Need some advice on first build

[Yeno]

I have decided to build my next gaming rig for the first time and I have been doing a lot of research. Its a somewhat budget build so initially I settled on a Phenom II x6 1100t or 1090t with a AM3+ MOBO, HD 6870 and 8gb RAM. However I have read that the Phenom II x4 965 performs at a similar level as the higher end 6 core CPUs AMD has to offer for gaming. I was wondering if I should get the X4 965 and save the 30-50 bucks or if the 6 core CPUs will provide better gaming performance now and down the road. I am looking forward to playing the upcoming Battlefield 3. As a note I chose a AM3+ board so I could upgrade to Bulldozer a year or two year down the road. Also are there any features on the 6 core CPUs that I would be missing out on?

[_dangtx_]

howdy. that is correct,in most games the extra couple cores wont matter.

features wise,well phenom II's can have different level 3 cashe sizes(or none i.e. 840)
but the rest is all alike,save clock speeds.

i would wait a little bit more,unless you need it asap.

the 6870 is a good card,but you can do better. 6950? :)


edit where are my manners. welcome aboard!

[Yeno]

Hmmmm, I might be able to swing a 6950. I would need to recalculate costs and have a look. I am on a bit of a budget.

Are you recommending waiting for Bulldozer? I don't need the new rig immediately but my current system is quite old and there are some new games I would like to sink my teeth into.

Thanks for the welcome :)

[_dangtx_]

well.

what is the budget pre tax?

it may be well worth it to wait a little bit

also if you were to go with an x4 vs x6, that's a bit more budget towards gpu :)

[Yeno]

I'm hoping to keep price around 800-900 pre tax.

[_dangtx_]

plenty for a dozer or sb build :)

dont forget a nice psu,seasonic built or stickered (seasonic). 500 watts for a single gpu and up.

[MARSTG]

you can even cut budget even more, get a Phenom II X2 black edition, the 555 I heard is amazing at unlocking cores, get a mobo with good history at unlocking cores, like Asus/MSI. 8GB might be overkill for gaming, you don't really need that much RAM unless you do a lot of virtualization, 4GB should do it for the beginning. You might also want to look for a better cooling solution than the stock fan, something in 30$ range should do the trick, I am thinking something like Scythe Shuriken/Big Shuriken. And when you don't game you could fold some. Hexacore would help you for real only if you would do video transcoding/production.

[Yeno]

How easy is it to unlock cores? I have zero experience unlocking or overclocking.

[BrutalGreen]

unless you rly don't mind living with a dual core till bulldozer hits don't go for unlocking! It's not hard at all but the success rate isn't 100% as some of the chips are binned as dual cores as they had defective cores making them inadequate for X4 use...this is even more true now as AMD is selling much fewer X2s so they are not forced as much to bin as many fully functional X4s for X2 sales. Not to mention the 555 only goes for 10$ cheaper than the 955 at 90$ vs 100$...If you rly want to save money just get a 955 and a Vendetta 2, I've OCed denebs to 4.2-4.4 on this 18$ cooler at under 55C!

P.S. as far as hexcores go, unless you are encoding 10 videos a day for a gamer forget them! And even at that I'd still consider saving the money now to have more to spend on bulldozer when it hits....

[Yeno]

I was thinking of waiting until Bulldozer hits but I am also running a really old rig right now and am getting anxious to upgrade. If Bulldozer comes out in the next few months I wouldn't mind waiting but the not knowing is the worst part.