£600 / $910 Gaming Build

[gooner2005]

I'm looking for a system to run these games without problems -
CoD: Black ops, GTA Episodes from Liberty City, Crysis 2 etc...


APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Late July/Early August 2010.

BUDGET RANGE: Approx £600 / $910

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, OS (win 7 pro),

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: ebuyer.com, overclockers.co.uk, Play.com, eBay, try me!

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK

PARTS PREFERENCES: 4 GB Corsair Memory, but open to suggestions

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Possibly, but not a necessity

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920 x 1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I have an Audio/Video Multichannel receiver that has 5.1 surround sound currently attached to an Audigy 2 ZS Platinum via Optical cable, would be nice to have a motherboard that has and 5.1 optical out

CONSIDERATIONS:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz AM3 Retail Box - Asus M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3 Motherboard and GEIL 4GB DDR3 Black Dragon Memory

Intel i7 860, 2.8Ghz - Corsair 4GB 1600 Mhz DDR3 - ASUS SKT-1156 P755D LE S/L

Already bought:

Coolermaster Storm Scout Case and Coolermaster Silent Pro 700W Modular PSU

LG CH08LS10 Super Multi BD-ROM & DVD±RW with LightScribe SATA

500GB SEGATE 7200RPM SATA HDD

ASUS H243HX Monitor

PNY GEFORCE GTS 250 1GB DDR 3 ... Tho I have just bought this, im tempted to
sell it as Ive been advised that the GPU isnt enough for gaming. Which could bump my budget to

Approx Grand Total : £690 / $1000

 

[davcon]

An i5 750 would be a more appropriate comparison and more suited to your budget.
The AMD combo and a 5770 would be the most cost effective and perform slightly below an i5 750 when gaming but NOT with that mobo if you want to crossfire.
The i7 bundle with a decent gpu will kill your budget.
CPU - i5 750
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/Intel+Core+i5+750+2.66Ghz+%28Lynnfield%29+%28Socket+LGA1156%29+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=37674
MOBO
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/194854
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards/Intel+Socket+1156/Asus+P7P55D-E+Pro+Intel+P55+%28Socket+1156%29+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=40619
or
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/Asus+P7P55D-E+Intel+P55+%28Socket+1156%29+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=40043
GPU
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/Asus+ATI+Radeon+HD+5770+%22CuCore%22+1024MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+?productId=39489
RAM
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/G.Skill+RipJaw+4GB+%282x2GB%29+DDR3+PC3-12800C8+1600MHz+Dual+Channel+Kit+?productId=37613
HDD
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/Samsung+HD103SJ+SpinPoint+F3+1TB+SATA-II+3.5%22+Hard+Drive+?productId=37726
OR
http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/Samsung+HD502HJ++F3+500GB+3.5%22+SATA+II+Hard+Drive+?productId=37759

 

[davcon]

Found faster memory
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/180490

 

[banthracis]

^ above build is perfect with the 1600 ripjaws. Just add an optical. Cheapest SATA one you can find is fine.

Only 1 suggestion. You could probably do a 5850 build if you got a Phenom II x4 955 and GA 790 UD4 motherboard.

 

[gooner2005]

Thanks for your feedback.

Ive made a decision, Kinda

CPU :

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) = £150

MEMORY :

G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65V = £98

HDD :

Samsung D103SJ SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 3.5" Hard Drive = £47

FOR THE GRAPHICS CARD I WAS GOING TO GET

XFX 5850 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card = £240

BUT OPTED FOR

Asus HD 5850 DirectCU 1GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E graphics Card = £262


MOTHERBOARD :

WAS GOING TO HAVE BUT WAS THINKING OF MY BUDGET

Asus P7P55D-E Pro Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard = £171

BUT CHOSE

Asus P7P55D-E Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard = £118


If I go with the choices above then it will cost me £676

but debaiting weather to get the more expensive Motherboard

Asus P7P55D-E Pro Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard

AND THE CHEAPER CARD

XFX 5850 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card

Which will bring a different total of £706 which I can just handle

I would just like to know which combination you guys would advise and will my Coolermaster SilentPro 700W Modular PSU Handle it ?

Thanks

 

[Hereisphilly]

Thanks for your feedback.

Ive made a decision, Kinda

CPU :

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) = £150

MEMORY :

G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65V = £98

HDD :

Samsung D103SJ SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 3.5" Hard Drive = £47

FOR THE GRAPHICS CARD I WAS GOING TO GET

XFX 5850 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card = £240

BUT OPTED FOR

Asus HD 5850 DirectCU 1GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E graphics Card = £262


MOTHERBOARD :

WAS GOING TO HAVE BUT WAS THINKING OF MY BUDGET

Asus P7P55D-E Pro Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard = £171

BUT CHOSE

Asus P7P55D-E Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard = £118


If I go with the choices above then it will cost me £676

but debaiting weather to get the more expensive Motherboard

Asus P7P55D-E Pro Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard

AND THE CHEAPER CARD

XFX 5850 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card

Which will bring a different total of £706 which I can just handle

I would just like to know which combination you guys would advise and will my Coolermaster SilentPro 700W Modular PSU Handle it ?

