New build - Phenom II X4 or X6 + Video card

[aeral]

So, I'm embarking on a journey of building my first machine, and because I am doing so my boyfriend has also requested that I help him put together a parts list as well. Our needs are almost identical.

Approximate Purchase Date: May-June

Budget Range: At this point there is no set budget, 500-700

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/streaming/recording, CS5/Photoshop, server hosting.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com , tigerdirect.com

Country: Canada

Parts Preferences: AMD CPU, ASUS motherboard

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 1280 x 1024

Additional Comments: Looking for something that can handle a lot of heavy multitasking.

I've been looking at two separate builds, one with a quad and one with a hexa.

CPU:

[strike]AMD Phenom II X6 1045T
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106012[/strike]

AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

MOBO:

[strike]ASUS M5A99X EVO
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131754
ASUS M5A97
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767[/strike]

ASUS M5A97 EVO
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=670051&srkey=m5a97%20evo

Graphics card:

HIS H679F1GD Radeon HD 6790
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=365478&CatId=7005

Case:

Cooler Master RC-430-KWN1 Elite 430 Mid Tower (planning on further modding later)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6430030

I'll get the generic 500GB SATA HDD sometime. Doesn't really matter for that part of it.

 

[Outlander_04]

M5A97 evo [ so you get front USB3 ]

The X4 games as well as the X6

The X6 will pay off in a server, and image processing

 

[aeral]

Yeah, to be honest I was thinking the X4 would be fine for the boyfriend, but I'd want the X6 for what I'm doing.

Thanks for your input!

 

[stingstang]

The bulldoser processors are also good. Because of their newer archiecture (despite the performance flaws) they are more power efficient, which could save you in the long run. They also aren't very expensive, and the higher-end model has 8 cores, in case you're looking to host a server while playing a game and editing a picture in CS5. ^.^

 

[einterlan]

X4 965BE is your best choice, it has better performance, and you can OC very well whit a cheaper COOLER.

 

[truegenius]

try 960t

 

[aeral]

The bulldoser processors are also good. Because of their newer archiecture (despite the performance flaws) they are more power efficient, which could save you in the long run. They also aren't very expensive, and the higher-end model has 8 cores, in case you're looking to host a server while playing a game and editing a picture in CS5. ^.^

I'm not sure that the bulldozers are really worth the money due to the overall flaws.

 

[aeral]

So I've nailed down the parts list but having issues figuring out what I need for a power supply! If anyone could help me... I've googled around and used some of those power supply calculators but it doesn't seem right.

 

[termhn]

I'd say a 550W would be enough with some overhead. Go for something from Antec, Corsair, SeaSonic, Enermax, XFX, or XIGMATEK (not sure of spelling on that last one)