BestConfigs - High-End AMD Gaming PC

We're updating the Tom's Hardware BestConfigs and are opening the field to user recommendations! Post the best configuration you can put together for the following build category and our editorial team will pick 5 recommendations in each category to put to a public vote. The top-ranking build will go on to become one of Tom's Hardware's BestConfigs, and you'll get the credit for having put together a brilliant build with special notice in the feature article.

Post your entries to this thread for the category of High-End AMD Gaming PC, stay within $2000 and be sure to list the following components-

Processor:
Motherboard:
RAM:
Graphics Card:
Hard Drive:
Case:
Power Supply:
DVD Burner:

Good luck, and may the best builds win!

Processor: Phenom II x6 1090t
Motherboard: Asus Crosshair IV Formula
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 1600mhz C7
Graphics Card: XFX 2GB 5970
Hard Drive: 150GB Velicoraptor x2 RAID 0
Case: Haf X
Power Supply: AX850
DVD Burner: Cheap SATA

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2Ghz $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103808

Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD70 $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813130274

RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231321

Graphics Card: HIS H587FN1GD Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $350 x3= $1050
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161329

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152185

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119197

Power Supply: NZXT Hale90-1000M 1000W 80Plus Gold Modular $221
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817116013

DVD Burner: Sony Optiarc $19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827118039

Heatsink:
Thermalright Silver Arrow $80
http://www.svc.com/silverarrow.html

Total: $1995

Processor: Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition $165.99
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 $214.99
RAM: 2 x 2GB G.Skill Ripjaws Series DDR3 1600 $92.99
Graphics Card: 2 x XFX HD 5870 HD587X-ZNFC 1GB $779.98
Hard Drive 1: 120 GB G.Skill Phoenix Pro FM-25S2S-120GBP2 Series 2.5" $279.99
Hard Drive 2: 1 TB Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS $87.99
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922-KKN1-GP ATX Mid Tower $89.98
Power Supply: Antec 1000W 80 Plus Bronze Certified Modular $179.99
DVD Burner: LITE-ON 24x DVD Burner $25.99
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm CPU Cooler $79.99

Total= $1997.88

This system has got everything you could ask for; a reliable cpu, an impressive graphics card setup, one of the best SSDs on the market, a powerful psu, and plenty of storage. The water cooling unit allows for a lot of over-clocking headroom on this rig, and the HAF and 1000W psu should support such endeavors nicely. With a perfectly sufficient 4 GB of DDR3 1600, there is still room for adding more modules if so desired later on. Great Rig!

thanks firebean for catching my gaff

Here is a config, but too bad it goes over $2K though...

CPU - X6 1090T

Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD7 - IMO a better option than the Rampage because of the slot placement and the available space

CASE - HAF X Certainly

PSU - Silverstone OP 1000W/ Antec TP 1000W

RAM - GSKilz Flare 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 14400) Desktop Memory Model F3-14400CL7D-4GBFLS

SSD for boot - OCZ Agility 60GB

HDD for Data - Hitachi 0F10452 2TB

BD Combo - SAMSUNG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Drive - Bulk Model SH-B083L/BSBP LightScribe Support - OEM

Graphics card - HIS HD 5970 - Cheapest HD 5970 (With the money saved there, would get the Accelero XTREME 5970
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/cata [...] 2_&mID=545

Hope you people like this...

Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103849

Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131644

RAM: G.SKILL Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 2000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

Graphics Card: 2x MSI R5870 Lightning II Radeon HD 5870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127509

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136533

OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX50G 2.5" 50GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227528

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119160

Power Supply:XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817207001

DVD Burner: ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135204

Heatsink: Noctua NH-U9B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835608016

Total: $2002 after MIR

Processor: Phenom II X4 965
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-R597D5-2GD-B Radeon HD 5970
Hard Drive(s): 2x Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC SSD
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
DVD Burner: SAMSUNG 2MB Cache SATA 24x DVD Burner

All parts from Newegg
Total: 1985$

EDIT: Prices updated as of 9/1

CPU: X4 955 $150
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-890XA-UD3 $105 after rebate
RAM: G.Skill Eco 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $99
GPU: 2x HD 5970 $1,300
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB $75 (not sure if the $15 off promo counts)
Case: HAF 922 $90
PSU: Corsair 950W $120 after rebate. I switched from the 850HX to add some extra room for overclocking and what not.
Optical: Cheap SATA DVD burner $18

Total: $1,957. Could be cheaper with combos/the HDD's promo code.

