$1250 BF3 Build - Checking it Twice

[QwertyMusicMan]

Hello All,

Here's my BF3 build, I just have a few questions.

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767

GPU: http://www.amazon.com/XFX-6950-MiniDP-Video-HD695XCNFC/dp/tech-data/B004ULZ7YY (XFired)

CPU: 3.9GHz Bulldozer Quad-core (when it releases in a week or two) $225 or so

RAM: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-240-Pin-platforms-CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9/dp/B004CRSM52

Hard Drive: http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Intellipower-Desktop/dp/B004VFJ9MK/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1314861595&sr=1-1

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

Win 7 Home Premium: $100

DVD Drive: $20

Case: Hopefully less than $75


SO, here's the questions:

1) The bulldozer CPU is supposed to work best with 1866 MHz RAM. Is this bull? Should I just cut $25 and just get 1600 MHz?

2) Any full-tower case suggestions?

3) Do I need any more cooling stuff, like an aftermarket heatsink?

4) Is a 650w PSU enough? If no, any suggestions?

5) Any other suggestions or price cuts?


Thanks!

 

[AdrianPerry]

For crossfire 6950's id be tempted to push for a 750w PSU.

Full tower cases - depends on your budget really. HAF X, NZXT, HAF 932 are all fairly popular choices. Then theres the more expensive water-cooling capable range like the Corsair 650d and the 800d. Note, you dont NEED a full tower case for this build, any good mid-tower would be more than ok. EDIT: Just noticed your case budget of $70, i dont think any full tower cases are less than $70, especially not the "gaming/enthusiast range"

RAM - Again, its really unknown what will and wont work best with something that isn't released. Personally id be tempted to push for the 1866MHz, but really comes down to budget.

GPU - 6950's are a great set up, however id be tempted to just get a single 6970 leaving room for future expansion. (Note an 850w PSU would be recommended for this).

Since temps and overclocking capabilities of BullDozer are fairly unknown, i cant really recommend a heatsink/aftermarket CPU cooler yet.

 

[Why_Me]

Is there any benchmarks on BD yet? Is it better than the SB cpu's at gaming, does it run even with the SB's, or is it a total piece of crap and giant waste of $$$$ ?

 

[AdrianPerry]

Is there any benchmarks on BD yet? Is it better than the SB cpu's at gaming, does it run even with the SB's, or is it a total piece of crap and giant waste of $$$$ ?

Some of the many questions we're all waiting on

In all fairness though, I cant see it being total crap - AMD's common sense (you would think) should at least make it an improvement on SandyBridge

 

[QwertyMusicMan]

Is there any benchmarks on BD yet? Is it better than the SB cpu's at gaming, does it run even with the SB's, or is it a total piece of crap and giant waste of $$$$ ?

They say it's as good as SB, but no benchmarks 🙁

 

[AdrianPerry]

^ Really, it should be BETTER, or note-ably cheaper otherwise they just aren't going to gain any market share. Intel's SB CPU's are already well established so for AMD to compete on the same level, they need a competitive product.

^ At least that's usually how the retail market share works When it comes to PC tech, who knows

 

[Why_Me]

Some of the many questions we're all waiting on

In all fairness though, I cant see it being total crap - AMD's common sense (you would think) should at least make it an improvement on SandyBridge

I hope it's a hit, but AMD hasn't been on par with intel since the release of the C2D back in '06.

 

[AdrianPerry]

Their Phenom Range was never that bad was it?

 

[QwertyMusicMan]

The Phenoms were good, but they've been outdated for a while now.

 

[Why_Me]

Their Phenom Range was never that bad was it?

It wasn't bad but intel still had it over them. You could take a 8400, bump up the FSB to 3.6ghz. For raw power there was the Q6600 and then the Q9650. Then comes along the i7 920.

 

[QwertyMusicMan]

Anyways, I'll post back once they release some benchmarks.

 

[QwertyMusicMan]

Best answer selected by QwertyMusicMan.