Building an AMD system

[Guest]

Trying to build an AMD gaming rig for under $1000 but one that is upgradeable without replacing a whole bunch of parts. Right now I'm totaling in at $1232.23 and trying to cut cost.

CPU and Heat Sink: AMD Phenom II x6 965 and Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.374201

Mobo and CDD: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula and ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496440

Case and OS: Cooler Master HAF X and Windows 7 Home Premium
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.437504.11-119-225

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231310

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

Graphics: HIS H585FN1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161330

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

Would be happy to get down to $1100.

edit: The CPU is a AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE

edit: I found out I can get a copy of Win 7 from MSDNA so that takes that off the list and lowers the price by $90.
I am still looking at getting the HAF X though if someone could tell me how well the HAF 932 would compare for
future upgrade ability or whether it would be a good idea to go even lower with the 922 and then upgrade to a
bigger case later.

edit: What kind of thermal adhesive would you recommend?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

ok, without trawling through newegg, Id say:

Gaming rig? triple/quadcore will do you fine, lose the Hexxer

are you really set on that case? you can lose a lot off your bill if you trim that down
and I'm sure you could power that fine off a 600w psu and still have headroom, check http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/ for the proposed builds requirements

sorry for short answer but I'm off to work now
Moto

 

[Guest]

No problem with the short reply. As for the case I was also thinking about downgrading to the HAF 932 but a friend had recommended the X and with the amount of space in the HAF X I would have plenty of room for upgrades later.

As for the PSU I would like to go smaller with either a 600W or 650W but I can't find one in that range that has
4 PCI-Express connectors because that is what is required to run a Radeon HD 5850 Crossfire.

And if it helps I just found out that I can get a free copy of Win 7 Pro through my school so that drops the price by $90 right there.

 

[capt_taco]

Mainly, you do not need a $200 motherboard and a $200 case.

I would seriously save $100-$120 by picking up a mobo with USB 3.0 and a single PCIe x16 slot for now, and worry about crossfiring if/when you need it later. You are not going to need crossfired 5850s unless you're trying to be the local benchmark king or something. As far as playability goes, a single 5850 is plenty for anything out there today, and you can overclock either it or the GTX 470 to roughly the speed of a 5870 if you ever need to.

As far as cases go, there are plenty from $50-$80 that are going to be fine. My favorite in that range is probably the Antec 300; it's easy to work with, REALLY quiet and well-cooled, and doesn't give you the El Cheapo pieceacrap vibe.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I'd also add that for sli/xfire, you could always get adaptor leads for your psu to give you any extra lines you need
Free Win7 ftw man, and the haf932 seems to be popular enough, not sure on the 5850's fitting though, youll have to research that one out
Moto

 

[mosox]

Cheaper CF mobo and DVD- RW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496438
Full tower case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119230
PSU + RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492818

 

[sp12]

You lose some performance for only having one ram stick, it may be worth spending a bit more to get a 2*2 setup.

If you're overclocking (which I assume you are by the HSF) the hexacores present a better buy than the quads, they're a full 2 revisions newer silicon, and built on a separate high-k/strained silicon process.

 

[Guest]

Cheaper CF mobo and DVD- RW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.496438
Full tower case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119230
PSU + RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492818

I liked the PSU + Ram combo you posted and decided to go with it. I also decided to go with the HAF 932 though i took the one without the side window $10 cheaper and it has a side fan on the GPU.

As for the mobo I'm not sure about the integrated graphics because I've heard that with the integrated graphics you lose performance over discrete even with the hybrid graphics. Is this true becuase the board doesn't support x16 crossfire and I don't want to lose performance since I know i would be able to pick up another 5850 come christmas.

And I forgot to mention I plan to play FFXIV and would like to stay on the upper end of the graphics settings so thats why I'm looking into the crossfired 5850 since even though I want to I just can't afford the 5870's.

 

[sp12]

You don't run descrete and integrated at once, and hybrid only works with the very lowest end of cards. X16 crossfire doesn't matter -- you can run at X4 and still get the same performance.

 

[Timop]

IGP doesnt decrease performance, in fact having an IGP even when you dont use it could be benificial in case your GPU breaks.

But, heres a cheaper CFX Mobo without an IGP: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198&cm_re=ASROck_870-_-13-157-198-_-Product

Don't spend too much on the Mobo, since you plan to upgrade, BD might use a new Chipset that's backwards compatible with AM3 chips.There really isnt much point to a Crosshair except the looks and bragging rights.