My first build

[korinu]

I'm putting together my first computer and just wanted some discussion and second opinions before I finalize it. It's primarily a gaming rig but I'm not looking to play Crisis or Far Cry. I'll mainly be playing Guild wars (GW2 when it comes out) and games like Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age Origins, and equivalents. I've already bought the hard drive, optic drive, and keyboard & mouse but I will list them below anyways. Also I am not really looking to over clock.



CPU: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808]
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
I was looking at the 555 BE as well but want better multitasking and i am under the impression that Dragon age can use more than 2 cores. Also It's more safety for the future. I'd like some discussion on this mainly cause it's caused my a lot of thinking on if I should get the 555 for $50 cheaper or if the 955 will really be a better idea (especially in the long term)

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402]
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
Not really sure what to look at in terms of Mobos but I know I want DDR3 and i want 2 PCI-E slots as i intend to CFX. This one is at a good price and has good reviews. It also has a combo deal with the 955 and 555 CPU so it seems like my best choice.

GPU: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447]
XFX Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT)
Seems to fit my needs and i plan to CFX it in the future. I originally looked at the 5850 but it's to expensive I also know the the 4890 is sposto be better but it's harder to find and i require an HDMI plug so i can use my TV as a second monitor and i already have the HDMi cable.

RAM: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277]
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

HDD: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073]
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache
Already bought this but figured I'd put the whole build in here.

PSU: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019]
OCZ StealthXStream 700W ATX12V
From what I know it meets my requirements for all of this build and another 5770 in the future. The PSU is something i'm still skeptical about because i know nothing about how many WATS i need. I can combo it with a 5770 so it makes it the cheapest 700w PSU i could find.

CD/DVD burner: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030]
it is what it is... doesnt need much comment. Also have already bought.

Monitor: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009193]
Acer V223W 22" 1680 x 1050

Case: [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147145]
Rosewill CRUISER
Personally I think it's sexy and so does my girlfriend so it works. Comes with 4 fans and one is 190mm so I'm sure it will give more than enough cooling for what I'm doing.

sorry if the links don't work... i tried my best but I'm new to posting things so I'm a little slow. I'm also hoping I'm posting this in the right area , but if I'm not please forgive me. Thank you very much in advance to anyone who is willing to help or just add their input. For a college student on a tight budget these things don't come very often so i want to make it right the first time and make it last. Upgrading wont happen for many years other than the second 5770 so i need something for the future.

 

[Alvin Smith]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435

Newest/Latest Chipset .. USB3.0, SATA-III, 8x8 CrossFire, Fast Timings.

 

[Alvin Smith]

Here is a combo with $20 off the CPU you chose.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435

 

[Alvin Smith]

BE SURE YOU GET THE 125W CPU ... Part# ends with "xxxMBOX""

 

[korinu]

BE SURE YOU GET THE 125W CPU ... Part# ends with "xxxMBOX""

Thank you for replying so quickly Alvin. I was wondering if you could elaborate a little on why this would be a better choice. I'm not questioning your choice(looks great to me) I'm just being curious. I'm not very computer savvy so a lot doesn't make sense to me. I also love to know what im buying as most do and an added $20 makes a difference to me (sadly).
Will SATA 3.0Gb devices (like my hdd) work fine with SATA 6Gb/s? will they work better?
Will the on-board graphics cause problems with a separate GPU?
Seems to be pretty new.. would it be safer to go with the other board or does it not matter?

Also i have made sure i get the MBOX version. That was something i realized and was confused about in the beginning.

 

[victomofreality]

Alright I'll clarify some of what was said for you.
The motherboard is fair advice if you plan on upgrading the computer in the future and the slots are backwards compatible with current tech so your hdd will still work(although you can just connect it into one of the sata II slots on the board.)
As for the processor he's thinking of the 965 not the 955. The 965 was released originally at 140w but with some tweaking they got it down to 125w which allows for a bit more overclocking room and makes it compatible with more motherboards.
The onboard will have no effect on the video card you put in unless they've updated hybrid crossfire when I wasn't looking(completely possible) and if thats the case all it would do is cause more power savings not compatibility issues.
I've always been a firm believer in getting the best motherboard I can find and building from there to make it easy to upgrade as I get more money.

 

[korinu]

Alright I'll clarify some of what was said for you.
The motherboard is fair advice if you plan on upgrading the computer in the future and the slots are backwards compatible with current tech so your hdd will still work(although you can just connect it into one of the sata II slots on the board.)
As for the processor he's thinking of the 965 not the 955. The 965 was released originally at 140w but with some tweaking they got it down to 125w which allows for a bit more overclocking room and makes it compatible with more motherboards.
The onboard will have no effect on the video card you put in unless they've updated hybrid crossfire when I wasn't looking(completely possible) and if thats the case all it would do is cause more power savings not compatibility issues.
I've always been a firm believer in getting the best motherboard I can find and building from there to make it easy to upgrade as I get more money.

Thank you for clarifying and your info was very helpful.
Yeah I'm aware of the two difference version of the 965 and maybe that's what he was talking about but I also believe that the 955 has an IBOX version with C2 stepping but the MBOX has C3. They're are both the same price (actually i think the IBOX is a little more expensive) so i assumed that's what he was talking about.

Thank you two for the quick info and the help. I'll be ordering the rest of my rig today and i Will be going with the Mobo Alvin suggested. It's more future proof and that's what I'm looking for.

 

[whitefang]

For some reason alvins link for the mobo + cpu combo didn't work so I'm posting it again.

955 + 890GX -$20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.353112

I'm sure you know this, but the 965 is just an overclocked 955.

Now to your psu. OCZ stealthxtreme 700W + 5770 combo -$20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.347614

Just tryin to shed a few dollars off =)

 

[Alvin Smith]

For some reason alvins link for the mobo + cpu combo didn't work so I'm posting it again.

955 + 890GX -$20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.353112

I'm sure you know this, but the 965 is just an overclocked 955.

Now to your psu. OCZ stealthxtreme 700W + 5770 combo -$20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.347614

Just tryin to shed a few dollars off =)

= Pure Beauty =

 

[korinu]

For some reason alvins link for the mobo + cpu combo didn't work so I'm posting it again.

955 + 890GX -$20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.353112

I'm sure you know this, but the 965 is just an overclocked 955.

Now to your psu. OCZ stealthxtreme 700W + 5770 combo -$20 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.347614

Just tryin to shed a few dollars off =)

Thank you,

Yeah that's the same combo i used to get the GPU and PSU. I love Newegg combo deals, I wish more online shopping sites would start using that.
Well I ordered it all a few hours ago so I'll be deleting or closing or whatevering the thread(that's if i can figure out how...lol). Thank you for your help.
Wish me luck

 

[Alvin Smith]

yeah ... you can reward fang's efforts by hitting that "best answer" button in lower right corner of his best post.

= or not =

 

[korinu]

Best answer selected by Korinu.

 

[korinu]

yeah ... you can reward fang's efforts by hitting that "best answer" button in lower right corner of his best post.

= or not =

oh, ah.. thank you didn't realize that.

 

[Alvin Smith]

few do ... I watch these experts bust ass every day ... just to give you a great build and save you money ... very cool.

 

[korinu]

few do ... I watch these experts bust ass every day ... just to give you a great build and save you money ... very cool.

Yes, I always appreciate any help. Just wish I could reward with more than just forum recognition. I'm new to Tom's Hardware (just made an account 2 days ago) and I don't use forums much at all so I'm still learning. I'll make sure to chose a Best Answer if I ever post again.