Another Beginner Asking For Advice

[grab9301]

So my laptop is about to die - and I'm sick of them. I've fiddled with replacing components but I'm building from scratch for the first time. I'm trying to keep a reasonable budget (hopefully around $750) but out of my four possible builds, I seem to be able to hit around $550 and then around $900 - but somehow a midrange build eludes me. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I do like to play some MMORPG's and I'm sick of my "very low" settings and still hitting around 20 fps. Any ideas on where I could save some money by downgrading without significant hits in performance? I'm only looking on Newegg right now but I'd be open to suggestions. The below build comes to a total of $863 - but I'm sure it will reach $900+ once I account for any misc. add-ons like adapters (I'm looking at a card with internal USB 3.0 for the case's front USB 3.0) and extra case/memory fans, thermal compound, etc. Thank you to anyone who takes the time to comment.

CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition (also considering the AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz but I'm craving the 6-core; I know that I want a black edition for increased tweaking options)

CPU Cooler - Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus (This is the item I'm most certain about getting - price/performance is awesome)

Motherboard - ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) (I know everyone has their own preferences here - I'm just hoping to get the speed and latency listed on it when it's in my system)

HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s (Good price, I like the 64MG Cache)

GPU - SAPPHIRE 100338L Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5

Optical Drive - ASUS Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

PSU - RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V

Case - Rosewill FUTURE Gaming ATX Mid Tower

Monitor - ASUS VH197D Black 18.5" 1366 x 768 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor

 

[rwayne]

■If your main focus is MMOs then going with a 6 core CPU would not be a bad investment. MMOs tend to be more CPU dependent than GPU dependent. Especially if you have a lot of 'add ons' running.

■I have helped a friend build a PC with that Hyper 212 Fan. The thing is monsterous. Almost too big. However there will be like zero chance of your CPU overheating. It cools really, really well and it is totally inaudible. It is amazing how silent it is. Good idea on getting an aftermarket cooler. The ones from Intel and AMD really aren't that great.

■I think a 730 Watt power supply is a bit overkill. Especially for that video card.

■The biggest way you are going to be able to trim your budget is by Free Shipping offers and combo deals. You can list out the perfect build then the week you go to buy you may have to change up your list a little bit.

■Pay attention to the 5 egg ratings on newegg. When a product has an average rating of 5 eggs with more than 30 reviews it should really command your attention.

 

[holdingholder]

I'll agree with wayne in that you would be much better off getting the 955 over the six core, and that psu is a bit of overkill for your system. Also I would shave off a few bucks and get a slightly cheaper motherboard.

 

[rwayne]

Actually I was in favor of the 6 core CPU not against it.

The only reason I placed the suggestion because the OP stated that one of the primary reasons for the build was MMOs.

MMOs tend to utilize the CPU more so than the GPU because it has to keep track of hundreds of players, and addons.

Right now on newegg the price difference between a 4 core and a 6 is only $44.00. ($134 vs $179)

Yes, there is some savings. And yes a 4 core will run great (I love my AMD 965 x 4 at 3.4GHz). But an extra $44.00 for 2 cores is a pretty good deal. I would look for other areas in the budget to trim first before knocking additional cores off the build.

Also as cheap as DDR3 Ram is today I would not hesitate to grab 8GBs of it. I paid $180 some dollars for my 8GB of GSkill Ram in August of 2010 and within 4 months the price was cut in half. Ram Prices are super low right now. Capitalize on that down market.

But either way I am excited for the Original Poster because either hardware route is going to BLOW AWAY the performance of his/her current laptop.

