Need recommendation.

[malamute]

Hello, guys i am planning to upgrade my pc. The parts i want to buy are:

MB: MSI 770-C45 AM3 AMD 770+SB710 DDR3 1333MHz
RAM: Kingston 2GB Hyperx DDR3 1600MHz CL9
CPU: Athlon II X4 630 2. 8GHz 2MB Cache 45nm
VGA: SAPPHIRE HD4670 GDDR3 1GB 128Bit ATI DX10.1

What do you think of my configuration? My budget is limited and i tried to choose i can afford. Mainly will be used for Photoshop and potantial gaming Thank you for your replies. Forgot to mention also will watch HD movies. And also is Phenom II X2 550 3. 1GHz 7MB Cache 45nm better than the one above?

 

[Silvune]

According to my research the Athlon II X4 630 was better in photoshop, while the Phenom II X2 550 was better in gaming. However this may change if more games are optimized for 4 cores. One of the advantages of going with the Phenom is that if you get a motherboard with Advanced Clock Calibration - ACC (apparently bios version 1.4 on that board has added support for this feature), then you might have the chance to turn it into a tri or even a quad core. But you would have to be pretty lucky to get two extra stable cores out of it or even one. I would suggest making the decision between the two CPUs based on which one you will be most happy with out of the box, and then, if you chose the Phenom, have a go at unlocking it.

 

[malamute]

Thank you for your detailed reply Silvune, so kind of you. After your message I think I will go with Athlon II because gaming is not that much important for me. Thanks again.

 

[builderbobftw]

Uh, are you sure you don't want to build an i3-530 build? That beats out a lot of AMD cpus, and it's resonably priced, and people make cheap h55 mobos. I would recomend the i3-530.

 

[pipes990]

You will like that Video Card as long as you have room for it. That is very important, the card is huge. If you do have the room it is great, I have one and it is great for the price. The Phenom II would work better if you are gaming. It will handle photoshop better than the Athlon is going to handle games. The 550 is a great processor I would recomend going that route even though the Athon is a little better with photoshop.

 

[pipes990]

The i3-530 is a great CPU but for gaming the 550 quad-core is better than the dual-core i3.

 

[malamute]

I considered Intel and compatible mobos Builderbobftw but it is a little out of my budget and also Intel not feels like consumer-friendly company to me Thank you for your reply and opinion.

 

[builderbobftw]

Are you sure? I heard the i5-530 dominates the x3 435 in gameing benchmarks. Also, what is you're budget? Here's a combo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.343620

For you;re consideration. keep in mind the i3-530 beats similar priced AM3 cpus. Thats a build there for 400$. Throw in a 150$ 5770, and it's at 550$. Add a 20$ SATA DVD RW, and a Hyper 212+, and you're at about 600$ for a total system, that owns.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=hyper_212-_-35-103-065-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858&cm_re=5770-_-14-102-858-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188&cm_re=sata_dvd-_-27-151-188-_-Product

600$ system, i chalenege you to make a better 600$ build.

 

[malamute]

Hi pipes990, what do you mean by huge? I mean do I need to buy a new case? Right now I am using an Asus Vento case mid-tower (an ugly one . Also what is the main difference with Phenom, this is getting more and more complicated cores, mhz...

 

[malamute]

Thanks Builderbobftw, I checked the link it is nearly about my budget. I spared like 400$. I am confused now Builderbobftw

 

[pipes990]

Compared to the i3 the biggest difference is that the phenom is a quad-core and the i3 is dual core. When gaming, a quad-core will work better. Also, the phenom 955 is very overclock friendly even with a stock cooler which will also help gaming.

 

[pipes990]

Sorry, no that case should be large enough, i thought perhaps you had a dell or hp case. it will fit in that mid case and works awsome.

 

[builderbobftw]

Ok, the 955 is 50$ more and out of budget. My chalenge stands. I want to see a better, faster build for 600$.

Is you're budget 400$? You should realy consider spending 600$ ont he build i linked, much faster/better, and has a 5770 instead of a 4670. If you realy want, you can save 50$ and get a 4850 1gb instead, that puts you at 550$.

550$ is the lowest ammount I would spend on a good, fast, gaming system, 600$ is better.

 

[pipes990]

I didn't realize we were working with a budget.

 

[malamute]

Compared to the i3 the biggest difference is that the phenom is a quad-core and the i3 is dual core. When gaming, a quad-core will work better. Also, the phenom 955 is very overclock friendly even with a stock cooler which will also help gaming.

Sorry, no that case should be large enough, i thought perhaps you had a dell or hp case. it will fit in that mid case and works awsome.

Thank you for the clarification pipes990, I did not want to spent extra for casing

Ok, the 955 is 50$ more and out of budget. My chalenge stands. I want to see a better, faster build for 600$.

Is you're budget 400$? You should realy consider spending 600$ ont he build i linked, much faster/better, and has a 5770 instead of a 4670. If you realy want, you can save 50$ and get a 4850 1gb instead, that puts you at 550$.

550$ is the lowest ammount I would spend on a good, fast, gaming system, 600$ is better.

You are right Builderbobftw, it is a nice configuration but really over my budget. You see I am only trying to upgrade main parts and keep the other things like mice, keyboard etc. I mean I have to keep things cheap otherwise my wife will chase me with a stick which is kind of not sweet :lol:

 

[builderbobftw]

Alright, but you're graphics arn't gonna be pretty if you play with that system. Also, for games less cores/faster clock speeds beets more cores/lower clock speed, wich is why an Intell 2.9ghz Dual core is so damn fast.Also, for as long a si rember, a Intell chip at a certain clock speed beats a AMD chip at the same speed. ( Like the i5-750 2.66ghz owning the AMD 965 3.4ghz BE)

 

[pipes990]

But that is comparing quad-core to quad-core, you are going quad to dual. Plus the 955 will overclock to higher clock speeds so you have more cores and higher clock speed. And modern games will take advantage of four cores.

 

[pipes990]

I am not ragging on intel, I love intel, but at lower prices for gaming I think the AMD black edition is a little better. If your budget is 200 or more I am all for intel, but not at these prices.

 

[builderbobftw]

The i3-530 dominates all AMD offerigns at the same price. I'm not raggin on AMD but Intell dominates the 100$+ range for CPUs.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3724&p=2

 

[malamute]

Guys, thank you very very much. You were really helpful to made my mind. I think I will go with the i3 because of Builderbobftw The AnandaTech page is really informative, I saw the test results and i3 generally takes the lead. Again thank you so much friends, you rescued me from trouble, god bless you and have a nice day.

 

[pipes990]

Your article proves my point. The 965 beats the i3 in almost all tests. The 955 is 10s worth of overclocking to being the 965.

 

[builderbobftw]

Rofl, and the GTX 295 beats beath the Radeon 5450. So the Nvidia is a better company right? Wrong. There is no AMD chip that doesn't cost 50$ more than the i3-530 thaat can beat it. If you want to play that game, then the i5-750 beats the 955.

At OP: You're welcome, have fun with that build . I'm just glad to help. Maybe there's a best awnser in my future.....???

Also, you should realy look at that build i posted. Either 700$/650$, and either gets you a very fast, nice machine.