nd_hunter

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Jul 26, 2009
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Hello all,

Here's a build I've been contemplating for awhile. Coming from a Dell P4 @ 2.8Ghz with a dead hard drive. No point in replacing so I'm going to build new. The P67 problem has put a damper on things, but I think this will work well for the time being.

Approximate Purchase Date: 2-4 weeks (after tax refund), would like to wait til April, but working through my current laptop (Core 2 Duo) is a pain

Budget Range: ~$1500

System Usage (in no particular order): Gaming (fps, rts), photo editing, some video editing/encoding, web design, school

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, moniter, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com

Country of Origin: USA (ND)

Parts Preferences: AMD GPU (Read somewhere that encoding quality with nVidia sucks?)

Overclocking: Yes (mid to upper 4s with SB, whatever I can get with AMD)

Crossfire: Yes (several months down the road)


Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Additional Comments: Would like a quiet PC with a window (if possible). Was going to go Sandy Bridge, but with the current state of affairs that isn't possible. So, was thinking Athalon II/Phenom II (x4) with a newer chipset (this board will have only 1 GPU). Will upgrade to Sandy Bridge (i7-2600k with ASRock P67 Extreme4) when the revision is for sale and build a computer for my dad (email, photo editing, surfing) based on the AMD CPU.

Here are the parts I've picked out so far:

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196
**I also like the Corsair 600T. However, I've changed my mind on a case about every-other day. Suggestions here are very welcome. Keep in mind, if the case has a window, I want the inside painted.

XFX Black Edition P1-750B-CAG9 750W ATX12V v2.2 / ESP12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003

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

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

MASSCOOL G751 Shin-Etsu Thermal Interface Material
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080

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

XFX HD-685X-ZDFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150515

CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145324

OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227551

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

LITE-ON Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model iHES208-08 LightScribe Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106292

Total Cost: $1,168.90 before rabates/combo/shipping.

As you can see, I'm well within my budget. I will sell the AMD CPU/mobo to my dad at that build time for a slight discount. I'm not even sure I will dabble in overclocking until that time. The 2600k/Extreme4 will cost me roughly $500 when they are available again, so still within budget. I wouldn't mind getting a backlit keyboard and/or mouse upgrade (currently have a wireless Microsoft desktop [mouse kinda sucks]).

Ok, so my main issues (I think) are case choice and RAM. Any issues using the RAM with the AMD setup? Read reviews that it works great with Sandy Bridge, but not sure about AMD boards. Also, will the 212+ allow me to get the 2600k into the mid-4s? Thanks in advance for your time and expertise.

-Nate
 
Solution
Hmm with
photo editing, some video editing/encoding
also on the table and seeing u only on 1680 x 1050 just stick to single (beefy) GPU all the way - HD 5870s can be had for $199AR these days @@ Stunning 1090T deals floating around as well

Actually even under $650 mark u could build a rather solid Full HD res gamer + cpu intensive software/work rig hehe

$240 1090T + MSI 870A-G54
http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html

Items off Egg $397AR
Untitled-2304.jpg


$637AR in total

Hmm with
photo editing, some video editing/encoding
also on the table and seeing u only on 1680 x 1050 just stick to single (beefy) GPU all the way - HD 5870s can be had for $199AR these days @@ Stunning 1090T deals floating around as well

Actually even under $650 mark u could build a rather solid Full HD res gamer + cpu intensive software/work rig hehe

$240 1090T + MSI 870A-G54
http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/AMDbundlePROMO.html

Items off Egg $397AR
Untitled-2304.jpg


$637AR in total

 
Solution

lmgaland

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Jan 22, 2011
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I agree with the guy above with that budget you shouldnt limit yourself to 1680x1050. And to answer your question the cooler, if you plan on overclocking you gotta put out some money for a better cooler. Its worth it in the long run, it will raise your limits on how far you can oc and will extend the life of your cpu.
 

nd_hunter

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Jul 26, 2009
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Hmmm...I know the resolution isn't the best, but I was hoping to spend money elsewhere (2600k vs. 2500k, 8gb ram vs. 4 gb, etc). Any suggestions on a case? Think the CM Scout would be a pretty tight fit for future Crossfire and sound card upgrades? I was originally thinking a Megahalems for the cooler, but perhaps that's overkill (price/performance). Probably no such thing as too safe though with a $330 CPU.