AMD system for ~£700

[matt2k]

Hi, im putting together an AMD build for approx. £700
it will be used mainly for running intensive apps like ProE plus gaming and moderate OC'ing.
The OS will be 64bit, vista or windows 7.

this is what i've put together so far. So what does the gaming community think?
Any ideas and suggestions are welcome


Cpu: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition ~£200
Mobo: DFI LANPARTY DK 790FXB-M3H5 ~£150
Ram: OCZ 4GB Kit (2x2048) Gold Edition Memory DDR3 1333MHz PC3 10666CL 9-9-9-26 (please advise on the RAM) ~£70
GPU: XFX ATI Radeon 4870 1GB DDR5 ~£180
PSU: OCZ PSU 500SXS StealthXStream 500W (please advise) ~£55
Case: Antec three hundred ~£45

total: £700 (but can go slightly above)

So, over to the community

cheers

 

[batuchka]

Hmm if you dun really need a 790FX consider just a 790GX and upping to a HD4890 maybe?

 

[matt2k]

hmm. whats the difference between the fx and gx?
if its only better CF support then great, cos this will stay a single GPU system

 

[Helloworld_98]

how about,

AMD 940
Biostar TA790GX (don't worry they're good motherboards, OC well too)
Corsair 2x2GB ddr2 800mhz(could always up the voltage and clock speed if necessary)
Silverstone 750w/Hiperformance 880w
Antec 300
XFX 4870 X2 2GB(they cost £264 on scan so why let a bargain get away?)

 

[matt2k]

with the recent price reduction for DDR3 memory, i thought i'd upgrade straight away instead of waiting till further down the road. which means i'd like to stick with an AM3 board.
i like the idea of the cheaper board/4870 x2 combo though, hmm. wonder if i can work that in somehow.

 

[Helloworld_98]

well eclipse computers has a biostar TA790GXA3+ which is the AM3 version of the motherboard I suggested before for £90, and then 4GB of 1333mhz is £50, you'd also have to change the CPU to a 720 which would only be £15 more than before or the 955 which would be £100 more than before but you get a higher clock and an extra core over the 720.

edit: also could you name all the parts you need, it will help me a lot.

 

[smithereen]

I'd get an AM3 build for sure.

 

[Helloworld_98]

Ok it comes out to £694.34 with P2 720, AM3 motherboard, corsair 1333mhz ddr3, Hiperformance 880w PSU, 4870 X2 2GB by XFX and an antec 300.

you could probably cut costs by £15 though if you ordered the mobo I mentioned and some GEIL 1333mhz ddr3 from eclipse computers while getting everything else from scan.

 

[matt2k]

nice. couldnt find the mobo you mentioned on the uk sites, but i did stumble across this: Asrock motherboard M3A790GXH/128M AMD AM3 for £93 from microdirect
looked at a coupla quick reviews and it seems ok, but im not the greatest fan of asrock.
cheers for the suggestion, i like the more powerful GPU compared to the processor.
but what would the impact be on cpu-intesive 3d applicationts like ProE, AutoCAD etc.

 

[Helloworld_98]

well, with both the mobo I suggested and the one you found you might be able to unlock the fourth core but if you can't then it will have a fair decrease from having a Quad, and at the moment AM3 is unnecessary and provides little improvement over AM2+.

Not to mention the next generation of cpu's after phenom II use a new socket.

 

[matt2k]

didn't know that. any speculation as to when they will be releasing their next generation?
if not to soon i would be enticed to raise the budget a bit and go for more high end components just so i can use it for longer.
With a 955 and good mobo i would just need to replace the graphics as necessary...
hmm, wonder if it will last 2 years though.
food for thought

 

[Helloworld_98]

well the next gen amd cpu's come out in Q1/2 2010 I believe.

the 955 and a good AM2+ mobo will last 2 years while replacing graphics, and the only way that you could get a PC which you can upgrade the CPU in Q3 2010 or after would be getting a Core i5 or Core i7 build.

 

[matt2k]

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...MDs-new-CPU-platform-reviewed/Reviews/?page=3
read a review of the p2 and AM3 socket here. looks like i'll be sticking with the AM2+
i already have an intel e8400 system, so i'll stick with amd for this one.

so i guess i'll be going with the 955 and am2+

 

[Helloworld_98]

Are you overclocking?

if you aren't then save the money and get a 940.

 

[matt2k]

i might overclock at a later stage. the last amd chip i overclocked (or attempted to) was an old k-6
my intel system is overclocked, but i'll see how this system runs before tweaking it. apparently on air you can only get about 3.8 ghz. i like the unlocked multiplier though

 

[Helloworld_98]

with a 955 you can hit 4.2ghz with an average chip and good cooling, anandtech got 3.7ghz on stock voltage.

with a 940 though you'd be looking at 4ghz if you get a good chip, 3.8ghz is the norm though.