<$700 Build

[bob384]

System Builder Marathon, September 2011

Would that build perform about the same in games with an athlon x3 450 vs the phenom II x4 955 that they choose?

Thinking of maybe using that build with an athlon x3 450 and crossfired 6870's. would that be a bottleneck, and if so how much?

I really want a $600-700 build that has the best bang for the buck.



Approximate Purchase Date: This week


Budget Range: under $700 after rebates


System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies)


Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: None


Overclocking: Yes


SLI or Crossfire: Maybe


Monitor Resolution: 1440x900


Additional Comments: quiet would be nice. Need to buy windows 7

 

[Outlander_04]

at your low resolution of 1440 x 900 even one 6870 will run any game on maximum settings . You do not need two .

Stick with the phenom 955

change the motherboard to one of the latest models featuring a 970 series chipset
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%20600138080%20600166260&IsNodeId=1&name=AMD%20970
For under $100 the Asus M5A97 is the pick IMO , but others may suit your needs better .

Add a cpu cooler

Spend more on a case that doesnt suck

Better quality RAM costs a bit more
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

 

[rvilkman]

Yeah go with Phenom II x4 955.

For mobo, upgrade to Asrock 970 Extreme 4. Supports Crossfire in case you want to in the future.

For the Case upgrade: Antec 300 Illusion on sale now for $44.99, great deal.

Get better memory like suggested, even go with 8GB, different memory stuff for sale at $50-55 or so for 2x4GB.
1.5V CAS9 1600Mhz is generally good specs.

Another possibly great deal to go for is the Pc power and cooling silencer mark II 650W PSU, it's 69.99 ( with CC before $20 MIR )
Quite a bit more juice than the antec, 7 year warranty.

So difference to sept $500 version:

Case: $9
Mobo: $50
Memory: $30
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM: $99.99 - Although if you are a student (have an .edu email address i believe) you can get this for like half price or close to it.

 

[z_4]

The system building marathon for $500 is a good place to start looking for parts. Based on those here a recommendation with combos to give you the best bang for buck:

Case: $30-Xigmatek Asguard II

Motherboard: $60- Biostar 870U3 (Good one with USB 3.0 & SATA 6GB/s support)

GPU: $170- Sapphire Radeon 6870 (More than sufficient for your gaming needs)

RAM: $26- Mushkin Enhanced Essential

Optical Drive & HDD: $67- Asus DRW & Seagate Barracuda 1TB

PSU & CPU: $158- Corsair Builder Series CX500 & MD Phenom X2 955 BE (Decent Power supply & a good overclocking CPU)

OS: $100- Windows 7 Home Premium SP1

SSD( Optional): Crucial M4 64GB

Total(Excluding Rebates): 707 USD

Rebates: 60 USD

 

[TomMario]

Case : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066] $59.99

Cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808] $119.99

Gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948] $169.99

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157248] $159.99

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=spinpoint f3] $59.99

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014] $89.99

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311] $46.99

Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204] $18.99

Subtotal: $726

An ideea

 

[Outlander_04]

Case : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066] $59.99

Cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808] $119.99

Gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948] $169.99

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157248] $159.99

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=spinpoint f3] $59.99

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014] $89.99

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311] $46.99

Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204] $18.99

Subtotal: $726

An ideea

None of your links work

As for earlier suggestions to use cheap $60 motherboards....... DONT .
AMD's next generation of processors is going to be released in a few weeks . If you buy a cheap mb now you cut off any chance of future upgrades .Buy a 970 chip set board and you have the core of a system that will last for 5 + years

 

[bob384]

Recommendations for a good am3+ board?

How is this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131736


or this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128510


And are you sure I can max anything with a 6870 at 1440x900?

maybe I should get a new monitor.....



maybe I should wait for amd's bulldozer release......I might decide that I want a Intel 2500k based system instead.

 

[Outlander_04]

You can absolutely monster a 1440 x 900 monitor with a single 6870


If you are only ever going to use one graphics card then I think the best AM3+ board is

ASUS M5A97 EVO AM3+ AMD 970 $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131757

If you would SLI or Crossfire later then
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514

Unless the sabertooth has features you know you need you wind up just paying more and not getting extra performance

Most people who plan to add a second graphics card never do . By the time you need the extra graphics power then there's always another newer generation of more powerful cards available and you are better off selling the one you have and replacing it completely . Its always worked that way for me , anyway , so I stopped even considering an SLI upgrade.
You definitely wont need to consider any gpu upgrade until you get a 1080p monitor , and even then a 6870 games really well

 

[bob384]

OK, thanks bro.

I think that's all my questions for now.

Time to order the parts, build, and game on!!

Whatever I end up with, It will be better then my current Pentium 4 and geforce 8400gs lol

 

[bob384]

Best answer selected by bob384.