new comp

hey guys, I have some cash coming my way in a couple weeks (scholarships, tax etc) and was thinking of spending some on a new pc. I don't know heaps about what i'm doing and was gona get my brother to build it for me. I'm not heaps sure of the build but this is what i'm thinking atm - posting here to see what you guys think, any advice for changes or improvements from people that know more than me would be cool

CPU: AMD AM3 Phenom II x3 720BE
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P
RAM: Kingston 4GB DDR2-1066 (HyperX)
GPU: 2 x ATI HD4770
Case: Antec 300
PSU: Vantec ION2+ 600w

I wanna keep it below or around the 1k mark, so watchu guys think?

You can get/i have built for some1 an i7 system for less the 1k using other bits.

So i7 920 about 380$ minimum
get the basic gigabyte mobo $300ish
6GB RAM $170

Use your graphics case and PSU and HDDs and ur got an awesome rig.

would recommend what davegod said, just depending on what parts you have eg gpu psu case etc. at the moment.

Prob only need 4gb ram really, 6gb is neither here nor there. Just make sure its 1033mhz or above

I was thinking about that but it might be just out of my price range. It's very tempting i'll have to see how much i'm getting back off tax first.

I'm interested in the ~1k i7 build dave - with my other stuff it's nearing 1300-1400 - what else did you put in an i7 system to get it so cheap?

Yea, it depends on what you currently have.

Also woffle i7 920 limits RAM to x20 multiplier. So 1033mhz RAM is max. Even if you had 1600MHz RAM it would only run at 1033, but thats still quick, esspecially if you triple channel it.

I don't have anything I could really put to use currently, i'm gona give my current box to my mummy anyway

make sure you delete your history. Ill never make taht mistake again...

Your build so far:

AMD AM3 Phenom II x3 720BE
$200ish
Mobo
$230ish
4GB RAM
Corsair is about $140 kingston be cheaper
2x4770
$300
three hundred case $100
PSU $100

$970. Might be able to get cheaper. Also that doesnt include a HDD/optical drive.

Why 2 shitty video cards? Just get 1 with the same specs but with no crossfire BS, less points of failure, less power/noise, cost less as well.

i7 $380ish
mobo $280
RAM 4GB $110 - cheap brand
graphics 9800GT $200
Antec 300 $100
PSU $100

=$1170 + HDD/optical drive (prolly less then $150). Shits all over that AMD.

4850s are about $200 ish arent they? they are better than 9800GT s from what ive heard.

They are much the same. Both 1GB GDDR3, 16x and 256Bit. I actually picked up a gigayte gtx260 the other day for $255. 896MB 448bit physx. Not a bad price. Havent actually used it yet as its gone into my spare comp.

prob go with corsair if poss, found in the past that while kingston is cheaper its not normally as good once installed

DaveGod wrote:

Yea, it depends on what you currently have.

Also woffle i7 920 limits RAM to x20 multiplier. So 1033mhz RAM is max. Even if you had 1600MHz RAM it would only run at 1033, but thats still quick, esspecially if you triple channel it.

=\

920 has a locked x20 multiplier on the BCLK (up to x21 with turbo on)
I'm running 1333mhz ram which is OC'd to 1600mhz (or close to it)

nvidia > ATI, Both have new cards coming up btw, so expect pretty nice price drops.

Antec P193 "Performance One" Black ATX Mid Tower - NO PSU, 11 Drive Bays, up to 7 Configurable Fans, Front USB/eSATA/Audio $330.00

Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P MB, AM3,790FX+SB750,5.2GT/s, DDR3 1666oc,PCI-E x16, SATAII RAID,USB2, 2xGbE LAN, 8ch Audio, ATX, CrossFireX $359.00

Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition CPU, 3.2GHz (125W), 8MB Cache, Sockets AM3/AM2+/AM2* $449.00


Seagate 1.5TB 'ST31500341AS' SATA II 3Gb/s NCQ HDD Barracuda 7200.11- 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 3-year warranty $249.00


BenQ G2412HD 23.6" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Piano Black, Full HD 1920 x 1080, HDMI, 2ms, 40,000:1 Contrast (DCR) $369.00


Corsair TW3X4G2000C9DF 4GB (2x XMS3 2GB) PC-16000 (2000MHz) DDR3 RAM, 2x240-pin DIMMs, Non ECC Unbuffered, 9-9-9-24 $859.00


Antec "SmartCool" 120mm Case Fan with Variable Speed, 120x120x25mm, Double ball bearing, 3/4-pin connector, Speed: 980~1720rpm, Noise: 20~32dBA $39.00


