This AMD combo good?

1. Yes, that combo is good, for $100 that board has 2 pcie slots, but 2nd slot will run at x4 instead of x16/x8, so the 2nd card (CF/SLI) performance will be greatly reduced. If you on plan using dual card then you'll better get different board.
2. AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz is a good CPU, it can handle most of games with decent setting.
3. 6GB of RAM DDR3 is more than enough, go for it, and yes it should compatible with your board. This board only support dual channel mode, so you'll better with dual stick of RAM.

^^ I would rather suggest the X4 955
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Along with this board if you want x8x8 Crossfire option
ASRock 870 Extreme
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Though would cost you a bit more, but IMO well worth it as the CPU has unlocked multiplier(easier to overclock) and also that board has SATA 6GB/s & USB3.0 along with x8x8 Crossfire...

RAM - And stick with 2/ 4 RAM sticks as populating either 1 or 3 slots as it would make the RAM run at single-channel mode and not dual-Channel which will have some effect on performance...

Here's a combo for $272.99:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...

Keep looking for deals - and prepare to pounce when you see a bargain. Check the mobo QVL for memory to determine how close you might be - Asus qualifies 6GB 3x2 kits on AM3 motherboards. Running the IMC/NB single-channel 2400MHz more than makes up for the loss of dual-channel in bandwidth and latency.

Last Tuesday I snagged an Asus M4A79T Deluxe 790FX at $120 (before $30 rebate) and a PhII945 for $126 ::: $90 + $126 = $216

$90? For the 42 Gen2 PCIe-lanes goodness of an Asus x90FX? I was all over that. Throw in 6GB 3x2 of GSkill 1333 for $83 and I was like, "Whaaaaaa?"



14x251MHz at 1.35v 54c on stock cooler. Wanted to go 15x250MHz at 1.45v (still in spec) but temps would climb into 'toasty'. This was on a M4A785TD-V sb710 so I hopes the FX sb750 will be even more kind with a good cooler.

For $300 it's like I'm stealin'   Somethin' like this will be a great first step that "" ... will probably play Diablo III, SW:TOR, Fallout: New Vegas, etc. ... with good cash left over for your video.

Great deal, wisecracker!

Just wanted to add this, so you see what you are getting.
The ASRock 870 EXTREME3 does support CrossfireX.

AMD 8 Series Chipset Features Comparison

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/chipsets/8-serie...

AMD 790FX Chipset

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/chipsets/7-serie...

THanks for the replies guys, but I don't plan to crossfire or SLI. I've got a 9600GT, but I wanna upgrade to the GTS450 pretty soon. I would like to have USB3.0 and SATA 6 gb/s too.

Maybe I should explain the whole story to you guys. This will clear up why I have no idea what to look for.

Basically I have a EVGA X58 SLI LE mobo and an i7 CPU with it, I got it last year around christmas. I leave my compy on at night usually cause I DL stuff on my slow connection. SO I wake up the other morning and my screen is in Windows as usual, but my Saitek II keyboard is not lit up and my mouse won't respond. I restart the compy and assume something just glitched. I wait 2 minutes then realize nothing is happening, no posting, no beeping, just fans going. I open my case and check it out and my mobo is cycling through these 4 sets of numbers that I late found out means the mobo and CPU aren't communicating correctly.

So I figure at this point the problem is my CPU or my mobo. I assume it's my mobo cause I have a pretty good fan on my cpu that has always kept it cool around 36 degrees. After finding that the mobo I want is $200 I check the warranty and find a sticker I'd never seen before. On the inside of the spine of the box, there are instruction on how to register it for a 2 year warranty...so basically because of HORRIBLE product/graphic design I'm out $200 thanks to EVGA.

So I figured that since I'm still not 100% sure of what is the problem, I could get AMD products for cheap compared to INTEL right now.

So really all I want it to do is play games, and if there's a link to a video or picture gallery on how to overclock my CPU from 3.2 to 3.4 or 5 I'd die happy. Other than that I don't really do anything special other than watch movies/anime and the like. I really just wanna make sure my components are going to mesh with the board and CPU if I get them.

If your going Nvid with that build, stretch to a 460 imo,
next time you build, look all over the components for nice stickers hehe and if you do go down the 955BE option, theres a guide on overclocking section specifically for those chips, you should get 3.8Ghz no problem
Moto

Yeah, I'll probably get the 460 is I have the cash. I'll definately check and register everything this time.

Thanks for the info everyone!

Better snag this XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB for $220 (before $40 rebate) before it's gone

Actually, I'm not a fan of ATI...I've always heard of some kind of compatibility issues in most of the games I play, and I've never had a problem with Nvidia. Maybe people weren't paying attention and doing things right, but I might as well stick to what I know.

I heard a friend say my memory might not work with the Phenom II X4 955. Here's the specs if someone wants to shed some light on it:

3x 2gig sticks of OCZ 1600 gold series
8-8-8 @ 1.65v

Also, when I was taking my fan off my CPU, one of the white pins that holds it in place (with a black pin that you push inside of it) broke. Any idea on where to get one of those, or even another set of 4 for backups?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134&Tpk=freezer%20pro%207

Sorry for all the edits. I found a guy on Newegg say in the feedback that he used 6mm 3/4 inch brass bolts in place of the fasteners that came with it. I'm gonna pick up a few of them at lowes tonight and hopefully that will fix that problem.

Wanted to update saying that I found the screws for the CPU fan, Brass 3/4" long and with a rubber washer and a nut to boot. Also found nylon set. Ace Hardware has them, I assume Lowes has a decent chance as well though.

They are called Intel push pins.
A while ago, I bought them here.

https://www.industryeducation.com/Desktop_Heatsink-Kit_...

www.industryeducation.com

under Desktop Spares