New rig, final build, need advice/Feedback

[wuggi]

Hi there

I've recently made a similar post about the gaming rig I'm about to purchase and after a first round of constructive (and greatly appreciated, kudos guys) feedback I've made a second and final post with updated parts.
I'd like some advice on a few specific questions which I'll post below the parts list.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week or next week.

BUDGET RANGE: As mentioned in my first post my budget range is a little tricky because I live in Denmark and not only do we have a different currency, prices on computer parts are also a tad higher over here. I'd estimate my budget to be around 800-900 $.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, mousepad, speakers, monitor, OS.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Again the whole Denmark thing makes this a bit tricky as I shop from this Danish site, www.shg.dk, and I doubt that you'll understand much of.
I'll provide Newegg links for the parts I've considered.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Nothing in particualar.

OVERCLOCKING: Depends on how difficult and risky it is as I have no experience with it.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Planning on Crossfire.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Not certain and I also intend to purchase a new monitor later when I get the money to do so.


A list of parts that I've considered.

Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD

CPU

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor

Hard drive

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"

RAM

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory

Video Card

ASUS EAH4770/HTDI/512MD5 Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready

Case

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower

PSU

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC

CD/DVD Drive

No idea.


What kind of CD/DVD drive do I need? ATA/IDE or SATA? Furthermore I'll only be using burning to a minimum, the primary use will simply be running games. Sony NEC and a little Samsung are pretty much the only available brands from my shop.


Will my 550 W PSU be sufficient to power a pair of the whole rig, including the 4770's and a CPU I might end up OC'ing a bit?


Is my case large enough for the parts I've selected? The fans on the 4770 look a little troublesome regarding installation as it looks like they'll end up blocking parts of the MoBo.


Are the 4770's I've chosen worth buying? The Asus thingy concerns me a little, but they were the only available 4770's.

As always any and all feedback is greatly appreciated (and the point of the thread 😛)

 

[dirtmountain]

Looks good, get a SATA burner. Any brand is ok.A 550w power supply is fine for crossfired 4770s. Don't overlook that if you really really don't want to lose any particular data, especially photos, videos or other documents that a fast burn to a DVD and then safe storage is a good way to go. Never risk data that you really want to keep by not backing it up.
The only thing i might check out is if you can get the AM3 version of that motherboard and DDR3 RAM at close to the same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146777
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231200
or other DDR3 1333-1600 RAM

 

[wuggi]

I've checked and unfortunately there's no DDR 3 compatible version of the board 🙁

 

[wuggi]

Another thing came to my mind. Will I need some kind of cooler if I choose to overclock my CPU?
I'm already having doubts whether there's enough room for both the 4770's, a cooler on top of that might be an issue.

 

[tecmo34]

The Antec 300 will be a tight fit for a good aftermark cooler and two 4770's. I would suggest moving up to either the Antec 902 or Cooler Master RC-690, if either one fits into your budget.

The GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (139.99) is the DDR3 version of your motherboard...IMO The G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail ($64.99) would be good memory to go along with that MOBO.

At this SATA DVD Drive to your build... LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM. A very popular CPU Cooler is XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail ($39.99)

I would up your PSU to at least 650 to give yourself some breathing room.
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail ($99.99)

 

[wuggi]

The Antec 300 will be a tight fit for a good aftermark cooler and two 4770's. I would suggest moving up to either the Antec 902 or Cooler Master RC-690, if either one fits into your budget.

The GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (139.99) is the DDR3 version of your motherboard...IMO The G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail ($64.99) would be good memory to go along with that MOBO.

At this SATA DVD Drive to your build... LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM. A very popular CPU Cooler is XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail ($39.99)

I would up your PSU to at least 650 to give yourself some breathing room.
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail ($99.99)

Thanks for the PSU tip, I'd hate risking anything by cheaping out on the PSU. Wouldn't want to limit my future upgrade choices or limit ability to OC.

The DDR3 board isn't available here unfortunately so I'll have to stick with what I've planned on.

The Antec 902 seems a little too pricy for my liking but the Cooler Master has a very reasonable price (over here that is). The Cooler Master will have room for all my stuff including the double 4770's and possibly a CPU cooler like the Batman one?

Greatly appreciate the help

 

[tecmo34]

The Cooler Master RC-690 should have no problem fitting all of your stuff in there

 

[wuggi]

Lovely

I found this MoBo in my shop which is DDR3 compatible (and the only reasonable priced one). Will work with DDR3 and my CPU but will it work with my two 4770's in crossfire? (both standard compability but also considering physical space).

 

[tecmo34]

You should have no issues with 4770's in crossfire mode. The board has two slots that run at x8 in Crossfire and the 4770's are single slot cards. You'll have at least two open spaces between the cards, which will help with air flow and cooling

 

[wuggi]

Awesome

DDR3 it is then. The G-skill and Mushking ram all sound nice but corsair and kingston are the only available brands for me.

 

[computersss]

the corsair is a hell better,i would choose it over the kingston

 

[tecmo34]

+1 computersss.... Corsair is the RAM to purchase

 

[wuggi]

Looks like the GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD is in store now. Would you recommend it over the ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD considering my choice of CPU, Crossfire GPU etc ? And considering that they cost pretty much the same ? (price difference is less than 5 USD)

 

[tecmo34]

I would recommend the GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD. It is a much better board!

 

[wuggi]

Thanks for all the input it has been a great help

I've settled on the GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD. What kind of Ram do I need for it ? Apart from ddr3 (kingston or corsair) ? (amount, rate, stuff like that)

Due to the dropping prices on radeon 4850's I've decided to go with a pair of those in crossfire instead of the 4770's. Will a 650 W PSU be adequate ? And will they still fit in the cooler master case ?

 

[tecmo34]

Your best bet is to get CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TW3X4G1333C9 - Retail ($74.99) for your system. I couldn't find any Kingston at DDR3 1333 on Newegg.

If you are going to the 4850's... switch out the 650W with a 750W... it is only $10 more. CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail ($109.99 - $20 MIR = $89.99) The 4850's will still fit into your Cooler Master case no problem.