- Sep 9, 2010
- 8
- 0
- 18,510
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Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month.
Budget Range: $400 USD Before rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies, HTPC
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, case, power supply, TV tuner, HDD, etc. I have most everything, it is easier to least what I need below.
Parts Required: Motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: All my research has been on newegg for price comparisons but I'm open to other websites. I o have a coupon for a free external HDD if I spend over 200 at newegg, but it's not necessary I use it.
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: AMD CPU and GPU, micro ATX MoBo.
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: Yes, if possible
Monitor Resolution: Whatever the GPU supports.
Additional Comments:
CPU:
The CPU Buyer's Guide recommends both the AMD Athlon II 250 and AMD Athlon II 435, which are both deactivated on Newegg. Are either of them worth looking for elsewhere, or should I consider another low end processor?
With the exception of the Athlon II 250 which is a dual core, is there any difference between the Athlon II 435, 445, and 450 besides the clock speed which are 2.9, 3.1 and 3.2GHz respectively?
Looking for the best gaming CPU for ~$100, how does the Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition and Athlon II X4 640 compare? There were some conflicting opinions; In September's Best Gaming CPU article it says that the Phenom II X2 555's high-end overclocking features don't earn it a solid recommendation despite the honorable mention. But the CPU Buying Guide says it smokes the Athlon II at stock and OCd.
Likewise, the Athlon II X4 640 gets an honorable mention in the BEST Gaming CPU article, but the CPU Buying Guide does not recommend it for gaming due to its poor performance-per-clock.
Are there any other processors in the sub $100 USD category worth noting?
MoBo:
I honestly don’t know what the best motherboard is. Something with a modern chipset, AM3 socket and supports DDR3, obviously. USB 3 and SATA 6GB/S are nice features but not necessary. Crossfire support and two PCI-E slots @ x16/x8 would be nice.
I’ve seen a couple of boards that offer Hybrid Crossfire with onboard graphics.
Looking for boards that BIOS support for AMD OverDrive and Advanced Clock Calibration. And features like ASrock’s OC Tuner and MSI’s OC Genie and especially Unlock CPU Core.
These are some of the boards I’ve seen recommended:
MSI 880GM-E43 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
It uses a Sb710 chipset in the southbridge so I believe it supports ACC, though it doesn’t specify. X6 CPU support, MSI’s OC Genie and Unlock CPU Core technology.
BIOSTAR TA880GB+
This Motherboard seems okay. AMD 880G chipset, DDR3 1600(OC), only one PCI-E slot and two PCI slots. Onboard audio doesn’t seem as good as others; only 6 audio channels versus 8 I’ve seen. Standard rear panel ports, only 4 USB ports and 3 audio ports. No eSATA, but supports unlocking and Hybrid graphics.
MSI 760GM-E51 AM3 AMD 760G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD 760G chipset, DDR3 1600(OC), only one PCI-E 2.0 slot, PCI Express x1 slot and two PCI slots. Onboard audio seems pretty good; 24-bit/192KHz sample rate and 7.1 channels. Nice selection of rear panel ports: eSATA, 6 USB, 6 audio ports, HDMI etc. Hybrid graphics support.
GPU:
What is the best ~100 graphics card? I was looking at the Radeon 5550 and the 5570. Which would perform better, the 550 with DDR5 memory or the 5570 with DDR3 memory? A 5670 with 512 DDR5 memory is priced similarly to the 5570. Is this a better option or should I consider a 1gig memory? Its 10 dollars more but there is one on Newegg for 69.99 after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161334&cm_re=The_Radeon_HD_5670-_-14-161-334-_-Product
I’m not familiar with this manufacturer. Are there any other GPUs I’m missing? There is the Radeon HD 4650 but I figured the 5550, 5570 and the 5670 are better options.
Memory:
DDR3 1333/1600, besides latency and voltage I’m not sure where else to look for in memory. Something that is fast and good for gaming/multitasking, between 2-4 gigs. If it’s cheaper, I don’t need 4gigs to start off with.
Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month.
Budget Range: $400 USD Before rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies, HTPC
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, case, power supply, TV tuner, HDD, etc. I have most everything, it is easier to least what I need below.
Parts Required: Motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: All my research has been on newegg for price comparisons but I'm open to other websites. I o have a coupon for a free external HDD if I spend over 200 at newegg, but it's not necessary I use it.
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: AMD CPU and GPU, micro ATX MoBo.
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: Yes, if possible
Monitor Resolution: Whatever the GPU supports.
Additional Comments:
CPU:
The CPU Buyer's Guide recommends both the AMD Athlon II 250 and AMD Athlon II 435, which are both deactivated on Newegg. Are either of them worth looking for elsewhere, or should I consider another low end processor?
With the exception of the Athlon II 250 which is a dual core, is there any difference between the Athlon II 435, 445, and 450 besides the clock speed which are 2.9, 3.1 and 3.2GHz respectively?
Looking for the best gaming CPU for ~$100, how does the Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition and Athlon II X4 640 compare? There were some conflicting opinions; In September's Best Gaming CPU article it says that the Phenom II X2 555's high-end overclocking features don't earn it a solid recommendation despite the honorable mention. But the CPU Buying Guide says it smokes the Athlon II at stock and OCd.
Likewise, the Athlon II X4 640 gets an honorable mention in the BEST Gaming CPU article, but the CPU Buying Guide does not recommend it for gaming due to its poor performance-per-clock.
Are there any other processors in the sub $100 USD category worth noting?
MoBo:
I honestly don’t know what the best motherboard is. Something with a modern chipset, AM3 socket and supports DDR3, obviously. USB 3 and SATA 6GB/S are nice features but not necessary. Crossfire support and two PCI-E slots @ x16/x8 would be nice.
I’ve seen a couple of boards that offer Hybrid Crossfire with onboard graphics.
Looking for boards that BIOS support for AMD OverDrive and Advanced Clock Calibration. And features like ASrock’s OC Tuner and MSI’s OC Genie and especially Unlock CPU Core.
These are some of the boards I’ve seen recommended:
MSI 880GM-E43 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
It uses a Sb710 chipset in the southbridge so I believe it supports ACC, though it doesn’t specify. X6 CPU support, MSI’s OC Genie and Unlock CPU Core technology.
BIOSTAR TA880GB+
This Motherboard seems okay. AMD 880G chipset, DDR3 1600(OC), only one PCI-E slot and two PCI slots. Onboard audio doesn’t seem as good as others; only 6 audio channels versus 8 I’ve seen. Standard rear panel ports, only 4 USB ports and 3 audio ports. No eSATA, but supports unlocking and Hybrid graphics.
MSI 760GM-E51 AM3 AMD 760G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD 760G chipset, DDR3 1600(OC), only one PCI-E 2.0 slot, PCI Express x1 slot and two PCI slots. Onboard audio seems pretty good; 24-bit/192KHz sample rate and 7.1 channels. Nice selection of rear panel ports: eSATA, 6 USB, 6 audio ports, HDMI etc. Hybrid graphics support.
GPU:
What is the best ~100 graphics card? I was looking at the Radeon 5550 and the 5570. Which would perform better, the 550 with DDR5 memory or the 5570 with DDR3 memory? A 5670 with 512 DDR5 memory is priced similarly to the 5570. Is this a better option or should I consider a 1gig memory? Its 10 dollars more but there is one on Newegg for 69.99 after rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161334&cm_re=The_Radeon_HD_5670-_-14-161-334-_-Product
I’m not familiar with this manufacturer. Are there any other GPUs I’m missing? There is the Radeon HD 4650 but I figured the 5550, 5570 and the 5670 are better options.
Memory:
DDR3 1333/1600, besides latency and voltage I’m not sure where else to look for in memory. Something that is fast and good for gaming/multitasking, between 2-4 gigs. If it’s cheaper, I don’t need 4gigs to start off with.
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