Really Need Some Info on my build

[jojoenglish85]

Hi guys, Building a PC and want it completed before the end of October.
My main interest for this Computer will be for gaming. I plan on playing with the 20" screen i already have or purchasing a 40"plus for my new man cave. My reasons for the 965 as of right now is to get me by for the time being until the new series of chips from AMD come out hopefully this year or early next year. I definitely want to be able to max out Battlefield 3 and newer games that come out in our near future, i planned on crossfiring for this build also. Which game cards and which size memory will honestly give me the best bang for my buck? Im almost certain that i want to try the 6950's but im not sure if it matters or not to get the 1GB or 2GB cards for crossfiriing. what else would you suggest me buy?

My parts list so far:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz

GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 AM3+

Sentey Arvina Extreme Division Tower Case
6x Fan LED/ 4 x USB / Multi Card Reader / 4 x Fan Control / E-SATA / 6 x Removable Aluminum Bays / Screwless
Model #: GS-6400R - ARVINA

 

[freeloader93]

I dont think Crossfire 6950s can max out B3 with 60fps on a 20" monitor? I'm not for sure I have no idea? Why not get a 6970 instead of the 6950 and get another 6970 in future?

 

[purple stain]

The only use of 2G or anything over 1G of VRAM would be very large resolutions such as 5000x1080.Otherwise theirs little to no diffierence gaming at your resolution.
Since you seem to be on a budget then I would suggest going with a 6850 crossfire.You will have plenty of power to max out BF3 and any other upcoming games.The only catch is that you need to O.C. your processor.
And if your going to do that I would suggest going with the 955 and saving your self $10.You can easily O.C. to 980 stock clocks with ease.

What is your budget?

 

[jojoenglish85]

The only use of 2G or anything over 1G of VRAM would be very large resolutions such as 5000x1080.Otherwise theirs little to no diffierence gaming at your resolution.
Since you seem to be on a budget then I would suggest going with a 6850 crossfire.You will have plenty of power to max out BF3 and any other upcoming games.The only catch is that you need to O.C. your processor.
And if your going to do that I would suggest going with the 955 and saving your self $10.You can easily O.C. to 980 stock clocks with ease.

What is your budget?

Well the thing is, i have already bought the 965 cpu, i have the case, and mobo. Like i said, i am new to this and it will be my first build. My main concern is after i put it all together, hoping the damn thing boots up properly lol. I would need a tutorial on how to overclock, is there a software that i could download to do that or do i do it through BIOS on start up? My budget for the card really nothing over $450 at one single purchase, that is why i wanted to crossfire two 6950s with overclock so can run as close to 6970s as possible, instead of spending $350 on one single 6970. I may be wrong though in my thinking because like i said, im a noobie at this. My goal is to have BF3 on freaking ULTRA if im playing on my 20inch monitor or my 55in Sony TV. Which route will be the best way to achieve this?

Mind you I still have to choose a power supply, windows 7 64bit, RAM, HDD

I am hoping to have my total build budget under 1100 bucks, but i will settle for one realy great card to buy a second one after christmas if need be.

 

[purple stain]

Either a GTX560 SLI or a 6850 crossfire is your best bet.That will allow you to max out BF3 easily and still remain within your budget.But of course a 6950 or GTX560ti would be much better.

As for O.C.ing it's rather simple once you understand it.All you need is an aftermarket cooler and to read this guide and you can get started.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/258573-29-black-edition-overclock-guide-raising-multiplier

Ask us if you need help with any other parts of your build.

 

[jojoenglish85]

^ thanks for the help, I think i will end up getting the Gigabyte 6950 OC 870mhz with triple fan cards for my build.

 

[purple stain]

How soon until you can buy the other?

 

[jojoenglish85]

Ill hopefully have one before the end of october, and hopefully get the second one before the end of november. I was also just thinking about saving up until i can get both but i can still play games with one card until i get the other.

 

[purple stain]

Go with the one card option.At least you can play the game on high settings until the next card comes.And when you have the money to put the 2nd card in for the crossfire your gonna be like OMFG.

 

[jojoenglish85]

Sounds like a plan, I was honestly so close to purchasing an alienware cpu on dell couple weeks ago with my credit card, but i started to about doing my own with parts that i wanted and finaly made the choice to use no credit card for purchases but use cash only and by part by part. I might end up spending some cash on a two monitor setup from walmart and put those on my credit card. Im selling a couple things i don't need to make up some of the cash difference. Should i be good running both those cards with a 750wat?

 

[purple stain]

What? You don't want to spend the money on your credit card?
So you would rather build it by hand than buy a complete PC?

What brand is the 750watt?

 

[jojoenglish85]

Well what i meant was, i wanted to understand what the hell was going to be going into my computer, I really want to build my own instead of paying someone to build it for me. I like having quality control over what is going to put in lol. The brand of the 750wat is...Diablotek PHD Series PHD750 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

As as spending money with a credit card, I simply saved $350 and started off my build with my case, cpu, and processor. Next week, ill be buying the harddrive, disk reader, ram, and power supply. After that, I need the video card and thinking about gaming with two monitors that are 1920x1080. My current monitor sucks and or i can just game on my 55in sony and save that money for the extra card. I really want to game on either 2 or 3 monitors just not sure in which order i will get them in, extra card first or monitors.

 

[purple stain]

If it's a Diablotek I would get a new one.They aren't quality PSU's at all.

Yes I understand now.It's a lot better if the user builds it themselves because they understand what everything is and how it works.

It's up to you but I personally would rather use a monitor than a TV.The pixels on a monitor are much smaller and look a lot better.

 

[jojoenglish85]

ok, guess ill have to find a better power source. Like i said i want to get this build over with buy i need to take my time and buy quality parts. I definitly don't want to buy a P.O.S power supply. I almost forgot to add the cost of windows 7 64bit lol.

 

[purple stain]

What's left in your budget for a PSU?

Here's a nice combo deal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.729964

 

[jojoenglish85]

Not bad, I was going to budget $100 for a psu but i may need to up that so i can have a piece of mind lol. My cpu, case, and mobo should be shipped here tomorrow. I don't want to go through the hassle of sending my cpu back, so ill just get a better psu. Ill check out corsair products tonight, thanks for the info. Hey if i go with a dual monitor setup can i hook an hdmi to each card? or will i have to use the main card in the x16 slot?

 

[purple stain]

O that's fine.I didn't know you had bought the CPU already.I just picked that combo because they match.Their are far better PSU's for cheaper.

Seasonic 620watt(Modular)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

If your want it to be more of a budget PSU.

Antec 620watt

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371048

Both of them will Support a 6950 crossfire..

 

[jojoenglish85]

Thats awesome, definitely didn't want an overkill psu and these look great.

 

[purple stain]

Personally I would go with the Seasonic because it's modular.Modular meaning you only use the cables you need.