BUILDING NEW AM3 COMPUTER! PLEASE HELP!

[revixd]

Hey fellow HWCers! Im new to this website, and thought it would be a really good idea to get some opinion on a new gaming rig im going to build. Im looking to use AMD Socket AM3 as i already bought a Asus M4A79T Deluxe motherboard. I'm looking for something that looks nice, and can perform really well too.

Parts I'm considering right now.(PLEASE GIVE ME SOME SUGGESTIONS!)

Case: Silverstone Raven RV01, Silverstone Raven RV02, Antec 1200, etc.
Motherboard: Already have the Asus M4A79T Deluxe
Memory: Possibly G.Skill Ripjaw DDR3 1600 CL7 Memory
CPU: NOT SURE IF I SHOULD BUY A PHENOM II X2 - X3 and UNLOCK, or buy a true quad core like the Phenom II X4 955BE
Graphic Card: ATI HD 4870 or 4890, or etc.

OTHER THINGS AREN'T AS IMPORTANT AS OF NOW. I NEED THE MAIN COMPONENTS! IM REALLY STUMPED ON THE CPU PART. WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ANY HELP I CAN GET!

[jay51]

well myself i would get a x2 550be if board supports acc.. i seem to have no prob unlocking last 2 550's but using gigabyte board ..im going to try a ASUS board NCIX.com - Buy ASUS M4A785TD-V Evo 785G Socket AM3 DDR3 2PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 3PCI Video Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard - M4A785TD-V EVO In Canada.
and ripjaw 7-8-7 NCIX.com - Buy G.SKILL F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM Ripjaws 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL7-8-7-24 240PIN Dual Channel i5 Memory Kit - F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM In Canada. when i return home..
and another 550 hoping for another x4 b50 :)
only reason i chose that ram is cause its blue,im building next pc for looks

[revixd]

hey! I really appreciate your imput! And about the unlock, thats what i was thinking of doing in the first place as well, however, im not 100% sure that the unlock will work. if it doesn't, then i have myself a less powerful dual core computer. Although the price is really good, it can't match up to the Phenom II X4 965BE. Also, a question about your system. Is it running perfectly stable using the unlocked cores and are you running them at full speed? I agree with the ram though, its a pretty good performer for that price.

[Soultribunal]

Hey there and welcome to the Forums.

Depending on the route you want to go, for Unlocking although I am not a fan of it a lot of people I know have had great success with it.

If you don't want to unlock go with the 965 BE, its only a tiny bit more usually than the 955 so go big or go home mentality lol.
As for the RAM, I just got myself some G.Skills and so far so good. I like them so far, longevity is To be determined, but I had no issues with my EVO recognizing them.

One thing that is very Important that you need to consider is the PSU. THat is not only a Main component but the primary one to consider when investing enough money in a computer. After all, I've seen too many times people go nuts on everything but the PSU and have it deepsix a rig.

So, although you didn't ask I'm gonna suggest a few.

Silverstone Strider 750/850W (the Pro Version).
Corsair TX/HX 650/750.

Very good units for a good price these days from NCIX.

Case wise, are you looking for Full tower or would you mind a MId-Tower?
I have no experience with the full towers you suggest so I can't really say.
IF you want a budget Case that is still good cooling and lots of options, I suggest NZXT LExa S, M59 or Coolermaster Storm Scout, Coolermaster CM690.

Good Luck,
ST

[jay51]

Originally Posted by revixd

hey! I really appreciate your imput! And about the unlock, thats what i was thinking of doing in the first place as well, however, im not 100% sure that the unlock will work. if it doesn't, then i have myself a less powerful dual core computer. Although the price is really good, it can't match up to the Phenom II X4 965BE. Also, a question about your system. Is it running perfectly stable using the unlocked cores and are you running them at full speed? I agree with the ram though, its a pretty good performer for that price.

im running all 4 cores currently at 3.5ghz stable... had it upto 4 cores 3.8 but not prime stable ran 3.8 as a x2 with np im sure i could have hit 4ghz with bit more voltage. my current voltage is 1.367v

[revixd]

@ Soultribunal
Thanks for the reply! I thought about the unlocking route, and i think im going to take that one. 2 main reasons. 1 is the the Phenom II X2 550BE is dirt cheap right now (110$ compared to a 199$ phenom II X4 965) 2nd reason is that i can overclock the crap out of the 550BE. I'm planning on picking up a Sunbeam Core contact freezer 120mm to go along with the combo. As far as power supply is concerned, i just checked newegg, and they have an apevia 700watt power supply for 40$ after mail-in rebate. do you think thats a good idea? And for the case, i've made my mind about the Silverstone Raven RV01. It looks really nice, offers really nice cooling, although its pretty expensive, its pretty worth it.

@jay51
nice clocks man, what cpu cooler are you using? Thanks!

[Soultribunal]

No. Apevia in any flavour is bad news for your rig. Unless you like wasting money. Those Apevia, Xion units are good for one thing dying.

Stick to:
Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, Thermaltake (toughpower series) , Ultra LSP or X3/X4 from TD, Silverstone.

Powersupplies are the cornerstone on which the rest of your system relies. Go cheap and you stand the chance to have your rig die or the PSU constantly fail...or a combination of the two.


ST

[revixd]

oh shoot, i guess i won't get it then. how about this deal from tigerdirect? 55$ after mail-in rebate for an OCZ ModXstream Pro 700 watt power supply. its modular too! :D

[martin_metal_88]

Originally Posted by Soultribunal

No. Apevia in any flavour is bad news for your rig. Unless you like wasting money. Those Apevia, Xion units are good for one thing dying.

Stick to:
Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, Thermaltake (toughpower series) , Ultra LSP or X3/X4 from TD, Silverstone.

Powersupplies are the cornerstone on which the rest of your system relies. Go cheap and you stand the chance to have your rig die or the PSU constantly fail...or a combination of the two.


ST

Stay with what ST tell you to get. We never say enough time that the PSU IS the PART NOT TO GO CHEAP WITH IT. there is few corsair at good price this week on NCIX Xmas sales take a look at them.

[Soultribunal]

Originally Posted by revixd

oh shoot, i guess i won't get it then. how about this deal from tigerdirect? 55$ after mail-in rebate for an OCZ ModXstream Pro 700 watt power supply. its modular too! :D

Nope, don't touch those ones either. Although sometimes I've seen good things on OCZ psu's , I have myself in client builds had to RMA more OCZ psu's than any one else.

STick with whats best. If you have to , sacrifice cost on the case a little and get a better PSU.
Trust me on this one mate. Otherwise you get a cheap one, and kill all your gear..what are you going to do then? Better to make concessions elsewhere.

ST