900 dollar build comments please

[DeviantV1ral]

gaming on a 1280x1024 monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273333

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=11123125

phenom x4 965 be
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop
Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified ... - Retail
ASUS EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 Dark Knight 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported ... - Retail


COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

the computer is in a somewhat dusty living room will the case hold up?

and 2 WD Blue 500gb in raid

 

[EarthDog]

Well, first, you need DDR3 ram for that mobo.

Also seeing as how your resolution is on the low side, I would get the cheapest HD4870 you can instead buying the fancy one. You wont need the horsepower as long as you are on that resolution. In fact an HD4850 would be just fine. But if you want to spend that money, and get that performance in a new and a bit more futureproofed card, get an HD5770.

 

[DeviantV1ral]

woudlnt the 5770 not the best bang for the buck?

and oops on the ddr3, im an intel guy and didnt even know amd used ddr3 haha

 

[Evilsizer]

5770 is a good bang for buck imo, if you consider that it is a DX11 card. the 5770 has performance of a 4850 while using less power...

have you thought about going with a LGA1156 system?

 

[DeviantV1ral]

nevermind 5770 looks good, seems like gtx260 is a good alternative too but dx11

yea, but the 965 seems like a really good bang for the buck, beat an i7 in some tests

 

[jgv115]

965 good bang for the buck? Really?

i5 will do you better

 

[Theocnoob]

I wouldn't want any CPU to "do" me. Especially without at least buying me a drink.
You really think i5's are that much better than PII? Benches?

 

[EarthDog]

Clock for clock its faster across the board ocnoob. You wont see it in gaming per say, but every other bench it does beat it out.

 

[Marshmallow64]

dont get the 965, its the 955 that is good price/performance. If you are willing to spend $240 on a 965 then thats when you consider the i5. You can pick up a 3.2 x4 955 for about $180 while the 3.4 x4 965 is $240. Not worth it for that extra bit of speed. The 965 does overclock a bit better, but not by much to justify that price.

If you just plan on just mainly gaming with this rig I suggest you look into the Phenom II 720 and 550. It will save you about 100 dollars and you will still get great frame rates. Save the money to invest in a bigger monitor. 22 inch widescreens can be had for about 200 these days. =)

 

[Porvalsh]

dont get the 965, its the 955 that is good price/performance. If you are willing to spend $240 on a 965 then thats when you consider the i5. You can pick up a 3.2 x4 955 for about $180 while the 3.4 x4 965 is $240. Not worth it for that extra bit of speed. The 965 does overclock a bit better, but not by much to justify that price.

Or the i7 860 at $230.

But yeah, get 955, save 60 bucks and save for a better monitor.

I'm at about 810 Shipped to my door.

AMD Phenom ii X4 955be & GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P COMBO $335
G Skill Ripjaw 7-7-7-20 DDR3 1600 2x2gb $95
Xigmatek Dark Knight (S1283) w120mm Fan $45
Cooler Master R690 & Cooler Master Silent Pro 700 PS COMBO $145
Radeon HD 5770 1gb $160

Total $780.00

Which means you could spring for a Radeon 5850..

Edit2:

Here's another idea...

With free shipping option and a cheaper 790fx board I've squeezed in a 1920x1080 21.5" widescreen monitor. Lookin at 932 shipped. Could get it back under 900 by going with your original 790X board, but 790FX/750SB is the best overclocking/gaming combo right now. Could also save 45 bucks by dropping the cooler although its not that much cost and would make a big difference in your cooling. It would allow you to overclock a bit too.

Phenom 955 - $180
DFI LanParty 790FXB - $140
MSI Radeon HD 5770 - $160
G.Skill Ripjaw 7-7-7-20 2x2gb Ram - $95
Antec 300 & Antec TruePower 650W PS COMBO - $150 (This saves 20 bucks in shipping because you get free shipping with the offer)
Xigmatek Dark Knight (S1238) 120mm Cooler - $45
Acer 21.5" Widescreen monitor, Free Shipping - $150.00

Parts: $920.00
Shipping: $12.00

Hopefully the heatsink fits in that case...as well as the Radeon HD 5770.

Edit3:

Havin some fun. Grab an i5 750 from Microcenter for $150.00.

i5 750 $150.00 (Microcenter)
MSI P55-CD53 P55 motherboard, assuming you'll never want to run crossfire. - $120
MSI Radeon HD 5770 - $160
G.Skill Ripjaw 7-7-7-20 2x2gb Ram - $95
Antec 300 & Antec TruePower 650W PS COMBO - $150 (This saves 20 bucks in shipping because you get free shipping with the offer)
Xigmatek Dark Knight (S1238) 120mm Cooler - $45
Acer 21.5" Widescreen monitor, Free Shipping - $150.00

Parts = $870.00
Newegg Shipping = $12.00
Microcenter Shipping = 0 (in store pickup only)
Total = $882.00

 

[Marshmallow64]

^ great suggestions, hopefully the OP reads it before he buys =P

 

[EarthDog]

GREAT suggestions Porvalsh. Of those systems, I would undoubtedly get the i5 though. Performance outside of gaming is simply much better.

 

[Porvalsh]

Yeah, I'm gonna try and get my wife to let me build her an i5 and I'll bench it next to my 955 rig and take whichever wins. Hopefully she won't ever look in her little window and realize I've switched her components out.

 

[EarthDog]

Dont bother... just take the i5. 23423423 reviews cant be wrong.

 

[Marshmallow64]

i5 is better overall than the 955 and 965.

Only thing that the 955 and 965 come neck to neck in is in game benches with framerates.

Just take your wifes i5 and call it a day =)

 

[Bobnova]

Personally, i would buy a $100 4850 instead of the $160 5770, that's too large of a price gap for the same speed IMO.
DX11 has the potential to turn out very very cool, but right now (and likely for most of a year) nothing uses it, and DX11 games will run fine on DX10 anyway.
Where DX11 is going to be really cool is the open physics processing, and the GPU3 folding@home client.

 

[Porvalsh]

Are you saying the GPU3 folding client will not optimize the 4000 series cards much? If so...I may need to save up for a new card rather thatn crossfire 4890s

 

[Bobnova]

I don't know. 4000 series cards already have the majority of DX11 (that being dx10.1, they would have been DX11 if MS hadn't delayed DX11 so that nvidia could catch up).
Were i writing a new GPU core, i would write it for DX11 (or ideally, 10.1/11), nvidia cards already fold really well with the current one, it's ATI that needs a boost.

 

[Porvalsh]

Bobnova, doesn't the 5770 beat the 4850 in everything? I think that combined with DX11, and Eyefinity makes it worth while. AMD seems to be working backwards through the price breaks with their new 5000 line, making the 4000 series obsolete quickly. The 5000 series seems to scale really well in big screen applications. Granted, not many of us have big huge screens, and multi-screen setups but who knows what will happen in the next year. Maybe LCD's will see a break through and we'll all be able to sport dual 32inch wides.

 

[Marshmallow64]

Also 5000 series has better wattage ratings and heat output due to the smaller gpu size.