$600 Budget Gaming Rig: Phenom II x4 955 + 6870

[firehero777]

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP


Budget Range: $600 After tax, before rebates


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Everyday Use


Parts Not Required: Mouse, Monitor


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com


Country of Origin: United States


Parts Preferences: None


Overclocking: Yes(mild overclock with stock cooler)


SLI or Crossfire: No


Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200


Additional Comments: Maximum gaming potential for the price. First time gaming rig.

DVD Burner: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Motherboard: MSI 880GM-E41 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130295

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

PSU: Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX12V V2.2 Intel Core i7 Compliant Dual 80mm Fans Full Cable Sleevings Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231253

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

If you know better parts that are within the budget, don't hesitate to recommend.

Thanks for your help

 

[killersquirel11]

If you had a bit more cash I'd suggest going with an i5 build, which would perform better and consume less power, but that really isn't possible with a $600 cap.

The only glaring issue I see with your build is its PSU
According to my (newegg's) calculations, you don't want anything less than 516W. This is an area where you will have to shell out a bit more cash than you've put in. Quite frankly, a system with an underrated or underperforming PSU will have all sorts of weird problems and random parts might start to fry.
Doom and gloom aside, I'd recommend a PSU that can handle at least 600W (giving you a bit of room for upgrades like another hard drive or dvd drive or more RAM sticks)
PC Power and Cooling Silencer 650W for $70 after $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703026
OCZ ModXStream 600W for $60 after $15 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017
So basically you need to add $50 to whatever the price was before to get a worthwhile PSU.

I based my recommendations off of the list found here:
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx




That's the only real flaw with this build that I can see, other than that, here are a couple of tweaks:

I'd suggest faster RAM... You can get single sticks of DDR3 1600 4GB for $4 more. Buying a 4GB stick now means more room for upgrading the RAM later... (also, both sticks come with a sexy heat spreader . With the mobo you picked, you might have to set the timings manually for any RAM DDR3 1600 or better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231313
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233141
also available at Circuit City and Tigerdirect for $20+S&H after MIR ($20)

You can almost save the extra four bucks spend on the fancy RAM by getting a different DVD drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151235
This one is $23 (versus $26 after S&H), and has lightscribe (which you'll probably never use, but still...)

Also did you have any specific rationale behind that case?
I've built with the Antec 300 before, and I really liked it. It costs $60 ($45 after MIR), with free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

If space is an issue, you might be able to get away with a micro-atx mini tower, although you'd have to check that the case has enough room for your graphics card...

 

[rvilkman]

I would recommend Asrock 970 Extreme 4 but it is $104.99.
If you can get it to fit your budget it would give you AM3+ socket and crossfire support with all the modern bells and whistles USB3 & Sata6Gb/s.

Not sure how much taxes and whatnot are, the ones you have listed currently come to about 528 with the CC for the CPU.
So that would still fit the Mobo.

And I do agree that you could probably get a somewhat better PSU for that.
Getting a 650W-750W one would allow quick addition of another 6870 for Crossfire.
But getting one that is any good does push things past the 600,
such as Antec HCG-750 $94.99 ( before $25 rebate )
XFX Core Pro650W $89.99 ( before $20 rebate )

Well there is some food for thought if nothing else.

 

[megamanx00]

The Cooler Master is an OK case (I have one in my garage with an OC'd X2) but I would say go with the Xigmatek ASGARD instead. The model with orange highlights is also priced the same

Xigmatek ASGARD II $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815004

You should also go with an AM3+ board rather than an AM3 board so that you're ready for Bulldozer like this one

ASRock 880G PRO3 AM3+ $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157243

 

[michxymi]

With only 40$ after MIR, I can't find anything better than an Antec One Hundred

Antec One Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129098

A high quality 80+ Bronze PSU, Seasonic's build!

XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

Phenom II X4 955 most value CPU at this time. You can go up to 3.6 GHz with stock fan, don't go higher with it!

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Newest 990X/SB950 AM3+ motherboard from Gigabyte, with 10 phase power design and all modern technologies(SATA & USB III, RAID) along with FULL SUPPORT FOR AMD BULLDOZERS

GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128510

4GB of RAM are enough for gaming. I choose a high speed kit, because in case of future upgrade, Bulldozers will need high speed memory.

ADATA XPG Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GB2G9-2G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211409

The 6870 from XFX

XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506

And one Samsung Spinpoint for HDD

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185



SUM: 592 With MIR


Later you can add:
- A good cooler
- A small SSD

 

[ScrewySqrl]

killer squirrel. From one Flufftailed rodent to another, a $600 i5 build is VERY possible. It won't overclock or crossfire, but it really won't NEED to, ether:

i5-2400 (3.1 GHz/3.4 GHZ turbo): $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

Gigabyte H61 USB 3 Mobo $69.99 w/ $10 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128483

Team Elite 4 GB DDR3-1333: $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313072

Xigmatek PC402 400W 80+ Bronze PSU: $34.95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817815007

Sapphire HD6870: $174.99 w/ $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

Rosewill Blackbone case: $37.99 after Promo Code
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023

LG DVD drive + Seagate 500 GB HDD: $52.48
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.696147

$584.38

$10.64 shipping

$595.02 total, with $30 in mail-in-rebates

 

[michxymi]

He will lose a high quality motherboard, PSU, Case and 500GB of space just to add a 2400?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=363

a 2400 is MUCH better than a 955. And there's nothing wrong with the motherboard or PSU. Do you distrust Gigabyte? And xigmatek is a solid 2nd teir PSU, on par with Enermax or OCZ

 

[hella-d]

If you had a bit more cash I'd suggest going with an i5 build, which would perform better and consume less power, but that really isn't possible with a $600 cap.

