BestConfigs - High-End AMD Gaming PC

[jpishgar]

We're updating the Tom's Hardware BestConfigs and are opening the field to user recommendations! Post the best configuration you can put together for the following build category and our editorial team will pick 5 recommendations in each category to put to a public vote. The top-ranking build will go on to become one of Tom's Hardware's BestConfigs, and you'll get the credit for having put together a brilliant build with special notice in the feature article.

Post your entries to this thread for the category of High-End AMD Gaming PC, stay within $2000 and be sure to list the following components-

Processor:
Motherboard:
RAM:
Graphics Card:
Hard Drive:
Case:
Power Supply:
DVD Burner:

Good luck, and may the best builds win!

 

[Mr Pizza]

Processor: Phenom II x6 1090t
Motherboard: Asus Crosshair IV Formula
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 1600mhz C7
Graphics Card: XFX 2GB 5970
Hard Drive: 150GB Velicoraptor x2 RAID 0
Case: Haf X
Power Supply: AX850
DVD Burner: Cheap SATA

 

[a1l3]

Processor: Phenom II X4 955

Motherboard:msi 890fxa-gd70

Ram: G.Skill Flare DDR3 2000 MHZ C7

Graphics card : XFX HD-587A-CNF9 Radeon HD 5870 2GB

Harddrive: gskill [ PHOENIX PRO ] FM-25S2S-120GBP2 120gb Main + western digital caviar black WD1002FAEX storage

Case: Coolermaster Storm Sniper Black mesh

Power suply: coolermaster silentpro M850

Dvd Burner: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204)

 

[Silvune]

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2Ghz $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD70 $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274

RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321

Graphics Card: HIS H587FN1GD Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $350 x3= $1050
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161329

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

Power Supply: NZXT Hale90-1000M 1000W 80Plus Gold Modular $221
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116013

DVD Burner: Sony Optiarc $19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039

Heatsink:
Thermalright Silver Arrow $80
http://www.svc.com/silverarrow.html

Total: $1995

 

[karma831]

Processor:
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX - $290.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849&cm_re=phenom_II-_-19-103-849-_-Product

Motherboard:
ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - $229.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131644&cm_re=asus_crosshair-_-13-131-644-_-Product

RAM:
G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO - $98.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321&cm_re=G.SKILL_ECO_Series_4GB_%282_x_2GB%29_240-Pin_DDR3_SDRA-_-20-231-321-_-Product

Graphics Card:
GIGABYTE GV-R587OC-1GD Radeon HD 5870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - X2 $719.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125326

Hard Drive:
G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series FM-25S2S-120GBP2 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231378&cm_re=g.skill_phoenix-_-20-231-378-_-Product

&

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD322GJ/U 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $42.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152244&cm_re=samsung_f4-_-22-152-244-_-Product

Case:
COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper SGC-6000-KXN1-GP Black Steel, ABS Plastic, Mesh bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119194&cm_re=cooler_master_storm_sniper-_-11-119-194-_-Product

Power Supply:
CORSAIR Professional Series AX750 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015

DVD Burner:
SAMSUNG 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 4X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24x DVD Burner - Bulk LightScribe Support - OEM - $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151216

Total: $1996.90

 

[ragingmercenary]

Processor: Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition $165.99
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 $214.99
RAM: 2 x 2GB G.Skill Ripjaws Series DDR3 1600 $92.99
Graphics Card: 2 x XFX HD 5870 HD587X-ZNFC 1GB $779.98
Hard Drive 1: 120 GB G.Skill Phoenix Pro FM-25S2S-120GBP2 Series 2.5" $279.99
Hard Drive 2: 1 TB Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS $87.99
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922-KKN1-GP ATX Mid Tower $89.98
Power Supply: Antec 1000W 80 Plus Bronze Certified Modular $179.99
DVD Burner: LITE-ON 24x DVD Burner $25.99
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm CPU Cooler $79.99

Total= $1997.88

This system has got everything you could ask for; a reliable cpu, an impressive graphics card setup, one of the best SSDs on the market, a powerful psu, and plenty of storage. The water cooling unit allows for a lot of over-clocking headroom on this rig, and the HAF and 1000W psu should support such endeavors nicely. With a perfectly sufficient 4 GB of DDR3 1600, there is still room for adding more modules if so desired later on. Great Rig!

thanks firebean for catching my gaff

 

[FireBean]

Processor: Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition $165.99
Motherboard: MSI 890FX 890FXA-GD70 ATX $109.99
RAM: 2 x 2GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 $199.99
Graphics Card: 2 x EVGA GTX 470 012-P3-1472-AR SuperClocked to 625Mhz/1250Mhz 1280MB $699.98
Hard Drive 1: 120 GB G.Skill Phoenix Pro FM-25S2S-120GBP2 Series 2.5" $279.99
Hard Drive 2: 1 TB Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS $87.99
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Full Tower $129.98
Power Supply: Antec 1000W 80 Plus Bronze Certified Modular $179.99
DVD Burner: LITE-ON 24x DVD Burner $25.99
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm CPU Cooler $79.99

Total= $1959.89

This system has got everything you could ask for; a reliable cpu, an impressive graphics card setup, one of the best SSDs on the market, a powerful psu, and plenty of storage. The water cooling unit allows for a lot of over-clocking headroom on this rig, and the HAF and 1000W psu should support such endeavors nicely. With a perfectly sufficient 4 GB of DDR3 1600, there is still room for adding more modules if so desired later on. Great Rig!

