Budget builled AMD

[robbie106gti]

Hi there,

Well my pc has turned 6 years old and are (of course) in need to replacing it!! (seriously, i can see the capacitors of the motherboard starting to bold up).
Anyways, i'm a designer and therefor work a lot with the adobe suite and starting to use 3D max 2009 more and more... (well, at least i'm trying to lol. My current system isn't that powerful that i can really use it a lot. AMD 64 athlon 3800+ (939), asus a8n-sli with 2gb of ddr1, Zotac gt 240)

now i have one big problemo and that is that i live in Brasil. Which means everything i want i need to import (otherwise i pay 3 times it's real price) which means that sites like Newegg are off the chart for me. which basically leaves Ebay. Also everything above 50dollars could be charged for import taxes but this fluctuates, it was a long time a 100dollars. also this isn't always applied. i bought about a year ago the zotec 240 which was then slightly more then 100 and didn't get charged the import tax. (which is 80% of the declared value)

so what i'm thinking to buy: (and please correct me if you know something better!)

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T AM3 (would love the quicker 1090T but that looks a little above my budget) $199 plus shipping $29 $228
Import tax made this a hard decision since anything worth the trouble was at least 100 dollars (amd Phenom II 555 x2) also i'm not planning on OC

Now i was looking at the AMD 870 motherboards but they are to expensive, But the 880 seems to be fine in price
MSI 880GM-E41 AMD 880G Phenom II Socket AM3 Motherboard $75 plus shipping $45 $120
or (but don't think it's worth the 5 dollar difference the amd 770)
MSI 870-G45 AMD 770 Phenom II Socket AM3 Motherboard $70 plus shipping $45 $115

KINGSTON 4GB 2 X 2GB PC3 10600 10666 HYPERX BLU 1333MHZ $55 plus shipping $9 $64

CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 CMPSU-430CX 430W ATX12V Active PFC $43 plus shipping $45
(is 430watts enough??? even with the future possibility of an ati 5770. and if you suggest another i did like it to be at least 80% in efficiency)

and i have currently the Zotec GT 240 512mb,
not planning on renewing this one just yet. (don't play games like crysis or such extreme games) it's mostly used for the adobe suite/video enhancement/the sims3 (ones in a while) so that it will hold the pc down in heavy game won't be a problem. Also my max res 1360*768 or my other screen which is 1280*1024.

I do plan to upgrade it maybe in future (when it really becomes a strain on the system) but then i'll probably go for an AMD (ati) 5770/5850 or maybe the 6000 series.

I'm running Windows 7 x64 ultimate and will run it on that system too.

If anyone has any idea/suggestions please share.... Btw; thx in advance!

 

[o1die]

Any of the phenom II's will offer a good performance gain. Go for value, whether it's a four core or six core. You can also get by with a cheaper board if you don't want to overclock. Check on warranties first and see if any brands will honor their warranties in
Brazil. They may not, but it's worth asking. Save the video card for last; the onboard video in 4200 or 4250 may be all you need. Get a board with one of these; I like onboard in case the video card fails. The difference in performance for the board chipset for onboard versus no video is small.

 

[robbie106gti]

I don't want to be rude but i wrote in the post that i have a video card and the warrenties aren't a worry in general. Also 3D max on an intergrated videocard. i know much has changed the last couple of years but seriously...

 

[o1die]

Must have been interupted by a phone call. Of the two, the 880gm is slightly newer; one has onboard versus 2 card slots. It's a tossup. I always recommend you download the board manual and check the bios settings before ordering.

 

[robbie106gti]

OKay thx,

just the PSU now, if i where to upgrade in the future to say an ati 6850 or 6870
would it be able to handle it? (it has only one 8 pin and one pci-e plug)
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430

 

[o1die]

Many newer video cards list the minimum ps requirements. The 430w may work fine; but perhaps someone else has more experience with this unit. Check the complete reviews on newegg.com. Maybe someone is using this ps with the 6850.

 

[robbie106gti]

hi
so i found these 2 for about the same price ($70)
OCZ OCZZ650 silver 650w ATX12V
OCZ StealthXstream II 600W OCZ600SXS2

i would like some opinions of these cause i only find some crap on other sites.
Newegg was kind to the StealthX but the OCZ silver was mostly unknown.....

the 430W might be able to pull of the job as well but no one mention of it

 

[o1die]

IF you are going to use only one video card, go for the one with the highest 12v rail rating; I use an ocz 400w with 135mm fan, and it's quiet, but not for gamers.

 

[jcamel24]

Just a word of advice on those MSI mobos, I smoked two of 'em with a 1055t. Not the exact same model (mine was an 880gma-e45), but just letting you know. Apparently they had so many problems with them, they took all 125w CPUs off the supported list!

Just my .02

 

[popatim]

Since you are using a lot of Adobe products, I have to say get more ram. Since you don't plan on overclocking 1333 memory is fine and a little cheaper. newegg currently has 15% off all memory and an 8gb kit is as low as $70 us. Use code DM15A02US when you check out.

 

[Mousemonkey]

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

 

[batuchka]

Ok just share me AM3/Adobe build

a. For Photoshop, and everything outside Premiere Pro there is no need to even get a discrete at times so
955BE - 1090T
785G/880G chipset with IGP
4-8gb ddr3
80+ 380w psu

b. If Premiere Pro on the table and user wishes to leverage on Mercury Playback Engine

1055T-1090T
8GB DDR3
1GB GTS 450/GTX 460 or
chipsets mentioned in part a, where project size do not warrant leveraging on MPE
380 - 500w 80+ psu


A case for GPU computing: Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and the Mercury Playback Engine
http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/reviews/a-case-for-gpu-computing-adobe-premiere-pro-cs5-and-the-mercury-playback-engine/

This project consists of compressed 640×480 video footage. These small video files were being eaten alive by the massive 1090T hexa-core processor and 8GB of RAM. Premiere Pro CS5′s increased performance with multi-core systems coupled with bleeding fast hardware will make fast work of any simple projects such as this, not giving the GPU enough work to really make a difference. These results do suggest that if you’re editing small-time video footage, you will not benefit much from using Mercury Playback.

 

[robbie106gti]

Thx for your replies guys!!!

So the msi boards are not the best options then! Any suggestions on another brand?

My other doubt was the psu which was the corsair 430w 80+. Will that be able to handle a Nv460/ati5770.

i did do some calculation but those come close to 350~w (cpu + board 180w + video 100/150~w cd/HDD 15w total off max 345watt) and the PSU with 80% will come to 344~watt realistically Please correct me if i'm wrong!!!!

Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 currently isn't on the table for me but just as i said about 3D max i do like to have the possibility of using it in the near future. Since i'm still in the beginning of my career and because i would like to end up working with animation/motion design.

 

[batuchka]

MSI boards are fine - just that check the TDP limit on any board : you would not want to run a 125W TDP chip on a 95W TDP limited board (of any make) for example hehe

If premiere Pro isn't on the table then just hit that X6 + 8GB DDR3 and a low cost 125W TDP worthy 870/880G and it's all good. Quality 80+ PSU for future upgrades like discrete GPU and it's all good ^^

 

[robbie106gti]

Best answer selected by robbie106gti.

 

[batuchka]

Yep happy shopping and cheers ^^