650$ budget gamer

[northface]

Building a new computer from scratch, I have experience in setting up all the goodies, but have sorta fallen out of staying up with tech.... Now i know intel is better then amd.... but amd is so much cheaper and when looking at benchmarks (is this site good at all? cpubenchmark.net) AMD/ATI seems fine.

This system will be used to game..... heavily.... I want to be able to run Brink when it comes out atleast on High settings
System will most likely be overclocked at some point(2 days in probably lol)
I might do crossfire.... but i hear conflicting arguments, so please tell me! I guess it all depends on the set up though....
I set the $ limit to 650-700$(canadian) (lower preferred obviously but if its worth it.....) I realize this is a little bit on the cheap side.... but money is tight and i REALLY want to be able to game on a PC again
Windows 7 32bit
Monitor is 1920 x 1080

2 Keys things.... Is the GPU i picked worthwhile to crossfire? if so... Is the current mobo ok?

Heres the Set up Ive come up with

Case : Coolermaster Haf 912 Black Mid Tower Atx Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No Ps Front Usb Sound
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC0700

Mobo : ASUS M4A87TD Evo AM3 DDR3 ATX AMD 870 SB850 2PCI-E16 PCI-E1 3PCI 6SATA 6GB/S USB3.0 Motherboard
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10530BD2315
(Only x16 x4 though which isnt that great for crossfire.... but is it worth it to even crossfire in the first place?)

IF CROSSFIRING i think id go with this mobo cause of the x16 x16: BIOSTAR TA890FXE AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138193

GPU : Sapphire Radeon Xtreme HD 5850 725MHZ 1GB 4GHZ GDDR5 PCI-E DVI HDMI DisplayPort Video Card
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=14080BD8808
(Would it be worth it having 2 of these in crossfire? I plan on buying 1 now, and the other a few months down the road if its worth it)

CPU:AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor 3.2GHZ AM3 8MB Cache 125W Retail Box
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10360AC6599
and the New heatsink for it: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC9005
(How will this combo fair for OC'ing?)

PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 2 700W ATX12V 24PIN Active PFC 80PLUS ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=13220AC2035

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5460
(win32 bit can only handle 4gb if i remember correctly)

HD: Western Digital Wd Caviar Black 500GB 32MB 3.5
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=25350AC0126

DVD: Lg GH22NS50 Black 22X Sata Dvd Writer Oem
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12600DR0061

And to keep the case cool i was thinking of getting 2x200mm fans :http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC4737

Total current cost(Everything from Directcanada) is Sub Total: $659.22 If i switch mobos itll be around 700$

What do you guys think??

 

[aznshinobi]

Check out my siggy and get them off the site your shopping off of, DirectCanada is a solid choice.

i3 2100 vs 955
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=289

 

[northface]

Check out my siggy and get them off the site your shopping off of, DirectCanada is a solid choice.

i3 2100 vs 955
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=289

I had actually read your sig before joining this site, my problem is im not content with people saying.... This is it... I need to know why and how.

You state the 5850 in your sig for the 600$ build, but you dont state how it does in crossfire. You say the 6850 does a little better.... but when the cards cost 50$+ more each, youd hope they would scale a little better. How do the 5850's scale? are they even worth doing crossfire with?

And if they are worth the crossfire.... isnt a 8x8x mobo better then a 16x4x? should i just go for a 16x16?


As to your CPU change..... They both seem pretty similar overall after looking at ur supplied benchmarks. Why should i choose a dual core instead of a quad core? wouldnt quad core make more sense for future proof? and how do they do when overclocking?

 

[aznshinobi]

Both Crossfire very well, the 6850's will run cooler, quieter, and consume less power. But both are good options. I did look over the 5850 CF vs 6850 CF and their performance is practically the same, the only thing is power consumption.

As for 8x/8x, you can always spend a little more and get this to have that kind of mobo. The mobo I suggest is their because it is pretty much the cheapest CF mobo for P67. But 16x/4x really doesn't take a huge hit from 8x/8x. You'd see 96% w/ 8x/8x and probably around 90-94% w/ 16x/4x. Hardly noticeable in reality.

As for overclocking, the 955 can OC, the 2100 cannot. So in that remark, the 955 is better. The number of cores means nothing to future proofing. You can spend a little more, and by that I mean getting a different CPU (The i5 2400), which would perform much better than the 955.

2500K vs 970
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/186?vs=288
The 2500K is basically the 2400 with a higher clockrate, so to compensate I changed the 955 to the 970. You'd see similar results with the 2400 vs 955.