Sooo... How would you get SLI to work in that? I'd love to know how...

 

[gkay09]

Here is a config, but too bad it goes over $2K though...

CPU - X6 1090T

Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD7 - IMO a better option than the Rampage because of the slot placement and the available space

CASE - HAF X Certainly

PSU - Silverstone OP 1000W/ Antec TP 1000W

RAM - GSKilz Flare 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 14400) Desktop Memory Model F3-14400CL7D-4GBFLS

SSD for boot - OCZ Agility 60GB

HDD for Data - Hitachi 0F10452 2TB

BD Combo - SAMSUNG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Drive - Bulk Model SH-B083L/BSBP LightScribe Support - OEM

Graphics card - HIS HD 5970 - Cheapest HD 5970 (With the money saved there, would get the Accelero XTREME 5970
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=2_&mID=545

Hope you people like this...

 

[DJ253]

cpu - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD7
case - Antec P193 + free extra 585w psu
psu - Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W
ram - G.SKILL PIS Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2200
GPU - SAPPHIRE 100280SR Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EADS 2TB
dvd burner / combo - SAMSUNG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM

Grand Total = $1,910.93

 

[iRaiden]

Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849

Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131644

RAM: G.SKILL Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 2000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231282&cm_re=g_skill_2000-_-20-231-282-_-Product

Graphics Card: 2x MSI R5870 Lightning II Radeon HD 5870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127509

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX50G 2.5" 50GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227528

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Power Supply:XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207001

DVD Burner: ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Heatsink: Noctua NH-U9B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608016

Total: $2002 after MIR

 

[xurwin]

Processor/powersupply:amd phenom x4 deneb 3.2 /ocz modxtreme 700watts
Motherboard:Asus crosshair IV formula
RAM: gskill ripjaws 4gb cl7 1600
Graphics Card: sapphire 4gb radeon 5970
Hard Drive: samsung f3 1tb
Case: coolmaster haff X
DVD Burner: cheap sata dvd drive(sony optriac)
ssd:ocz vertex 2 60gb



total:$1,991.92

 

[unknown_13]

Processor: Phenom II X4 965
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-R597D5-2GD-B Radeon HD 5970
Hard Drive(s): 2x Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH080G2R5 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC SSD
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
DVD Burner: SAMSUNG 2MB Cache SATA 24x DVD Burner

All parts from Newegg
Total: 1985$

 

[easymoney9]

Processor-Phenom 2 X6 1090T-290.00
Motherboard-MSI 890FXA-GD70-199.99
Ram-GSkill Ripjaws DDR3 1333 8gb (2x4gb) F3-1066CL9D-8GBRL-174.99
Harddrive-Micron Real SSD C300 128gb MTFDDAC128MAG-1G1-249.99
Harddrive 2-Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1TB-74.99
Case-Coolermaster ATCS 840-169.99
DVD Burner-Samsung Blu-Ray Combo Drive B083L/BSBP-69.99
PSU-Corsair 750W CMPSU-750-TX-109.99
Graphics Card- Zotac Amp Geforce GTX480 ZT-40102-10P-514.99
Cpu Cooler-Thermalright HR-02-79.95, AM3 Boltdown Kit 9.95,Scythe 120mm fan SY1225SL12LMP-9.99
3 Pin Cable Splitter-2.50 (for the top 2 fans of the Coolermaster case. To be connected to a temperature controlled fan header on motherboard)

Total-1957.31

I believe this will meet my goals of:
1-Quietness ( I bet pretty close to watercooling noise levels)
2-No Sli or Crossfire X
3-No noisy stock heatsinks
4-Must have Phys-X

 

[MadAdmiral]

EDIT: Prices updated as of 9/1

CPU: X4 955 $150
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-890XA-UD3 $105 after rebate
RAM: G.Skill Eco 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $99
GPU: 2x HD 5970 $1,300
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB $75 (not sure if the $15 off promo counts)
Case: HAF 922 $90
PSU: Corsair 950W $120 after rebate. I switched from the 850HX to add some extra room for overclocking and what not.
Optical: Cheap SATA DVD burner $18

Total: $1,957. Could be cheaper with combos/the HDD's promo code.

