Building a Phenom II system

[freedomdude0]

Hi,
I am currently building a Phenom II system
I have already bought a GPU (XFX HD Radeon 4870 1gb) , a case (CM 690) and Seagate Barracuda 500gb
I still need to decide on a motherboard, DVD burner, RAM and PSU. I currently don't want to Crossfire but I don't know about the future.
The reccomendation:

For the motherboard, I don't know if i should go with DDR2 or DDR3.
For PSU, I don't know don't know how much would be enough for a 4870 1 gb and phenom II
My budget for the system is 1k but the everything is around 1.5k
I live in Canada so the prices are a little higher

Looking forward to your advice

 

[Shnur]

Go for DDR3, it's going to be cheaper and easier to upgrade later, I recommend 4GB for now. (About 100$ in Canada)
For a PSU you'd be fine if you have a 500W one, but if you want to CrossFire at a later time, go for a 650W to be sure, I'd recommend Corsair or Antec Earthwatts. (Antec's 650W Earthwatts is about 110$)
As for the board, I usually build with ASUS boards, for them, M4A78T-E and M4A79T Deluxe, both are good, just check with your budget which one fits your needs best.
As for the chip himself, I guess you will be taking the BE one? Don't forget your fan on it if you do.
As for DVD, I usually don't bother much about, all I want to do is read and burn occasionally, although I've realized that Pioneer's are very noisy compared to LG's. So personally I stick with LG. And that's about 30$.

Hope it helped

 

[Proximon]

Go for DDR3, it's going to be cheaper and easier to upgrade later.

This is really a FINE point and one I think hasn't been mentioned much. I wonder when we'll actually need more than 4GB though?

 

[Outlander_04]

Its a coin toss between ddr2 and ddr3 IMO .

If I had the extra money I would buy ddr3 , but if I was on a budget it wouldnt worry me at all to run ddr2 .

By the time you upgrade a computer it usually comes down to replacing cpu/mb/ram as a package anyway . 4 gig is fine , more is not going to be used by almost all 2009 applications and games

 

[Proximon]

Checked the prices lately?

DDR3 1333 is maybe 10 bucks more than DDR2 1066. I think AM3 boards make sense now, and all the popular Intel boards such as the UD3P come in a DDR3 flavor..... You factor in that DDR2 prices have risen in the last two weeks while DDR3 has dropped, and where does that leave us?

 

[gkay09]

^ Time for AM3 + DDR3...

 

[evongugg]

With AMD I would wait at least until they have the DDR3 errata fixed. Right now running in dual channel is unreliable. Besides DDR3 doesn't give much of a real world performance boost (any that would be readily apparent to the end user that is).

http://www.techpowerup.com/img/09-02-12/60a.jpg

 

[evongugg]

AMD's latest Phenom II processors may experience unreliable operation when running more than one stick of DDR3-1333 or DDR2-1066 memory on a channel using standard JDEC voltages. AMD has instructed motherboard manufacturers to have the BIOS downclock DDR3-1333 to DDR3-1066 and DDR2-1066 to DDR2-800 to ensure stability.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/news/24052/

 

[terr281]

<Generic copy/post from another thread. Doesn't completely apply due to your video card, case, and hard purchase. Further, you aren't limited by size.>

Recently just ordered parts for 2 new builds for friends. Both will be used for "light multi-tasking," but mostly "MMO Gaming."

Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 360 <They wanted "smaller" desktops than mid-towers. This case offers desktop and tower "usable" configurations, ATX MB usability, and decent price.>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119195

PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W <Modular for case. Plenty of power for eventual duel 4770 Crossfire.>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P <Crossfire capability, socket AM2+, DDR2 ram usage>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387

Ram: Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 <Fast timings at DDR2 800 in duel channel mode, AM2+ CPU socket limitation>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220335

CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER GeminII S <Smaller profile for small case. Offers ability to directly blow air on ram if wished.>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103046

Thermal: ARCTIC COOLING MX-2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

Burner 1: LG Black 22X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

Burner 2: LITE-ON Black 24X <Retail for software.>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106291

Graphics Card: XFX HD-477A-YDLC Radeon HD 4770 <Expensive, but the warranty is nice. Crossfire in future.>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150366

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB <Case only allows for a single drive. Further, users requested disk space.>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317

Wireless: ENCORE ENUWI-N IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft 2.0 USB 2.0 802.11n Wireless Adapter <They requested wireless capability, but not "usually used." I don't know why, but you do what they tell you...>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833180053

"Video Exhaust Fan": Rexus NMB-MAT (Panaflo) 80mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835705019

"CPU/Case Intake Fan": Scythe GentleTyphoon D1225C12B4AP-14 120mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185091

OS: Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit <They requested it...>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Monitor: ASUS VW224U Black 22" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236050

<No keyboard, mouse, or speakers at this time.>

Cost: Slightly over $1,000 US Dollars post mail-in rebates & shipping

Another $120 dollars would make it a Crossfire system if so desired.

 

[Proximon]

AMD has said that DDR3 support is a BIOS issue and not a CPU issue. I'm sorry I don't have the link right off. I read too much and sometimes loose track of where I get info

I'm still coming down on the DDR3 side, but it's a valuable argument right now.