The only glaring issue I see with your build is its PSU
According to my (newegg's) calculations, you don't want anything less than 516W. This is an area where you will have to shell out a bit more cash than you've put in. Quite frankly, a system with an underrated or underperforming PSU will have all sorts of weird problems and random parts might start to fry.
Doom and gloom aside, I'd recommend a PSU that can handle at least 600W (giving you a bit of room for upgrades like another hard drive or dvd drive or more RAM sticks)
PC Power and Cooling Silencer 650W for $70 after $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703026
OCZ ModXStream 600W for $60 after $15 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017
So basically you need to add $50 to whatever the price was before to get a worthwhile PSU.

I based my recommendations off of the list found here:
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx




That's the only real flaw with this build that I can see, other than that, here are a couple of tweaks:

I'd suggest faster RAM... You can get single sticks of DDR3 1600 4GB for $4 more. Buying a 4GB stick now means more room for upgrading the RAM later... (also, both sticks come with a sexy heat spreader . With the mobo you picked, you might have to set the timings manually for any RAM DDR3 1600 or better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231313
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233141
also available at Circuit City and Tigerdirect for $20+S&H after MIR ($20)

You can almost save the extra four bucks spend on the fancy RAM by getting a different DVD drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151235
This one is $23 (versus $26 after S&H), and has lightscribe (which you'll probably never use, but still...)

Also did you have any specific rationale behind that case?
I've built with the Antec 300 before, and I really liked it. It costs $60 ($45 after MIR), with free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

If space is an issue, you might be able to get away with a micro-atx mini tower, although you'd have to check that the case has enough room for your graphics card...

This The Reason I Use AMD, More Hardware For The $$, And For Overall Performance (Not Just Simply The CPU) My Machine Would Walk All Over An i5 Machine Costing Swice As Much , I Can Encode And Burn A 1080P HD Video To DVD Format In About 20 Minutes.

Utherwise Everything Looks Good, Except I Would Go With A WD Caviar Black (Nearly As Fast As A Raptor) And An Nvidia Card (CUDA Is Very Usefull)

 

[Outlander_04]

I think at this price range its a coin toss about whether you go with intel or AMD

Generally I think RIGHT NOW the intel will give you better performance [ perhaps not in gaming ], but the AMD will have better features and so long as you use a

970 or 990 series chipset mb

it is way more future proof

 

[megamanx00]

The Xigmatek case is great for the price. That's why it's been used in a few of the Toms $500 builds

 

[firehero777]

hey guys, do you think this will power my gaming rig?

CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

also, i know the i5 2500k is the gaming processor to have right now, but it is simply not possible with this budget without sacrificing other parts

 

[Outlander_04]

Firehero worry less about the processor and more about the graphics card .

CPU's are not the limiting factor when you have a high resolution monitor . The 2500K only performs a little better than processors costing $100 less when gaming

 

[hella-d]

I think at this price range its a coin toss about whether you go with intel or AMD

Generally I think RIGHT NOW the intel will give you better performance [ perhaps not in gaming ], but the AMD will have better features and so long as you use a

970 or 990 series chipset mb

it is way more future proof

Definitely, However... There Are Quite A Few 790 And 760 Based Boards That Will Also Run The Upcoming "Bulldozer" CPU's Except You Wont Get The Faster Hypertransport (Doubt That Will Matter Much If At All) And Will No Doubt Still Carry More Bang/Buck Value Than An Intel Chip.

 

[hella-d]

Firehero worry less about the processor and more about the graphics card .

CPU's are not the limiting factor when you have a high resolution monitor . The 2500K only performs a little better than processors costing $100 less when gaming

^ (Hes Right) ^

 

[firehero777]

can someone suggest a psu that will power the build for about 60$ without rebates

 

[firehero777]

do you think this will work?

Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200

 

[ScrewySqrl]

this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817815009

Or this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

 

[firehero777]

After considering all of your suggestions, this is what I have so far(not final) decided on:

DVD Drive: SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AL LightScribe Support - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151235

Case: Xigmatek ASGARD II B/B CPC-T45UC-U01 Black / Black 0.8 mm SECC / Aluminum and Aluminum Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815004

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Motherboard: MSI 880GM-E41 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130295

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

PSU: XIGMATEK ACXTNRP-PC602 600W ATX12V Ver.2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=17-815-009&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ4GX3M1A1600C9

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233141

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Now, are there any glaring issues with this build?

Total Cost: $607 after tax, before 30$ rebate

 

[Outlander_04]

Its a good build that will work well .

But buy one of these motherboards
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%20600138080%20600166260&IsNodeId=1&name=AMD%20970&Order=PRICE&Pagesize=20

to guarantee future upgradability . It costs a bit more now but it will pay off in a year or two

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I agree on the AM3+ motherboard. I also suggest the Seagate 500 GB drive, at $39.99.

 

[firehero777]

you mean this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148701

 

[ScrewySqrl]

thats the one

 

[firehero777]

Best answer selected by firehero777.