Thats right. DUAL 5970s. Only an 8x/8x board, but that's only like 2-3% performance difference anyway. No SSD, but I think that's a very minor sacrfice given the massive GPU power in this build.
I'm not sure if we needed to include a HSF, but if I do, swap the HDD for a Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB ($55) and pick up the Sycthe SCMG-2100 ($40). That makes the total $1,992.

If the promo price on the HDD counts, then I'd just throw in the HSF and be at $1,997.

EDIT: On 9/1, HIS's 5970 was available for $600(with $30 rebate), but I'm not sure how good their's are. They're not getting good reviews. So it's possible to shave off another $130 there. If we're not counting the quality of the GPU (which I'm not sure if HIS's is actually that bad), I'd use that and throw in the X6 1090T, and have a total of $1,957.

Gaming is inherently unbalanced. I also doubt that the 955 would become the bottleneck.

If you'd prefer, I could swap in the X6 1055T for the 955. That'd put me $6 over, but I could drop the HDD to the 500 GB model.

That's the idea. Since the opening post didn't say anything about including a HSF I left it out. You can easily throw a good one in there and still be close to budget.

Besides, if you were really buying this, I'd find some combos to make it cheaper, allowing for the HSF or some other improvements. Heck, even just using the F3's promo code would allow for a good HSF...

Processor:AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
Motherboard:ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
RAM:Mushkin Enhanced Ridgeback 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000
Graphics Card:SAPPHIRE 100280SR Radeon HD 5970
ssd:3xCorsair Nova 32gb
Hard Drive:SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
Case:COOLER MASTER COSMOS S
Power Supply:ABS SL series SL1050 1050W
DVD Burner:LITE-ON Black
hsf:Prolimatech Megahalem
Fans:2 x Scythe GentleTyphoon

$2003 without considering rebates and promo code and combos

Do u hear about hack? Crossfire and SLI can run in any mobo with any chipset.

My configuration:

1- For now:

CPU: Phenom II X6 1090T
Mobo: Gigabyte 890FXA-UD7
RAM: G.Skill PI 1600 8GB
GPU: 2x5870
SSD: Crucial SSD C300 128GB
HD: WD Velociraptor 600GB SATA III
Case: HAF X
PSU: Corsair AX1200W (Over kill I know)
DVD Burner: LITE-ON Black
Cooling: Own LCS or Swiftech H20-220-APEX ULTIMA
Fans:

Price: $ 2918.31 a little more or little less.

2- Wait for Bulldozer

^Are you in the right section?

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban ($199.99)
CPU

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula ($214.99)
Motherboard

G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM ($98.99)
RAM

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W ($169.99)
PSU

SAPPHIRE 100280SR Radeon HD 5970 ($649.99)
GPU

COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ($169.99)
Case

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB ($74.99)
HDD

LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray ($79.99)
BlueRay

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5" 128GB ($276.00)
SSD

Total = $1,934.32

Heres a AMD/SLi build:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955
M/B: MSI NF980-G65
RAM: G.Skill Trident 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600
GPU: 2 MSI GTX480 SLI
SDD: G.Skill Phoenix 60GB (Main)
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB (Storage)
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred
PSU: XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES
ODD: LG Black Blu-Ray Burner

Total: $1993 US, thats before rebate, W/Shipping.

Throw on another 5850 and your set, (5850 performs close to the 5870 comparatively in crossfire)

I know the x8 limitation on my motherboard choice, but I tend to favor upgrade paths when making computer (integrated graphics), besides when Bulldozer finally does come out most likely a new motherboard+proc will be needed; I'd hate to buy top of the line, only to upgrade in a year for hopefully a 25-40% increase in computer power. But hey I could also subtract the 5850 and add a ASUS ARES and look like a real fool; that will get me to the $2000 price. Of course a real question would be -- does highend equate to gaming performance, or overclocking; or values I prefer like quietness, and persistence/endurance, balance. If purely gaming performance then sacrificing EVERYTHING for graphics would be ideal and go for 2x 5970.

