Looking for some advice .....

[twellons]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Jan. 2010 BUDGET RANGE: $1000-$1100 ( Before Shipping and Tax )

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming > Everything else

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Case, DvD drives, OS ( Basically I need MB,CPU,Ram,VideoCard,PSU)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: NewEgg ( But if can be found cheaper elsewhere I'm open to it ) COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Undecided on AMD/Intel or ATI/Nvidia ( Most power for the price )

OVERCLOCKING: Yes but within base level voltage specs SLI OR CROSSFIRE: planned for future

MONITOR RESOLUTION:1280 X 1024

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I've currently narrowed alot down to either : ( Both using Windows 7 Ultimate )

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=8154409

or

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=13037806

The Intel/Nvidia rig needs to come down in price first though ( Perhaps some suggestions or maybe an After Christmas price cut )


My reasons for the AMD AM3 over the I5 Core is longevity and upgrade paths. The ATI 5850 for immediate power and possibly Crossfire in another 6 months when prices drop again. ( Plus Directx11 )



One of my biggest hold ups right now is that I'm concerned that the AMD Phenom 955 BE Even after overclock will bottle neck a Crossfire 5850 setup. I'm mostly concerned with gaming.

Thoughts and Suggestions are welcome.

 

[cory1234]

The ram you chose in your AMD build is 3x2gb. You need to pick up a dual channel kit (2x2gb). That will save you $60 or so.

The motherboard you chose is pretty expensive for an AMD build, but its up to you.

The 5850 is definitely overkill for the resolution. You might want to consider upgrading to a 1920x1080 monitor with the money your saving on the AMD build.
I wouldn't worry about the 955 bottlenecking (The 955 can be overclocked to 4ghz) a 5850 as the monitor resolution will limit the performance of the graphics card. The 5850 can max most games at 1920x1080.


I would not buy a raptor... the price is too high. You can pick up an OCZ 30gb SSD for your OS, which will blow the raptor out of the water, and a Samsugn F3 500gb secondary drive for $150 total.

Windows 7 ultimate seem like a waste to me unless your getting it for free.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Do not do nVidia right now. The ATI cards are much better. You do know you're not limited to nVidia with an Intel CPU (or ATI with AMD), right? Buy the 5850 with either build.

Absolutely do NOT BUY a velociraptor. The new Samsung Spinpoint F3 (500 GB for $55 or 1 TB for $85) are as fast or faster and at least 1/2 as much money. Either commit to wasting your money on an SSD for the OS/apps or stick with the F3 only.

Triple channel RAM is not good for dual channel AMD builds. I suggest this set: G.Skill Eco DDR3 1333 mhz CAS Latency 7 for $98. A note on the RAM in general: 1333 mhz CL 7 sticks will be faster than 1600 mhz CL 9, and they will be the same price (or cheaper).

For the AMD build, I prefer this board: ASUS M4A79XTD EVO. It's cheaper and one of the best boards out.

For the Intel build, since you're gaming, I'd suggest getting the i5. The $100+ savings will get you the same gaming performance. Here's a good board for the i5: . It has USB 3.0 and SATA 6 GB/s ports, making it better for future proofing. You'll also be able to grab the dual channel sticks I suggested above.

With those changes, the Intel build will be ~$1040 (with the Eco sticks) and the AMD build will be ~$880. Both of these will be better (or equal) gaming machines than what you've got for significantly less.

 

[twellons]

First thanks for a quick response.


Is there a Dual Channel 6GB solution out there ? I just looked for a 2x 3GB and didn't see one. 4GB just doesn't feel like enough to last for any real length of time. ( would it be cheaper to go with 8GB 4x2gb ? )

That motherboard was in comparison to the Asus solutions that got the best reviews for OC'ing and no Onboard Video.

I'm pretty locked into a 1280 X 1024 due to Desk restrictions and I'm ok with that resolution for now.

As for the HD , I was looking for a 10k RPM for programs and access time , but I need enough space for the multitude of games I typically install. 80 GB has cut it close a few times. I already have a separate 7200 RPM 500GB for data storage to employ.

Windows 7 Is free.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Nope. 4 GB is enough for gaming though. You can upgrade it to 8 GB by adding two more sticks, but save that for later. You really don't need to have that much in a gaming computer.

The 10K HDD isn't faster than the 500 GB platter HDD out there (which the F3 is). So there is no value in adding the velociraptor. What 500 GB drive do you have? The WDs aren't fast anymore, and the old Seagate 7200.11 has a LOT of problems. If its an older drive, you really should upgrade it or keep it to use as your data drive.

 

[twellons]

Ok , Great . That HD will shave ALOT off .... The Drive I currently have is indeed and older drive and is planned specifically for Data storage ( Not Application ).

So 4GB is enough with a 64 Bit Windows 7 ? I was afraid that Windows 7 might chew up two alone.

 

[cory1234]

Ok , Great . That HD will shave ALOT off .... The Drive I currently have is indeed and older drive and is planned specifically for Data storage ( Not Application ).

So 4GB is enough with a 64 Bit Windows 7 ? I was afraid that Windows 7 might chew up two alone.

I'm using 4gb on windows 7 and it runs perfect. 8gb is a waste right now.

If your concerned about access times you definitely want to look at SSDs. They have access times of 0.1ms compared to a fast 500gb drive of around 10ms.

If your going to be locked at that resolution for a while I would recommend getting a Radeon 5770 instead to save more money. The prices of 5850s are $50-60 over retail right now anyways.

 

[woozyM]

I'm pretty locked into a 1280 X 1024 due to Desk restrictions and I'm ok with that resolution for now.

If you won't upgrade the monitor in the next 2-3 yrs due to limitation then there's no point in creating a system crossfire/sli ready. All you need is a powerful single card. So you'll save extra money on the mobo, and PSU.

If you plan to upgrade the monitor soon, then the amd or i5 will be great build for the budget, otherwise u can get an i7 (not crossfire/sli ready) to get closer to budget.

 

[twellons]

I don't believe I will go with the I5 core as Intel more or less released this after the fact to compete with AMD's price points. If I go Intel I will go with the I7 core for longevity of the chipset.

I have however made some changes to the HD , Memory ( still went with the higher CL memory for overclocking ), and MB for the AMD build ( Great savings ) .


The I7 Core I've changed the VC and HD but kept the memory.... I'd like to find a cheaper but well made MB to bring that price down a little more.

The I7 is really the system that I want , but I'm trying extremely hard to stay within budget. That money could easily go onto current debt 😉 lol.




Video may be changing within the year. Depends on possible new desk space ... but for now that's not changing.