CPU/GPU

[Guest]

Hello,

If I built a system for gaming with a AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition and two ATI 5850's in crossfire, would my processor bottleneck my system?

 

[tecmo34]

No... it won't bottle neck your system.

Might I make a suggestion or two though...

1) Get the AMD Phenom II X4 955 CS version (X4 965 is basically an OC'd version)

2) I would get on ATI 5870 2GB instead of getting two 5850's from the get go (without knowing your resolution all might be overkill). This will give you the ability to upgrade later to a second card as you start to have issue within games. The only upgrade path with two 5850's is basically buying a complete set of new cards.

 

[Guest]

I actually planned on getting one 5850 and then getting a second on down the line. As much as i'd like to get the 5870, i can't justify spending $500 on one card. I dont know. I don't want to spend more than like 1200 up front, not including case, on this build. Maybe you can give me some insight - here is what I planned on:

AMD Phenom II X4 955
Crossfire capable AM3 motherboard (looking at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131633)
2x2G GSkill Trident (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231282&cm_re=trident-_-20-231-282-_-Product)
2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 in raid 0 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185)
XFX Black Edition XPS-850W Power Supple(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207001)

This puts me at $779.94 without videocard or case.
I chose to set my budget independent of case, because I want a really expensive case (Silverstone ft02) and a case won't necessarily have to be replaced in a couple of years.

I plan to get one videocard now and a second matching one in 4-5 months.

Any feedback on this build? Still think I should go with the 5870 - 2gb?

 

[Guest]

I am actually very unsure about my motherboard. I don't know how to find one with all the features I want:

Crossfire capability
Raid capability
Good overclocking potential

 

[tecmo34]

CPU / MOBO Combo: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 & AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition - Crossfire|RAID capability and good overclocker. Gives you USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0Gb/s support, which will help with the upgrade path.

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 - Better timings and cheaper RAM ... Just plain Better

Good call on just going with one 5850 now and upgrade down the road!!

Nice looking case but I'm much more of a fan of the SILVERSTONE RAVEN RV02-BW Matte black 0.8mm Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case but that is a personal preference though, so get what you like.

If money is tight and you need to cut cost, I would drop down to the AMD Athlon II X3 440 AM3, which you'll only see slight performance decrease but save you an additional $70 or so.

 

[Silvune]

For a system with two 5850s you don't need an 850 watt power supply. So you could save probably $50 getting a 650 or 750 watt unit.

 

[Guest]

Would timings of 8-8-8-24 not be better for an AMD system than 7-8-7-24? I feel like I read that in a review somewhere.

I honestly don't know what to look for in memory timings. Maybe someone can educate me on the best timings for a Phenom II x4 setup.

 

[tecmo34]

Lower timings are better across the board, followed by MHz and finish up that they have the correct voltage requirements (more of an Intel issue than AMD)