Advice on First Build (AMD)

Sorry! Here is component list!

AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition Deneb 3.5GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDZ970FBGMBOX
Model #:HDZ970FBGMBOX

ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:M4A89TD PRO/USB3
SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Model #:100283L

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ...
Model #:CMPSU-650TX
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C8
Model #:CMX4GX3M2A1600C8

Well, since you're going to be using multithreaded programs, especially concurrently, more cores will definitely help, so I would suggest a Phenom II X6 since it's not much more for the performance you would get out of it.

How much do you plan to game? That's not the main point in building the system, but for less than double the price you could get nearly double the performance with a 6850.

I would suggest more Ram, that might get a little cramped with 4GB(I have a browser with 2 tabs open and a few extra programs and windows 7 is using close to 2GB), but you could try it out first before trying to buy more.

Go for this processor instead -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Along with one of these memory modules -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I understand need for 8GB Mem, and will follow thru. Two questions....

1. Two recommendations....1 for more cores, 1 for quad core, but lower specs....Why on each?

2. Why G.skill over Crucial? i have also been looking at GeIL Black dragon. Pros cons of each please.

Thanks Again for the help!!

1. He suggests a lower clocked quad core part, because you could just overclock it to the same speed as the 975. Thus, it would be a cheaper solution. I suggest getting a X6 for the better performance, you could go for the 1055T and overclock it to ~4ghz(not as easy as a black edition which is a multiplier unlocked processor) which would give you the best price/performance out of all of them.

2. Ram is Ram, not much difference between it. The different companies, however, could make a difference. If something goes wrong and you need to RMA, one could be easier to deal with.
The G.skill is higher density ram with 2 sticks=8GB instead of 4 sticks=8GB, this would allow you to put another 8GB in the system if you ever wanted to. I didn't realize that 4GB sticks were actually that low in price now, it would be about the same price to get those than to get 4 sticks of 2GB.

Nicely explained by Haserath there.. The ram recommendation is exactly due to the reason as explained (you can, if needed, add another 8 gigs of ram and utilize the full 16GB memory quantity offered by an AM3 platform).. As for the processor selection, if you are confident with overclocking and have a good motherboard to help you, then surely go for the X6.. Otherwise, if you wish to stick with the X4 line, the 955 is better and more practical option..

I still got the AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition with 8Gb of RAM (g.skill)[found this to be the best pair for my X4 955]. 2 640Gb WD Black Caviar on RAID 0 (OS and program files) and 1Tb for Storage. I use this rig for photo and video editing - it did not fail me.

I tried to overclocked it and it work (with little problems). For me I don't recommend overclocking on video editing. I put few games but later put it on another rig cause I cannot concentrate editing seeing game icons on your desktop.

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey

Crazy expensive mobo and overpriced ram.