Thats right. DUAL 5970s. Only an 8x/8x board, but that's only like 2-3% performance difference anyway. No SSD, but I think that's a very minor sacrfice given the massive GPU power in this build.
I'm not sure if we needed to include a HSF, but if I do, swap the HDD for a Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB ($55) and pick up the Sycthe SCMG-2100 ($40). That makes the total $1,992.

If the promo price on the HDD counts, then I'd just throw in the HSF and be at $1,997.

EDIT: On 9/1, HIS's 5970 was available for $600(with $30 rebate), but I'm not sure how good their's are. They're not getting good reviews. So it's possible to shave off another $130 there. If we're not counting the quality of the GPU (which I'm not sure if HIS's is actually that bad), I'd use that and throw in the X6 1090T, and have a total of $1,957.

 

[unknown_13]

Hmmm 2x5970's in Xfire on a PII X4 955........ this is "little" unbalanced imo.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Gaming is inherently unbalanced. I also doubt that the 955 would become the bottleneck.

If you'd prefer, I could swap in the X6 1055T for the 955. That'd put me $6 over, but I could drop the HDD to the 500 GB model.

 

[unknown_13]

Gaming is inherently unbalanced. I also doubt that the 955 would become the bottleneck.

If you'd prefer, I could swap in the X6 1055T for the 955. That'd put me $6 over, but I could drop the HDD to the 500 GB model.

Oh well, as long as an additional CPU cooler is included in the build, then keep the X4 955. The end user will probably OC, so with an additional cooler, it should easily hit 3.8GHz+ .

 

[MadAdmiral]

That's the idea. Since the opening post didn't say anything about including a HSF I left it out. You can easily throw a good one in there and still be close to budget.

Besides, if you were really buying this, I'd find some combos to make it cheaper, allowing for the HSF or some other improvements. Heck, even just using the F3's promo code would allow for a good HSF...

 

[unknown_13]

That's the idea. Since the opening post didn't say anything about including a HSF I left it out. You can easily throw a good one in there and still be close to budget.

Besides, if you were really buying this, I'd find some combos to make it cheaper, allowing for the HSF or some other improvements. Heck, even just using the F3's promo code would allow for a good HSF...

Yup.

 

[obsidian86]

Processor:AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
Motherboard:ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
RAM:Mushkin Enhanced Ridgeback 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000
Graphics Card:SAPPHIRE 100280SR Radeon HD 5970
ssd:3xCorsair Nova 32gb
Hard Drive:SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
Case:COOLER MASTER COSMOS S
Power Supply:ABS SL series SL1050 1050W
DVD Burner:LITE-ON Black
hsf:Prolimatech Megahalem
Fans:2 x Scythe GentleTyphoon

$2003 without considering rebates and promo code and combos

 

[drinkbleach]

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965 - $165.99USD

Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD70 - $199.99

RAM:G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB)DDR3 1600 - 7-8-7-24-2N - $98.99

Graphics Card 1: HIS H597F2GDGC Radeon HD 5970 - $599.99

Graphics Card 2: SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 5870 - $399.99

Hard Drive 1 SSD: Intel X25-V SSDSA2MP040G2R5 2.5" 40GB - $99.99

Hard Drive 2 : Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM - $89.99

Case: Thermaltake Element V Black Edition - $154.99

Power Supply: CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-950TX 950W - $139.99 (after rebate)

DVD Burner: LG Black DVD Burner GH22LS50 - $17.99

Total = $1967.90

 

[saint19]

Sooo... How would you get SLI to work in that? I'd love to know how...

Do u hear about hack? Crossfire and SLI can run in any mobo with any chipset.

My configuration:

1- For now:

CPU: Phenom II X6 1090T
Mobo: Gigabyte 890FXA-UD7
RAM: G.Skill PI 1600 8GB
GPU: 2x5870
SSD: Crucial SSD C300 128GB
HD: WD Velociraptor 600GB SATA III
Case: HAF X
PSU: Corsair AX1200W (Over kill I know)
DVD Burner: LITE-ON Black
Cooling: Own LCS or Swiftech H20-220-APEX ULTIMA
Fans: :lol:

Price: $ 2918.31 a little more or little less.

2- Wait for Bulldozer :lol:

 

[coldmast]

Processor: AMD x4 965 $180
Motherboard: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 $162
RAM: G.SKILL PIS 4GB DDR3 2000 $148
Graphics Card: ASUS EAH5850 DirectCU TOP $360
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB $80
Case: COOLER MASTER Storm Sniper $150
Power Supply: CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-850HX 850W $154.49
DVD Burner: Cheap $25 DVD Burner

1260.50 CAD

 

[MadAdmiral]

^Are you in the right section?

 

[iRaiden]

Lol a $3k build and a $1.2k build back to back.


Epic fails FTW!