I MIGHT finally be done my build

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RichterFry

RichterFry

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Aug 21, 2011
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I've been posting here over the past few weeks, asking a lot of questions, and I've learned more in these past few months about computers than I had in my entire life before. Anyway, it seemed every time I started a new thread, my build cost would go up. I had a budget of $750 in my head since the beginning of my research, and this is the build I've come up with:

CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103858

I had originally thought that the i5 would be the way to go, but after being told many, many times that AMd is the way to go for a BUDGET gamer, I decided to switch to the Phenom II. I'm pretty glad I decided to do that, it freed up a bit of cash for the rest of my build.

Case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094

This is somewhere I knew that I could cheap out and still get away with it. Yes, I understand the risks of buying a cheap case, but the case isn't exactly the most important part of my build. I just need something that can hold everything together and have some airflow. Also, the reviews of this case seemed to be decent for the price.

PSU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035

The first thing I was told to look for in a PSU is an 80+ efficiency rating. This PSU has an 80bronze rating, and the price is quite reasonable for the wattage.

HDD: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136767

This is probably what I gave the least thought. I've heard that Seagate and WD are two of the top brands of HDDs, and I figured that 1TB of space would mean that I wouldn't have to worry about space.

GFX Card: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150516

I originally had decided to go with an HD 67XX card, but later decided to change to a 6870. I figured it was worth the extra cash and I'll be doing a decent amount of gaming. I later realized that the 6870 has only 7% better performance over the 6850, so I saved some cash with the 6850.

RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231308

A friend of mine told me that I should find RAM with a cas Latency of less than 8. That one is 7-7-7-18, and the price seems to be great for 8GBs of Memory.

So, after all that, I'm having trouble finding the right motherboard. I have a budget of about $95 for the motherboard, including taxes and shipping (so about $80 unless I can get free shipping or something).

Here's what I'm looking at:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130590

I don't know much about motherboards. Can anyone help me out?
 
I calculate your total at $544. With a budget of $750, that leaves you over $200. I would suggest you allow another $20 and get an AM3+ mobo. Also, you don't need the Phenom II 1075T processor for gaming. A Phenom II 965 BE ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 ) would actually give you better performance for about $20 less.

Here's a few good Mobos.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%20600138080%20600166260&IsNodeId=1&name=AMD%20970

I prefer the ASUS or the Gigabyte but any of those would be good and you could still upgrade to bulldozer in the future if you wanted to.
 



Actually after 15% taxes and shipping, the total comes to $746 and some change with that mobo.
 
GPU
You could get this 6870 for 5 bucks more:

Sapphire HD 6870
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

RAM:
Low latency is great, but you would be better off with a set of 1600MHz RAM with a cas latency of 9 than 1066MHz RAM with a cas latency of 7. It will perform better for gaming. Here is a low voltage option (1.25v), and there are several other options in this price range ($55-$65).

G.Skill Sniper 1.25v
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461


Also I would probably go for a 650w power supply if you can find a decent one for around the same price. 500w should run your system no problem, but it is nice to have a little bit more breathing room.
 
I know, I wasn't saying that you would save anything. Just that you would be able to get a better motherboard if you got a 965BE CPU with it. And the 965 is better for gaming because of the higher clock rate.
 


Second what he said. I have a 1075T but only because I do some pretty heavily threaded builds on my system. It does not perform better than the 965 BE in gaming. I also wouldn't worry too much about RAM CAS latency. Divert extra money to a better case / PSU, which have a very large effect on the longevity of your system (assuming that you clean the case with compressed air around once a year)
 


How about a compromise between the two?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220597

EDIT: Sorry, that link should work now
 
Better, but I'd still try for 1600 MHz. Up to you though, some people prefer lower latency over faster clocks. You do have some options at the $55 price point for 1600MHz C9 sticks though (look toward the middle of the page):

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=1600+ddr3+8gb&x=0&y=0


Just so you aware, you sent me the link to the Patriot memory on the U.S. website, where we do get free shipping. On the Canadian site, the Patriot memory costs $50 with $10 shipping:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220596
 


Yeah, I dunno, I think I'll go for the lower latency. It's not like that RAM is all /that/ expensive anyway.

As for the link, I caught myself afterwards. Still, with $10 shipping, it still leaves me almost $10 under budget.

On that note, that gives me about $110 toward a motherboard, including shipping. So, $100 because shipping is usually around $10.
 
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