NEED ADVICE ON BUILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[colonelsmoke]

Approximate Purchase Date: JULY or AUGUST

Budget Range: $400-500 not including monitor

System Usage from Most to Least Important: moderate gaming (cod, bf3, etc), video watching (internet), web browsing, video rendering (adobe premiere pro cs5 )
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS *planning to use ubuntu or windows 7*

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: none really, the cheapest :lol:

Country of Origin: canada

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: AMD mid tower

Overclocking: no

SLI or Crossfire: no

Monitor Resolution: 1680*1050

Additional Comments: need a suggestion for a monitor under $100 thats 20" inch. And some suggestions for Hard Drives!
FEEDBACK PLS!

CPU: cpu: amd phenom ii x4 945 $99.99
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicat [...] VqHCjCdwwp
MOBO: Biostar A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $60
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6813138283
GPU: sapphire ati radeon hd extreme 5830 $99.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/pro [...] _id=039137
PSU: SILVERSTONE Strider Essential series ST60F-ES 600W $64.99
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/ [...] /ST60F_ES/
MEMORY: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin $55.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] _-20226093
CASE: NZXT Gamma Classic Series Black Steel Mid Tower $25
http://www.canadacomputers.com/pro [...] _id=026868
dvd: Asus DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer OEM Black $18
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/ [...] B1ST_Bulk/
18IN SATA HARD DRIVE CABLE W/ 1 RIGHT ANGLE CONN $2
http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] %20DT%20SB

TOTAL AFTER TAX: 481.38

 

[colonelsmoke]

i already posted this, but no one responded. SO i used the new format. thanks!

 

[ignoranceabound]

If you aren't going to overclock you might be better off going with a i3-2100 and LGA 1155 motherboard. Otherwise it looks fine except that CPU is only clocked at 3.0 ghz.

 

[Outlander_04]

The RAM you have listed is a triple channel kit for an intel 1366 motherboard .
That board needs a 2 x2 kit or better a 2 x4 gig kit to run in dual channel .

If you put 3 sticks in it it will run in single channel and limit the speed the processor can access the RAM


Have a look at this article
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sandy-bridge-core-i7-2600k-core-i5-2500k,2833.html

and this one
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859.html

The intel 2100 is comparable , but probably not as good a multi-tasker ,

If your budget is 2100/H67 mb then go with the AMD
If your budget could stretch to a p67 mb then its time to have a close look at your applications

 

[colonelsmoke]

on pcbenchmarks.net it said the athlon ii x4 840 was better than the 945, How is this possible?
and what's a good reliable hard drive?

 

[colonelsmoke]

i meant cpubenchmarks

 

[colonelsmoke]

is there a problem running triple channel in dual channel mobo? can 2 sticks run in dual adn the other run single? and can you use intel memory for amd? is there a big difference between single and dual channel?

 

[boiler1990]

The RAM you have listed is a triple channel kit for an intel 1366 motherboard .
That board needs a 2 x2 kit or better a 2 x4 gig kit to run in dual channel .

If you put 3 sticks in it it will run in single channel and limit the speed the processor can access the RAM

All three sticks will run in single channel, which will severely decrease your performance.

There are RAM kits "designed" for Intel, but as long as the type (i.e. DDR3) and the speeds (1066/1333/1600 MHz) speeds are supported by the motherboard, it will work.

 

[colonelsmoke]

is there a big difference in performance between 4gb and 6gb?

 

[boiler1990]

No, but there's a big difference between 4GB in DUAL channel, and 6GB in SINGLE channel.

 

[colonelsmoke]

thanks!
the exact ram in 8g runs in dual channel.
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_611&item_id=035006.

Should I get 4gb or 8gb?

 

[boiler1990]

On your budget, you have to get 4GB. 8GB is the most cost effective, but it'll double the price of the RAM from $50 to ~$100. 4GB is all you really need for gaming machines.

 

[colonelsmoke]

THANKS EVERYONE!

 

[colonelsmoke]

whats a good hard drive?

 

[colonelsmoke]

can i buy a 2gb stick and a 4gb and mix and match?

 

[boiler1990]

I would recommend the Samsung F3, as it is currently the fastest platter drive out there.

As for the RAM, I don't think you can mix sizes because it will then revert to single channel again. However, you can mix kits (I.e. 2x2 and 2x4GB kits) because those will run in dual channel between the two sticks in each pair. They just have to have the same timings and speed.