Need some advice with gaming rig

[Rebirth]

Hello everyone,

This is my first time building my own computer so take it easy on me =)

Well first off I'm primarily building my computer around the AMD Radeon HD 6870.

This is the same exact card I have :

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/amd-amd-radeon-hd-6870-1024mb-gddr5-pci-e-video-card-a6870pe51g/10159781.aspx?path=8e816c18238771b2deeb2ea3cee502c7en02

I have very little knowledge in what the difference is in who manufactures the card but this is the one I have. I will start off with a single card but I am looking to get another one of these to do crossfire with.

Now this is where you guys might look at me funny... I know I will be running 2 of these 300 dollars cards but my friend works at best buy and got me a really good deal on it. Anyhow, I am on a very tight budget.

My 2 main games that I play is world of warcraft and starcraft 2 but I will also like this computer to run other games like call of duty and the new star wars mmo when it comes out. (On high settings)

Now when I said I was on a tight budget, I mean a tight budget. LOL. So I found this processor

http://canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_65&item_id=031564

The intel E5700. Just a dual core processor at 3.0 GHZ

So this is where I ran into my roadblock, I am looking for a mother board that will support 2 (crossfire) of these cards as well as that processor and I highly prefer Asus motherboards.

However I am open to all suggestions because I'm sure you guys all know a lot more than I do. So please give me some input and help me build this budget bad boy!

Thank you =)

 

[jedi940]

An exact budget will help tremendously. Also, fill this out so we have all the info we need.

How To Ask For New Build Advice

Preliminary thought is to not go with that processor. It is for a dead socket. You would be better off with an AM3 motherboard with an Athlon II x3 or x4.

 

[Rebirth]

Approximate Purchase Date: Not in a rush


Budget Range: 200ish

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming


Parts Not Required: Graphics card, mouse, keyboard, speakers, power supply, along those lines, just need the tower made.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: TigerDirect.ca, Best buy.ca and canadacomputers.com


Country of Origin: Canada


Parts Preferences: Intel cpu, Asus mobo (I'm easy to convince otherwise)

Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Will lead into it eventually


Monitor Resolution: (e.g.: 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1080, 1920x1200)


Additional Comments: I have the AMD Radeon HD 6870 already. Just need to know a good CPU and Mobo pretty much, and perhaps recommend an affordable tower. Ram, HD, and power supply, I will take care of myself as well. I will just need to know how much power I should get and what type of ram but all in all, I just need to choose a mobo and cpu. I would like a mobo that will allow me to upgrade to a better processor as well in the future so I don't need to buy a whole new motherboard.

 

[LTH80]

u should also check out directcanada for parts. From my experience they always have very competitive pricing, if not the best price.

 

[Rebirth]

I'm leaning towards finding out which part I should get rather than where to find good prices because I'm not very good on choosing mother boards.

 

[Rebirth]

Pretty much, ask yourself this.

If you had this video card, what parts would you build around it if you were on a budget. Also keeping in mind that you will crossfire eventually.

 

[jedi940]

I don't think $200 is practical to do an intel build. It can be done but I think an AMD processor will be better for your needs. Also, I know you didn't list newegg.ca as a place to purchase parts but they have great prices and excellent customer service. If you don't use them I would recommend Canada Computers over Tiger Direct as they have much better prices.

As far as overclocking and SLI/Crossfire, that is not possible for your budget. You will need a better cooler for the CPU and a motherboard that has 2 pcie ports that run at least x8/x8. For your 6870, I would recommend the following.

ASUS M4A78LT-M AM3 AMD 760G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Athlon II X3 445 Rana 3.1GHz

A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Total is $191.97 before shipping.

 

[batuchka]

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

+1 Rana X3: simply Toms poster child bang for buck chip for several months now
Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: November 2010
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-athlon-ii-x4,2791-2.html

Athlon II X3 450

This is the fastest triple-core Athlon II available, and it sports an ideal combination of three execution cores, a high clock rate, a low price, and respectable overclocking headroom. Despite the deceptively low buy-in, this processor delivers some serious gaming capability. It is such a great gaming CPU, in fact, that it almost renders most of the CPUs in the $100 to $130 range overkill.

 

[damasvara]

^+1 for the X3. A dual slot CF motherboard with a cheap price? The cheapest in my country is around $70. But since you're in Canada, should be cheaper. The best is the 790FX/890FX (both lanes at x16). You don't need an IGP anyway, which narrows down your options. The alternative would be a both x8 PCIe motherboard. I forgot which model though (too lazy to google :lol: ).

Finally, a $50 Team Elite 2 x 2GB DDR3 RAM and you're all set!

Just curious, what PSU are you using? Since the HD6870 is a pretty power demanding GPU.

 

[Rebirth]

Hey guys, so I totally ignored my budget and went all out.

I picked up a HAF X 942 full tower, i7 970 processor, and a DX58SO Motherboard.

Now my new question is if this ram is good for this build since its cheap and I've read pretty decent reviews about them.

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42745&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL&manufacture=G.Skill&promoid=1276

If not, can you guys suggest better ram for the price from either that website or Canada Computers.

Lastly, will 700watts be sufficient to run this system in crossfire?

Thanks you.

 

[jedi940]

That is a dual channel kit. With that motherboard and processor, you need a triple channel kit.

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34719&vpn=F3%2D12800CL9T%2D6GBNQ&manufacture=G%2ESkill&promoid=1276

That was a pretty significant deviation from your original budget.

 

[Rebirth]

Yeah, I figured that out this morning. >.<

So that answers that, but what about the 700 watts powering this system in crossfire? It's just that have a good deal on a 700watt psu so if I can get away with it, I will if not, what should I buy?

 

[zooted]

Yes, it will be enough. Just make sure that you get it from a reputable brand. This 700w psu that you are talking about, can you give us an exact model number.

 

[jedi940]

for dual 6870's a good 700W should be plenty. This review from anandtech shows 2 6870's consuming just under 500W with furmark which causes higher power consumption than normal anyways.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/20

 

[Rebirth]

It's from best buy made by rocketfish

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/rocketfish-pc-power-supply-rf-700wps2/10109734.aspx?path=d80b08ccd093d8b6d67cee810ad964e1en02

My friend works there and can get it for 60-70 bucks, but I'm going to canada computers soon and maybe they will have something comparable.

 

[zooted]

I would not even think about putting that near my computer, no offence. I would look into getting a psu from a reliable manufacturer, such as Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, etc.

 

[jedi940]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200

I would recommend this one for $70 and free shipping. 630W will still be enough for you

 

[zooted]

^That will work and the green series are actually pretty good. 630 is kinda pushing it for 2 6870's in cf though.

 

[zooted]

And also to the op, I hope the discount is significant from bestbuy because they are way overpriced http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121418&cm_re=6870-_-14-121-418-_-Product