Rate this gaming build !

[rex000]

Here's my current budget gaming build. Please feel free to comment.

AMD Bulldozer FX-4100 Quad Core Processor 3.6GHZ Socket AM3+ 95W Retail Box - $120

MSI 970A-G45 ATX AM3+ 870 DDR3 2PCI-E16 CrossFire 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA3 USB3.0 GBLAN Motherboard - $80

Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B Vengeance Blue 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit - $50

XFX Radeon HD 6850 Fansink 775MHZ 1GB 4.0GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI Display Port HDMI PCI-E Video Card w/ FREE Dirt3 Game - $130

XFX 450W Core Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 34A 24PIN ATX Power Supply 80PLUS Bronze - $30

Zalman Z9 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case Black 3X5.25 1X3.5 5X3.5INT No PS W/ Fan Controller & Temp Display - $45

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 16MB Cache 7200RPM 3.5IN SATA Internal Hard Drive OEM - $40

Samsung SH-S243D/BEBE 24X Black DVD Writer SATA OEM -$20


The total cost after rebates is: $515

 

[rex000]

$75 in MIRebates were:

$15 - MSI MOBO
$30 - XFX GPU
$20 - XFX PSU
$10 - Zalman Case


And shipping is FREE : D

 

[crewton]

Great for a $500 tower. I would get a larger psu depending on if you want to get another 6850 down the road. You have the motherboard to support it so why not a psu

 

[rex000]

I was thinking the same thing. BUT I think that MOBO only runs the second PCI-E slot at x4 speed... which is a no-no. *sigh* Not sure that is CrossfireX worthy.

On a side note:
XFX 750W PRO750W Core Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 62A 24PIN ATX Power Supply 80PLUS Bronze PSU - $65 (after $30 MIR)

 

[crewton]

There is an article on tom's that benchmarks x16/x16 x8/x8 and x16/x4 if I recall the difference isn't much with the medium cards only in higher end ones.

 

[crewton]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pci-express-scaling-p67-chipset-gaming-performance,2887-10.html here is with the 6950

 

[rex000]

Is the 6850 considered only a medium card? D: Damn.

I'm not sure if I've looked at that article, but I heard that x16/x16, x16/x8 or x8/x8 were the only acceptable ones if you didn't want to lose performance... hmm... x4 or x1 is just... GG.

 

[rex000]

btw thanks for the response crewton.

It's something like a 10% performance loss.... from x8/x8 to x16/x4... should be even greater if you compare it to x16/x16.

 

[cutebeans]

Just forget crossfiring for now. The newer cards are supposed to be twice as fast as this gens card. Just buy a new one afterwards.

Where are you going to buy your parts?

 

[AbdullahG]

I highly recommend getting an X4 955 and OCing it. Benches show it beats even a FX 8150 by a noticeable margin. You could also consider going the Intel route and getting an i3 2100 and a cheap MoBo.

 

[rex000]

@ cutebeans, I can get everything from ncix!

btw, I lied. the CPU + MOBO is a $200 combo, but for the sake of the price break down I split them myself. haha

@ AbdullahG, good to know. I actually already have the AMD Phenom II X4 955 ;D that build cost me less than this one. I might make another thread for comments on that build ?

 

[cutebeans]

OMG. If you already have a Phenom II x4 then why are you going to buy a FX 4100. They have the same performance.

 

[rex000]

For a friend ... ><"

LOL this is becoming a CPU debate.

I originally intended to hear +/- comments about the build u_u" but thanks for all the new information either way.

 

[rex000]

What I really want to know, instead of that $80 MSI MOBO, is there a better AM3+ mobo? I realized i only save $10 with buying that Mobo as a combo.

I see an "ASUS M5A78L-M LX mATX AM3+ DDR3 AMD 760G 1PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 1PCI SATA2 VGA GBLAN Motherboard" for $57.

 

[rex000]

....

 

[rex000]

Best answer selected by rex000.