Processor: x4 955 ($150)
Motherboard: Asus M4A79T Deluxe ($140) (2 x16)
RAM: Cheap ($90-100)
Graphics Card: 2x 5970 (2x $630 = $1260)
Hard Drive: cheap 500GB ($40)
Case: CM HAF 922 ($90)
Power Supply: Cosair 850TX ($130)
DVD Burner: $20

$1920 TOTAL

+ CM Hyper 212 plus ($20-30)
OR
+ Thermalright Ultra 120 ($70)

- I was referring to 5850 CF vs 5870 CF; loss when going down to 5850 upto 12% @ 1920x1200 (with my crappy build).

- On the 5970 CF, it would be a tiny bit higher (I'm guessing 4-5% {no source}) (than single GPU CF/SLI); plus toms did scaling in one article that still had only 16x to the proc with the with NV200 doubling the bandwidth between graphics cards (not a completely fair example). But who really cares, if you would spend $1200 on 2x 5970s chances are that they would be paired up with a an i7 9xx.

- You have to sacrifice money, maybe a girlfriend (not a personal attack, just directed generally to everyone as a joke)

^That's actually not true. I've seen a few reviews (there aren't many out there) with the 5970 getting better scaling than three card solutions. The one review that sticks in my mind was down by some foreign site (I couldn't read the article, but they had some great data in charts and tables). In their testing, they used up to three GTX 470s, three 480s, the 5970 with a 5870 and dual 5970s. They found that the SLI scaling was roughly 70% on the first two, which dropped to around 60-65% for the third. The 5970 scaled about 65% with both the 5870 and 5970. No idea why though. Might have been explained in the writing.

I really wish I kept that article. I didn't look at what site did the review hard enough to be able to find it again.

Of course 3 5870s would perform better than a single 5970. That's just common sense. Three of the same GPU will outperform two all the time.

Quadfire will always out perform Trifire. It's an inherent property. It's not like you're going to get NEGATIVE scaling. Sure, it might be that the scaling isn't as high (i.e. 55% instead of 65%, which are made up numbers), but it still performs better. The raw FPS will always be higher for quad GPU systems than for triple GPU systems.

Article was written. April 20, so little older. ATI just released new 10.8 that has some updates for eyefinity in quad.

Yeah not many reviews on these super high end graphics solutions.

I wonder how 3 5970 perform. What would that be? - SEXfire !!!

Here is what i recommend:

CPU: Phenom II X6 1055T
Mobo: MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
GPU: 2x SAPPHIRE 100281-3SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB
Case: COOLER MASTER COSMOS S RC-1100-KKN1-GP Black
PSU: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-1000HX 1000W
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
Optical drive: LG 10X Blu-ray Burner - LightScribe
CPU cooler: CORSAIR H50 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler
Uppgrade for CPU cooler: 2x SilenX IXP-76-18 120mm Case Fan

Grand Total:* $1,977.88

A SSD is not a must have but a good CPU cooler for overclocking it is. Also the case has a side fan that blows cool air directly on the video cards and the design is just superb. 1000W power supply for high overclocking, just great for this power hungry system.
Great balance in terms of design(case), multimedia(blu ray RW) and gaming performance(2x5870).

Article you were thinking of MAD
http://nl.hardware.info/reviews/17 [...] omverbruik

Old drivers though.

Here is the translated version i linked to earlier :

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http://www.hardware.info/nl-NL/articles/amdnampoZGCa/Clash_of_the_Titans_3way_SLI_GTX_480_test/&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&twu=1

Can you really over-clock one 5970 to match 3 5870's?

Yea, I used combo's/promo's and rebates to squeeze in a 3rd GPU over the other builds posted.

In the past I've seen the Tom's people use rebates and combo's in their SBM prices (not sure about promo's though).

Still, they really do need to clarify exact rules they want for type of build and how budget works.

I think that the rigs should be posted without promo codes or MIR since those are only for a limited time.

^Yeah I forgot the combos too, those are for a limited time.

The idea is build a rig that u can build in any moment without have to wait for promo code or combos.

I'm not sure you know what you're saying or what I said. What I was saying is that the 5970 is technically 5870 CF. That is, the single card has two 5870 GPUs on it. However, the GPUs have been handicapped, making it perform almost exactly like 5850 CF out of the box. So it's not 5850 CF, it just performs like it at stock. Overclocking it will easily push it towards the 5870's level.

The 955 does not destroy either of the X6s. It matches them in gaming benchmarks, but doesn't beat them. It will lose outside of gaming though.