsoft Windows 7 $109.99
Software Microsoft Office Home & Student $59.99
Optical Drive HP Black 22X $26.99

That comes to $730 so I have $150 - $200 to spend on the CPU and around $100 for the motherboard.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Switch the XMS3 for the G.Skill Ripjaws I linked to.

CPU: i5-750 $200
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 $135

That should put you close to the budget.

 

[ewood]

i would also suggest you use the gskill ram and the i5. As far as motherboards go the gigabyte should be a solid well build board with out too many frills. a good choice for you needs

 

[pipes990]

Best answer selected by pipes990.

 

[lothdk]

I would change that PSU of yours to either of these

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Also, you could save some by getting a cheaper video card, a geforce 8600 GT would be plenty for your work, or one of the new radeon 5450, at a price comparable to the 9600 GT would be the radeon 5570 if you have a need of the power these cards deliver, but gain the benefit of eyefinity that the radeons offer.