NEW! Gigabyte GF GTX 295 PCI-E 2.0 1792MB DDR3 896-bit, 576/2000MHz, Dual Dual-Link DVI, HDCP, HDMI, Fan. $899.00

plus wat ever psu u want in it but i highly recomand 1200watts to that system i got one in the shop now an thats a $3553.00 plus or more if u need oem or os

did you read the original post, supreme?

yes i did ed

* 1 u need wat i got

* 2 it only cost me out of pocket $700.00

* 3 that one i post is wat i can build plus its a server...lol

the stuff i got is

gigabyte GA-M61pme-s2p motherboard $100.00

AMD ATHLON 7750 Dual-core black phanom core $115.00

9500GT nVIDA 1GB vidcard $99.00

4GB ram Corsair XMS2 DDr2 pc2-6400 $98.00

750GB hdd HITACHI $130

plus windows 7 = free download

plus windows vista 64 Bit $175.00

fps for css is around 190--->299

u can run css - music - and wat else u got

ok send a reply to me if u like that

and if u need pricing on any thing just ask or go to this aussie website http://www.altech.com.au ok

if you want to get the iso of windows 7 rc then get it soon, downloads stop around start of aug.

Release of win7 is set for 22 october. Would recommend it, and if your not worried about paying for it when it comes out then think of it as a free trial, however its quite a good system..

Only issue with rc woffle is that you'll have to reinstall when you get the real version. If you purchase vista now it has a free upgrade to win 7 as soon as it's released.
Off topic anyway.

For the topic:
I've been saving up for a bit too Ed and this is what I'm looking at when I've saved up

ASUS P6T Intel X58 Express Triple Channel DDR3 2000Mhz(OC) ExpressGate SLi /CrossFire Support
Umart $298 - P6T rated just as well as the deluxe without all the extra do dads they put on the deluxe and about $100 off the price (http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/asus_p6t/).
INTEL CORE i7 920 2.66Ghz 8meg CACHE LGA1366
$403 umart
ADATA EXTREME SERIES OVERCLOCKING TRIPLE PACK 3gig (3x1gig DDR3) 1600+CL8 1600+mhz
$149 Gamedude - only bothered with 3G because so much RAM is left unused in most systems anyway, so I got faster ram instead - and of course had to be compatible with the mobo.

Only problem is that I only need these three things to upgrade and it's going to cost about $850 all up but that's cause I've been making strategic purchases with everything else I've gotten in the last year. You could always change the mobo and ram to make it cheaper but I would suggest doing your research on the mobo. RAM is less of an issue because it's coming down in price quickly atm so you could cut corners there and buy more in a few months.

..isnt that a bit overkill on the ram?
(directed at supreme's initial build)

Hardy Amz you sexeh.

But it probably would be better to buy RAM with lower timings than higher clocks.

do not overclock ram trust me i fry ram very week an i say DO NOT OVERCLOCK RAM

supreme wrote:

do not overclock ram trust me i fry ram very week an i say DO NOT OVERCLOCK RAM

DONT LISTEN TO HIM.
ITS MAD

TURNS 4GB INTO 8GB
THE BEST .

Heres what i got ....

amd phenom 2 be 965 quad

4gb pack corsir ripjaw 1033mhz RAM ddr3

asus eah4890 ddr5 1gb video card

gigabyte ma790xt-ud4p mb crossfire ready...

corsair hx620w psu

ALL UP $998 USING MY OWN HDD

supreme wrote:

do not overclock ram trust me i fry ram very week an i say DO NOT OVERCLOCK RAM

for starters BS on some form of level.
if your getting an I7 and your RAM is rated to run say 1333mhz and you put it in your system it will default to 1066mhz. you have to manually put the timings and volt into BIOS for it. the ram will have the timing and volts on the sticker on the side of the ram. this is considered overclocking on some form. in terms of pushing it over the limit to say 1600mhz then yes not the greatest if you want stability and if you dont really know what your doing.

i have 8GB of corsair dominator ram that is rated to run at 1066mhz at timings of 5-5-5-15 with voltage of 2.1. i first put it in my comp and it runs at default speed of 800mhz. i had to put the timings in myself to get them running at 1066mhz.

Hayzz wrote:

Hardy Amz you sexeh.

But it probably would be better to buy RAM with lower timings than higher clocks.

i totally agree with this.
if you are going to be getting an I7 system. i would suggest getting RAM that has a lower timing over something with higher mhz. going from 1333mhz to 1600mhz ram you will not see any 'real-world' difference. if you are benching then you will. but for everyday use you will not see a difference.
but yeah if you get an I7 then yes your ram will default to 1066mhz. if you want it to run at 1333mhz, learn how to enter the BIOS and put the correct timings in (it is piss easy though )

teknoss wrote:

DONT LISTEN TO HIM.
ITS MAD

TURNS 4GB INTO 8GB
THE BEST .

and thats just pure bullshit...