Rate my build please

[Nashmyers]

Upgrading next week or so on a new rig, here's what I have so far. Trying to fit into a budget of 600 max.

1. CPU->AMD Phenom II x4 955 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103808

2.MOBO-> ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157198

3. HDD-> SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

4.GFX-> ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121363

5. PSU-> hec X-Power Pro 600 600W Continuous @ 40°C ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817339025

Planning to use my Antec 900 case as it's still relatively new as well as my 4 gigs of DDR2 PC6400 G.skill ram. Though I heard DDR3 was the *** now but I need some confirmation if it's really going to make all that much of a difference for gaming between my 4 gigs of ddr to those, otherwise I don't want to waste dumping an extra 100 bucks for them. Any suggestions? Also I don't plan to OC anything, everything is staying at stock speed.

 

[buzznut]

Well, if you aren't overclocking that would negate most of the benefit of DDR3 memory in my mind. Its likely if you were doing FSB or reference overclocking that the increased DDR3 speeds would yield higher clocks.

However I found a difference between DDR2 800 and 1066Mhz.
Bottom line, I don't think you'll get $100 more performance out of the DDR3 memory. This is not based on personal experience as I have not made the conversion to DDR3 yet, but my opinion is based on the many articles I have read on the subject.

It would not surprise me if others have anecdotal evidence to the contrary. I think your build is solid.
Any reason why you aren't going with an Antec PSU to go with the 900? Keep in mind that's a bottom mount and you'll need cables that will reach.

 

[Timop]

You cant run DDR2 on that Mobo. Sorry.

If you want heres a combo with your HD5770 and some decent RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.434086

I would also suggest a better PSU, like the 400CX for $30AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008&Tpk=corsair%20400CX

 

[aebome]

Timop is right, that motherboard cannot run DDR2 memory, but if you still wanted to use DDR2 memory you could get an AM2+ board, rather than a newer AM3 socket, as AM3 chips do fit in AM2+ sockets.

This one would work. MSI 790XT-G45 AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130265


Also, if you wanted more power than the 400W in Timpos suggestion (great PSU by the way), you could look at something like this, which currently has 15% off.

Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030

 

[Nashmyers]

hmm i already ordered the PSU so that kinda blows, is the PSU I ordered really going to give me problems or something? Also I decided to order the combo deal with the graphic card and the ram together, I suppose it's pretty decent as the price comes to 201 bucks after MIR for both. What do you mean by decent ram however? I heard nothing was better than the ddr3.

Yeah I also really don't plan on OC'ing anything as I always run into problems doing that and shorten the lifespan on my parts, my room is always hotter than normal for these kinds of things. Can anyone give me a laydown between the AMD processor vs the i5-750? I game pretty hardcore but don't care about a 1-5 second delay in graphical applications or benchmarking whatever. Should I bother making the switch then or stay with the AMD.

 

[Timop]

By decent I meant that its one of the better sets of DDR3s. Tight timings and 1600Mhz.


The 955 and the 750 performs pretty similar at stock, maybe 1-5 fps here and there, especially for 80% of the time your 5770 would be the bottleneck.

OCing an BE is pretty easy though, up the multi to 18X and its almost a guaranteed 3.6Ghz.

 

[aebome]

A good PSU will provide stable power to your system, run efficiently, and run cooler than a less efficient PSU. A PSU of questionable quality, which I what I would label the one you purchased, may work fine, but has a much higher chance of failing, and if it does, failing spectacularly, taking other components with it.

This failure plus collateral damage is the real concern with buying a PSU of inadequate quality. To me, it would be worth the peace of mind and investment in good parts to return the PSU and pick up another one (one of the suggested ones, or another antec, corsair,or seasonic, even OCZ although the others are better).

There are some who swear its all marketing and hype to make you pay more, but I wouldn't risk it. Also, you don't have to pay more as Timop and I have illustrated, just get a good brand. See JonnyGuru.com for some expert views.

 

[Nashmyers]

About the PSU, the 400W seems to have nice reviews, but 400W would be safe enough to run all these components it seems pretty low as I had a 580 Hiper brand PSU that failed on me horribly running my old rig.

Okay going for the phenom processor then, thanks for the input. How do you up the multi to 18x. When it comes to the OC'ing part i seriously get confused no matter how many guides i read lol. Is it going to be able to run it at 3.6ghz on stockfan without giving issues? A quick step by step guide on that would be really helpful ^^

 

[Timop]

It is just under the BIOS settings, usually under "CPU ratio" and stock fan should be fine.

The board should also have a auto OC feature in the BIOS too, just press "X" when booting, feel free to try that.

You bought the PSU from newegg right? Ask them for an exchange and they might waive the shipping cost.

Sticking with that PSU wouldn't be the safest choice, but most likely wont do much harm either. HEC is one of the better generics (still bad, but there's worse) and youre barely going to use 300W from it.

 

[Nashmyers]

Gotcha, going to go with the 400 watt PSU you recommended then and will try to OC the processor to 3.6ghz as you mentioned when it arrives. I still have my old components from my previous rig which consists of a evga 8800gt 512mb OC edition graphic card I bought a few years back, the card believe it or not still runs most games nicely. Wondering what the performance difference between that and the 5770 i'm getting will be? Also upgrading from a E6850 dual core @3.0ghz and 4 gigs of ddr2 ram.

 

[mrhoshos96]

can you please fill in the stickie in my sig.

 

[Timop]

8800GT OC is still a decent mid-range card, but with that 5770 you'll see at least a 50% performance increase. (Example: 8800GT 30fps, 5770 45-50fps). Especially as you go up in AA and resolution.

On a side note, you can still sell you old parts for ~$220+, maybe even $280-$300 on ebay.