Thanks

Yes definitely change over to the xfx card and the better asus mobo
XFX have a better warranty service, and the cards are basically the same.

The mobos however, are not.
The pro is significantly better because it allows you to run dual gpu setups, and use sata6gbps/usb3. The standard version will reduce usb3 to usb23 speeds etc if you have dual cards in.

 

[Silvune]

The Asus P7P55D-E's second PCI-E slot isn't fast enough to justify adding a second graphics card to. So if you don't want or need USB3/SATA6G then this is a very nice mobo at a very good price: MSI P55-GD65 £102. I did not know that about the Asus P7P55D-E Hereisphilly, could you provide some supporting evidence as I would like to double check it.

Unless you want the voltage control that the Asus card has then I'd just get the cheaper XFX 5850.

Yes the Cooler Master Silent Pro 700W should be able to handle two 5850s at stock speed and probably an OC on the CPU.

Why did you decide to go with the Intel? I ask as the Phenom II X4 955 would be perfectly adequate with a strong graphics card for gaming. And it'll be a bit cheaper on the CPU front, to the tune of £20. If you would be happy with the MSI P55-GD65 then mobos would be similar prices, but much cheaper if you needed USB3/SATA6G and a second graphics card.

 

[Hereisphilly]

The Asus P7P55D-E's second PCI-E slot isn't fast enough to justify adding a second graphics card to. So if you don't want or need USB3/SATA6G then this is a very nice mobo at a very good price: MSI P55-GD65 £102. I did not know that about the Asus P7P55D-E Hereisphilly, could you provide some supporting evidence as I would like to double check it.

Unless you want the voltage control that the Asus card has then I'd just get the cheaper XFX 5850.

Yes the Cooler Master Silent Pro 700W should be able to handle two 5850s at stock speed and probably and OC on the CPU.

Why did you decide to go with the Intel? I ask as the Phenom II X4 955 would be perfectly adequate with a strong graphics card for gaming.

The Pro version is the 1st of the asus p55 series to add PLX multiplication to the lanes, basically adding another lane, so when using the faster interfaces, it doesnt cut into the graphics cards.

The standard version ,as you rightly said, is too slow to add an extra card

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=T2FxW2fXGZQgSn2V&templete=2
(unique pcie x4 chip)

http://www.thinkcomputers.org/asus-p7p55d-e-pro-intel-p55-lga-1156-motherboard-review/
(1st page about plx chip)

 

[Silvune]

Thank you, I've managed to find a review at tweaktown about it as well, so when I've read that I'll read the thinkcomputers article.

 

[Hereisphilly]

Thank you, I've managed to find a review at tweaktown about it as well, so when I've read that I'll read the thinkcomputers article.

no problem

 

[banthracis]

The mobos however, are not.
The pro is significantly better because it allows you to run dual gpu setups, and use sata6gbps/usb3. The standard version will reduce usb3 to usb23 speeds etc if you have dual cards in.

That's actually not the reason why.

The second mobo OP linked is actually this one:
It's 1 PCIe 2.0 x16 lane
1 PCIe 2.0 x4 lane.
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=9i872VNaAILRp8bS

That's why it's not good for dual GPU's.

You're thinking of GA's fail implementation which uses PCIe 2.0 lanes,.

All Asus mobo's use a PLX 8613 chip to condense the bandwidth of multiple PCIe 1.1 lanes into a PCIe 2.0 link.

See
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-performance,2490-2.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-sata-6gb,2583-2.html

 

[Hereisphilly]

That's actually not the reason why.

The second mobo OP linked is actually this one:
It's 1 PCIe 2.0 x16 lane
1 PCIe 2.0 x4 lane.
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=9i872VNaAILRp8bS

That's why it's not good for dual GPU's.

You're thinking of GA's fail implementation which uses PCIe 2.0 lanes,.

All Asus mobo's use a PLX 8613 chip to condense the bandwidth of multiple PCIe 1.1 lanes into a PCIe 2.0 link.

See
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-performance,2490-2.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-sata-6gb,2583-2.html

Oh, okay, very interesting

Am i right still in thinking though that the cheapest board that allows full use of the new interfaces and dual cards is the Asus P7p55de pro though?

 

[banthracis]

Oh, okay, very interesting

Am i right still in thinking though that the cheapest board that allows full use of the new interfaces and dual cards is the Asus P7p55de pro though?

Yeppers, completely correct there.

