Need Comments on Parts

[STM127]

My old computer was fried in a lighting storm. I am using the insurance money to put an inexpensive machine together that still can play games, but mainly play movies in 1080p 5.1 over HDMI to my LCD TV.

I believe my hard drives are still intact as well as my DVD drive. I am ASUS loyal, but also I saw that motherboard recommended by Saint19 on the MB forum. I already own the PSU, but I hear bad things about Ultra. Any brand suggestions on RAM would be fine since I chose Corsair since I had them in my old board. I will be running Win7x64.

Any comments and suggestions are welcome, but I believe this is what I will get unless someone brings to my attention a problem with the set up.

Case: NZXT Adamas

PSU: Ultra X4 750-Watt Modular Power Supply
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4558896&Sku=U12-40504

Motherboard: Asus M4A87TD EVO Motherboard
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6089171&sku=A455-2990

Video Card: Asus EAH5750 FML/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5750
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5543253&sku=A455-5752

RAM: Corsair XMS3 Tri Channel 6GB PC12800 DDR3 Memory
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4307845&sku=C13-2044

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition AM3 CPU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5752143&sku=A79-1955

 

[batuchka]

That Asus 870 may be advertised as having 2 x PCIex16 slots but when 2 GPUs are used they will be configured 16/4 so i f u thinking CF hit at least an 8/8 board or alternatively tone down to any 80+ 500-600W PSU and hit harder in the GPU?

 

[jonpaul37]

First off, the RAM you have listed is triple-channel DDR3 RAM and you only need dual-channel, also, 6GB of RAM will have absolutely no benefit over 4GB with that setup.

Second, why go with TigerDirect when Newegg is usually cheaper and ships faster.

Third, your total cost for those items = $638.00 before shipping, if you get the below items from Newegg, you'll pay the money and have better parts...


Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply = $109.99, saving $10.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

Motherboard: ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard = $99.99, saving $10.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198

Video Card: ASUS EAH6850 DirectCU/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity = $199.00, losing $63.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121399

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH = $74.99, saving $46.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX = $155.99, losing $ 6.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

OK, so, with the above setup, you get a MUCH better video card, faster shipping from Newegg, MUCH better PSU, much better motherboard that has more features than the ASUS better RAM and the same CPU for only 3 dollars more before shipping... well worth it in my book. Total = 641.00 before shipping, your old total was $638.00

 

[STM127]

TigerDirect charges me no tax while Newegg does. Also TigerDirect ships out of Naperville, IL, and I have had great experience in getting products in 48 hours of payment. Newegg has shipped products to me from CA in the past, and I live in TN. Ship time is trivial to me, but tax on 600 dollars of product if offset by marginally higher prices at TigerDirect. The biggest difference is that TigerDirect doesn't have the selection that Newegg does.

I am going to follow through on a the suggested GPU, PSU, RAM, and mostly likely the Motherboard suggestion.

I like what the ASRock MB offers, but I have some questions when it comes to the supported RAM. I see that tri-channel is a waste and going to get dual channel, but the clock speeds are only 1333mHz on the suggested RAM. The Newegg page shows the ASRock supports 1600 and 2000, but overclocked. What is being overclocked here? Also why would you suggest 1333 RAM over 1600 RAM?

 

[jonpaul37]

In recent days, when it comes to gaming (which i suspect that is why you're getting this rig) RAM speed is not really much of a contributing factor, you might see a 1% increase in performance on average if you get higher clocked RAM... Not really worth it unless you're going to be using programs that require intensive RAM use... And don't worry about compatibility with RAM and that motherboard, it'll work out fine, G.Skill is the UBER RAM these days much Corsair and Mushkin used to be...