What do you think of this budget AMD build?

You need to mention whether your older drives are SATA or IDE.

And please give your overall budget. Is it just 450 for the parts that you listed, or can you go up a bit further and if so, by how much?

If your drives work with your board, you'll only need CPU/Mobo/RAM/GPU/PSU/Case/HSF, right?

Also, are you talking 'bout professional level encoding or just home videos and stuff, 'coz the former is gonna be tough on this budget.

The x3 Rana is roughly the same power as an e8400 C2D .

I dont think this is n upgrade . Its a side step .

Having apps load fast is good . But then spending WAY longer on a rendering or encoding means the fast drives cost lots and dont add much .

Buy a Z68 mb or H67 mb
i5 2400
2 x4 gig of RAM running at 1.5 volt

re-use the velociraptor as a boot drive , and a single hard drive for data and documents

I'd also buy a better case . If its in your budget

Amateur video of my future pop star daughter LOL
for Youtube
I use Cyberlink Power Director 9 which uses ATI Streaming for offloading
work to the GPU
(just encoded/burnt 7 hours of mpeg to disk (VOB) in 30 minutes)
with C2D 3ghz/HD 5670 GDDR5



the drives a Sata II 3gbps
so are both opticals
I can hold off on GPU by using my HD 5670 for now

so that is why I listed

CPU/Mobo/RAM/PSU/Case

I plan to add SSD and new GPU later

I will buy another WD Velociraptor 10K rpm 160gb Sata II
so I can useonboard raid on mobo to do a Raid 0


I also picked 4 x 2gb Corsair XMS ram DDR2 1600

PSU - Antec Neo Eco 520w Continous 80+

case is NZXT Gamma (looks cool,cheap and has mounting for water cooling)

cooler is a Hyper 212+ Evo (new version)


Athlon II x 3 450 Rana I want to try to unlock to quad core

Definitley plan to OC CPU and GPU



all the links are in my original post



I was debating getting an Phenom II x 4 840 VS the Athlon II x 3 450 Rana 3.1 (and unlocking)


budget is under $500 the better

future upgrades would be a 80-120 gb SSD and a HD 6870 or GTX 460 1gb

I am planning a little far ahead since
my build wont be able to be finished until may 2012
but I want to slowly gather parts now
You know
Buy PSU one month
Buy Case another month etc

then in May I get my tax refund and can finish it up


I am not sure if that memory is the best choice for this build
I dont like tall memory like Ripjaws
so the Corsair XMS looks good
also I like Kingston
plus low profile Gskill




I am on a budget so buying a part or two a month
is the way I have to go

does give me advantage of
good holiday sales
and price drops
but new HD 7xxx series coming out


I think I will buy the PSU first
and I am partial to Antec
though XFX Seasonic and Corsair
are usually quality

Really even using all three cores
plus I hope to unlock it and OC it

I like the crazy kind of mods
I BSEL pin modded my C2D E4500 stock 2.2/800FSB and OCd it 2.93/1066FSB




edit - Toms used the Gamma on one of their latest budget builds and it worked out pretty good

it has radiator mounting so later I could run a small rad and do a single loop to the GPU
plus the Hyper 212+ evo for the CPU
should give me decent cooling

so the thril of unlocking and OCing the 450 Rana is kind of cool

but really a Z68 mobo,2400 really bumps the budget up

that adds about an extra 150-175 to budget
rather use the money towards GPU

hopefull I can unlock the X 3 450 3.1 and get it to x4 3.5+
which should be a nice improvemenet on my C2D 2.93ghz

Encoding sees a performance gain with a multi-core CPU, so I'll suggest AMD Phenom II X4 965 - the extra money will be well worth it.

Core unlocking is a bit hit-and-miss and I'll never advise anyone to buy a Rana, hoping that he'll end up with a Propus. Since you're not averse to the idea of OC'ing, get it up to 4.0-ish - if it does go that high that is - and the performance gain is gonna be fairly significant.

EDIT: I also didn't notice that you listed just 4GB RAM. It is more than enough for almost anything including gaming, Photo/Video editing/rendering definitely benefits from more. Get at least at least 8GB.

For only 15 bucks more - G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB).

I'd get a Phenom II X4 955 than a 965. Difference is negligible and could be easily fixed with OC.

^10 dollars more, and with higher clocked chips, they normally OC better 'coz the better chips are generally sold with higher stock clocks.

They OC pretty much the same though or I heard wrong.

I listed (2) 2 x 2gb Corsair XMS

calguyhunk has been giving you some good advice. Unlocking is never a sure thing. Be aware that the "Phenom II 840" is really an Athlon II, with no L3 cache.
I have had good results from G.Skill RAM; no DOA and no RMA, which I cannot say even about Mushkin or Crucial.
If your [eventual] game playing at 1920x1080 "doesn't have to be maxed," you may find a HD6770 entirely acceptable. If that is the case, get a 380W or 430W Earthwatts which will be more efficient and cost a little less. You could run a HD6850 on it if you wanted.