 

[Silvune]

I think MSI have a board that can do USB3/SATA6G and a second graphics card, the MSI P55A GD65, which uses a PLX chip: http://www.semiaccurate.com/2010/04/07/msi-readying-first-p55-board-onboard-usb-30-sata-6gbps/ which one I'm not sure. Altho not widely available atm. And the fact that it ends up being a very similiar price to the Asus P7P55D-E Pro on newegg means that price wouldn't be a significant deciding factor between them.

The Asrock P55 Deluxe3 has a PLX chip: http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=22297

 

[Hereisphilly]

Yeppers, completely correct there.

I now completely get it (after running thru the specs for them)

The lx doesnt even have a second pcie 2 slot, so no dual gpu
The standard only has a x4 pcie 2 slot, so still no dual gpu
The pro is the 1st to have 2 x8 pcie 2 slots - dual gpu!

they all have the plx chip.... ahhh (lighbulb!)

but gigabytes method is s***

Thankyou!!!

 

[Hereisphilly]

Interesting, there is only $15 between all 3 boards. Marketing has done great jobs for all 3 companies there hehe

Looks like i'm still gonna stick to my guns and recommend the asus for the people. The extra niceties seem to justify the extra price hike

 

[gooner2005]

Im losing the plot now Thanks for the replies!


In my 1st post I was considering,


AMD Phenom 955 Bundle Deal Including Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz AM3 Retail Box Processor Asus M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3 Motherboard and GEIL 4GB DDR3 Black Dragon Memory = £375.99


Along with


XFX 5850 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card = £239


Total Of = £614

But this afternoon I was thinking


AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Socket AM3 3.2 GHz 8MB L3 Cache Retail = £132


Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 790X Socket AM3 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard = £108


XFX 5850 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card = £239


G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65 = £99


Samsung HD103SJ SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 3.5" Hard Drive = £49


Total of = £627


I went with the Intel as I thought it would be quicker.... Maybe I should do a poll


I really do appreciate your help in making my decision guys!!

 

[Hereisphilly]

Both the final amd system and the intel system are great, you arent gonna be lacking in power.

If youve chosen the intel build then fantastic, its got a superb cpu!

 

[banthracis]

In terms of pure FPS, the AMD + 5850 will be much higher.

If you need to do workstation/productivity stuff though, the i5 will be significantly faster.

No difference btwn either chip for basic stuff like office and internet and playing movies.

 

[Hereisphilly]

In terms of pure FPS, the AMD + 5850 will be much higher.

If you need to do workstation/productivity stuff though, the i5 will be significantly faster.

No difference btwn either chip for basic stuff like office and internet and playing movies.

Really? Even if both systems are running a 5850?

 

[banthracis]

Err no, the i5 system is on a 5770.

If they're both on a 5850 it would effectively be a tie.

 

[banthracis]

Actually looks like I missed a build in btwn. Oops.

OK so yea, performance would be same in gaming, but the AMD build is cheaper.
Intel build would be faster in stuff i said above though.

 

[davcon]

Thanks for your feedback.

Ive made a decision, Kinda

CPU :

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) = £150

MEMORY :

G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65V = £98

HDD :

Samsung D103SJ SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 3.5" Hard Drive = £47

FOR THE GRAPHICS CARD I WAS GOING TO GET

XFX 5850 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card = £240

BUT OPTED FOR

Asus HD 5850 DirectCU 1GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E graphics Card = £262


MOTHERBOARD :

WAS GOING TO HAVE BUT WAS THINKING OF MY BUDGET

Asus P7P55D-E Pro Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard = £171

BUT CHOSE

Asus P7P55D-E Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard = £118


If I go with the choices above then it will cost me £676

but debaiting weather to get the more expensive Motherboard

Asus P7P55D-E Pro Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard

AND THE CHEAPER CARD

XFX 5850 1GB DDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card

Which will bring a different total of £706 which I can just handle

I would just like to know which combination you guys would advise and will my Coolermaster SilentPro 700W Modular PSU Handle it ?

Thanks

Your psu will handle both builds you listed no problem.Don't skimp on the mobo go for the E-PRO.

 

[gooner2005]

I think its going to be ....


CPU :
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) = £150

HDD :
Samsung D103SJ SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 3.5" Hard Drive = £42 **CHEAPER**

GRAPHICS CARD :
XFX 5850 1GB DDR5 = £240


MOTHERBOARD :
**FOUND CHEAPER **
Asus P7P55D-E Pro Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard = £145


AND THE MEMORY :
G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC3-12800 Ripjaw Memory Kit CL7(7-8-7-24) 1.65V = £98


Total £675

How are G-skill as a company, are they reputable, is there memory decent and reliable ?

 

[Hereisphilly]

G skill is a great company, good value and good solid units

Build looks good