New gaming rig. HELP with cpu and gpu

[kromesta]

Well im building a new gaming rig, the old rig i built was 6 years ago with a 7600gt one of the best card back then anyways lets get to the point
well i cant decide what graphic card to get, and im not sure if i should get an intel i7 or am3 or am2.
Budget doesnt matter, the only thing the matter is the time facter, the more expensive the longer it will take to earn that money,
not getting into much detail but i earn $450 a fortnight casual position.. so lets say $800-$1100 now, or wait 2-3 weeks to have a budget of $1500

If i want to get a gaming rig a.s.a.p then my best option is to go for AM2+ phenom II x4 940 3.0ghz cpu
theres alot to consider about as i wont be able to use ddr3 rams in the future (not sure of this).. is there a amd mobo out there that supports AM2+ cpu that has ddr3 ram? let me know if there is one.
Now if i go with that option, It is most likely better to go with a ati card as i can go crossfire in the future. but a gtx 260 is a good cheap graphic card also, only downside is i wont be able to go sli. so please recommend me a graphic card?

Second option is if i want to wait another month to earn the hard cash, i could go with the i7 920 2.66ghz.
Either crossfire hd4870, or sli gtx 260 21, or hd 4870 x2. Which is best to go?

now lets talk about the OS, vista home premium is what ill be getting, but not sure 32-bit or 64-bit? is it worth having that extra rams?

the other stuff will be the same for both option
antec 750w truepower psu
1tb seagate barracude 7200rpm 32mb
zalman 9900LED cpu cooler
cooler master haf rc-932

 

[Proximon]

You seem to have a pretty clear notion of what you want here. I'll clear up a few points on the platform.

AMD and Intel i7 CPUs have the memory controllers ONBOARD, not on the motherboard. In the case of the AMD X4 920 and X4 940, there is no DDR3 controller. So, if you were to buy an X4 940 you could ONLY put it in an AM2+ board with DDR2.

When a board descriptions says something like "AM3/AM2+" What they really mean is that it is an AM2+ board that will take AM3 CPUs but run DDR2.

When a board description says "AM3" and nothing else, it means that it's a true DDR3 board that will NOT run an X4 940 or any older AMD CPU.

I think you should build an X4 955 rig as soon as you can, using a 4870 1GB card, and adding a second next month.
X4 955 and Asus 790FX board
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Yes get this OS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

 

[hellzlegend]

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0302727
get this if your close to any Microcenters cause this is such a good deal.

 

[mountie2464]

I just built a rig that ended up being just under $1750 (but that was w/ accesories)
I have an i7 (2.66) and an NVIDIA Geforce GTX 275 (Standard Clocks) (EVGA).
With my rig I can run Crysis on Very High at 1280 x 1024

 

[snow cakes]

IMO, the i7 2.66ghz and a GTX 275 Superclocked would be perfect for you. In the future you can always throw in another GTX 275, because 2x Gtx 275's out perform a single gtx 295 and will be around the same price. its up to you

 

[kromesta]

Can you oc a x4 955 to 3.6ghz? i heard this cpu is hard to oc.

 

[snow cakes]

Can you oc a x4 955 to 3.6ghz? i heard this cpu is hard to oc.


-- Yes

 

[Proximon]

Around 3.6Ghz. It depends on the luck of the draw, as it does with all processors.

You'll probably get a better OC out of an i7 920.

 

[kromesta]

You seem to have a pretty clear notion of what you want here. I'll clear up a few points on the platform.

AMD and Intel i7 CPUs have the memory controllers ONBOARD, not on the motherboard. In the case of the AMD X4 920 and X4 940, there is no DDR3 controller. So, if you were to buy an X4 940 you could ONLY put it in an AM2+ board with DDR2.

When a board descriptions says something like "AM3/AM2+" What they really mean is that it is an AM2+ board that will take AM3 CPUs but run DDR2.

When a board description says "AM3" and nothing else, it means that it's a true DDR3 board that will NOT run an X4 940 or any older AMD CPU.

I think you should build an X4 955 rig as soon as you can, using a 4870 1GB card, and adding a second next month.
X4 955 and Asus 790FX board
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Yes get this OS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

would you recommend 64-bit over 32-bit?
Also im not really familiar with ati cards, as ive always been a nvidia user. also is there any rivatuner version that support ati card?.. and i also have heard (my cousin has hd 4870) their driver sucks. not sure what he means by that

 

[Proximon]

ATI has their own software for tweaking and overclocking, called Catalyst Control Center (CCC) and it works quite well. You just have to know how. Most users will want to set the fan manually, as the default fan profile doesn't work well. My fan is set to 34% and is quiet and cool.

Yes, I linked the 64-bit version because that is the one you want.

 

[kromesta]

ATI has their own software for tweaking and overclocking, called Catalyst Control Center (CCC) and it works quite well. You just have to know how. Most users will want to set the fan manually, as the default fan profile doesn't work well. My fan is set to 34% and is quiet and cool.

Yes, I linked the 64-bit version because that is the one you want.

ive actually read something about the hd4870 auto fan setting is abit weird, as the idle tempis 80. some guy showed a way to edit the file. i cant find the link anymore.

 

[Proximon]

If you have a 4870 that idles at that temp it should be returned. No editing is needed to adjust the slider in CCC to an optimal setting. Mine is around 40C idle and 60C load.