Edit: That G.Skill Sniper RAM comes with a 4GB flash card. Would you find that useful in the camera you're using?

For a budget build I would probably look at this cooler instead

Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

True the model is older but it still performs well especially for the price. I'd also go with this board instead as it offers Crossfire and SLI support.

ASRock 970 EXTREME4 $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Somehow I don't think the OP is looking for XFire anytime soon.

Probably the best $40 case in the market today IMHO - COOLER MASTER Elite 430

Somehow that NZXT Gamma in your link always looked kinda deformed to me. But then, aesthetics is to each his own.

the Elite 430 is a great case but I went with the Gamma
because it has the radiator mounting holes
since doing water is an option in the future

also I do like the look of the strange little fellow  

I recommend against ANY Coolermaster products, regardless of quality. Some of their PSUs have liar labels on them, or claim protections that are actually missing (fact, not opinion; reviews at HardwareSecrets). That's dishonest, and a dishonest company does not deserve anyone's business. Fortunately, in every market where they have products, Coolermaster has competitors who offer similar (or better) products for the same (or lower) cost. Check out Rosewill cases and Xigmatek coolers as just two examples.

definitley not worried about CF/SLI
I do need onboard RAID
so that is one of the reasons I picked the board in my OP
also I like a ATX design
I like big boards with 4 DIMM slots etc
easier to fit bigger coolers
I am curious about the new version of the Hyper 212+ Evo
for $35 with free shipping it looks real nice
and I do want to OC

I have no problems with core unlocking
I find it thrilling to this old Modders heart
so I am willing to take a chance
It has to do with the Overclocker's Mentality
of getting something for nothing LOL

@jtt - I know exactly how you feel. The two things that annoy me no end are dishonesty and hypocrisy. A dishonest company deserves nobody's business. But sometimes, we've all gotta let go of our pseudo morality and understand that our own good lies in getting the best deal that we can for the price  

P.S: I think we'll all fall in love with the following case - I'd have suggested that had it not been de-activated  

RAIDMAX Case  

@cakguyhunk - oh god is a gay version of an apevia case  

You're kidding, right? I thought that was more macho than Richard Simmons in hot pants  

Oh wait ...

You're absolutely right, but since Coolermaster's competitors offer similar (or better) products for the same (or slightly lower) price, it shouldn't cost anyone anything to take the moral high road wrt their dishonesty.
As for a nice case, especially when there's a deal on it, check out the (currently out of stock) Enermax Hoplite: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... The design is actually rather muted sitting on the floor, the drive mounting options are outstanding, and the front fan offers switchable bling if you want it. The only thing it's missing are USB 3.0 ports.

Edit: Hmmm, but unlike the Raidmax case, it isn't a good place for your Hello Kitty stickers; some may consider that a dealbreaker.

Who needs Hello Kitty stickers when you can have ... T H I S

Nice find (outstanding for pwning noobs at a LAN party), but sadly, nowhere near enough drive bays. I have three external 5" "devices" (one optical, a storage drawer, and a card reader), four 3.5" drives, and a 2.5" drive in my system.

I was also looking at this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Raidmax Atlas with a 500w PSU
70 with shipping

Doesnt have UCB 3.0 but I could add a 5.25 USB 3.0 header
I would eventually replace PSU but in the beginning I would
be using a HD 5670 so until I get a GPU upgrade the PSU should be fine
I think?

Ok, for a mere HD5670, that Chokemax PSU is "probably" fairly safe, at least from overloads (it is probably good for 375W-400W max), but it may also be missing protections, or be so shoddily built that it will croak for no apparent reason. It would be a gamble, but with a decent surge protector in front of it, may be ok. Just don't forget to replace it at your earliest opportunity, and you need not wait for a GPU upgrade to do that.
Please don't take this as a recommendation, or advise to use it, I'm just saying it "may" be ok for a while.

Okay LOL
I will skip that case
stick with the Gamma and the Antec PSU

this is what Toms said of this case
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-overclock...

for $36 it seems decent
there are way better cases but not at this price point

The aesthetics are entirely up to you. The features look decent otherwise. Cable management looks marginal, but I can't claim that's always been a priority for me either.

cheapest case that is made for water cooling
while it is not in the plans right away
eventually I would like to run at least single loop GPU water cooling
and the Gamma can do that

Okay here we go


Athlon II x 3 Rana 450 possible unlock and OC
or
Phenom II x 4 840 with OC (yes I know it is a Fenom (fake))

or any other option keeping the CPU under a 100 dollars?

Awesome jtt283
I am not current on AMD CPUs so that is a great idea
I wont be able to take advantage of that deal
but the 720BE is definitley #1 on my CPU list now

my only other thought was to go with one of the Pentium G series
1155 CPUs and a P67 mobo for now and be able to upgrade later to quad core
1155

this whole system is a 6 month build in the making
just trying to line up my parts list
so I can hunt the really good deals during the holidays
start off with PSU and case in the next two months
then CPU during december to feb
then mobo and ram

might get ram sooner since prices are low

Best answer selected by king smp.