 

[grab9301]

Thank you for the tips -

Definitely sticking with the 6 core

So I've been looking for low latency RAM as I've seen a few posts about AMD showing more improvement from the lower latency than Intel systems, but I noticed quite a jump from 4GB RAM (2X2GB) as opposed to 8G (2X4GB) in the 6/7 latency range - from about $50 to about $80; but I noticed that if I go up to a latency of 9, 8GB are only in the $60 range. About a month after my initial buy - I'll get another two of whatever ram I get. I've heard that latency will show in benchmarks, but for regular performance it's negligible------long story short, end up with 16GB with 9 latency or 8GB with 6/7; I don't think all 16GB would be used, but the part of the 8GB that is used will process faster?

Dropped the motherboard down to ASUS M5A97 EVO to shave another $30 off

The PSU I've just seen some discussions about underpowered components, without knowing how to calculate I figured 750W would be more than enough - would you think it would be safe to drop it to the hec XPOWER780 (600W) or should I be looking more in the 500W - 550W range?

The GPU seems to be in a pretty nice price/performace area, dropping the price by $20 - $30 and I'm almost paying for one that performs on par with an integrated GPU.

Looked for current combos and cut about $30 there - but I'm not in a super rush, so I may keep an eye on the sales/combos for more savings - I'm almost down to the $750 goal (I wish I had a monitor so I could spend that $100 on the second set of ram!).

Again, Thank You! And I'm excited too...

 

[grab9301]

PS...
The cheaper motherboard also has some internal USB 3.0's that I was pretty happy to add while reducing costs

 

[yummerzzz]

I'd change the CPU to a Phenom II 955 BE and spend the money on a better GPU.

 

[walterm]

HEC is not a preferred PSU, despite any owner ratings, XFX offers the best performance/dollar at the moment.
Corsair, Antec, are very good in many cases/

 

[hunter315]

I would swap the HDD for the F3 1TB, its bigger, faster and cheaper, the 750GB drive isnt going to be using the newer 500GB platters which really boosted speeds.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=F3%201TB

Next, i would get yourself a good PSU, raidmax and HEC are not good, they arent even average in many cases. Your first pick is an old raidmax unit with a voltage selector switch which indicates its an older design, that HEC unit is even lower quality than the raidmax you started with, not just lower power. You really dont want to get a PSU with less than a 3 year warranty, a PSU should last about 5-7 years and if they arent willing to guarantee it for at least 3 years its concerning to me. I realize its significantly more than your current PSU choices but i would go for either the 650TX V2 or the XFX 650W unit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014

Both of them come with a 5 year warranty and are solid units that should last much longer than 5 years and will support upgrades to your system down the line, either of them could run two midlevel cards in SLI or CF so you wont have to get a new unit if you want to upgrade.

Because very few things can make use of more than 3 cores, a six core CPU isnt going to give you any bonus, in most gaming benchmarks the X4s fair better than the X6's at the same clock speed since the games have no use for the extra cores. You can save a fair amount by sticking with the 955 or 965 over the 1090T

 

[rwayne]

If there is one area you don't want to skimp on it would be the power supply. Because all of the other components are dependent on it. That does not mean you have to spend a ton of money to get a quality PSU.

You want a PSU that provides a good steady stream of power with an efficiency rating of 80 or higher.

Check out the following website:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/

The site is solely dedicated to providing reviews on PC power supplies. They stress test them and pull all sorts of reporting metrics off the strength and stamina of PSUs.

I agree with walterm. XFX, CORSAIR, and ANTEC are the better Power Supply Companies out there.

 

[grab9301]

Thank you so much for the power supply links - the Raidmax was almost the same price as the links for the Corsair and XFX's so it really wont raise the budget, trading lower wattage for higher quality. Also I really want a 6 core but I think I will go to the 965 - I currently have a laptop with a 2G Pentium Dual-Core, so I'm sure I'll be impressed with the 965. I appreciate the advice!

 

[rwayne]

I think you will be impressed.

When I went from my AMD 64x2 5600 processor to the Phenom IIx4 965 I was amazed at the performance increase. It was night and day different. I have had it since August of 2010 and my PC still boots really fast.

 

[grab9301]

Best answer selected by grab9301.