If you want to overclock, pay a little more and get the 2500K which can overclock VERY well. The K means unlocked and allowing you to overclock. The 2500K w/ a Hyper 212+ can hit 4.6ghz+. The 955 will hit 4.0ghz on air, maybe a LITTLE more.

 

[northface]

Both Crossfire very well, the 6850's will run cooler, quieter, and consume less power. But both are good options. I did look over the 5850 CF vs 6850 CF and their performance is practically the same, the only thing is power consumption.

As for 8x/8x, you can always spend a little more and get this to have that kind of mobo. The mobo I suggest is their because it is pretty much the cheapest CF mobo for P67. But 16x/4x really doesn't take a huge hit from 8x/8x. You'd see 96% w/ 8x/8x and probably around 90-94% w/ 16x/4x. Hardly noticeable in reality.

As for overclocking, the 955 can OC, the 2100 cannot. So in that remark, the 955 is better. The number of cores means nothing to future proofing. You can spend a little more, and by that I mean getting a different CPU (The i5 2400), which would perform much better than the 955.

2500K vs 970
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/186?vs=288
The 2500K is basically the 2400 with a higher clockrate, so to compensate I changed the 955 to the 970. You'd see similar results with the 2400 vs 955.

If you want to overclock, pay a little more and get the 2500K which can overclock VERY well. The K means unlocked and allowing you to overclock. The 2500K w/ a Hyper 212+ can hit 4.6ghz+. The 955 will hit 4.0ghz on air, maybe a LITTLE more.

Firstly thx alot dude, your awesome

I guess ill just have to take the heat on the 5850's, the 40$+ xtra for the 6850 just doesnt fit the budget, plus I dont plan on getting a second card for a while and you said the 5850 was better for single card set ups.

Lol i started with a 2500k actually, but.... price demands say otherwise and 70$ more for it just isnt there and 4.0 on air actually sounds pretty dam good. What do you think of the heatsink im getting to replace the stock version? http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC9005

As for the mobo I think i saw the similar amd version but its slightly slower on the speeds, and since mine is only 10$ more(I can spare that lol) I think ill just stick with it. I think i can live with a 4% difference tween the x8x8 and x16x4.

I believe a 750w power supply is enough to power all of this, am i correct?

 

[aznshinobi]

Well I would suggest getting a Hyper 212+ for the same price.
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC8843&vpn=RR-B10-212P-G1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER
Many report 4.6ghz+ with this cooler on the 2500K and it's a much better cooler than the Vortex. One, you'll be able to add another fan, and another because it has more heat pipes.
Review: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/19383-cooler-master-hyper-212-plus-cpu-cooler-review.html

Power-wise, 750 is overkill for just the single 5850+2500K. You'll probably need 500w max, even after overclocking. But 650-750 would give you A HUGE head room for Crossfire, it'll be good to have the room for a better card in the future though.

 

[northface]

Well I would suggest getting a Hyper 212+ for the same price.
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11130AC8843&vpn=RR-B10-212P-G1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER
Many report 4.6ghz+ with this cooler on the 2500K and it's a much better cooler than the Vortex. One, you'll be able to add another fan, and another because it has more heat pipes.
Review: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/19383-cooler-master-hyper-212-plus-cpu-cooler-review.html

Power-wise, 750 is overkill for just the single 5850+2500K. You'll probably need 500w max, even after overclocking. But 650-750 would give you A HUGE head room for Crossfire, it'll be good to have the room for a better card in the future though.

That thing is HUGE. It looks like it will fit in the case I selected, with about 5 xtra cm's between it and the case's side panel.(Case is 9.10 inches(23cm) wide and the beast is 16cm and add 2cm for *** up room)

Whats the gain from adding a 2nd fan to this cooler? i read the stock fan isnt the greatest, so do you have any suggestions as to a replacement? What about thermal paste? Is the amount and quality supplied with the product good/ is cooler master known for good paste??

My idea with the 750w was so i can upgrade and/or crossfire in the future, looks like I made a good choice

 

[aznshinobi]

Stock fan is pretty solid. But if you don't think it is enough, I suggest looking into some high RPM Scythe Slipstreams. Say you have 1 fan now, I'd say another fan is about 1-5*C drop in temps. Thermal paste, I say go with AS5 (Arctic Silver 5)

it'll fit no problem the 912 is a pretty big case and the Hyper 212+ is known to fit in most mid-towers.

 

[northface]

Best answer selected by northface.